Quickly looking at the letter Q we don't find much, which is what one might expect. Here's a short post about two artists in this letter category.
Q doesn't have much representation when it comes to artists' names or anything else for that matter. I never had many albums by artists starting with the letter Q and the ones I do have are too good for me get rid of. Here's a quick look...Links to the music are included throughout the post if you want to hear the music.
Quicksilver Messenger Service "Happy Trails" (1969) & "Shady Grove" (1969) The Quicksilver albums had some great cover art so that is one attraction in respect to keeping these vinyls. Plus, the group has a great name. However the main attraction is the music. This was among the best of the psychedelic era groups and since psychedelia is one of my favorite rock genres these are must have albums for me.
Queen "Jazz" (1978) Arguably one of the best rock groups of all time, a Queen album deserves a place in any respectable music collection. Surprisingly this is the only Queen album that I own or have ever owned even though I do like this group a great deal. I might not have ever bought this album except for having seen it in cut-outs at a big discount bookstore in West Knoxville TN. I bought several albums in that trip since they were all too good to pass up at a cheap price. This album has some great Queen performances--and some very interesting ones. And it's got the song "Fat Bottom Girls" which I always thought was kind of a weird song, but it's a Queen classic. If I'm going to have a good selection of rock and roll albums then Queen has gotta stay.
Would you rank Queen as one of the greatest groups of Rock? Do you have a favorite artist in the genre of psychedelic music? Can you think of any other artists in the Q category?
Queen definitely was a worldwide sensation, not to mention the "Bohemian Rhapsody", which is still such an alluring track for the younger generation!
ReplyDeleteDamyanti, Queen deserved the accolades they received. I still recall the first time I heard Queen's Night at the Opera album when a friend from Chicago played it for me in 1975. What a revelation!
DeleteLee
Most definitely - Queen are amazing. Saw them in concert with Adam Lambert a few years ago and it was amazing. The way they managed to honour Freddie and get him into the show was brilliant too. I can't think of any others beginning with Q off the top of my head.
ReplyDeleteTasha
Tasha's Thinkings: YouTube - What They Don't Tell You (and free fiction)
Tasha, Adam Lambert is really good, but I don't know that he has the same power as Freddie Mercury. But I'm sure it was an outstanding concert.
DeleteLee
In college have been to rock music shows but my knowledge of rock music bands is close to zero. After seeing these posts i will have more familiarity i think
ReplyDeleteJayashree writes
Jay, there is a lot of good music that has come out of the rock genre. It's worth exploring if you like music.
DeleteLee
Quicksilver's greatest. to me. was What About Me. It brought the environmental revolution to those that didn't read Rachel Carson.
ReplyDeleteQueen is the Queen of Rock and Roll. They are not King of the hill, but can let numerous other bands fight for that and be secure that they will always be right there.
Craig, the San Francisco bands were on top of the environmental movement. What About Me was an album I had my eye on but never go around to buying. I remember the song though. It was a good one with a positive message. It got some radio play on the Knoxville TN stations.
DeleteQueen is a mighty force of rock and roll. Top of the hill or not, they took the rock genre to a higher elevation of pop music as art.
Lee
There's Queensryche - I have a ton of their albums.
ReplyDeleteAlex, I've got a few Queensryche albums in my CD collection, but not vinyl. I like them a great deal.
DeleteLee
Queen is without a doubt one of the best bands ever. Brian May (Guitar) and Roger Taylor (Drums) would have been the lead singer in any other rock band easily, but Freddie Mercury is just off the chart good.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to Jazz I recommend News of the World (1977) and their true last album Innuendo (1991) where Freddie wrote his own requiem.
Other good Q bands from my collection are Queensrÿche and a personal favorite, Quiet Riot.
--
Tim Brannan
The Other Side | The A to Z of Conspiracy Theories
Tim, everything I've heard by Queen I've liked. Some of their stuff has been overplayed, but they were consistently good.
DeleteAS I mentioned in an earlier comment, I've got some Queensryche. I inherited some Quiet Riot albums on CD when my youngest brother died, but I've yet to listen to much of their music yet. I remember seeing some videos by them that I liked.
