So the bonus is the end audio with no video.....that's probably the sound engineer recording the bitching between May and Mercury on the sly. Sneeeeaky.
I'd imagine _a lot_ of engineers and producers have done this over the years. There are probably a hundred hours of these sort of exchanges between our most beloved musicians, but they've never been released because the artists have the master tapes. One can only imagine the things that The Beatles, The 'Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd (Waters and Gilmore fought for sure), and countless other legacy rock bands said in the studio. Between all of them, there are likely miles of tape full of arguments, jokes, and all manner of shenanigans.
@@ianjonas7380 One in which business, artistic expression, and friendship all have to coexist. This is one of the biggest reasons why pop music is so screwed up.
@@Fiveash-Arthow much time have you spent in a recording studio? To a large extent, this IS how it's done. Seems to me it's YOU who's trying to be cool on the internet.
There have been bands who came to literal blows over far less, that's for certain. I recall it being joked about by one or more Queen members that they broke up all the time, only for their need to get another word in squashing whatever it was that was being fought over. Basic human relating, in other words.
I think a lot of people don't recognize how unique it is to have a band where every member contributes not only musically, but *entire* songs. Most of the time, a band has 1-2 primary songwriters, and the other members work solely to fulfill the other's vision. The fact that Queen had 4 members who all wrote songs and worked on them together is truly remarkable.
Freddie was a demanding guy. He wants a lot of things. He wants to break free. He wants you to let him go. He wants to ride his bicycle. He wants to find somebody to love. So many wants!
Exactly!! I was only in a low level, local gigs, weddings, birthdays and cover type of band but even we had a lot of squabbles in rehearsals! Usually started when when the lead singer/rhythm guitarist and the lead guitarist went off into a huddle to work their harmony parts out and me (bass) and our drummer got bored and started acting out a bit. Our drummer was actually a really good lyricist and wrote a lot of what I thought were good songs, or songs that were at least worth trying to work on but our lead singer always rejected them out of hand without even trying...still irks me a bit, that, cos he had all the melodies in his head and it wouldn't have been too much to ask to at least have *tried* to work on a few arrangements instead of doing "Crocodile Rock" for the thousandth time! Sorry, don't know why I launched into that long winded and probably quite boring story as a reply 😂
Sometimes you need somebody to say "That's not good enough, you can make it better." Sometimes that is the producer, sometimes that is your bandmate. The results speak for themselves. Great art isn't an accident.
Very well said. The trouble bands get into is when they start paying too many yes-men to just stroke their ego all day and night. When everyone is telling you "that's great, that's perfect" every dang take is when bands lose passion and get complacent.
Tell that to Billy Corgan, lol. The quality of his published output dropped in proportion to his increasing involvement in production and the decreasing amount of external feedback received. Dude made a lot of shit, he just had people around him with good ears who could pick out the good from the bad. When he decided that feedback was "negativity", his ability to make consistently good music evaporated.
That sums up the difference between Freddie and Brian. Brian was a rocker through and through. Super versatile, but always staying true to the hard rock ethos. Freddie and Roger became more pop oriented over time. The blend of the pop and hard rock gave Queen a unique quality that people obviously liked.
@@fleatactical7390 I don't know much about John Deacon. There was definitely a great synergy in the band. I've played in bands with musicians interested in different genres. I think that kind of variety makes music interesting and unpredictable - and that describes Queen.
I agree. One of the quirks of Queen was a handful of their albums were all over the place but assembled in a way that made them cohesive. A lot of folks overlook the careful ’assembly’ that elevates certain albums. XTC’s Skylarking and Pink Floyd’s DSOTM immediately comes mind. Great albums that would have likely been less so if assembled differently. I wasn’t necessarily a big rock fan back in the day but I absolutely loved and admired Queen for a multitude of reasons.
Imagine two or three master artists painting one picture together on a single canvas - can you imagine how awkward and difficult that would be? Welcome to making music together as a band. The fact that it EVER works out is testimony to the greatness of the people and the process they managed to put together.
No, this is an example of why many bands break up. I give credit to Brian May for putting up with that crap. Mercury's ego was out of control. He did not collaborate with May in this clip. He treated him like a child. It came off as putting May in his place for no reason...just picky, control-freak bullshit.
