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Old 2010.10.11, 02:26 AM   #1
vielleicht
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Default Similarities between SR and Freddie Mercury

Similitude is in the eyes of the beholder and it's quite natural and subjective to find things in common for those two people that are among my favourite musicians but it still interests me that they both:

1. Received classical music training in childhood to have their later career influenced and based on;

2. Have distinct, clear, powerful vocal qualities and amazing ranges;

3. Really kick ass in live performance with flamboyant and camp styles, not to mention their great voices;

4. Are considered to be most creative in the first 5 years of their careers by their stalwart fans (SR by «Ringo no Uta» and Queen by «Jazz», ah really I don't mean to start another "Last classic of SR" thread!:-P);

5. Then slid into a much-less-original-though-still-pleasant-to-listen-to phase, SR formed TJ, Freddie went solo at times with fewer stellar works;

6. Have several heavily orchestrated masterpieces...
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Old 2010.10.11, 03:01 AM   #2
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You forgot that both of them are

FABULOUS!
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Old 2010.10.12, 11:45 PM   #3
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They're both also big in Japan!

Sorry, it had to be said. It's funny you make this thread since these are two of my favorite performers EVER. I've never thought of them being similar before but you make some interesting points I'd like to go over.

Originally Posted by vielleicht View Post
1. Received classical music training in childhood to have their later career influenced and based on;
They both took piano lessons, didn't they? I know Freddie did when he lived in Zanzibar as a child.

Originally Posted by vielleicht View Post
2. Have distinct, clear, powerful vocal qualities and amazing ranges;
True enough. Though as much as I love the girl, Ringo doesn't have Freddie's range. The guy could sing the phone book. Even when he was recording Innuendo after he was diagnosed with AIDS and his vocals were all fucked up from all of his smoking, he still could outsing just about anybody. Hey, another similarity! They both smoke!

Originally Posted by vielleicht View Post
3. Really kick ass in live performance with flamboyant and camp styles, not to mention their great voices;
Hell. Yes. Queen was the shit back in the 70's. I would have killed to see the Hammersmith days when they would do those awesome Great King Rat/Killer Queen/March of the Black Queen medleys. But here's the real question - Would I rather see Queen in Wembley or the dynamite! tour? GAAAH!!! I CAN'T DECIDE!!!

Originally Posted by vielleicht View Post
4. Are considered to be most creative in the first 5 years of their careers by their stalwart fans (SR by «Ringo no Uta» and Queen by «Jazz», ah really I don't mean to start another "Last classic of SR" thread!:-P);
No argument here. Early Ringo is fantastic and early Queen is godly prog/metal/fantasy epicness. Seriously. Check out Queen and Queen II if you're reading this and you haven't.

Originally Posted by vielleicht View Post
5. Then slid into a much-less-original-though-still-pleasant-to-listen-to phase, SR formed TJ, Freddie went solo at times with fewer stellar works;
Seems to be common with a lot of musicians actually. But Queen and SR are huge examples of this. Luckily Queen put on fantastic live performances even when their album material was a bit lacking in the mid to late 80's. Tokyo Jihen on the other hand? Seems like they just get worse and worse with each show. They have about as much energy as I do on a Sunday morning after drinking several bottles of vodka the night before and getting 2 hours of actual sleep. I'm surprised Ukigumo doesn't show up at the concert dressed in his pajamas. He plays like he's in them. And Ringo always sounds like she's about to fall asleep. Let me put it this way - Queen made "Hot Space" fucking rock during Live at the Bowl.

Action This Day

Just look at this.

Action This Day (Live at the Bowl)

And compare it to this.

That's right, EMF. You just got Dynamite Out'd by Queen. How does it feel?

But to put things in perspective to those who don't know or those not motivated enough to check Wikipedia, Queen's album Hot Space is basically their Variety. Hot Space was laden with cheesy 80's synth, outdated disco instrumentation, cheesy lyrics (more than usual even), and... Under Pressure. That's kind of like if Asai Kenichi dropped by and decided to help the band make the closing track of Variety completely fucking awesome. But yeah, other than that, it's considered the band's worst effort. It's kind of like how The Beach Boy's Smiley Smile sucks (the exact reasons why are a long story though) but it had Good Vibrations. Though I digress. With that information in mind, the performances the band made during this particular show from that album were fantastic. It's very much like what Tokyo Jihen did with Kyoiku in Dynamite Out. But did TJ do it again with Variety?

*cue sad trombone sound effect*

Yeah. That pretty much sums it up. Anyway, I've probably spent too much time on this.

Originally Posted by vielleicht View Post
6. Have several heavily orchestrated masterpieces...
Are we talking about his work with Queen? Because while Ringo seems obsessed with having Saito Neko do an orchestral arrangement of every song she's ever recorded, Freddie Mercury did nothing like that aside from his 1988 Barcelona album he recorded with Montserrat Caballé. But if you're talking about Brian May's guitar overdubbing, the several vocal tracks layered on one another, and the particular studio production techniques they used during their early albums, then yeah, there's definitely some heavy orchestration there. Queen did some crazy stuff in the studio.

But this is the question that should be going on in all of our heads. Wouldn't it be awesome if Ringo gave Ukigumo the boot and made Brian May her guitarist? I guarantee it would revitalize both of their careers. Tokyo Jihen is very meh right now and Queen with Paul Rodgers is okay at best. These two must join forces! Though he might need to brush up on his Japanese a little if he hasn't learned anything since writing Teo Torriatte.
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Old 2010.10.14, 07:09 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by Osiris12345 View Post
They both took piano lessons, didn't they? I know Freddie did when he lived in Zanzibar as a child.
Yeah, and it's quite surprising to me how the artistry, novelty and connection to classical music in «Toki ga Bousou suru» is sometimes being overlooked - you don't have too many songs that has Mozart's sonata plugged in so seamlessly fittingly and with such effects of great chiaroscuro, not to mention the innovative final piano chord procession. And «Remote control»! Certainly that harpsichord opening reminds of «The fairy feller's master-stroke» doesn't it?

Originally Posted by Osiris12345 View Post
No argument here. Early Ringo is fantastic and early Queen is godly prog/metal/fantasy epicness. Seriously. Check out Queen and Queen II if you're reading this and you haven't.
Sure to be another similarity - Ringo is just as fond of using wall of sounds as Freddie in her compositions, you can find more than one instance and they are all very well balanced.

And I've also thought that «Omatsuri sawag» would just as well be a crazy arena anthem!
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Old 2010.10.16, 06:02 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by Osiris12345 View Post

But this is the question that should be going on in all of our heads. Wouldn't it be awesome if Ringo gave Ukigumo the boot and made Brian May her guitarist? I guarantee it would revitalize both of their careers. Tokyo Jihen is very meh right now and Queen with Paul Rodgers is okay at best. These two must join forces! Though he might need to brush up on his Japanese a little if he hasn't learned anything since writing Teo Torriatte.
Heh, I was thinking this when I saw Brian May live recently -- he had some random woman on vocals and they didn't really mesh well.
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Old 2010.10.27, 04:01 PM   #6
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Exactly. This is the argument I use to try convert people into my Religion of the Apple. I use to say she's the most talented and creative artist I've discovered since Freddy Mercury and that each new album release announcement by Tokyo Jihen is as exciting as what i was feeling when Queen was releasing a new album. Yes, I'm old enough to remember what it felt like to bring back home and listen for the first time to a Night at the Opera, Jazz or News of the World ! :-)
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