BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Oct 30, 2020 9:46:04 GMT
just a thought, but I think Freddie's album may have worked better as a duet project. Maybe, working on/completing some of those songs with the "collaborations" of that time period; Andy Gibb, Rod & Elton, Billy Squier, Michael Jackson etc, may have injected some non-Queen quality control into the process.
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Post by Mr Mercury on Oct 30, 2020 15:50:47 GMT
Ok so reading this thread made me load it up on Spotify (I couldnt find my original copy of the album) and give it another listen. My initial reaction on it when it was first released all those years ago was a feeling of being underwhelmed. I guess at the time I expected far more 70's Queen style Freddie (LOML, YTMBA and DSMN, etc) and so I was disappointed from that point of view. But I persisted with it and as it turned out overall it wasnt that bad at all. Yes, as stated before, the production and the session players were severely lacking but I tend to think they were only following orders from Freddie and what he wanted to hear and maybe not showing their own input as Brian, John and Roger would have done. Upon listening to the album again, some of the songs have not dated well but others have been as bad as I first remembered them. Ouch, that last part of your post. Lol I have to be in the right frame of mind to listen to Mr. Bad Guy. Like you said, I would rather hear stuff like LOML, YTMBA, and DSMN...but Freddie was way past that by this point. And we all know he only liked looking forward, and at the time, this was the future for him. Still, I like the record. I suppose it was a necessary stepping stone that eventually led to Barcelona, which was a complete change in direction! I recall Jim Beach saying Freddie was already moving on before he had even finished Mr. Bad Guy. I suspect he might have known the album wasn't all he had hoped it to be and was already thinking of how to do it better next time.
Yeah I remember that quote by Jim Beach, which makes me wonder why Freddie would then send out a substandard product (by his and Queen's standards at the time). Maybe the record company pushed him hard to get the product out.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Oct 30, 2020 19:15:20 GMT
Ouch, that last part of your post. Lol I have to be in the right frame of mind to listen to Mr. Bad Guy. Like you said, I would rather hear stuff like LOML, YTMBA, and DSMN...but Freddie was way past that by this point. And we all know he only liked looking forward, and at the time, this was the future for him. Still, I like the record. I suppose it was a necessary stepping stone that eventually led to Barcelona, which was a complete change in direction! I recall Jim Beach saying Freddie was already moving on before he had even finished Mr. Bad Guy. I suspect he might have known the album wasn't all he had hoped it to be and was already thinking of how to do it better next time.
Yeah I remember that quote by Jim Beach, which makes me wonder why Freddie would then send out a substandard product (by his and Queen's standards at the time). Maybe the record company pushed him hard to get the product out.
Nah - Mercury was working on it for about a year, and they advanced him plenty of cash. It's all on him.
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Post by Mr Mercury on Oct 31, 2020 12:00:11 GMT
Yeah I remember that quote by Jim Beach, which makes me wonder why Freddie would then send out a substandard product (by his and Queen's standards at the time). Maybe the record company pushed him hard to get the product out.
Nah - Mercury was working on it for about a year, and they advanced him plenty of cash. It's all on him.
Ok I'll go with that. Not his finest decision
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Frank
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Post by Frank on Oct 31, 2020 12:08:02 GMT
The man was a god walking among us. But not a perfect god.
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Post by angusscrimm on Nov 2, 2020 22:34:46 GMT
Just listening to some of the demos and out-takes from the solo box. Really love the different takes of Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow.
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Jake12
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Post by Jake12 on Nov 3, 2020 15:33:34 GMT
Just listening to some of the demos and out-takes from the solo box. Really love the different takes of Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow. Defiantly my favorite song from the album and was even better to have 4 takes of the song in the solo box
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Post by Doughnut on Nov 3, 2020 17:17:44 GMT
I think he grew bored of doing Mr Bad Guy . I’m sure Jim B has said this . He moved on pretty quickly after it came out with not so much as a backwards glance .
I like it but I do also think it’s a tad cheesy .
I particularly like Love Kills
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Post by The Real Wizard on Nov 3, 2020 21:19:32 GMT
I think he grew bored of doing Mr Bad Guy Most musicians are sick of their albums by the mixing stage, but you gotta persevere.
It doesn't excuse the man who wrote Bohemian Rhapsody for making a poor album when he had a huge cash advance and all the time in the world. He was just lazy.
