Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Nov 14, 2020 10:32:33 GMT
for me far too many: My Country I & II ■ Magic Is Loose ■ Fun In Space ■ Strange Frontier ■ Masters Of War ■ Heaven For Everyone ■ Liar ■ Manipulator ■ Ain't Putting Nothing Down ■ Old Friends ■ In Charge Of My Heart ■ Keep On Running ■ I Can't Get You Out Of My Head. quoting myself now - because I've a glaring omission from my own list. Don't know how I did this, but Future Management has to be in there. anything with a reggae/caribbean feel ticks my boxes every time...even to the point that my favourite parts of Jefferson Starship's Jane and Rush's Spirit of Radio are the small snatches of reggae. A Bob Marley fan? Have to admit, I liked Iron Lion Zion but nothing else of his really did anything for me, until recently, when the stuff they play on the radio is starting to resonate a little. I've only really heard the hits, but would happily listen to his stuff for a while.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Nov 14, 2020 10:43:34 GMT
quoting myself now - because I've a glaring omission from my own list. Don't know how I did this, but Future Management has to be in there. anything with a reggae/caribbean feel ticks my boxes every time...even to the point that my favourite parts of Jefferson Starship's Jane and Rush's Spirit of Radio are the small snatches of reggae. A Bob Marley fan? Have to admit, I liked Iron Lion Zion but nothing else of his really did anything for me, until recently, when the stuff they play on the radio is starting to resonate a little. I've only really heard the hits, but would happily listen to his stuff for a while. it's weird how (for me) i discovered reggae quite young (one of my dad's old friends ran the disco at our local church youth club, he played lots of reggae, ska and calypso)...went away from it and then found my way back to it through classic rock artists during the later 70s and 80s. two Caribbean trips in 2013 and 2018 just found me falling in love with this stuff all over again. Sunshine...white sand...world's end tiki/spiced/fallernum rum...Corn N Oil...and really chilled music what's not to love?
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Nov 14, 2020 11:05:09 GMT
A Bob Marley fan? Have to admit, I liked Iron Lion Zion but nothing else of his really did anything for me, until recently, when the stuff they play on the radio is starting to resonate a little. I've only really heard the hits, but would happily listen to his stuff for a while. it's weird how (for me) i discovered reggae quite young (one of my dad's old friends ran the disco at our local church youth club, he played lots of reggae, ska and calypso)...went away from it and then found my way back to it through classic rock artists during the later 70s and 80s. two Caribbean trips in 2013 and 2018 just found me falling in love with this stuff all over again. Sunshine...white sand...world's end tiki/spiced/fallernum rum...Corn N Oil...and really chilled music what's not to love? I have often wondered why Bob Marley has a Gibson Les Paul, when you barely hear it.
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Post by saintjiub on Nov 14, 2020 19:43:31 GMT
Let’s Get Crazy My Country I&II A Nation of Haircuts Final Destination (new version) In Charge Of My Heart (Extended) Heaven For Everyone (Rog vocals) Shove It! Two Sharp Pencils London Town – C'mon Down Tonight Whole House Rockin Strange Frontier Nazi's 1994 Millionaire Heartland
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rogercz
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Post by rogercz on Dec 19, 2020 7:17:39 GMT
An attempt to rank Roger's rockier solo stuff. What is the best rocker from his solo albums (not counting the Cross ones)?
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Steve
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Post by Steve on Dec 19, 2020 8:41:41 GMT
An attempt to rank Roger's rockier solo stuff. What is the best rocker from his solo albums (not counting the Cross ones)? No More Fun. Love it.
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Post by stevedorius on Feb 24, 2021 14:05:22 GMT
Fun In Space and Electric Fire, back to back.
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Strange_frontier
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Post by Strange_frontier on Apr 2, 2021 0:10:18 GMT
I'm assuming this is including the Cross, so in that case...
Roger solo: Future Management, No Violins, Strange Frontier, Man on Fire, Nazis 1994, Revelation, Old Friends, Nation of Haircuts, Unblinking Eye Cross: Shove It, Cowboys and Indians, Contact, Heaven for Everyone w/Roger, Manipulator, all of Mad Bad except Old Men, In Charge of My Heart, Dirty Mind, Ain't Put Nothin Down, Millionaire, Heartland, Life Changes, Hand of Fools
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mike71
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Post by mike71 on Jun 7, 2021 21:46:07 GMT
I'm not a big fan of Roger's solo work, but there are some songs I do love. Some are interesting but not great, and most I discard. The songs I like are his ballads, like Old Friends, Journey End, Say It's Not True with Jeff Beck, Tonight, Foreign Sand. The stuff on Fun In Space sounds good, but I discard most of it after a few listens. Some of that album would of fit in with the Flash album.
