Happy Friday, readers! We made it to the final Friday in February, a month that somehow makes every day feel like a dull Tuesday. Shifting away from full-on writing mode, I’m happily getting back into playing music and boy, does it feel great to play guitar again! Because of a few particularly hellish weeks of work plus bass duties for my band, I haven’t had many chances to pick up the guitar. I do generally enjoy playing bass (it’s fun in its own way), but there’s something satisfying about coming back to my original instrument after a long break. And a break is good sometimes; you come back fresh and excited, and it’s almost like seeing a good friend after a long stretch of time apart. The reunion is familiar, feels a little different, but ultimately, it’s enjoyable and you remember why you’re friends in the first place. Oh, I missed you, guitar of mine.
So with my trusty Strat in hand, I decided to get back into it by learning a new guitar solo. The shred of Marty Friedman? Nah. How about something more refined? David Gilmour solos are always fun...aha, perfect, let’s try some Queen.
I think we’ll go with some a little "Bohemian Rhapsody", gentlemen: the uber famous and instantly recognizable guitar solo by Queen’s guitar king, Brian May.
And it’s a nice little challenge of a solo. While not the most technically demanding lead work, the difficulty I found with this particular solo is nailing the pre-bends and adding the right touch of vibrato, which is an essential element for achieving a Brian May-like expression. Plus, to really nail the nuances of the solo, it’s helpful to listen closely to his articulation – his tone is one thing, but his articulation really drives his unique style. It’s a really fabulous solo and I recommend you give it a try, although the amount of precision bending may leave a few fingers in a raw state.
But it’s not just the "Bohemian Rhapsody" solo that’s been constantly played in my apartment this week; my roommate A.J., a brilliant musician, has been working up a repertoire of his favorite Brian May solos. So far, he’s tackled "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "Somebody To Love", "Don't Stop Me Know", "Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon", and "Play The Game", all of which are all highly singable, catchy solos, but they require a lot of repeated practice to match May’s finesse.
So yeah, with Brian May’s presence permeating the sound waves of my humble abode this week, you could say I’m on a big Queen kick, especially early-era Queen (Queen II through Jazz). And although I’m not a die-hard Queen fan (I don’t even have the majority of their albums) I’ve been developing a deep appreciation for the band, and I’m coming to understand why they are one of the biggest bands in rock history, up there with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd.
And what do you know? What a perfect subject for It's The End Of The Week As We Know It! Because it just so happens that Queen had a royal presence in the music news headlines this week, mostly concerning a controversial decision over a new lead singer. And who doesn’t love some controversy?
So if you didn’t figure out by the title already, this week is all Queen. If you hate Queen, you don’t have to keep reading. If you love Queen, then this’ll be right up your alley. And if you’re just reading this because you’re bored, well, keep reading anyway. Maybe you’ll get turned on to some cool tunes.
So let’s take a look at their new choice of lead singer and appreciate some Queen.
Queen In The News Of The World
By now, you’re probably aware that the "American Idol"-famed singer, Adam Lambert, has been selected to sing for Queen for their headlining slot at this year’s Sonisphere Festival in the UK. News of this selection has caused a bit of a stir in the rock community and criticism mainly debates whether or not Lambert is the right choice for Queen and "replacement" for the deceased rock icon, Freddie Mercury.
Of course he’s not. Nobody can flat out replace him. But that isn’t the intent.
Given that everyone is certainly entitled to have favorable, unfavorable or irrationally harsh opinions, I’d like to take a collective look at some of the salient points the anti-Lambert critics have made.