Most artists have their lulls, and this period was his.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Nov 3, 2020 22:25:59 GMT
I think he grew bored of doing Mr Bad Guy Most musicians are sick of their albums by the mixing stage, but you gotta persevere.
It doesn't excuse the man who wrote Bohemian Rhapsody for making a poor album when he had a huge cash advance and all the time in the world. He was just lazy. Most artists have their lulls, and this period was his. absolutely. between 82-86 you could count Freddie's good songs on the digits of one foot of a three-toed sloth
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2020 12:49:22 GMT
To be fair, I think many of his compositions in that era were good songs but mediocre recordings. 'Staying Power', for instance, or even 'Body Language', can be musically interesting, but the emphasis on synths and machines resulted in glorified demo level at best.
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georg
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Post by georg on Nov 4, 2020 18:23:22 GMT
To be fair, I think many of his compositions in that era were good songs but mediocre recordings. 'Staying Power', for instance, or even 'Body Language', can be musically interesting, but the emphasis on synths and machines resulted in glorified demo level at best. This has always been my problem with Mr Bad Guy, and one that I think Never Boring tried to rectify, which I think it worked somewhat well.
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Post by Doughnut on Nov 4, 2020 19:51:27 GMT
Most musicians are sick of their albums by the mixing stage, but you gotta persevere.
It doesn't excuse the man who wrote Bohemian Rhapsody for making a poor album when he had a huge cash advance and all the time in the world. He was just lazy. Most artists have their lulls, and this period was his. absolutely. between 82-86 you could count Freddie's good songs on the digits of one foot of a three-toed sloth Lazy and busy enjoying himself .
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Post by The Real Wizard on Nov 5, 2020 5:00:55 GMT
To be fair, I think many of his compositions in that era were good songs but mediocre recordings. 'Staying Power', for instance, or even 'Body Language', can be musically interesting, but the emphasis on synths and machines resulted in glorified demo level at best. "Good" songs aren't good enough when compared to his 1974-77 output, which was fantastic and paradigm shifting.
Arrangement can only go so far. If a pop-oriented song doesn't have a great melody, there isn't much to work with. You can't dress up a turd with oregano and golden beads - it's still a turd.
But you do have a point about Staying Power - Extreme's live version with the horns shows the potential of how great it could've been.
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Post by soundfreak1 on Apr 30, 2021 14:05:57 GMT
To be fair, I think many of his compositions in that era were good songs but mediocre recordings. 'Staying Power', for instance, or even 'Body Language', can be musically interesting, but the emphasis on synths and machines resulted in glorified demo level at best. I don't like the sound they created on "Hot Space" and also Freddie on "Mr. Bad Guy". But I think the reason is simply "Munic". When Freddie was living there in the early 80s, it was the time of a new german music wave labelled "Neue Deutsche Welle" (New german wave).
It was a variety of sounds and styles, often very basic from simple electronic to rock - the connection was, that for the first time in post-war Germany young bands rediscovered the german language for popmusic. Those songs were played everywhere, also in the clubs. Freddie could not escape....
Here are two examples from around 81, that Freddie will have heard in the clubs. And you may understand the choice of sound for example in "Living on my own"
First is a band called DAF
The second is a more naive act with a song called "Fred vom Jupiter" (Fred from Jupiter) and I'm pretty convinced, that someone has played that to "Fred from Mercury"....
When Freddie's "Bad Guy" finally appeared, the peak of that "wave" was already over, making his album sound dated even when it was new....
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Apr 30, 2021 15:07:19 GMT
I don't like the sound they created on "Hot Space" and also Freddie on "Mr. Bad Guy". But I think the reason is simply "Munic". When Freddie was living there in the early 80s, it was the time of a new german music wave labelled "Neue Deutsche Welle" (New german wave). i think you've made a great point. for me the argument comes down to one question: Why did the singer in the band that produced a widely-panned album like HS, think that the exact same feel and sound for his own solo project - 3 years later? either he thought: ♦ the objectors were wrong, or ♦ he'd forgotten all about his Milton Keynes Hot Space Apology, or ♦ he wasn't in touch with the times as he thought he was, or ♦ he was arrogant enough to think fans would lap up any old tat - if it had his name on it. weird though, that even Rock Gods can hang out in really cool places for years and the coolness - and what it's all about - just doesn't register on their radar. i suppose that legend and cool are allowed to be mutually exclusive, after all.
