Naturally, I would grow up listening to Queen as part of many Classic Rock artists in their collection. We all know Bohemian Rhapsody due to Wayne's World. There's no denying that the song is amazing; groundbreaking even. They have so many hits, and as my father put it, hits that weren't nearly as good as the first 2 albums. Those two stuck in his mind and need recognition as amazing and original.
One of my favorite Queen songs comes from the album Sheer Heart Attack
in 1974. Freddie Mercury; singer and pianist at his best. The song starts with the piano in sharp staccatto notes, demanding authority to listen to it. The distinguished harmony that makes a "Queen Song" is evident within the first few bars. You hear this kind of harmony in many songs nowadays and immediately say "The Queen Harmony.... Isn't it awesome?!" I just had this happen to me listening to the Muse
just the other day. At only 3:01 long, this isn't your typical "Eric Pick." That's alright though. I'm entitled to a deviation here and there, aren't I? The back and forth between Mercury having a nice melody with the backup vocals doing their Queen Harmonies are just too much to not love for me. Queen knew what they were doing when blending notes and rhythms together. The song is theatrical and although I've never been a fan of musicals, I'd sure love to see a musical that Queen put on... if only Freddie Mercury were still alive.
In the Wikipedia Page for Queen, this is a list of artists openly giving respect to being influenced by Queen:
Some of the musicians that have cited the band as an influence include: Anthrax,[63] Ben Folds Five, [64] Kurt Cobain,[65] Def Leppard,[66] Extreme,[67] Foo Fighters,[68] Green Day,[69] Guns N' Roses,[70] Helloween,[71] Iron Maiden,[72] Kansas,[73] Keane,[74] Lady GaGa, Manic Street Preachers,[75] Metallica,[76] George Michael,[citation needed] Mika,[77] Muse,[78] Radiohead,[79] Trent Reznor,[80]The Killers,[81] The Smashing Pumpkins,[82][83] Michael Jackson,[84] My Chemical Romance,[85] and Styx.[86]
I know for a fact that Dream Theater and Ideamen should be on that list...
*Carpe Diem*
Queen is one of my all-time favorite bands. And there will never be another Freddie Mercury. The man's vocals are perfection. We're both pretty lucky that our parents exposed us to awesome music from a really early age. I had my not-so-great moments, like around age 6 when I was obsessed with the New Kids on the Block but hey. I was 6. I can remember being 12 years old and while all my friends were listening to TLC and Salt N Pepa, I was jamming to The Who's Tommy and Jesus Christ Superstar!
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