Queen would be on Mt Rushmore of bands with the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd (in my opinion). Just ridiculously talented, and lead singer Freddie Mercury is the best frontman of all time
I have heard this song hundreds of times over the last 48 years and I still love it as much as the first time I heard it. Thank you for your reactions.
I Am so happy to see folks hear all this stuff for the first time for real. Too many reactors these days say they never have heard the song then they say something at the end like, 'oh yes I had heard this song, I know this song". THen for me at least it ruins the entire reaction! LOL, I guess I am a professional reactor watcher now hahahaha. Great job you two! Thanks again for doing this channel!
This is what we call a "rock opera". Back in the day, many progressive rock bands composed "concept albums", where each songs tells a part of the story to contribute to the overall theme of the album as a whole. They are meant to be listened to in order from start to finish as the entire album is like that of a novel & each song is a chapter within. Now that you've taken your first step into Queen's vast library of music, I suggest the next video you check out should be "Somebody to Love" live in Montreal 1981. The studio/lyric version is good but the live concert version is a must see for any fan of good music. Every member of Queen has composed a chart topping hit. People hear Queen's music all the time without realizing it (on the radio, in movies, on TV shows, during sporting events, etc). Songs such as Another bites the dust, We will rock you, We are the Champions, and so on... My favorite songs are "Crazy little thing called love" and "Radio Gaga" (song where Lady Gaga got her stage name from).
" any way the wind blows." Such a concept. Only people who've been there understand how dark of a space that really is. Our artists had depth and many of us understood that depth.
You should watch the full 1985 live Aid concert. Freddie really commands the stage and the audience to sing along. One of the most memorable things I’ve seen in my 70 years. 🎸🔥❤️☮️
Great reaction....love you guys channel....yes Queen is different...one of the greatest songs ever written by this legendary band. There is a reason it has 1.4 BILLION RU-vid views!
An emotional rollercoaster is an apt description. When someone first hears this song, or actually anything by Queen in general, I like to tell them to sit back, buckle up, hands and feet inside the ride at all times. Queen did the "rollercoaster" stuff well and frequently. Listening to them truly is a ride.
I'm not quite old enough to remember this era of Queen. But they stand out today, because they play their instruments, they did not autotune live (well Autotune was not around for most of their time in this format) AND they were professionals (they'd not walk out for not getting an award.... they never got award, music journalists hated them). Back then it was expected to be this good. Now? Name another artist this good.
Quite simply the greatest band ever .. Live version's of Somebody to love You take my breath away Under pressure Stone Cold Crazy Dragon Attack are all a must As well as the Live Aid performance, generally regarded as the greatest Live performance ever.. 👌
In my book this is one of the top three rock bands of all time, along with Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd (my favorite). They're catalog of great songs is huge; please continue your discovery of them.
Queen is a British rock band that was formed in 1970 and was comprised of: Freddie Mercury - Lead vocals and pianist Roger Taylor - Drummer and vocals Brian May - Lead guitar and vocals John Deacon - Bass guitar Queen is an unusual rock band. All four members had amazing musical talent and each of the four members was a successful composer. Queen is the only group in which all members of the band have songs, that they composed, inducted into the Music Hall of Fame. Each member of Queen was a strong and unique individual. They each had different musical tastes which is probably why Queen's catalog of music contains such a variety of genres. They wrote and recorded songs that are soft rock, hard rock, progressive rock, arena rock, thrash rock, glam rock, rockabilly, r&b, blues, pop, soul, funk, disco, dance music, jazz, gospel, folk, opera, show tunes, ragtime, etc. They would sometimes combine multiple genres in a single song. "Bohemian Rhapsody" released originally in 1975 is the creation of Freddie Mercury but he never told anyone what he was thinking when he wrote the lyrics. Freddie often wrote in metaphors so I would not suggest trying to take these lyrics literally. He wanted listeners to be able to apply to the song whatever meaning it had to them personally. Not what it meant to him. BTW - Freddie did admit that it was composed of three separate songs that he had been working on but could not seem to finish. So he decided to mash them together, adding some transitions and bridges, and created "Bohemian Rhapsody". "Bohemian Rhapsody" can be broken down into 6 parts: Part I is the "Into". The video image shows the four members of Queen singing and harmonizing the lyrics of the "Intro" in acapella. In reality, it is only Freddie's voice you hear on the recording. Freddie laid down 5 separate