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Apr 30, 2021 16:56:13 GMT
I don't like the sound they created on "Hot Space" and also Freddie on "Mr. Bad Guy". But I think the reason is simply "Munic". When Freddie was living there in the early 80s, it was the time of a new german music wave labelled "Neue Deutsche Welle" (New german wave). i think you've made a great point. for me the argument comes down to one question: Why did the singer in the band that produced a widely-panned album like HS, think that the exact same feel and sound for his own solo project - 3 years later? either he thought: ♦ the objectors were wrong, or ♦ he'd forgotten all about his Milton Keynes Hot Space Apology, or ♦ he wasn't in touch with the times as he thought he was, or ♦ he was arrogant enough to think fans would lap up any old tat - if it had his name on it. weird though, that even Rock Gods can hang out in really cool places for years and the coolness - and what it's all about - just doesn't register on their radar. i suppose that legend and cool are allowed to be mutually exclusive, after all. I think there may have been a certain amount of arrogance, kind of "Well if the band doesn't like it I'll go it alone", but also, I wonder if he was thinking that the band was on the verge of splitting and thought he would take the first step towards creating a solo career?
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Post by soundfreak1 on May 1, 2021 10:23:03 GMT
From today's point of view we know, that "Hot Space" is the Queen-album, that hasn't stood the test of time.
But in 1982 it sold quite well, most any other band could have dreamed of having a top 5 album all over the world. And also a No 22 in America also wasn't too bad in those days...
So I can imagine, that Freddie was still convinced about the dance oriented sound, while accepting, that it's not the right thing for the band and a huge part of the Queen audience. In 1983 Michael Jackson came with "Thriller" and also Bowie with "Let's dance", his commercially most successful album (although artistically most others were superior...). This may also have inspired Freddie to follow that path.
And when Queen "returned" with "Radio Gaga", even that was closer to "Hot Space" than the songs on "Greatest Hits 1"....
"Change" was an important thing for most every artist in the 60s and 70s. Once you did a successful album, the next one had to be different. "Queen" were even critisized in the 70s for doing "A night at the Opera 2" called "A Day at the Races"....
With the sole exception of "AC DC" most every huge act surviving several decades did constantly change and try new things. Beatles...Pink Floyd...Bowie...even ABBA
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on May 1, 2021 10:56:23 GMT
From today's point of view we know, that "Hot Space" is the Queen-album, that hasn't stood the test of time.
But in 1982 it sold quite well, most any other band could have dreamed of having a top 5 album all over the world. And also a No 22 in America also wasn't too bad in those days...
So I can imagine, that Freddie was still convinced about the dance oriented sound, while accepting, that it's not the right thing for the band and a huge part of the Queen audience. In 1983 Michael Jackson came with "Thriller" and also Bowie with "Let's dance", his commercially most successful album (although artistically most others were superior...). This may also have inspired Freddie to follow that path.
And when Queen "returned" with "Radio Gaga", even that was closer to "Hot Space" than the songs on "Greatest Hits 1"....
"Change" was an important thing for most every artist in the 60s and 70s. Once you did a successful album, the next one had to be different. "Queen" were even critisized in the 70s for doing "A night at the Opera 2" called "A Day at the Races"....
With the sole exception of "AC DC" most every huge act surviving several decades did constantly change and try new things. Beatles...Pink Floyd...Bowie...even ABBA
That's all very true - one other exception, of course, being Status Quo. I think the other problem with Hot Space was that it followed Flash Gordon, and Queen fans in general were hankering for another 'proper' rock album. It was nearly four years between The Game and The Works, and I don't think I was a lone fan in the wilderness to feel that the band had lost their way at that time. I always hoped for an album which returned to the standard of the 70s output, but, for me, it never came. There were always flashes of brilliance in their mid 80s onwards albums, but also a lot of dross.
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Post by soundfreak1 on May 1, 2021 11:16:52 GMT
How could I forget Status Quo....
I remember "Under Pressure" being released in October 81 and that sounded very exciting. I was jobbing for a record chain then (got a promo...) and the guy from the record company "knew", that there was a complete "Bowie/Queen" album in the making. And as I like Bowie also very much, I was really excited.