Lee
LEE ~
ReplyDelete>>... a Queen album deserves a place in any respectable music collection.
Call my music collection "a basket of deplorables".
>>... Would you rank Queen as one of the greatest groups of Rock?
Eh. The arrangement for 'Bohemian Rhapsody' was very impressive, but I don't ever need to hear it again. Otherwise, Queen wasn't my mug o' beer.
>>... Can you think of any other artists in the Q category?
Suzi Quatro - supposedly a groundbreaker in female Rock - comes immediately to mind, but her music didn't do anything for me.
>>... Do you have a favorite artist in the genre of psychedelic music?
The Doors. If one considers that 'Psychedelia'. Otherwise, it's not my genre.
However, in the Jazz genre, I am a fan of Quont Basie. ;-)
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS
STMcC, I'll stand by the rock and roll greatness of Queen. They helped to take the relatively young genre of Rock to a more serious level of music appreciation. I always enjoy hearing "Bohemian Rhapsody" when it comes on the radio or elsewhere.
DeleteQuatro is a good one, but I never listened to her music so I never had any of her albums. I don't know how much of a groundbreaker she was, but I guess she made her mark. Kind of.
I think the Doors are kind of psychedelic with a sort of classical touch. I did like The Doors and I still like listening to their music.
Quont Basie--okay. I used to have an album of Basie's music, but it wasn't him leading the original band. It was a rerecording by the later band that toured under his name. Sounded good though.
Lee
>>..."I'll stand by the rock and roll greatness of Queen."
DeleteSure. Of course you will. Because you really like Queen. But, as you so often say: It's all a matter of personal preference.
Personally... I don't think they're all that great.
Maybe I "just need to hear them more"(?)
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC, not hear, but listen to them more perhaps. My measurement of Queen's "greatness" is not so much my personal assessment, but what I perceive from public and critical reaction to the band as well as media presence and album sales. To deny "greatness" from perspective of having a historical place in music wouldn't make sense other than from the perspective of there probably not be much of any history in the future. But say that history continues on for another 200 years (which I doubt and I hope not) and humans continue to recognize history as eras of certain trends and movements I think Queen's music would still be available and maybe even appreciated by some. But the way music has been going I'd hate to think what music on Earth would evolve into. I don't think we'd even think of it as music.
DeleteLee
https://i.imgur.com/X23HkPB.jpg
Delete~ D-FensDogG
But I did make a good point didn't I?
DeleteLee
Part 1:
Delete>>... But I did make a good point didn't I?
Quite the contrary. Appealing to Popular (so-called "expert") Opinion is never a good starting point. However I was willing and attempting to let it go and just "walk away". But since you've decided to re-open the conversation by asking me a question, the conversation will now continue. (Good job!)
>>..."STMcC, not hear, but listen to them more perhaps."
For starters, my word choice of "hear" was better, since many people frequently "listen" but don't actually "hear".
I find it humorously ironic that you suggested perhaps I need to listen to more of Queen's music. This suggestion coming from a guy who by his own admission likes Queen "a great deal", and yet he's never owned but a single album by the group, which he purchased cheaply from a cut-outs bin.
Meanwhile, back in the LP era, I actually owned and "heard" TWO Queen albums, both of which were acquired at full price ('A Night At The Opera' & 'News Of The World'). It looks like maybe at one time I was the bigger fan and knew more of their music. That is if we're counting the amount of albums purchased and played and money spent.
You wrote that Queen was "Arguably one of the best rock groups of all time".
So, when I argue that they're NOT necessarily one of the best Rock groups of all time, why do you choose to dispute the point? By your own admission it's an "arguable" point (i.e., there IS a valid argument that Queen may NOT necessarily be one of the greatest). So, why bother debating it when you've already acknowledged that there is a case that can be made both for and against the statement?
Don't you even feel a bit overly audacious in making a statement like this?: "a Queen album deserves a place in any respectable music collection."
