Too much love will kill you: My report on Queen from 2004

Prologue

I wrote this in the early part of college for my Music class.
Thankfully, I'm a much better writer now! :D

Too much love will kill you

  “I have seen the future of pop music, and it is a band called Queen.” Queen exploded onto the British music scene in 1972 and held a successful career until their lead singer’s death in 1991. Their music has been described as “Rock served up with a sense of drama and high style.” Queen consists of Freddie Mercury on lead vocals, Brian May on guitar, John Deacon on bass, and Roger Taylor on drums. Queen was a revolutionary force, successfully recording rock, pop, jazz, funk, disco, rockabilly, dance music, and even crowd anthems. From the beginning, they pushed a flashy flamboyant persona. They even had custom made costumes to match their distinct sound. Queen took a different approach to live performances, working hard to establish a personal connection with the audience. Clearly, Queen was and still is a prominent band. Those are some of my favorite things about Queen, their versatility, androgynies looks, and their choice in collaborations. In 1973, their first album was released; self entitled “Queen” which was a minor success. Their first album was a fun and dramatic one, with the usage of piano and hard drum beats. There follow up album “Queen II” was a hit propelled by the single “Bohemian Rhapsody” a six minute “mock opera.” The song was created without synthesizers, which was an accomplishment worthy of praise.

  Bohemian Rhapsody is definitely a signature pop hit, broad and appealing with strong vocals and classical piano. Freddie’s wide ranging voice was especially showcased in this song. The song was created with a series of multiple overdubs and musical movements. This song is both unique and catchy; the voices vary in pitches which I find very exciting. The very next year “A night at the opera” was released and went into the top ten around the world. The album features all of the band members singing, when later in the band’s career Freddie was the only singer. The variety of pitches and tones is much more exciting, and repetitiveness and overdubbing is done in a useful way. The music really gets you excited, on your seat ready for whatever comes next. And the most pleasant part is once is arrives, it’s weirder and louder than before. It is by no means boring music. In 1976 all of Queen’s albums were in the UK Top Twenty. Queen than began to change and broaden their style, inherently abandoning their early rock and roll roots. Although they were still an established act they were no longer the revolutionary force they used to be.

  Queen began to collaborate as well, working with David Bowie, Elton John and Annie Lennox. The collaborations worked well for Queen, spanning hit singles of pop and dance music. In 1985 Queen was invited to play at Live Aid, it was their crowning moment. They soured back into popularity, and began to collaborate together with renewed enthusiasm. It really was their golden year, releasing rockabilly hits “Crazy little thing called love” and bass driven “Another one bites the dust.” During the 70’s their music is best described as “Rock” but in the 80’s its best described as “pop.” In 1989 Queen was voted the best band of the 80’s. The bass and guitar became much faster and more exciting, moving sternly from pop to new wave. Their last album was released in 1994, finished as Freddie wished when he died in 1991 of AIDS. The legacy of Queen is still strong, with so many of their hits still being played regularly on the today.

Bibliography

“Legends: Queen” VH1 2001
Queenzone.com Queen fan site 2004
Yahoo! Launch Queen Music Biography 2004