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Makka
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Post by Makka on Jun 9, 2021 13:52:33 GMT
Beautiful Dreams is up there too. Underrated 80's Roger track!
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chowder
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Post by chowder on Jun 30, 2021 8:34:11 GMT
Based on my LastFM stats, Future Management is #1 for me, with Laugh Or Cry and Fun In Space #2 and #3.
I however disagree with Fun In Space a bit as I think that ie Beautiful Dreams is much better which is only #39 in the LastFM list.
The whole Happiness album resonates a lot with me. The atmosphere is great and it all sounds very smooth.
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Post by primejiveusa on Jul 2, 2021 13:59:41 GMT
The whole Happiness album resonates a lot with me. The atmosphere is great and it all sounds very smooth. It's definitely a "grower". The album that benefits most from repeated listens. When I first got it I was quite disappointed in it compared to his first two solo records but over time it clicked with me and I place it right up there with Fun in Space and Strange Frontier.
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chowder
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Post by chowder on Jul 5, 2021 15:45:07 GMT
The whole Happiness album resonates a lot with me. The atmosphere is great and it all sounds very smooth. It's definitely a "grower". The album that benefits most from repeated listens. When I first got it I was quite disappointed in it compared to his first two solo records but over time it clicked with me and I place it right up there with Fun in Space and Strange Frontier.
It is his first solo album that I ever heard. In fact, I never heard any solo work of him before. I just happened to go through the T-section in a record shop and then had this CD in my hands. I didn't had the money so I put it back. When I came back a few days later, it was gone so I had to order a new copy. Really liked it instantly. Even my dad (bonus points)!
I only heard Fun In Space a year or so later when I found a vinyl copy at a flea market which was then released on CD for the first time sometime later incl Strange Frontier which was the first time when I heard that one.
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rogercz
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Post by rogercz on Jul 5, 2021 16:23:41 GMT
It's definitely a "grower". The album that benefits most from repeated listens. When I first got it I was quite disappointed in it compared to his first two solo records but over time it clicked with me and I place it right up there with Fun in Space and Strange Frontier.
It is his first solo album that I ever heard. In fact, I never heard any solo work of him before. I just happened to go through the T-section in a record shop and then had this CD in my hands. I didn't had the money so I put it back. When I came back a few days later, it was gone so I had to order a new copy. Really liked it instantly. Even my dad (bonus points)!
I only heard Fun In Space a year or so later when I found a vinyl copy at a flea market which was then released on CD for the first time sometime later incl Strange Frontier which was the first time when I heard that one.
And what about Electric Fire, Fun On Earth and The Cross stuff? :-)
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chowder
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Post by chowder on Jul 6, 2021 12:52:17 GMT
It is his first solo album that I ever heard. In fact, I never heard any solo work of him before. I just happened to go through the T-section in a record shop and then had this CD in my hands. I didn't had the money so I put it back. When I came back a few days later, it was gone so I had to order a new copy. Really liked it instantly. Even my dad (bonus points)!
I only heard Fun In Space a year or so later when I found a vinyl copy at a flea market which was then released on CD for the first time sometime later incl Strange Frontier which was the first time when I heard that one.
And what about Electric Fire, Fun On Earth and The Cross stuff? :-)
I expect that you are being sarcastic here since I made such a detailed comment. And for that reason I will reply to your question as if I am ignorant
I bought EF upon release back in 1998, same for FOE.
Am not too sure about the Cross stuff. I expect that I got Shove It first, the US release, on vinyl, probably around 1997 or so. I bought Mad Bad on vinyl from an Italian collector late 90s and Blue Rock initially on CD from a vague Swiss personal website who was selling some random CD's incl this one. No idea when I got that one (early 00s?). So my apologies for not being so precise anymore
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rogercz
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Post by rogercz on Jul 6, 2021 13:42:16 GMT
And what about Electric Fire, Fun On Earth and The Cross stuff? :-)
I expect that you are being sarcastic here since I made such a detailed comment. And for that reason I will reply to your question as if I am ignorant
I bought EF upon release back in 1998, same for FOE.
