Queen - BBC2 Documentary & Re-releases

[Si Hunt]

Their first since 1997, written by Roger Taylor. Download it for FREE here!

Any thoughts anyone?

Si.

[Rob McCow]

****ing dreadful.

[Stephen Morgan]

As much as I love Queen, anything they do without Mercury hasn't felt the same, I honestly wish they'd call it a day it's not as if any of them need the money. Even the DVD's they bring out these days are money for old rope, the same old concert footage re-mastered, where's Greatest Hits 3 on DVD? after that one I don't think I'd be bothered about anymore of their live stuff.

[Pip Madeley]

As much as I love Queen, anything they do without Mercury hasn't felt the same, I honestly wish they'd call it a day it's not as if any of them need the money.

They should just go under another name and start anew, especially now Paul Rodgers is on vocals.

[Stephen Morgan]

They should just go under another name and start anew, especially now Paul Rodgers is on vocals.

Now, I'd go with that, especially as the tour they did together was so successful, as shown on the DVD, and Rogers has a great voice. It's a shame this current single wasn't better.

[Simon R]

It's a pretty disposable song and oddly similar to the equally disposable song that Madonna gave away free for Live Earth earlier in the year. Is Paul Rogers even on this? I could only make out Roger and Brian.

[WhiteCrow]

They should just go under another name and start anew, especially now Paul Rodgers is on vocals.

King?

I think Prince is still taken ...

Or maybe "A Kind Of Queen ..."

[Si Hunt]

They should just go under another name and start anew, especially now Paul Rodgers is on vocals.

To be fair, they kind of do, as they've been careful to bill everything as "Queen + Paul Rodgers" to make clear that Rogers is NOT a part of Queen and a replacement for Freddie. And Brian and Roger ARE Queen as well, many of their pre 1995 tracks featured or were written by those two alone.

I also don't hold with the "they should call it a day" number. What got a bit lost was that the death of Freddie in 1991 effectively ended their careers. They're musicians, they have a need to play. Eventually, after over 15 years, I guess they have figured correctly that nothing they do erases the recordings they made with Freddie. Everything they do now is on top of that, so why not?

However. This new song is balls. It's depressing that, as the first new Queen song since "No One But You", it's the same old stumbling rock ballad that that was. Couldn't they have tried something a bit upbeat and with a bit of the old Queen magic and taughtness. I haven't listened to this new song yet without wanting to switch it off before they end. And is it a really poor quality MP3 conversion or do they sound like they have all been noise-reduced by an idiot?

where's Greatest Hits 3 on DVD?

Now that IS a mystery. When they released the first two Greatest Hits albums on DVD they were subtly re-structured to include lost songs but also to 'save' post 1991 songs that were originally on "Greatest Hits II" (from "Innuendo"), presumbly to pep up a third volume. But where is it? It's been years.

Si.

[Carol Baynes]

King?

I think Prince is still taken ...

Or maybe "A Kind Of Queen ..."

King had hits in the 1980s, so that name has been used too.

I agree with Si that they've been respectful and careful in the way they brand themselves. I stopped being interested in them years ago, though. Their glory days are sadly behind them, I think.

[Zbigniev Hamson]

"Queen + Paul Rodgers - John Deacon" would probably be a better name (with Freddie Mercury obviously taken for granted).

[MacNimon]

Not much is made of the fact that Deacon is no longer with them. Although he's given his blessing to May and Taylor to continue using the Queen name, in his opinion there quite simply isn't a Queen without Freddie and he didn't want to continue.

May and Taylor are both excellent songwriters and performers in their own right (as, of course, is Paul Rodgers) so that makes this new single even more of a disappointment. I just expected better, because they're all capable of so much better than this.

[Si Hunt]

It's crap really isn't it? They're washed up, the pair of them.

Si.

