Although I didn’t get into Queen until right after Freddie died, they have become another one of the permanent spot-holders on my list. Their layered harmonizing vocals and insanely infectious melodies are my idea of perfect music. After the Bohemian Rhapsody movie came out, it re-ignited my love for them, which has never gone away, but I never really listened to ALL of their music until then. I saw them live in 2019 with Adam Lambert and it was probably the best concert I’d been to, and that’s after seeing Pink Floyd twice!
So there’s the obvious well-known fact that Freddie Mercury was the best rock vocalist ever (ha, only slightly joking), and there’s the not-so-obvious not-so-well-known fact that Roger Taylor is one of the few drummers who sings while playing drums (with a voice even higher than Freddie’s), and then there’s Brian May who has a freakin’ PhD in astrophysics! Oh and John Deacon was pretty awesome too, you might have heard of the song “Another One Bites the Dust”? Good luck getting that bass line out of your head now!
My favorite Queen song (at least as I write this) is The Prophet’s Song. I love that it’s 8 minutes long, I love the lyrics, I love the harmonies, it’s got everything I love about Queen.
The thing that makes me love Queen so much though, is the era that nobody talks about. Before they were even known, they put out some of the best music on the planet. If I could go back in time to see any band live, it would be to see Queen in the 70’s. Here’s a few of my favorite clips that I have probably watched 100 times…Freddie’s passion performing these songs played a huge part in cementing them as my favorite band of all time right up there with Pink Floyd.
Most underrated song: Everyone knows and loves Bohemian Rhapsody, but what most people don’t know is that a year before they released that song, they released a song 3 minutes longer, with many of the same elements. Brian May even called it the “precursor” to Bohemian Rhapsody. It amazes me more people don’t know this amazing song! Ladies and gentlemen…March of the Black Queen.
Special shout out; Roger Taylor deserves way more attention than he gets, and he is only the 3rd most famous in the band. Why!? This man hits the highest notes I have ever heard a man hit, and he can do it while playing drums. Honestly most of my life I thought it was Freddie singing those parts! Roger is so underrated it makes me sad!
Favorite lyrics: From The Prophet’s Song, comes this amazing hidden line that comes out of nowhere after Freddie’s vocal effects solo; “oh oh children of the land, love is still the answer, take my hand.” Being all about hippie stuff, my heart gushed when I heard this line. Love is still the answer! Take his hand!! That might show up tattooed on my body someday.
Got an opinion you want to share? What is your favorite song by Queen? Leave a comment below!
Rhythm Harmony Melody 