Ya, it seems like the normal process of writing and recording. Butting heads is just a healthy part of it. They all do this. Plus those English chaps are just born snippy and a bit egotistical. When the dust clears they have magic, and some bruised egos but, they either forget and move on or leave or get kicked out. Its rock n roll
Roger laid the foundation. Brian brought the rock. John added grooves to it. Freddie sprinkled stardusts on top, and the world was a better place for a while.
Every great band in history goes though this. Because they care so passionately about what they're doing and just want to get it 'right' and in the end they do.
John looks so happy and relaxed in these videos it actually crushed him that Freddy died. 32 years later he clearly hasn't recovered. Interesting to see Rodger in his Miami Vice phase I love it
All great artists will have their own signature, their own way of doing things. What makes a great band is when they each stake their territory, letting others stake theirs. Vocals are Freddie’s domain, guitars are Brian’s. I’m glad Brian didn’t back down or change his style. Brian is one of the greatest, most identifiable guitarists in rock history, like Eddie Van Halen, you don’t mess with that. Brian’s signature guitar style is as much of Queen’s personality as Freddie’s voice, and that’s what makes them the Queen we all love.
You are absolutely right!...This is what make the huge difference between Queen and most if rock bands! ...memorable...amazing...fantastic rock ever!❤❤❤❤
Thank you very much Sound and Vision for this video. Freddie and Queen always strived for perfection. When they had differences of opinions, they worked them out. Freddie was a perfectionist. And when he had an idea, he said it. Through the 20 plus years, there were many ups and downs. But they were like family. And through it all, Freddie and Queen succeeded because they all were aiming with one solution! Because each of them gave 100% of their talents, energy, devotion, patience and persistence. This was the result of our Legends Freddie Mercury, 👑🎶 🎹 🎤 Brian May, 🎶 🎸 Roger Taylor 🎶 🥁 and John Deacon 🎶 🎸 From Illinois USA September 16, 2023
I think both Freddie AND Brian could be 'perfectionists' but occasionally their perfectionisms were moving in different directions....Freddie's vocals had so many diverse roots & influences & Brian was so into that cutting Power Rock sound with melodic liquid tones harmonies.
@@walterevans2118 Brian said many times that Freddie wanted every song and instrument synchronized in very special ways. During the 20 plus years that Our Legendary Freddie Mercury and Queen worked together, they did perform as perfect as they did!!
I think this shows very much that the dominant forces in the band were Mercury and May. I know Taylor and Deacon wrote great songs but often with a lot of help from Mercury. Obviously May didn't want or seek that help
It's called passionate, creative collaboration. That's how magic is made. To me, they appear surprisingly diplomatic and well-behaved here. I'm sure there were much worse occasions
Yes probably more in the 70s though when they were under pressure , getting ripped off etc. By the mid 80s they were financially secure and older and obviously huge. The audio at the end where they have an argument is 1977 I think.
Fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of Queen. People think great songs just somehow happen. They don’t. They require hard work to properly hone. The bickering is nothing more than artists trying to carve a vision through one another. Brilliant musicians, all. Freddie’s a trip. He sees what he sees, knows what he knows and that’s that. LOL Sorely missed. RIP
Thank you! This is my favorite clip and I think people remove it because they think Freddie was being nasty to Brian behind his back. I think they all have thicker skins than that especially after 15 years, and this is the creative process.
@@laurentiurudeanu4102 I think they forget anyway lol and I agree with you, but anyway the first clip is hard to find now and I saw a lot of complaints in comments before that.
@@scottcrawford7674 yes and I think the small impromptu audio fragment ar the end captures that very eloquently; how their working relations actually were, how perfectionist, serious, driven and passionate they were when it came to their music. It wasn't all fun and games as it appeared in the live shows when everything had already been sorted out, polished & perfected
@@scottcrawford7674 I respect your opinion. I like what Norman Sheffield said about Mercury. Everyone started to treat him like a god and he began to behave like one. You will not find a bigger Freddie fan than me. By the way I got to meet Brian, Jer , and Kashimira April 2001 NYC Walforf Astoria Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Induction ceremony.