[MacNimon]

After listening to this, I just had to listen to some of their old stuff to remind myself just how good Queen were in their prime. I listened to the 4 mid/late 70s albums A Night At The Opera, A Day At The Races, News Of The World, and Jazz in one sitting the other day, and apart from a few duffers this was great stuff. It's hard to believe that this is (partly) the same group.

And talking about Queen, has anyone had any thoughts about doing the Queen Time Team thread which was mentioned back in the ezboard days? I've just been reminded of the quality of much of their early work, and it's certainly worth the revisiting for those who haven't heard it for a while. A there's certainly a surprise or two in store for those who only know the band from their hits.

[Rob McCow]

Yes! Queen Time Team!

Josiah says DO IT!!!!

[Si Hunt]

It's in the shops! We saw it today as a physical. Hope it charts.

Si.

[Pip Madeley]

I watched the Live At Wembley concert t'other day. Twas awesome.

[MacNimon]

I watched that myself a few weeks ago. Brilliant stuff, a fitting memorial to Freddie. This is how he'll always be remembered.

I'm disappointed yet again by the latest Queen concert dvd (I haven't bought the Live In Montreal dvd yet)...not that I'm expecting much to be wrong with it, but I live in hope that the next dvd release will be Queens Christmas Eve concert at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1975. I remember seeing an edited version of this on tv a long time ago (a Whistle Test special, perhaps) and I have a copy of it on vinyl; I don't know whether these highlights are all that exist of the gig or whether there is unseen video footage out there. Regardless, this era of Queen's history has been overlooked on dvd for long enough, imo. Let's see Queen rock!

[Si Hunt]

I'm hoping they run out of concerts to release so we at last get Video Hits III!!

Where did the single chart this week, anyone know?

Si.

[MacNimon]

Apparently it's reached the lofty heights of No. 90.

[Si Hunt]

The album has been announced:

The first studio album in 13 years to carry the Queen name has been announced.

The Cosmos Rocks will feature Paul Rodgers, who joined the legendary band as frontman after Freddie Mercury's death.

It will be the first album since Made in Heaven was released in 1995, which featured Mercury's last material.

Queen also announced a new four-month tour with Rodgers, starting in September.

A spokesman said Brian May, Roger Taylor and Rodgers had already recorded the album.

John Deacon retired from the music business in the late 1990s and chose not to participate in the Queen And Paul Rodgers tour.

The tour will cover 14 countries in seven weeks.

[Rob McCow]

Awful title - John Deacon wrote all the best songs - Queen are DOOOMED!!!

[Si Hunt]

No, Freddie Mercury did. So, still doooomed!

Si.

[MacNimon]

John Deacon was the most under-rated member of the band, imo. He just didn't court publicity in the way that the other 3 did so he always tended to be the forgotten member of the group, probably to the general public at least. Partly because he has never released any solo material...Roger Taylor may not exactly be a household name but he has a higher profile than Deacon, as his solo work and his efforts at keeping Queen alive kept him in the public eye more.

And you could say that they all wrote the best songs...unlike some groups where one or two members take the credit for most of the output, with Queen all four members were capable of coming up with a huge hit.

I'll buy the new cd out of curiosity of course, but without Deacon it will certainly lack something. Here's hoping they play Glasgow this time, though...but I'll not hold my breath, the last time they performed in Scotland was in 1982.

[stephenhannan]

Maybe the new album will herald a new style Queen. Certainly with Paul Rodgers who is a great singer the character of performance will be different.

If Paul contributes some new songs the front line of Rodgers/May/Taylor may produce some fantastic performances.

The old Rodgers /Kossoff/Kirke was excellent. I remember seeing Free way back in 1970 just after "Tons of Sobs" and they truly stood out.
for me the interest comes not from the Queen connection but from the old Free/Bad Company side.

[Zbigniev Hamson]

Any clue as to where on the site the download actually is? It doesn't appear to be under "downloads", "media" or "store".

Edit: Oh, I thought this was a new thread but I was mistaken. I'd even posted in it before too.