tracks of himself singing and harmonizing with himself. (FYI - multi-tracking and overdubbing runs rampant in Bohemian Rhapsody.) Next is the "Ballad" portion of the song ('Mama, just killed a man'). Freddie had worked on this song for years but it never had a name. The other members of Queen tentatively titled it "Freddie's Cowboy Song". The lyrist Tim Rice (he wrote the lyrics for "Jesus Christ, Superstar", "Evita", "Alladin", "The Lion King", ...) who was a close friend of Freddie's believes this portion of the song’s lyrics were about Freddie confessing to his fans that he was gay (a radical and scary thing to do in 1975). The third section is the guitar solo. This is the only part of Bohemian Rhapsody not written by Freddie. Freddie told Brian that he wanted a guitar solo in the song and where he wanted it to fit into the song but left it to Brian to create. Brian wanted to have his guitar effectively sing a verse that would inject a different melody. He heard something in his head. He said that he could hear this melody and had no idea where it came from. That melody isn’t anywhere else in the song, but it’s on a familiar chord sequence, so it dovetails in quite nicely. The guitar solo leads to the fourth section the "Operatic" section. Freddie not only loved Rock but he loved Opera. He was always fascinated with the idea of combining rock and opera. It took 3 weeks to record "Bohemian Rhapsody" and the "Operatic" section was much smaller when they began recording but Freddie kept adding to it. Various lyrics in the "Operatic" section seem to refer to the band: Freddie appears to cast himself as the character, Scaramouche, a stock clown of 16th-century Italian literature who dances around making a fool of himself but speaks the truth. Galileo who was an Italian astrometer, physicist, and engineer definitely refers to Brian (Queen's lead guitarist) who in real life is Dr. Brian May, a scholar with a Ph.D. in Astrophysics. Figaro refers to the Mozart opera, "The Marriage of Figaro" and it is a subtle way to reference Roger Taylor (Queen's drummer) who has a four-octave range vocal span (E2-E6) and was even frequently cited as hitting E5 in live performances while playing the drums. Freddie compared Roger's voice to a dog whistle. The final reference of Magnifico is Queen's bass guitarist, John Deacon, who has a degree in Electrical Engineering. John is the creator of the "Deacy Amp" which when connected to Brian May's homemade guitar (the Red Special) through a treble-booster could produce sounds reminiscent of various orchestral instruments, such as violin, cello, trombone, clarinet, or even vocals. Plus he used his knowledge to keep all of Queen's electronics working. It is hard to realize that it is only Freddie, Brian, and Roger singing in the "Operatic" section (John never sang on the records). This was 1975, well before digital recordings and autotune. Recordings were made using 24-track analog tape. The limits of tape made it necessary for the three vocalists to overdub themselves many times and "bounce" these down to successive sub-mixes. Some sections of Bohemian Rhapsody feature 180 separate overdubs! The fifth section is the "Hard Rock" portion. In this section, Freddie sings angry lyrics addressed to an unspecified "you", accusing them of betrayal and abuse and insisting "can't do this to me, baby", before the final lines conclude with him singing, "just gotta get right outta here". FYI - the "Operatic" and the "Hard Rock" sections of BoRap were featured in a scene in the 1992 film Wayne's World, in which the main character and his friends headbang in a car to the rock part. Because of the success of Wayne's World, Bohemian Rhapsody was re-released in the U.S. in 1992 and rose to Number 2 on the Billboard chart. In the sixth and final section, the "Outro" returns back to the "Ballad" to close the circle of the song and ends with the sound of a Chinese gong. Welcome to the world of Queen.
Wow! That was an incredible bit of information. I thought I knew a lot about Queen, having been a fan since a teenager when A Day at the Races debuted, but I didn't know half of those facts. Bravo! And thanks for sharing.
Loveeee queen! Long love Freddie. This rock opera is open for interpretation, but to me the man he was killing was himself when he was finally coming out and loving his authentic life ❤ great job guys!
Everything about Queen was ahead of it's time. This was the first promotional video ever recorded, before MTV or vh1 even existed. They recorded every performance over their 20 years with Freddie. Extensive music catalog and impossible to place in any one genre. Hope you do more Queen reactions.
I LOVED WATCHING YOU WATCH!!! I was in high school when this came out, and it was a classic then & still to this day! They have so many other songs, CHAMPIONS, ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST. They were an amazing group, and now Adam Lambert is touring with them since Freddie Mercury died. 😮🎶🎵♥
Yes. A three part rock opera, as typical with operas. First, murder, with recognition and impact. Second, the chaos and circus of a trial. Third, coming to terms with the verdict, and death. Note that the final note is a symbol strike, allowed to die. Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen, and Freddie Mercury will live forever.