Via the comment sections of the Queen/Lambert articles on UG, it seems that the main arguments against this collaboration went along the lines of the following:
Lambert sings with too much vibrato and it’s annoying
Queen is just doing the performance for money
This whole things is pointless because nobody can replace Freddie Mercury
YouTube sensation, Marc Martel would have been better suited for the job
The band should change their name because it’s not really Queen performing
These are all good points with merit, but for a moment, I’ll interject my own opinions because I have the blog microphone right now. Yes, Lambert does sing with a lot of vibrato; Queen has made an astronomical amount of money over the years, so it’s doubtful that they are doing this whole thing just to make some extra cash; yeah, nobody can replace Freddie Mercury, but nobody is trying to; Marc Martel sounds and looks eerily like Freddie, but one wonders if he’s capable of captivating and commanding an audience as big as the one that’ll be at Sonisphere; Queen doesn’t abuse the whole keeping-the-band-name-even-though-there-aren’t-many-original-members-left thing – they toured under the name Queen + Paul Rogers in the past, noting the distinction.
Okay, phew. Normally I don’t do that, but I wanted to get it all out of the way.
As with any replacement of a powerful figure in any band, nobody is going to be perfectly happy, and only time will tell if the decision is the right one.
Keep in mind though, that this isn’t even considered a Queen reunion. After all, bassist John Deacon isn’t performing with the band and hasn’t since he retired in the 90s. So it’s basically just 50% Queen (Brian May and Roger Taylor), plus a flamboyant (like Freddie) pop singer.
The Role Of Freddie
Overall though, it seems that the sentiment expressed in the criticism is noble: fans don’t want to see Freddie Mercury’s legacy tarnished. As one of the most hyper-talented frontmen in rock history, you could argue that any Queen performance without Mercury would be blasphemous and nowhere near as riveting as it was when he was alive and belting their hits.
But to defend the choice of Adam Lambert, he’s already performed with Queen on American Idol and at the MTV Europe Awards. According to Brian May, Lambert will be a “great interpreter” of Freddie’s vocals. Basically, Queen already has a relationship with the guy and they liked him enough to book a festival appearance.
The talented Marc Martel sure looks and sounds like Freddie Mercury, but I’m not sure if he has the experience of performing to such large audiences. And he’s part of a Christian band called downhere. And we all know how boring Christian rock is...
So this isn’t a full on reunion. And they toured a few years ago with Paul Rogers, so it’s not like they’re dusting the cobwebs off their instruments and finally making a grand comeback. It’s just a one-off show, albeit a significant one. Knebworth Park, where their Sonisphere performance is being held, is the site of the last concert Freddie Mercury played with Queen in 1986 on their Magic Tour.
All in all, the appearance seems to be intended as a celebration of Freddie Mercury and Queen’s legacy. I wouldn’t be too harsh on the Lambert choice because he’s not intended to be a permanent replacement (at least not to our knowledge). I’d just take all this news as a way to look back on how sick a vocalist Mercury was and how many amazing Queen recordings are out there.
More To Queen Than Just Freddie
And as amazing as Freddie Mercury was, you can’t forget how incredibly talented the other members of Queen were and how integral they all were to developing and executing their unmistakably unique, polished sound.
For instance, it’s no surprise that Brian May offered a distinctive and innovative guitar presence, but he also wrote many Queen songs and loved working in the studio. His interest in layering guitars helped shaped Queen’s massive and rich studio sound, which was really brilliant considering the analog recording technology available to them in their earlier days. Check out this video of May explaining the recording process behind "Keep Good Company", off 1975’s "A Night At The Opera"; he meticulously arranged his guitar parts to sound like a jazz band, mimicking trumpet and trombone parts purely through his tone, tremolo unit and harmonics. Just incredible.
And if you didn’t already think that Brian May could be bada-s enough (on top of being an astrophysicist), he’s most likely the only electric guitar player that has currency minted with his face on it! You may know that May uses a British sixpence coin as a guitar pick because it plays a part in getting his signature tone. However, sixpences were discontinued in 1970. In order to keep using the sixpence, the Royal British Mint made May his own custom sixpences with his likeness printed on it. Brian May is money.
And John Deacon, in my opinion is a grossly underrated bass player. His melodic basslines, such as in "Millionaire Waltz" and "Killer Queen" offer fluid and interesting grooves that perfectly fit under Mercury’s keyboard playing and May’s lead work. And hell, Deacon even wrote some of Queen’s biggest hits, such as "Another One Bites The Dust", "You're My Best Friend", and "I Want To Break Free". Dude knows how to write some songs.