Freddy and Brian were the band´s leaders. Two heads for the Queen. As Freddy said, Brian was more oriented to heavy metal. I´ve always liked more May´s songs.
Anybody who has been in a band knows that there is a dynamic of power where everybody tries to push the others boundary. That is how you make magic happens, through hard work and tough times. I don't see anything complicated about this.
The thing that made me a Queen fan was they managed to record different genres of music while still retaining their hard rock persona. All of that campy stuff they did in the 70's was awesome!
@@castleanthrax1833 Freddie wrote it and gave John the credit. Brian said in an interview that John told Freddie that he had an idea for a song and Freddie went with the idea. Brian said Freddie was in the studio until his throat bled to get the song perfect. Freddie had great affection for John and I believe actually wrote John's song after he told John that he needed to write some songs to make money money.
the thing is freddie wasn't only the "flamboyant singer".he had lots of musical ideas and knew how to go from A to B.that's what makes queen so great,the four of them had imput on the music
Freddy complains about Brian still playing "heavy metal" where he wanted to move on, for example towards disco. I am team Brian here. I really hate I want to break free and Radio Gaga. The period that nearly ended Queen. Innuendo turned things back to better music.
@@marcelgommans2020 *Freddie with a 'ie'...never 'y!' Regarding them experimenting in other genres, they'd ALWAYS had done this from the door! Them doin' a song or two that fell under 'DISCO' wasn't even that bad! Firstly, the DISCO era as ppl tend to remember started in the mid '70s in Blk/Gay clubs. The sound morphed to the point where it was everybody's genre (whites/blacks/asians/etc). What made it totally unacceptable was when rock DJ's went on this campaign to kill DISCO so that their targeted teenage audience can get back on track to listing to what they supposed to be listening to! Those aforementioned rock DJs sandblasted ANY & ALL rock musicians that dared dabbled in the DISCO genre (like the Stones & Rod Stewart) were crucified for daring to jump on the DISCO bandwagon. Rock DJ, Steve Dahl declared war on DISCO & burned DISCO Records/LPs at the official DISCO Demolition Night at Chicago's Comiskey Park 12 July 1979; thereby, setting the stage for the genre's demise which occurred in '81. Queen's so called DISCO LP wasn't even DISCO! Hot Space released in '82 (AFTER DISCO's death) had only TWO DISCO-ish songs on it (Staying Power which was Funk, not DISCO & Back Chat with the deafening electric drums). The rest had dance (Body Language), Latin (Las Palabras de Amor), Action This Day (New Wave), Calling All Girls (New Wave), Dancer (Rock), Put Out the Fire (Rock), Life is Real (rock ballad), & of course, Under Pressure (Rock). Queen returned to their rock roots with The Works LP from which I Want to Break Free & Radio GAGA came on. There was NOTHING DISCO about that LP (or A Kind of Magic & The Miracle LPs for that matter). The main differences between Bri & Freddie's style is that Freddie wanted to experiment. He never was satisfied with the status quo. He understood that in order to remain relevant, one MUST change with the times. THIS is where Bri falls short as evidenced by the lack of hits he'd put out as Queen + Paul Rodger's Cosmos Rock LP and now with him not happy with new music in studio as Queen + Adam Lambert. Freddie had that production ear & the ability to stay ahead of the music trend. The main reason Queen were the success they were WAS because of Freddie's producing ears! He wasn't around long enough to see Made in Heaven's production thru, and it shows.
I could watch hours of this! Hours and hours. They're so different in the studio than their stage personas are. It's almost like a bickering old couple lol. Just fantastic!
You should at least check out their 70's output. It's some of the best rock music ever made. Excellent albums. Queen 2 is one of my favorite albums of all-time.
@@jasongaylor2232 I've listened to every single album and song they put out, I just never found myself wanting to listen to it again. Just didn't get into it like I did other music.
@@fleatactical7390 I think their 70's catalog is extremely consistent and can easily rival any other great artist that put out a string of great albums. I constantly listen to those albums because they are so good. And the diversity helps.
They always had stuff like this going on in the studio. Stop looking at it from the perspective of Freddie’s gone. At this point they were just being a band. Not all being nice to each other cos one of them is going to die soon. Brian and Freddie’s relationship was no more complicated than in any other band.
