Best Songwriter in Queen
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Topic: Best Songwriter in Queen
Posted By: geneyesontle
Subject: Best Songwriter in Queen
Date Posted: August 13 2012 at 12:21
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What I always loved about Queen is that every member wrote songs. They were all accomplished songwriters. Now it's time for you to choose who is the best: Freddie Mercury: The main songwriter of the band, who was very theatrical but always wanted to do something different with every song. Styles differ in each of his songs. From heavy metal in "Ogre Battle" and "Death on Two Legs" to ballads in "Somebody To Love" to the most popular rock opera song to this day "Bohemian Rhapsody", his songs were always different. Brian May: The guitarist who can write very heavy stuff (Sweet Lady, Tie Your Mother Down) to folk (39', Some Day One Day) to progressive rock (Father To Son, Prophet's Song). He was the other main songwriter. Roger Taylor: The drummer who was the most personal songwriter in the band (I'm In Love With My Car, Radio GaGa (who came with something his son said)). John Deacon: The secret weapon in the band, who wrote some of the band's biggest hits (You're My Best Friend, Another One Bites The Dust, I Want To Break Free). ------------- Poseidon wants to Acquire the Taste of the Fragile Lamb - Derek Adrian Gabriel Anderson, singer of the band Geneyesontle |
Replies:
Posted By: HolyMoly
Date Posted: August 13 2012 at 12:29
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I was a huge fan back in high school, and it was always Roger's songs that I looked forward to the most. He was kind of my hero for a while. I think I remember making a mixed tape of just Roger Taylor songs. He only had 1 or 2 songs per album, but I always loved them. Freddie and Brian were probably "best" - more prolific, certainly, and more central to the Queen sound -- but I'm giving my vote to Rog. ------------- My other avatar is a Porsche It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased. -Kehlog Albran |
Posted By: smartpatrol
Date Posted: August 13 2012 at 12:41
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That's a tough one. John Deacon, with Mercury not far behind ------------- http://bit.ly/1kqTR8y" rel="nofollow">  The greatest record label of all time! |
Posted By: Hercules
Date Posted: August 13 2012 at 12:48
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May, just ahead of Mercury with Deacon third.
I don't like Roger Taylor's songs much. ------------- A TVR is not a car. It's a way of life. |
Posted By: The Truth
Date Posted: August 13 2012 at 12:56
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I like a ton of Brian's stuff, and the man did write '39. I think I'll vote for him.
------------- http://blindpoetrecords.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow">  
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Posted By: Wanorak
Date Posted: August 13 2012 at 13:04
All good sonwriters, but I'll go with Freddie  ------------- A GREAT YEAR FOR PROG!!! |
Posted By: Moogtron III
Date Posted: August 13 2012 at 13:47
Well said; me too |
Wanorak wrote:Posted By: Gallifrey
Date Posted: August 13 2012 at 14:33
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Ogre Battle, March of the Black Queen and Bohemian Rhapsody are all in my top 10 songs of all time, so Freddy for me. ------------- http://thedarkthird.bandcamp.com/ |
Posted By: thellama73
Date Posted: August 13 2012 at 14:54
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I have always been a fan of May (not to disparage Mercury, who also wrote many of my favorites by the band.) The Prophet's Song, 39, Fat Bottomed Girls, Hammer To Fall, It's Late (especially It's Late), I Want It All, Who Wants To Live Forever, We Will Rock You, Keep Yourself Alive, She Makes Me (Stormtrooper In Stillettos) the list goes on and on. I really like his mellow singing voice too. ------------- 
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Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: August 13 2012 at 15:27
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^Everything you said. I'm amazed that everyone in that band could write a good song, play an instrument well, and 3/4 had very good singing voices. ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: HarbouringTheSoul
Date Posted: August 13 2012 at 17:33
| Not the world's biggest Queen fan, but most of my favorites were written by Mercury. |
Posted By: Earthmover
Date Posted: August 13 2012 at 18:02
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I don't like Queen, but I love Brian May, so it's easy for me. -------------  |
Posted By: The Doctor
Date Posted: August 13 2012 at 18:22
I've always enjoyed May's writing the most. Mercury has also written some great stuff too, but he had some real clunkers in there, like Delilah or Body Language.  I also enjoyed Taylor's writing quite a bit as well. Aside from a few songs, was never a huge fan of Deacon's songwriting (Spread Your Wings notwithstanding).