Plus, drummer Roger Taylor contributed a significant amount to Queen’s catalog, such as hits like "I'm In Love With My Car" and "Radio Ga Ga" (although exactly a favorite of mine).
So Queen was very much a collaborative songwriting team – every member contributed to the songwriting process, and it was the combination of the four of them that really made the magic happen, so to speak.
Because of Mercury and Deacon’s absence at Sonisphere, I imagine it’s doubtful that Queen will deliver an earth-shattering performance. But at least it’ll put a lot of attention on the band and bring in new listeners.
So this weekend, if you want to really get into Queen, I recommend some of their earlier albums, especially "A Night At The Opera". Listen to the final guitar line in "Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon" and try, just TRY to get it out of your head. Won’t happen.
Good day to you, gentlemen.
On The Next It's The End Of The Week As We Know It:
Following the Red White and Blues event in Washington D.C., the public learns that not only did President Obama sing "Sweet Home Chicago" with B.B. King, but he also followed up with an a cappella rendition of Insane Clown Posse’s "Miracles". His cabinet is currently researching how magnets work.
Despite being against gay marriage, Dave Mustaine contradicts his conservative platform by not only supporting, but also encouraging back-alley abortions.
Plans for a Coldplay theme park go forward, but contractors realize the park’s blueprints are strikingly similar to Joe Satriani’s theme park plans.
Well, about the whole Queen + Adam Lambert thing, everyone's entitled to their own opinion. My own one is that the only guy who had some sense in this whole thing since Freddie's death was John Deacon.
I couldn't care less how that Lambert dude looks, but it's a whole different story about his voice. Recently, I watched that guy crushing Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire" and thought to myself that his voice and expressions sound... too artificial.
And for me, that's a key point when you try to sing what Freddie Mercury used to.
Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash.
And guess what: they're in the main page of UG AGAIN!
Never got to see Queen with Freddie, but saw them on both Q+PR tours, and they were still fantastic. They do a great production, and PR suited them surprisingly well. Not sure on Lambert personally, but I think they'll make it a great show.
Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash.
And guess what: they're in the main page of UG AGAIN!
I'm getting really sick of this...
Yet you post this in an article that dosen't mention any of those acts.
Yet you post this in an article that dosen't mention any of those acts.
I posted it because the article is called "It's The End Of The WEEK As We Know It" and all I've seen this whole week was Metallica, Dave Grohl and Slash.
I always thought the solo from Good Company was cool but I'd never appreciated it properly until listening to it on its own and taking note of everything going on in it. It's a shame that he put so much effort to it (and achieved a magnificent result) yet it remains a little-known gem on one of their most well-known albums.
Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl,
Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash. Metallica, Dave Grohl, Slash.
And guess what: they're in the main page of UG AGAIN!
Following the Red White and Blues event in Washington D.C., the public learns that not only did President Obama sing "Sweet Home Chicago" with B.B. King, but he also followed up with an a cappella rendition of Insane Clown Posse’s "Miracles". His cabinet is currently researching how magnets work.
did everyone miss that last line? and how hilarious it was?
We've detected that you are using Ad Blocking software.
If you hate ads, but love Ultimate Guitar, how about subscribing to Ultimate Guitar's Ad Free Service? If you subscribe to this service, you won't see annoying banner ads, pop-up ads, text-link ads or video ads and will be helping to support your favorite site at the same time.
As you know, we provide you with a lot of great, free content like news, reviews, interviews, tabs and chords, but you see, ads are the way we generate revenue to run UG and pay royalties to the songwriters and music publishers of the songs that are posted here.
I couldn't care less how that Lambert dude looks, but it's a whole different story about his voice. Recently, I watched that guy crushing Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire" and thought to myself that his voice and expressions sound... too artificial.
And for me, that's a key point when you try to sing what Freddie Mercury used to.