I don't think it was complicated at all. Just 2 talented musicians with differing opinions striving for perfection. Lennon & McCartney were the same, probably Jagger and Richards too. .
@@Xander1Sheridan I strongly disagree. It was Lennon who first said he wanted to leave The Beatles but he wanted it kept quiet. McCartney wanted the group to carry on but he didn't want Allan Klein as manager. He got outvoted so he had to leave, it wasn't by choice. Now we all know that McCartney was right not to trust Klein.
When we see musicians who are very popular, so it made them as celebrities, this is the kind of video we should also be provided and watch too, how they work hard, especially, in creating their music, so we can understand why they can go to the top, so we can appreciate them more, more than just seeing their glamour/celebrity/party/show sides.
Amazing. Most bands don't survive this. When a band mate writes a part on their instrument and another mate wants to change it - both mates must both agree the new idea is objectively better - or its often the beginning of the end.
Wow...! This was wild! Having an inside look at the workings of one their practices and the dynamics that goes on. I wasn't aware of Mercury's _total_ involvement in ALL the instruments. He knew what he wanted and that was what he was hearing in his head. Even with all of Brian's bitching, it explains a lot of how all their music has stayed so iconic and timeless.
Excuse me, my friend. That was not "involvement", it was "over control". Their music is iconic and timeless because they were four great musicians. But when they "really" let Freddie take control of things: Hot Space, The Miracle... Until Innuendo you'll find nothing "iconic and timeless" again.
@@bassaniobrokenhart5045 ……Sorry, ‘my friend’….”total involvement” in the instrumentation does NOT mean total control! It was hearing certain nuances in the ‘iconic’ songs that a lead singer needs to hear from the individual instruments. It’s called quality control, my friend. And, your last comment is an obvious mistaken perception, IMO.
@@paso193 That's exactly what I said. And I remove the "my friend" bit. Who the hell was Freddie Mercury to exercise "quality control" on Brian May, who's a thousand times a musician as he'd ever been? What rubbish did Mercury produce when he went solo? Any timeless melodies? And I stand by my last comment. Hot Space? BS The Miracle? BS. And about "Brian May's bitching"... Who was the bitch in Queen? Get outta here, please.
I have been in a few situations when its a struggle to understand what someone exactly wanted me to play and was lucky enough to have a keyboard player who happened to have a doctorate in music and could show us cavemen how to make fire when he could see what each of us ment but struggled to put into words. Thank you Neil for your brilliance
From 1961 to 84, I was the lead singer of the renowned pageant rock band King's Orafice. Queen opened for us in their early years and their perfectionism was certainly their trademark.
This was nice - I like the presentation, the heavy black background giving strength to each musicians viewpoint. I catch important strengths from each, excellent evidence why we have such wonderful music from their time together. They made it work for 20 years . . (yes, tears). Thanks for this structured presentation gleaned from others I've enjoyed also.
Their musical relationship was indeed complicated but that's why was interesting. When they worked hand in hand amazing things were made Up. IS this the world we created? Is a good example.❤
These are completely normal situations in work between musicians. I would even say that such situations occur in all professions. You can't work together effectively if you always agree.
It's a shame there aren't more studio videos like this. Queen probably thought no one would be interested anyway. Fans would probably find studio sessions rather boring, but it's extremely interesting to see how ideas are thrown back and forth, how they tinker with the sound, etc
That was exciting for me. I’ve never witnessed a working band….at work. I’ve always wondered how they build songs. There wasn’t even a brain pause. I was immediately enthralled at their cooperative efforts! I WANT MORE OF THIS!
Sometimes one person will bring in a demo and band members will work on that, give their own spin, colour in the sketch. Other times, someone has a riff, and a song is written around that. Just like fine craftsmanship in any art, greatness is achieved through a lot of subtle tweaks and decisions along the way... I've seen absolutely diabolical songs get made halfway decent by the engineer/producer. I've also had inconsolable differences of opinion on how a song should go; I don't like the bridge of that song and just mentally skip it in my head. There are many ways to write music.
That is not complicated, they are very productive and his gaze is very attentive and precise. That's why it was one of the great bands. They all seem very respectful
It's really stupid how people like you are just blurting out 'no not complicated no' out of your bonehead-level ignorance. Your brain "is not complicated".