And then it took half a year and we got a promo cassette with an american DJ introducing...."Hot Space"...no trace of Bowie. That was a let-down for me....
By now we know, that there might have been some truth behind that rumour cause of "Cool Cat", but even Bowie couldn't rescue that song....
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oreno
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Post by oreno on May 1, 2021 12:39:53 GMT
From today's point of view we know, that "Hot Space" is the Queen-album, that hasn't stood the test of time.
But in 1982 it sold quite well, most any other band could have dreamed of having a top 5 album all over the world. And also a No 22 in America also wasn't too bad in those days...
So I can imagine, that Freddie was still convinced about the dance oriented sound, while accepting, that it's not the right thing for the band and a huge part of the Queen audience. In 1983 Michael Jackson came with "Thriller" and also Bowie with "Let's dance", his commercially most successful album (although artistically most others were superior...). This may also have inspired Freddie to follow that path.
And when Queen "returned" with "Radio Gaga", even that was closer to "Hot Space" than the songs on "Greatest Hits 1"....
"Change" was an important thing for most every artist in the 60s and 70s. Once you did a successful album, the next one had to be different. "Queen" were even critisized in the 70s for doing "A night at the Opera 2" called "A Day at the Races"....
With the sole exception of "AC DC" most every huge act surviving several decades did constantly change and try new things. Beatles...Pink Floyd...Bowie...even ABBA
Great stuff. So so often with Queen and Freddie's 80s stuff, what gets missed is context. Everyone seems determined to compare A Day at the Races and Hot Space, which is just insane, and tells us nothing. When the BBC were repeating the 80s Top of the Pops shows, there were many insights into what was actually happening around the times of Hot Space, The Works, Mr Bad Guy. Not one of those records sounded out of place, though admittedly Hot Space's dance influences were a little more underground. But to read a lot of people's comments you'd think no one else used drum machines in the 1980s. People forget too easily that Queen actually existed at a moment in time, responding to what was around them, trying "new sounds", wanting to stay fresh on each new album. If Mr Bad Guy had come out in 1989, it would have sounded old hat. But then if Bohemian Rhapsody had come out in 1979, snap. Context!
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on May 1, 2021 16:01:15 GMT
"Change" was an important thing for most every artist in the 60s and 70s. Once you did a successful album, the next one had to be different. "Queen" were even critisized in the 70s for doing "A night at the Opera 2" called "A Day at the Races".... i don't recall that criticism - and i am old enough to remember the 70s. Much as ADATR "may" be considered "Opera 2" by some, it really isn't is it? the songs sound more evolved and mature. the band were producing themselves. Races - although retaining much of the classic sound of the previous 4 LPs, is the transitional album in Queen's development. Although I've always thought of Jazz and Queen's "Rubber Soul" - Races is the Queen's first steps into new territory.
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on May 1, 2021 16:46:55 GMT
"Change" was an important thing for most every artist in the 60s and 70s. Once you did a successful album, the next one had to be different. "Queen" were even critisized in the 70s for doing "A night at the Opera 2" called "A Day at the Races".... i don't recall that criticism - and i am old enough to remember the 70s. Much as ADATR "may" be considered "Opera 2" by some, it really isn't is it? the songs sound more evolved and mature. the band were producing themselves. Races - although retaining much of the classic sound of the previous 4 LPs, is the transitional album in Queen's development. Although I've always thought of Jazz and Queen's "Rubber Soul" - Races is the Queen's first steps into new territory. Agreed. Well, about ADATR, anyway. Never heard Rubber Soul so can't make the comparison. I remember my first play of ADATR back in 1976, and feeling a little disappointed that there were no long songs on it, and none of the tracks were blended together, which was kind of a Queen trademark up to then. But now, it's probably my overall favourite Queen album, with NOTW very close behind.