------------- I can understand your anger at me, but what did the horse I rode in on ever do to you? |
Posted By: thellama73
Date Posted: August 13 2012 at 19:04
Deacon's songwriting (with a couple of exceptions) always struck me as rather trite and obvious. The songs aren't bad, but I always felt like I had heard them done before. I'm not the hugest fan of Taylor either (Rock It(Prime Jive) is so bad that it wraps around to be good again) but at least he was original. -------------
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Posted By: geneyesontle
Date Posted: August 13 2012 at 22:19
Steve, what are your favorite Roger Taylor songs. If I had to pick one, it is this one: What about you ? ------------- Poseidon wants to Acquire the Taste of the Fragile Lamb - Derek Adrian Gabriel Anderson, singer of the band Geneyesontle |
Posted By: UMUR
Date Posted: August 14 2012 at 01:30
Freddie ------------- http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/" rel="nofollow - Metal Music Archives https://rateyourmusic.com/~UMUR" rel="nofollow - UMUR on RYM |
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: August 14 2012 at 02:39
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I like the songs of Brian May and Roger Taylor, but I cannot vote for anyone but Freddie Mercury: he wrote Bohemian Rhapsody and Innuendo. ------------- 
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Posted By: The Doctor
Date Posted: August 14 2012 at 07:24
Actually, while Freddie played a large role in the song, Innuendo wasn't quite his song, the way Bohemian Rhapsody was. The music was based on a jam between the other three members which Freddie molded into a song and the lyrics were mostly Roger's. @llama - I agree with you on Deacon. Most of his stuff seemed rather generic. Roger did write a lot of songs I loved though - Drowse, Sheer Heart Attack, Human Body, A Kind of Magic, the lyrics to One Vision and Innuendo, Breakthrough, Invisible Man, and so on. I will admit though that Rock It was not his best work. Why it made it to the album and Human Body (a much better song) was relegated to a b-side I'll never know. ------------- I can understand your anger at me, but what did the horse I rode in on ever do to you? |
Posted By: someone_else
Date Posted: August 14 2012 at 07:32
I never knew this. It seemed to my ears that Innuendo has all the features of Mercury's songwriting. -------------
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Posted By: antonyus
Date Posted: August 14 2012 at 08:20
| freddie for me ! |
Posted By: geneyesontle
Date Posted: August 14 2012 at 08:44
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Do I have to do a list of Freddie's best songwriting moments with Queen: Some will say that it's just a pop song. It's Pop perfection. And the list goes on and on ------------- Poseidon wants to Acquire the Taste of the Fragile Lamb - Derek Adrian Gabriel Anderson, singer of the band Geneyesontle |
Posted By: HarbouringTheSoul
Date Posted: August 14 2012 at 11:06
There is no such thing as "just" a pop song. |
Posted By: deckard33
Date Posted: August 14 2012 at 14:27
Exactly the same for me ! I have my special Roger's songs playlist. My favourite ones are Tenement Fuster and I'm in love with my car. Every sunday morning when I see my neighbours washing their car, I have this little tune in the head ... |
Posted By: JS19
Date Posted: August 14 2012 at 15:31
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It's May. No question. ------------- 
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Posted By: Equality 7-2521
Date Posted: August 14 2012 at 15:35
Drowse is such a monster of a song. I would add I'm in Love with My Car. I've always loved that silly slong. ------------- "One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. " |
Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: August 14 2012 at 18:38
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Hmmm...when people list "Ogre Battle" as a great instance of Mercury's songwriting, I would say that it wouldn't be much of anything without the violence of Brian May's guitar. Same thing with "Stone Cold Crazy" or "Brighton Rock". I mean, even a hit song written by Mercury like "Killer Queen" would be not so great without Brian May's loopy guitar leads using an English penny as a pick.
Two favorites of mine from May are"'39" and "Good Company", but it's really a tough call though, as Mercury was far more prolific.
Bah, I'll go with May simply to be difficult. ------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: August 14 2012 at 19:35
That does it for me. Innuendo is probably my favourite song from Queen... though I might just as well say the same thing about Bohemian Rhapsody. The only problem, is that I only know their greatest hits, haven't gotten into their discography. I thought I liked enough from the hits, but there were many songs I didn't like so much and didn't want to spend money on their whole discography. Though lately I've been curious about getting their earlier albums, up to a Night at the Opera, I guess. |
Posted By: geneyesontle
Date Posted: August 14 2012 at 19:45
Ogre Battle was written by Freddie on guitar. ------------- Poseidon wants to Acquire the Taste of the Fragile Lamb - Derek Adrian Gabriel Anderson, singer of the band Geneyesontle |
Posted By: thellama73
Date Posted: August 14 2012 at 20:10
I generally like their album tracks better than their hits, especially the first two albums that don't really have any hits. -------------
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Posted By: KingCrInuYasha
Date Posted: August 14 2012 at 20:48
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Toss up between Mercury and May.