Am not too sure about the Cross stuff. I expect that I got Shove It first, the US release, on vinyl, probably around 1997 or so. I bought Mad Bad on vinyl from an Italian collector late 90s and Blue Rock initially on CD from a vague Swiss personal website who was selling some random CD's incl this one. No idea when I got that one (early 00s?). So my apologies for not being so precise anymore sorry, maibe i am dumb but i can't see your opinion on EF/FOE aither after the notice, but anyway, i was wondering probably a list from the most to the least favourite album sorry if i misunderstood sth... Mine is at the moment probably 1. EF 2. Blue Rock 3. Mad Bad
4. Happiness 5. Strange Frontier 6. FOE 7. Fun In Space 8. Shove It
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Jul 6, 2021 14:07:24 GMT
sorry, maibe i am dumb but i can't see your opinion on EF/FOE aither after the notice, but anyway, i was wondering probably a list from the most to the least favourite album sorry if i misunderstood sth... Mine is at the moment probably 1. EF 2. Blue Rock 3. Mad Bad
2. Happiness 3. Strange Frontier 4. FOE 5. Fun In Space 5. Shove It
well, you've just completely undone every school of thought for the application of numerical sequences and (more widely) the basic rules of mathematics itself. i just can't follow your logic (as is) - fibonacci (NO), prime numbers (NO), squared numbers (NO), cubed numbers (NO), geometric (NO), Triangular (NO), Mandelbrot (NO)...c'mon, let us all in this secret: what kind of sequence are you applying here. further, i'd like to take issue with your placing of Fun In Space. Surely this is much better than you imply. certainly most debut solo projects are quality - in that these contain the songs that the band member wasn't given air to on band LPs.
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rogercz
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Post by rogercz on Jul 6, 2021 17:57:44 GMT
sorry, maibe i am dumb but i can't see your opinion on EF/FOE aither after the notice, but anyway, i was wondering probably a list from the most to the least favourite album sorry if i misunderstood sth... Mine is at the moment probably 1. EF 2. Blue Rock 3. Mad Bad
2. Happiness 3. Strange Frontier 4. FOE 5. Fun In Space 5. Shove It
well, you've just completely undone every school of thought for the application of numerical sequences and (more widely) the basic rules of mathematics itself. i just can't follow your logic (as is) - fibonacci (NO), prime numbers (NO), squared numbers (NO), cubed numbers (NO), geometric (NO), Triangular (NO), Mandelbrot (NO)...c'mon, let us all in this secret: what kind of sequence are you applying here. further, i'd like to take issue with your placing of Fun In Space. Surely this is much better than you imply. certainly most debut solo projects are quality - in that these contain the songs that the band member wasn't given air to on band LPs. Haha, thanks, I added Cross albums among RT's solo albums and forgot to edit the numbers Maybe it's because my first two CD's were EF and Happiness, their sound hasn't dated so badly as early 80's albums.. And I like the live concerts so maybe I've used to these two more ...
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Jul 6, 2021 21:10:55 GMT
Haha, thanks, I added Cross albums among RT's solo albums and forgot to edit the numbers Maybe it's because my first two CD's were EF and Happiness, their sound hasn't dated so badly as early 80's albums.. And I like the live concerts so maybe I've used to these two more ... I love Fun In Space, i genuinely believe it's the best Queen/Queen solo LP of the 80s. And, after the disappointment of my wasting money on The Game the year before, it was a blessed relief. I played FIS to death for a year or so...and then dug it out all over again, when Hot Space surfaced. Fun In Space (for me) was a musical antidote to the Game & HS. Shame there wasn't a comparable solo project at the time of The Works and AKOM.... SF was good, but not great, and Freddie's MBG - ugh!
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Post by herebemonsters on Jul 7, 2021 7:32:16 GMT
I think Fun in Space is amazing from start to finish. It has a really immersive atmosphere and the combination of guitars and synths works far better than a great deal of Queen's later material, possibly because it hasn't been obsessed over as much. I agree that Strange Frontier was a step down, although the rejected songs which have appeared over the years wouldn't have changed much I don't think - an album featuring great songs but interrupted a bit by the cover versions and tracks like It's an Illusion, which is far too 'paint by numbers'. Unfortunately, I've never got on with his subsequent albums - the odd good song of course but it's the lyrics which really let them down.
