The Formative Years – Queen
There are few bands that had a tangible impact on me to the extent that Queen did with their dramatic and anthemic songs, before I fell prey to the allure of punk rock, which is many ways is no less dramatic and decidingly less anthemic.
The way Queen as a musical outfit seamlessly and confidently transitioned between a myriad of different styles based on a line-up of four accomplished musicians, each of which contributed an idiosyncratic facet in their own realm, created a creative total the legacy of which remains timeless and constitutes much more than the mere sum of the individual components would suggest.
As a prepubescent I loved the fact that no matter who I met in even far flung places and started to engage with in terms of musical preferences, Queen was almost always the common denominator as they were one of the most recognisable and accessible acts on this earthround.
It was fantastic to witness how Queen’s music evolved over time, constantly reinventing itself with a perpetual forward move towards innovations while still retaining their DNA. The fact that they were fronted by lightning in a bottle as far as the showmanship and exuberance of their exceptional frontman was concerned, only added to the appeal.
Queen changed the face of rock and roll with not only their talent but imagination and boundary pushing songwriting, resulting in songs that are immensely rich, intricate and multi-layered to ensure that the attentive listener was rewarded with something new to discover even after numerous listens without ever feeling forced.
Lyrically, Queen’s themes had a universal quality and I loved the fuck-you attitude that was the inspiration for some of the more sarcastic elaborations, the delivery of which was accentuated by Freddie’s particularly colourful vocal abilities, adding another layer of authenticity to the frontman paradigm that effortlessly shifted sensibilities from sentimental to raw assault mode.
An inimitable band that upped the ante of what was thought possible to be achieved through pop music.