------------- He looks at this world and wants it all... so he strikes, like Thunderball! |
Posted By: Bosh66
Date Posted: August 15 2012 at 02:26
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My first rock and roll love. This band got me into heavy rock, metal and prog, many many moons ago.
The only songwriter I'm not a great fan of was Deacon. Someone on this thread noted that there's no such thing as "just a pop song". Well there is, and that's what Deacon wrote. As to who's best. Taylor wrote some great stuff including the magnificent Drowse, but it's got to be a toss-up between Fred and Brian. What I would say is that most of the great stuff they wrote worked mainly because of the input of the other (and of John and Roger). Ogre Battle or Black Queen were made by Brian's guitar, and the immense It's Late by an unbelievable vocal from Freddie. That's why (even with the nonesence like Don't Try So Hard and Back Chat ) this band worked, but didn't hit the same level with the great Paul Rodgers on board. On balance though, my vote goes to Mr Farrokh Bulsara.
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Posted By: Gerinski
Date Posted: August 15 2012 at 03:20
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Brian wrote plenty of amazing songs but Freddie in his prime was more original, more "musician" in a broad sense.
Brian wrote more using the rock idiom while Freddie wrote more as a pre-rock musician, introducing all those elements from classical, Sinatra standards, cabaret, dixieland, big band, swing etc.
While Brian was a huge pillar of the Queen sound, Freddie contributed more than any other to the uniqueness of Queen's musicality, with songs like My Fairy King, Nevermore, March Of The Black Queen, Killer Queen, Lily Of The Valley, In The Lap Of The Gods (both parts), Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon, Seaside Rendezvous, Love Of My Life, Bohemian, You Take My Breath Away, Millionaire Waltz, Somebody To Love, Good Old Fashioned Loverboy, My Melancholy Blues etc.
Queen made a lot of great rock and pop-rock songs, including several by Deacon and Taylor, but it was songs like those above by Freddie that for me made Queen an unrepeatable band, not following the paths explored by other prog bands and yet reaching beyond the rock musical idiom, which is also a kind of progressiveness in my book.
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Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: August 15 2012 at 20:53
And yet he did not play any of the guitar on the recording. That was all May. It's one thing to come up with the riff, it's entirely another playing it like May did. ------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: DiamondDog
Date Posted: August 31 2012 at 06:16
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None of the members of Queen were particularly great songwriters, just OK ish. The best song was Radio Gaga, most complete and flowing. Freddie was amazingly old-fashioned in his writing, almost vaudeville - it was strange to hear such a powerful and rocking band batter those songs into something that passed as "rockified". Some of their most anthemic 'songs' were banal and repetitive, perhaps ideal for crowd-singing beer-swilling karaoke fodder. A great band, fine musicians, but songwriters? - never.
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Posted By: irrelevant
Date Posted: August 31 2012 at 07:24
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^ I disagree. All were good songwriters except for Taylor IMO. ------------- https://gabebuller.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow - New album! http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7385" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7385 |
Posted By: thellama73
Date Posted: August 31 2012 at 07:43
I apologize for the assumption if it's wrong, but it sounds like you have only heard their greatest hits based on your comment. I assume the anthemic song you are referring to is We Will Rock You, which I agree doesn't have much to it. But how can you say songs like It's Late, White Queen, The Prophet's Song, '39, Love of My Life, etc. aren't well written? -------------
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Posted By: Terra Australis
Date Posted: August 31 2012 at 07:43
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Freddie Mercury then Brian May
------------- Allomerus. Music with progressive intent. http://allomerus.bandcamp.com" rel="nofollow - http://allomerus.bandcamp.com |
Posted By: Theriver
Date Posted: August 31 2012 at 09:58
| Freddie Mercury was a better songwriter i think. A lot of imagination. |
Posted By: DiamondDog
Date Posted: August 31 2012 at 14:10
We are all entitled to our opinion and we can agree to disagree.
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Posted By: DiamondDog
Date Posted: August 31 2012 at 14:13
No need to apologise, but nice of you to take the precaution of saying so. I have heard most of their songs, and I stand by my comments. Too many people are fooled by the production and often-excellent musicianship, strip all that away and though the songs are never bad, they are often average or non-songs. (IMO)!