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Post by soundfreak1 on May 1, 2021 18:29:52 GMT
"Change" was an important thing for most every artist in the 60s and 70s. Once you did a successful album, the next one had to be different. "Queen" were even critisized in the 70s for doing "A night at the Opera 2" called "A Day at the Races".... i don't recall that criticism - and i am old enough to remember the 70s. Much as ADATR "may" be considered "Opera 2" by some, it really isn't is it? the songs sound more evolved and mature. the band were producing themselves. Races - although retaining much of the classic sound of the previous 4 LPs, is the transitional album in Queen's development. Although I've always thought of Jazz and Queen's "Rubber Soul" - Races is the Queen's first steps into new territory. Depending where you live things may have been different. But this criticism was a "natural thing", cause even the cover was an invitation to compare both albums. Fans of course notice a difference, less overdubs, a bit more basic. But for many this was an album following the formula of the successfull "Opera". Even today you still find that kind of criticism, this is just an example:
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on May 1, 2021 21:59:06 GMT
i don't recall that criticism - and i am old enough to remember the 70s. Much as ADATR "may" be considered "Opera 2" by some, it really isn't is it? the songs sound more evolved and mature. the band were producing themselves. Races - although retaining much of the classic sound of the previous 4 LPs, is the transitional album in Queen's development. Although I've always thought of Jazz and Queen's "Rubber Soul" - Races is the Queen's first steps into new territory. Depending where you live things may have been different. But this criticism was a "natural thing", cause even the cover was an invitation to compare both albums. Fans of course notice a difference, less overdubs, a bit more basic. But for many this was an album following the formula of the successfull "Opera". Even today you still find that kind of criticism, this is just an example:
well yes, your point is correct in that the album is considered a sequel (by some) - the continuance of the Marx Brothers' movie title theme, being the best example. But, as I said: although some considered Race a sequel - that was just the cop-out, the easy "leap" to make. call it lazy journalism or just conclusion jumping Myself, i prefer to dig a little deeper than the obvious and not accept everything some pretentious little tw*t may have written for one of the Music mags. i think everything we really need to see is all there hiding in plain sight: ♦ the content: it's all much more Real World - adult, grown up stuff - the myth, and fairies, and fantasy stuff is firmly in the rearview mirror. Opera - was a swansong to the youthful stage of the band with Prophet Song, '39, Bo Rhap signing off their "formative era" with a bang! ♦ the use of the black/white distinction in the two covers - a very definite statement, that this is "still going to sound like the band, but it's really nothing like the last album" - in much the same way that Queen II's Side White/Black are poles apart in every conceivable manner - the same applies to Opera/Races. Races is the grown up older brother, with a different ideas and outlooks on life. ♦ “We just felt that, for this one, we needed a bit of a change,” - Freddie Mercury [1977] and finally, as if proof were needed: ♦ to discover the mature aspect of Races (compared to Opera) we need look no further than the album cover - there's a very clear statement there. every character on the Races cover (their birth signs) appear much, much more than a year older ► the Phoenix, has gained coloured feathers, the lions definitely look older - one is now grey! grass has now grown, the crab looks older, the nymphs...well they're no longer nymphs are they? and there's the small matter of the Crown - Queen's maturity is confirmed - with a Coronation. - the statement is clear: "look we've grown up" the fact of the matter is that: for two supposed stable-mate LPs, you couldn't get two more disparate recordings.
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Post by soundfreak1 on May 2, 2021 9:14:00 GMT
Depending where you live things may have been different. But this criticism was a "natural thing", cause even the cover was an invitation to compare both albums. Fans of course notice a difference, less overdubs, a bit more basic. But for many this was an album following the formula of the successfull "Opera". Even today you still find that kind of criticism, this is just an example:
well yes, your point is correct in that the album is considered a sequel (by some) - the continuance of the Marx Brothers' movie title theme, being the best example. But, as I said: although some considered Race a sequel - that was just the cop-out, the easy "leap" to make. call it lazy journalism or just conclusion jumping Myself, i prefer to dig a little deeper than the obvious and not accept everything some pretentious little tw*t may have written for one of the Music mags. i think everything we really need to see is all there hiding in plain sight: ♦ the content: it's all much more Real World - adult, grown up stuff - the myth, and fairies, and fantasy stuff is firmly in the rearview mirror. Opera - was a swansong to the youthful stage of the band with Prophet Song, '39, Bo Rhap signing off their "formative era" with a bang! ♦ the use of the black/white distinction in the two covers - a very definite statement, that this is "still going to sound like the band, but it's really nothing like the last album" - in much the same way that Queen II's Side White/Black are poles apart in every conceivable manner - the same applies to Opera/Races. Races is the grown up older brother, with a different ideas and outlooks on life. ♦ “We just felt that, for this one, we needed a bit of a change,” - Freddie Mercury [1977] and finally, as if proof were needed: ♦ to discover the mature aspect of Races (compared to Opera) we need look no further than the album cover - there's a very clear statement there. every character on the Races cover (their birth signs) appear much, much more than a year older ► the Phoenix, has gained coloured feathers, the lions definitely look older - one is now grey! grass has now grown, the crab looks older, the nymphs...well they're no longer nymphs are they? and there's the small matter of the Crown - Queen's maturity is confirmed - with a Coronation. - the statement is clear: "look we've grown up" the fact of the matter is that: for two supposed stable-mate LPs, you couldn't get two more disparate recordings. The great thing about art is, that you can read into it whatever you want. Even if the artist had a completely different intention or even no intention at all.