Your reaction was amazing. I Love that you listen to the entire song instead of talking over it! I heard this song in the 70's in high school and have loved it ever since.
This song is about Freddie Mercury (lead singer) coming out and telling his mother he's gay. So the guy he metaphorically kills is his old self and there's no going back. Check out their "live aid concert" it's at Wembley stadium in London 1985. It was organised to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. If the stadium had a roof they would have blown it off. You get to see them live and Freddie's amazing crowd work. You will definitely recognise some of the songs you probably didn't even know were queen. Remember, queen is a band and not just Freddie.
Freddie Mercury (lead singer) was working on writing three songs when he had the genius inspiration to combine them into this epic masterpiece. One of them that was tentatively going to be called " The Cowboy Song " is where the gun and shooting references come from. In the very beginning with the "singing heads" it's actually just Freddie harmonizing with himself on multiple tracks. The accompanying video for their 1975 single, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is generally recognized as the first ever promotional music video, kick-starting and setting the gold-standard for the genre for decades to come.
1. The crime (is this the real life) 2. The confession (mama…) 3. The arrest (too late, my time has come) 4. The trial (both attorneys back & forth) 5. The conviction (we will not let you go) 6. The outburst and failed attempt to escape (gotta get right outta here) 7. Resigning to his fate (nothing really matters…) 8. The walk to the gallows (sad guitar solo) 9. His execution (anyway the wind blows) 9. His death (the final gong)
Good to hear a reaction that understands the story and emotions of this record. This came out in the UK when I was was 12 and it blew my mind. It was so original back then and I'd argue that same originality and is still there today and perhaps the story even more pertinent now than then. Cheers you two. Have fun. 🌻
Jump on the Queen train and take a ride down the Rabbit Hole. But hold on tight, it’s a wild ride. Queen has over 200 songs in their catalog. Somebody to Love, live in Montreal is a great next song.
Great reaction, Queen is awesome. This song was voted best Rock n Roll song ever written for decades now. Freddie Mercury had limitless talent. The whole band does. They all have college degrees and they all have written number one hits. Very rare to have the whole band write let alone have them be number one hits. So glad you liked this. Check out Queen starting with Live Aid 1985 whole concert it will blow your mind
I was 22 when I first heard this in 1975 and it is as fresh now as it was then. It was a complete game changer, we had never seen nor heard anything like it before and music was never the same again. Four very talented musicians led by Freddie Mercury the best frontman of any band, ever.
THE LATE GREAT FREDDIE MURCURY WROTE this SONG AND HE died FROM Aid's AND THE guitarist OF QUEEN Brian May HAS A PHD in phisiscs AND HE built his OWN electric guitar 🎸 REST in PEACE FREDDIE MURCURY YOU ARE GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN 😔
"The most popular theory about “Bohemian Rhapsody” is that it served as Mercury’s way of coming out as gay or bisexual. Mercury biographer Lesley-Ann Jones claims to have confirmed the theory with Mercury’s longtime lover Jim Hutton."
I must say the man was a genius..he definitely had a voice to sing. Queen will go down in history as one of the greatest rock Bands of all times,along side of led zeppelin, Janis Joplin, the animals, Stevie Ray Vaughan, the doors. Thank you . The 70's and 80s were some great time in music.
Feddie Mercury. like him or not. was one of the most talented singers ever. the range that man could hit was phenomenal. My opinion: Queen. one of the greatest bands ever. and LOVE LOVE this song (in spite of Waynes world?). amazing vocals. fun and just a really good song to just make you relax and have fun. Really dont know how youve never heard this song till now?!?!
Everyone literally knows (we will rock you), and (we are the champions), you’ll hear it at every Sports event, lots of people just don’t know who the band is, well it’s Queen.😊
Welcome to the world of Queen music guys The singer/pianist is Freddie Mercury , easily one of the best vocalist in contemporary music Brian May on guitar is so talented and so damn smart , John Decon on bass & Roger Taylor on drums, Freddie & Roger both have crazy vocal ranges , Brian is a bit softer & John is mostly background, but Roger the drummer is doing most of the really high vocals opra stuff. When this came out when I was in High School I saw thing what in the hell is this. Lol.
Yeah this whole song is a musical journey it just takes you on a cruise down roads that you've never heard... For what it's worth I would say myself and many many other people would say that Queen was one of the greatest rock bands of all time. No two songs sound alike.
Just for your info: Queen states that "Bohemian Rhapsody" is about a young man who has accidentally killed someone and, like Faust, sold his soul to the devil. On the night before his execution, he calls for God saying, "Bismillah" ("In the name of God" in Arabic), and with the help of angels, regains his soul from Shaitan (the devil in Arabic).