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khizzy
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Post by khizzy on Jul 7, 2021 8:22:07 GMT
I think if I had to rank his solo output it would be something like this:
1. Strange Frontier 2. Happiness 3. Blue Rock 4. Electric Fire 5. Fun In Space 6. Shove It 7. Mad, Bad and Dangerous To Know 8. Fun On Earth
I fear his latest album will probably slot near the bottom of that list given what he's put out in recent years. Not his fault though, his solo work is great overall.
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Post by macduff77 on Jul 7, 2021 15:07:46 GMT
Roger is my favourite solo artist, but I find it hard to rank his albums because on some (like Fun on Earth), I don't listen as much as other albums, but it still has a couple of my favourite Roger tunes, yet is not my fav album. So, looking at play times in iTunes library, it would rank as this:
1. Happiness 2. Fun In Space 3. Strange Frontier 4. Electric Fire 5. Blue Rock 6. Fun on Earth 7. Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know 8. Shove It
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Jul 7, 2021 18:15:50 GMT
I think Fun in Space is amazing from start to finish. It has a really immersive atmosphere and the combination of guitars and synths works far better than a great deal of Queen's later material, possibly because it hasn't been obsessed over as much. I agree that Strange Frontier was a step down, although the rejected songs which have appeared over the years wouldn't have changed much I don't think - an album featuring great songs but interrupted a bit by the cover versions and tracks like It's an Illusion, which is far too 'paint by numbers'. Unfortunately, I've never got on with his subsequent albums - the odd good song of course but it's the lyrics which really let them down. ...and how refreshing would Queen's 80-86 sound have been, had it included pearls like; No Violins, Magic Is Loose, My Country I & II and Future Management. there's a couple of Queen tracks from The Game+ that absolutely show Roger's potential; Rock It (Prime Jive) and A Human Body - there should've been much more.
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Post by macduff77 on Jul 7, 2021 18:32:24 GMT
...and how refreshing would Queen's 80-86 sound have been, had it included pearls like; No Violins, Magic Is Loose, My Country I & II and Future Management. there's a couple of Queen tracks from The Game that absolutely show Roger's potential; Rock It (Prime Jive) and A Human Body - there should've been much more. Totally agree. There is some fabulous work from Roger in those first 2 albums which would have made the Queen releases even more outstanding. I've always wondered what ultimately drove the decision for songs to either go on a solo album vs Queen. I still think Man on Fire would have fit perfectly on The Works.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Jul 7, 2021 18:37:44 GMT
...and how refreshing would Queen's 80-86 sound have been, had it included pearls like; No Violins, Magic Is Loose, My Country I & II and Future Management. there's a couple of Queen tracks from The Game that absolutely show Roger's potential; Rock It (Prime Jive) and A Human Body - there should've been much more. Totally agree. There is some fabulous work from Roger in those first 2 albums which would have made the Queen releases even more outstanding. I've always wondered what ultimately drove the decision for songs to either go on a solo album vs Queen. I still think Man on Fire would have fit perfectly on The Works. i think that it wasn't until 84 that Freddie and Brian were willing to relinquish their 3, 4, 5 songs per album stranglehold. Roger (like Harrison in the Beatles) had so many ideas requiring an outlet. Queen just didn't have the space for another major writer until 84. It was evident that Roger was already wanting to write/contribute more around 77 - his solo single as evidence, and (I believe) much of his FIS ideas, writing and maybe even an audio W-I-P (or two) may have been around in embryonic form from around the Jazz sessions.
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Strange_frontier
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Post by Strange_frontier on Jul 8, 2021 0:56:40 GMT
Roger is my favourite solo artist, but I find it hard to rank his albums because on some (like Fun on Earth), I don't listen as much as other albums, but it still has a couple of my favourite Roger tunes, yet is not my fav album. So, looking at play times in iTunes library, it would rank as this: 1. Happiness 2. Fun In Space 3. Strange Frontier 4. Electric Fire 5. Blue Rock 6. Fun on Earth 7. Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know 8. Shove It My Roger solo ranking would be.... 1. Mad Bad 2. Blue Rock 3. Happiness? 4. Strange Frontier 5. Shove It 6. Fun in Space 7. Fun on Earth 8. Electric FireI've always had an affinity for the Cross albums. To this day, Mad Bad and Blue Rock are among the greatest albums I have ever heard....ever (!!!) Can't believe that even in the Queen community the Cross are very underrated! (Don't get me wrong, I like Shove It too, but compared to the other two it's ridiculous haha) On the contrary, I have never really liked Electric Fire outside of "A Nation of Haircuts."