So for you those two albums are extremely different. For others they are extremely similar. There is no right or wrong. Even "Queen" offered different opinions over the years...
For me "Races" has stood the test of time a little better, especially soundwise, as it is a bit nearer to their live-sound.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on May 2, 2021 9:28:41 GMT
The great thing about art is, that you can read into it whatever you want. Even if the artist had a completely different intention or even no intention at all. absolutely. but i'd contend that there's a whole world of difference between the subjectivity of the observer, and the indisputability of the image content. there's no comparison between the covers of Opera and Races: we may have differing views about the use of opposite black vs white backgrounds to reflect the difference of the albums themselves, and the appearance of the crown - I'll admit are both subjective points. Opera's Crest matured (slightly) from that used for II in '74 - the characters now have colour and have been fleshed out - they're intrinsically the same characters, but the addition of colour is the first step in evolution. it's how artists turn their sketches into watercolours and oils - the band are saying, "we're growing up." Looking at the Races cover: the change from Opera to Races is a huge leap (compared to II > Opera) every living thing on the Races cover has matured. rather than growing up, the band have now grown up. So for you those two albums are extremely different. For others they are extremely similar. There is no right or wrong. but there are several aspects that make the album very different (and better) for me: ♦ sonically it's a whole new experience ♦ the songs are more mature - the fantasy themes and epics being dispensed with in favour of earth-bound subject matter. ♦ the band taking control of production themselves - that's a grown-up move for any band. as for the whole "sequel thing": lest we forget - it was Queen's eternal hate-mob at Rolling Stone who said it was: "a little too predictable" and called it "a quickie sequel to Opera."
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Frank
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Post by Frank on May 2, 2021 15:37:26 GMT
I have to agree that some of the songs are more grounded on ADATR. The subject matter is more direct. The Millionaire Waltz is often compared to Bohemian Rhapsody in terms of deviating from pop structure, but whereas Bohemian Rhapsody is largely a mystery left to the perspectives of its listeners, The Millionaire Waltz is fairly straight forward lyrically. According to my sources, we even know it's about John Reid. However, I would point out that ANATO also had elements of ADATR -- lyrically, You're My Best Friend and You And I are very similar and very relatable. I prefer You And I, but that's not because I think it's musically any more mature than You're My Best Friend. It's just different.
In my opinion, ADATR is the superior album. I think it holds together incredibly well and has a certain atmosphere that's unique from any other album -- perhaps that's the maturity.
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Post by The Real Wizard on May 2, 2021 18:47:58 GMT
From today's point of view we know, that "Hot Space" is the Queen-album, that hasn't stood the test of time.
But in 1982 it sold quite well, most any other band could have dreamed of having a top 5 album all over the world. And also a No 22 in America also wasn't too bad in those days... The Game went 4x platinum in the US and Hot Space only went gold. That #22 spot on the charts was almost certainly on advance sales alone primed by the success of The Game. It cannot be understated what a colossal flop this album was.
Great point about Munich !
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Post by The Real Wizard on May 2, 2021 18:55:47 GMT
People forget too easily that Queen actually existed at a moment in time, responding to what was around them, trying "new sounds", wanting to stay fresh on each new album. If Mr Bad Guy had come out in 1989, it would have sounded old hat. But then if Bohemian Rhapsody had come out in 1979, snap. Indeed - timing is everything. You can bet your left nut that had BoRhap been submitted to every major label in 1979 as a demo, it would've been rejected. By then FM radio was also about playlists and ad revenue just like AM had been. Between 1977-79 the business model completely changed.
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