Thank you for this wonderful gift. May was a scientist, sticking with known good. Another One Bites the dust was about the same time as Moving Out by Billy Joel, both of which represented commercialism. Nothing lasts forever, tho, as Freddie's late work with Monserrat Caballe was spiritual. Anyone who hasn't heard it please do.
@@montanabonita If you are a Queenianado you will remember Teo Torriatti, He used the same breathing pauses, and nothing since hit quite the same nerve for me. Then the internet, thank God, and the Spain collaboration was in one of my feeds, and it just completely closed the cycle of his passion. They were soul mates, in an expressive sense, and both as good as it gets. What a delivery, glad to meet you. BEST.
The thing Queen had - unlike the Bruce Springsteens and John Mellencamps of recorded music - Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, and Freddie could absolutely take the most 'complicated' arrangement (harmonies, voicings, instrumentation) and get it to tape very quickly. To listen to their albums, "A Night At The Opera", and "A Day At The Races", one might conclude the tracks on these records must have involved countless hours of painstaking thought as to the musical mechanics. Not so much. These guys - as a team - could knock it out - almost as second-nature.
@@danfoss1535 They both had catchy tunes, but I dont like them for other reasons personally. Not everyone is going to like what you like. Better get used to that.
Same as was written above, I don't see any clear rifts between Freddie and Brian. What these episodes really show me - is how complicated is the creating of good music. Every riff is discussed and polished, untill all becomes a true diamond... Again, it all shows how much work of genius professionals is put together to make the music that is still listened to in decades... ❤
Love all these comments. spot on.. I truly miss Freddie. I had no idea what I had growing up in the 70's and 80's. Now I do. These guys in this band were absolutely way ahead of their time.
both were genious- and freddy was a perfectionist- of course not always easy to work with- the results were amazing- and this spec. may sound - love it🤩
What I appreciate about Queen, in comparison to so many other rock bands, is the musical intelligence paired with their sense of humor. Thank God those two qualities survive in almost each of their songs (I mean, a couple of the later ones, I'm not crazy about ... ). There's always a feeling that they can't bring themselves to take the macho rock thing too seriously. Which remains so refreshing.
Exactly. Well said. And they were extremely diplomatic. They put the band first over their own egos. And they were extremely close and more like a family compared to most bands. I think this is why they never broke up and never even considered it.
@@jasongaylor2232 Somebody needs to remind Brian and Roger of that. According to their backstabbing movie, Freddie walked out on the band hurling insults as he left and had to grovel his way back into the band with an AIDS diagnosis he hadn't even received yet. All of it was false. Freddie wasn't the first one to do solo work and Freddie did interviews saying how he never expected Queen to play his Mr. Bad Guy songs when the fans came to hear Queen and how Queen always came first for him. Fans new to Queen believe that crap about Freddie being the wild party animal that the three other choirboys were forced to put up with and what a selfish diva he was and it's all due to Brian's jealousy of Freddie and Roger and John going along with it. The movie really opened my eyes to why Freddie made so many comments about not getting along with Brian and why Freddie felt the way he did about Brian.
@@debra2700 Everything you said about the Bohemian Rhapsody movie is correct in my opinion, the film sucks. However, you sound like you think that Brian wrote the script of Bohemian Rhapsody and intentionally made Freddie look bad to boost his own ego. Please don`t slander Brian he doesn`t deserve that.
@@patepulkkinenvtec2403. Brian and Roger were consultants and Jim Beach was a producer and they had complete authority over the movie. Remember how they spent six years negotiating with Sasha Baron Cohen to play Freddie and he thought they were two clowns for wanting to kill Freddie off in first half of the movie? They fired Cohen because they had the authority to do so and went on to make that horrific hit piece on Freddie. That's why you think it sucks and why I hate it. None of it rang true, none of it was Freddie. Brian told an interviewer once that if one more person asks him what it was like to work with Freddie Mercury, he would throw up so yes, I believe that Brian's actions were deliberate.
@@debra2700 The way they handled Freddie in the movie was trash but I don't think SB Cohen would have been a great pick either. He would have probably just made Freddie look like a clown, not to say Freddie wouldn't have had his comical side.