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Post by pimderks on Jul 8, 2021 6:14:07 GMT
I think the best of MBADTK and Blue Rock combined could definitely make an excellent album. But the "sexist" lyrics (Penetration Guru, Dirty Mind, anyone?) and some of the other "generic rock" material make each album average in my opinion. Still, I would've loved the band too continue, the growth from Shove It > MBADTK > Blue Rock is remarkable. In 1988 they were recording crap like Contact, Rough Justice and in 1991 they were doing stuff like New Dark Ages, Life Changes, Heartland etc.
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Strange_frontier
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Post by Strange_frontier on Jul 8, 2021 6:45:43 GMT
I think the best of MBADTK and Blue Rock combined could definitely make an excellent album. But the "sexist" lyrics (Penetration Guru, Dirty Mind, anyone?) and some of the other "generic rock" material make each album average in my opinion. Still, I would've loved the band too continue, the growth from Shove It > MBADTK > Blue Rock is remarkable. In 1988 they were recording crap like Contact, Rough Justice and in 1991 they were doing stuff like New Dark Ages, Life Changes, Heartland etc. I think the word you're looking for is "sexual" not "sexist"....I could be wrong But I am impressed by the changes the Cross made in so little time. Whenever I hear Blue Rock, I am in disbelief that it's the same band that made Shove it.
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rogercz
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Post by rogercz on Jul 8, 2021 7:24:54 GMT
I think the best of MBADTK and Blue Rock combined could definitely make an excellent album. But the "sexist" lyrics (Penetration Guru, Dirty Mind, anyone?) and some of the other "generic rock" material make each album average in my opinion. Still, I would've loved the band too continue, the growth from Shove It > MBADTK > Blue Rock is remarkable. In 1988 they were recording crap like Contact, Rough Justice and in 1991 they were doing stuff like New Dark Ages, Life Changes, Heartland etc. I think the word you're looking for is "sexual" not "sexist"....I could be wrong But I am impressed by the changes the Cross made in so little time. Whenever I hear Blue Rock, I am in disbelief that it's the same band that made Shove it. Shove It was planned to be his solo album so he recorded all the songs with Spike and just with the little contribution from the others (The Cross were formed slightly later and the album was maybe originally planned as his solo work like the previous two), he just wanted to create an amount of material to tour with. Then he focused on The Miracle (and later Innuendo) so most of the songs on MBADTK and BR were penned by the band, not RT himself. That's why the style changed. Rumour says that the band recorded Shove It entirely but Rogers's version was used. I love BR and MBADTK and it's a shame that their fourth album, which was reportedly planned, never happened and probably no recording exists.
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Post by herebemonsters on Jul 8, 2021 9:04:33 GMT
Totally agree. There is some fabulous work from Roger in those first 2 albums which would have made the Queen releases even more outstanding. I've always wondered what ultimately drove the decision for songs to either go on a solo album vs Queen. I still think Man on Fire would have fit perfectly on The Works. i think that it wasn't until 84 that Freddie and Brian were willing to relinquish their 3, 4, 5 songs per album stranglehold. Roger (like Harrison in the Beatles) had so many ideas requiring an outlet. Queen just didn't have the space for another major writer until 84. It was evident that Roger was already wanting to write/contribute more around 77 - his solo single as evidence, and (I believe) much of his FIS ideas, writing and maybe even an audio W-I-P (or two) may have been around in embryonic form from around the Jazz sessions. I agree - I think what didn't help is that so many of Roger's songs suited his voice more than Freddie (and certainly Brian). In all seriousness, I think the resentment about the royalties from I'm in Love With My Car played a part too, for longer than we may have imagined, not only in the choice of singles but also inclusion on albums where there was a bank of tracks to choose from. It is baffling that Human Body didn't make the album - I can't quite imagine Freddie singing Man on Fire, which I suspect would've been the case.
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