What you're implying is that a music collection without a Queen album in it is not respectable. That comes as a surprise to me. How fortunate you are that your own music collection has achieved the level of "respectability" by a single cut-out bin Queen album!
While I agree that Freddie Mercury could definitely sing and that all of Queen's musicians were very capable on their instruments, you seem to be of the impression that the group was some sort of groundbreaking or revolutionary act. Why? Other than 'Bohemian Rhapsody', which I previously described as "very impressive" due to its arrangement, what did they do that was revolutionary or especially unique? Everything else on their two LPs that I owned, and all that I've heard played over and over again on the radio, was just Rock music. One either likes their sound and melodies or they don't particularly enjoy them. They were just another accomplished band.
Part 2:
DeleteWhat was so groundbreakingly special about these big hit songs?:
Killer Queen
You're My Best Friend
We Are The Champions
Bicycle Race / Fat Bottomed Girls
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Another One Bites The Dust
Other than 'Bohemian Rhapsody', everything Queen did was loud Hard Rock or standard Rock ditties performed in their own style, which an individual finds appealing... or not.
Much like Deep Purple; UFO; The Eagles; Led Zeppelin; The Who; Van Halen; The Doobie Brothers; Steely Dan; Blue Oyster Cult; AC/DC; Spinal Tap; Fleetwood Mac; The Rolling Stones; Creedence Clearwater Revival; Lynyrd Skynyrd; Talking Heads; The Allman Brothers; Crosby, Stills & Nash; The Jimi Hendrix Experience; Jefferson Airplane; Santana; The Cars; The Doors; Pink Floyd; Heart; Yes; ZZ Top; and Manfred Mann's Earth Band performed Rock in their own styles, which individuals found appealing... or not.
What's so unique about Queen? What makes you think Queen should be remembered by future generations any more so than the above mentioned bands? Do you believe 'Rock historians' generally regard Queen's musical output to be of a higher quality and/or of greater uniqueness than the music of the aforementioned bands?
Tell me, please, in a very OBJECTIVE way, what makes Queen this oh-so-special band amongst, and over-and-above, the hundreds and hundreds of other oh-so-special bands? Other than Freddie Mercury being one, what's so extraordinarily *special* about Queen?
If you really do "like this group a great deal", as you wrote, I'm sure you'd have bought more than just one discounted cut-out bin album by Queen. Could you simply be trying to increase your cachet with the LGBTQXYZ crowd?
OK... Seriously? Honestly? Truthfully? I believe that there's nothing like a popular Hollyweird biopic to elevate a Rock band's reputation to "legendary" one-of-a-kind status. It's all about exposure... or in Queen's case, perhaps over-exposure. I think you've fallen for the hype.
And this concludes my Sunday sermon. I thank you for attending. Please leave your tithes with the ushers on your way out of the chapel doors, and... "have a nice day".
~ D-FensDogG
POSTSCRIPT: Thanks again, Lee, for inviting me back to reply to your question. It was fun. Let's do it again!
STMcC, I think you've made a far bigger deal about my brief overview of the group Queen than I ever intended. You're right--I'm not really a super fan of this group by any means, but saying I like them "a great deal" essentially means I enjoy hearing their songs and I don't turn them off if they come on the radio, which for me means near none to never since I very rarely listen to any music stations other than classical.
DeleteAnd I'd agree about their hit songs. For me they mostly suck (and I might turn those off if I ran across them on the radio). But aside from those I appreciate their music though I wouldn't ever claim to be passionate about any of it. I like their musicianship, pursuit of success, and their "artistry" as measured by what they have achieved.
Though I do have some of their albums on cassette (bought in the eighties) I've never felt compelled to buy much of their music because overall it's not my preferred style. However in that style they are accomplished at what they do.
I was just presenting a blog post that merely touched upon an album I own and I offered an assessment that is generally accepted by many if not most rock historians or whatever you'd call them. As always though it comes down to personal preferences & the stages we go through in our lives. You apparently went through a "Queen stage" whereas I didn't--I just heard them & liked them but not enough to buy them until I found one in a cut-out bin. There are many groups I could put in this category. If I had been absurdly wealthy then I might have acquired catalogs of many artists that I don't have any or many of. But I was not wealthy so I was selective about my purchases & which is also why I have so many albums bought at a discount.