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Posted By: tupan
Date Posted: August 31 2012 at 15:14
I like them all as songwriters... Well, Roger Taylor I don't like that much... ------------- "Prog is Not Dead and never has been." (Will Sergeant, from Echo And The Bunnymen) |
Posted By: Bitterblogger
Date Posted: September 02 2012 at 13:57
| Mercury had the best lyrics.May has the best riffs. |
Posted By: skorziks
Date Posted: September 02 2012 at 15:27
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Freddie
------------- The ice cream lady wet her drawers to see you in the passion play. |
Posted By: JeanFrame
Date Posted: September 03 2012 at 04:30
| marvellous musicians who made great records. Not so sure about the quality of the songs though. |
Posted By: Libor10
Date Posted: September 03 2012 at 05:57
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I love Brian May and his guitar work, but Freddie was probably better songwriter. On the other side, as somebody here said before, without Brian guitar would be some FM songs not so good. And thus my vote goes to Brian (for his Father To Son, White Queen, '39, The Prophet's Song, Teo Torriate, Dead On Time, Dreamers Ball, Dragon Attack, Who Wants To Live Forever etc). And they WERE good songwriters, some of their songs are very clever built with great harmonies and with hard studio work. Maybe they didn't use too complex metrics in their songs, but it's only rock'n'roll, isn't it?
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Posted By: resurrection
Date Posted: September 03 2012 at 11:30
| Musicians, an emphatic "yes"; songwriters? Just OK or half-decent. |
Posted By: cqc19_genesis
Date Posted: September 03 2012 at 11:51
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the best band ever... difficult, but i vote for Freddie finally.. but May follows closely, and Taylor/Deacon made great songs also!
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Posted By: Gerinski
Date Posted: September 03 2012 at 15:24
Funny, I would have said just the opposite (well to be precise, good musicians "yes" but "most than anything else good songwriters").
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Posted By: cstack3
Date Posted: September 03 2012 at 17:23
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No one seems to remember the amazing first Qiueen album! For "Liar" and "Seven Seas of Rye," it must be Freddie. Remarkable band....and remember, "No synthesizers" (at least not at first).
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Posted By: The Doctor
Date Posted: September 03 2012 at 17:51
My favorites on the album are the May and Taylor tracks, Son and Daughter is awesome, Doin' All Right is cool too (although I actually like the Smile version with Roger and Tim's vocals better), and Modern Times Rock 'n Roll is a classic. The Mercury songs, with the exception of Liar, I found kind of meh. ------------- I can understand your anger at me, but what did the horse I rode in on ever do to you? |
Posted By: clarke2001
Date Posted: September 03 2012 at 23:16
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Each one of them was great in their own right. My vote (today) goes to Roger, the raw rocker among them. I also love his voice. ------------- |
Posted By: JeanFrame
Date Posted: September 05 2012 at 09:43
| The songs were only OK, not more than that. Great band though. |
Posted By: TheLionOfPrague
Date Posted: September 10 2012 at 21:11
This. Brian was fantastic too, but Freddie was by far the best. He could write 4 or 5 epic songs for album (at least in the 70's, not so much after that). Probably the best songwriter of the last century.
------------- I shook my head and smiled a whisper knowing all about the place |
Posted By: TheLionOfPrague
Date Posted: September 10 2012 at 21:14
Just OK?? Bohemian Rhapsody, March of the Black Queen, My Fairy King, Millonaire Waltz, Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy, Bicycle Race, Love of My Life, Innuendo, etc.. ------------- I shook my head and smiled a whisper knowing all about the place |
Posted By: AEProgman
Date Posted: September 11 2012 at 22:55
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I always liked Queen and Queen II. Their early stuff was much better than the later stuff. Queen II had a concept feel and had a heavy/art rock sound. Father to Son, White Queen, March of the Black Queen, and a vocal version of 7 Seas of Rhye, and others that had a unique sound.
As far as songwriters, combine Mercury and May. ------------- 
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Posted By: DiamondDog
Date Posted: September 18 2012 at 10:17
As many people do, you're confusing production and performance with writing.
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Posted By: ole-the-first
Date Posted: October 06 2012 at 03:00
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Roger Taylor did a lot of great work as a solo artist, but in Queen Mercury was far better songwriter. Mercury wrote The March of the Black Queen, and that's enough for me to vote for him.
------------- This night wounds time. |
Posted By: Cthulhu42
Date Posted: October 06 2012 at 10:08
| Mercury for the first couple albums; after that him and May were pretty much equal. |