I'm pretty sure what happened in the story arc is. Yeah he killed the guy, but he's either in prison or jail, why he has the time to contemplate, and why he's saying goodbye to everybody. He knows he has to face consequences. Then that middle part is basically the trial and what seems like the death penalty. In the Rock part after that, basically a confession and the anger that drove him to do that. Then back to him coming to terms. The beginning again, full circle.
The song is defind as the The Crime, the Trial, and the Retribution. It has been speculated that it was about Freddie coming to terms with his sexuality. Freddie never said it. Great song. Thank you for enjoying it.
My understanding was that this was lead vocalist Freddy Mercury's coming out song. The part where he's singing to his "mama" and says he just killed a man, he's referring to his former self that pretended to be heterosexual. Freddie's family was conservative Zoroastrian and would not approve of his homosexuality, hence the whole ballad section of this song makes a lot of sense if you read it that way.
This song always resonated with me because of its themes of poverty, turning to crime, throwing away the good will of those around you, etc. I grew up very poor, and as a homeless teen, I was abducted and trafficked (it's a pretty word we use these days to cover up the fact that unfortunately, slavery is still here, and I experienced it first hand). It took me a long time to escape. When I was free again, I committed a lot of crimes just to survive. It's been 25 years (I am 41, 38 in my profile pic) but everything I went through has left deep scars on my life, and affected everything I have done since, I just try to direct all that pain into something positive, I like to volunteer and such. As for Freddie Mercury, he was a giant walking the earth. He was ethnically parsi-indian, was born in Zanzibar, but spent most of his childhood in India. His family fled Zanzibar to escape the violence of the revolution. I really feel like he put a great deal of his experience, his heart and soul into this song. Apparently he sat down and wrote this song in one sitting, it had just come to him. The world didn't deserve him, and it's more empty in his absence.
Lots of changes, The clue is in the title .. A rhapsody in music is a one-movement work that is episodic yet integrated, free-flowing in structure, featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, colour, and tonality. An air of spontaneous inspiration and a sense of improvisation make it freer in form than a set of variations. The word rhapsody is derived from the Greek: ῥαψῳδός, rhapsōidos, a reciter of epic poetry (a rhapsodist),
He had contracted AIDS and was slowly dying... but a lover died before him... so when he says "Pulled MY trigger now he's dead..." has a whole other meaning.
Did you know that Freddie Mercury was born with four extra incisors in his top jar, making him very Bucktooth, but he would never correct that alignment because he believed it lent to his vocal range. Another fun fact about Freddie Mercury is that he was born with false vocal cords, along with his real vocal cords, and when he sang, he could utilize both sets of vocal cords, and with the extra room in his mouth, what came out has yet to be matched to this day rest in peace, Freddy.
Did anybody else notice how the placement (and pose) of Shante's body in the thumbnail (just underneath Freddie Mercury) makes it look like her hands, are his hands, and he's reaching around and holding her breasts (and her with the surprised look on her face and all?) Just sayin'. Cheers,
Don't try and over analyses the song, it is a compilation of three songs Freddie Mercury had been working on, the first one for nearly ten years by the time of the recording. The only part not written by Freddie was the guitar solo which was written by Brian May. The voices are all real, no such thing as auto-tune or CGI, on the video, back in 1975. The initial harmonies are just Freddie Mercury who over dubbed himself at least 5 times. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemian_Rhapsody The band was made up of: Freddie Mercury. Songwriter, lead vocalist, pianist and studied graphic art and design. Sir Brian May CBE PhD. Songwriter, vocalist, lead guitarist, record producer and astrophysicist. Roger Taylor OBE BSc. Songwriter, vocalist, drummer and has a Bachelor Degree in Biology. He is the one who provided the falsetto (high pitched) vocals. John Deacon. Songwriter, occasional vocalist, bass guitarist and electronics engineer, now retired. Brian May is seen using his "home made" guitar called the "Red Special" and a "Deacy Amp" an amplifier designed and built by John Deacon.
I think he 'killed a man' follows 'put a gun against my head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead' is referring to Eddie's coming out to himself that he is Gay.
Freddie Mercury wrote this song way before Queen came along and he called it something else I don’t remember what it was called but it’ll probably come to my head after this comment 😂 but great reaction
Ok... now I have a challenge! Listen a few more times, get more familiar with it, then check out PENTATONIXs cover, they are an acapella group (no instruments)... if they don't amaze you, I'd be totally surprised. Subbing to keep watching... Excellent reaction BTW!