You're making too big of a deal about this, but perhaps it's just for the sake of arguing. If you were a professor grading an important paper that would impact a grade I was trying to achieve then I might be concerned, but in this case it's just a blog post.
As you know, I have liked music for a long time, I like a wide variety of music, & I appreciate the efforts of musicians who are attempting to present something of themselves to reach an appreciative audience. I am not a serious music critic nor am I any historian with immense credibility in the field. I'm just blogging from A to Z while offering a bit of myself & my opinions.
By the way did you see my S post? I thought you might appreciate some of those.
Thanks for the revisit. Oh take a look at R & T too.
Lee
Agreed, Queen is stellar. Led Zeppelin and The Doors would have to be part of my psychedelic collection as well.
ReplyDeleteDeborah, I've still got a lot of Led Zeppelin in my CD collection. Never bought their albums on vinyl other than one of their last which I found in a cut-out bin.
DeleteLee
I didn't expect to see a lot under Q, but did expect to see Queen ;)
ReplyDeleteJamie, Q is typically a challenging letter in the A to Z. Fortunately there was Queen and the word queen can cover a lot of ideas for posts.
DeleteLee
Queen Latifah?
DeleteSusan, probably better than putting her under L.
DeleteLee
Queen one of my favorites during that time.
ReplyDeleteJeanne, they are a favorite of many and they've had staying power.
DeleteLee
Absolutely Queen. I listened to some Quarterflash back in the day.
ReplyDeleteJanet’s Smiles
Janet, oh. Quarterflash! Now there's a name I hadn't thought of in a long time. I never had any albums by them. "Harden My Heart" got a lot of airplay back in the days of MTV
DeleteLee
I didn’t hear much Queen in my circles, but can certainly appreciate the talent. Phenomenal vocals.
ReplyDeleteI started listening to Quicksilver just because I liked the name. Understanding the message came later.
Another band beginning with Q? Quarterflash – “Harden My Heart”
P.S I just saw that someone else thought of Quarterflash too.
Diedre, I can't say that I heard Queen played among my Tennessee friends, but other places yes. Actually I never listened to that much Queen until the eighties.
DeleteYeah, I'd totally forgotten about Quarterflash. I guess they were a flash in the pan. If you had asked me about that song without me knowing it was Quarterflash I would have guessed Pat Benatar.
Lee
I'm familiar with both, but own no records of either. No doubt Queen is one of the greatest rock bands, I just feel a little "enh" about them.
ReplyDeletePsychedelic band? How about Tommy James & The Shondells?
John H, When I'm gaging the greatness of Queen I'm not speaking from my personal taste, but in the sense of that the public and I suspect rock historians will think. They are not my go to band for music, but when I hear their music I like it.
DeleteThe later stuff of Tommy James & the Shondells was definitely psychedelic and it was very good. They were a favorite band of mine.
Lee
Bands with the letter "Q" ..
ReplyDeleteQuintessence - amazing live!!
Quatermass?? Quiet Sun??
Steve, those are all new ones to me. I like the name Quiet Sun and the band sounds like my kind of music.
DeleteLee
I don't know why I don't have a Queen album. I love Bohemian Rhapsody.
ReplyDeletePatricia. Queen is a pretty standard addition a music collection, but not everyone likes them. "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a real musical tour de force and a fun song to hear and sing along with.
DeleteLee
Interesting hobby Arlee. Does it need a lot of effort to maintain the records? I have a few from long ago and a player but somehow have not played them so not sure if the system works. Yes, I have heard Queen and some numbers were quite popular here.
ReplyDeleteArchana, trust me--I have an accumulation of stuff that is scattered about my house. No maintenance applied. Having the record playing machine in good order is the main thing as long as the records are in halfway decent shape. I don't have a turntable right now that I can get to work properly.
DeleteLee