Is Queen over-rated ?

[palitoy]

The only place I hear about Queen is here and at work, where one of my co-worker's passions include Queen and Barry Manilow.

I'm not the world's biggest Queen fan but I've never thought them to overplayed (Although I never want to hear bohemian rhapsody again) or overrated.

Led Zepplin is a band I find overrated, probably because I find their music just OK but I've had people nearly stab me over saying that.

[Mikey]

Zep is way over-rated too, imo

I used to like them back in the 70's, but today I find most of their songs unlistenable.

[SUP-Ronin]

Hmmm.........

BBC NEWS | UK | Early footage of Queen discovered

[Vortigern99]

^ ^ ^ I wonder if that's Freddie or Brian playing with those dogs?

[huedell]

I didn't make this thread to slap Hector in the face

I posted it because of some comment I heard on my local radio station.
They were acting like Queen is the best rock band of all time.
I don't agree, so that's why I thought it would make a good topic.

All fine and good. Just commenting on your subject wording.
The fact that I did that----and got involved here implicates me just
as much as any. You know we're birds of a feather Mike---it's just
that you're an eagle and I'm a vulture around here...and we just molt
at different points in different threads

[Zemo]

Zep is way over-rated too, imo

I used to like them back in the 70's, but today I find most of their songs unlistenable.

The estimated value on stairway to heaven, if zep used it comercially is 572.000,000. They won't do it. Nor will they sell out to guitar hero and the like. They will not tour or play together because they lost john b and plant said that was it. Class act on and off stage. Sept a few borrowed songs, which by the way happened more than not back then.

P.S Mike, thats because you let yourself get old.

[Mego Milk]

"We Will Rock You"
"We Are The Champions"

2 rockin songs that could be heard in any ballpark!

[Evel KMego]

No one will ever top Dexy's Midnight Runners anyway, so this whole argument is pointless...........

[Goblin19]

By the way, I should point out I like Queen better than Zeppelin, personally. I just think Queen is slightly overrated, and I do mean slightly.

[kingdom warrior]

No! but this is a great Thread! Kudos Mike!!!

[Joe90]

...I feel Night at the Opera is one of the best mainstream albums of all time. The Beatles at their experimental best didn't cover the kind of ground Queen did on that album, and worse, often sound like they are trying a little bit too hard to be weird. There are few albums I hold in such high regard as Night at the Opera. Sticky Fingers and Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust would be a couple near perfect companions.
The basic problem with this thread, is that if you are not familiar with Queen's full albums and back catalogue, you can't appreciate how truly great the band was. Frankly many of the Queen hits are some of the weakest material. There are not a lot of bands that are like that... Maybe the Stones, a lot of the post Some Girls hits really don't hint at how great they used to be. The Beatles hits are a very good sample of what they were about. Queen hits... something different. If you were to purchase a Queens greatest hits compilation, you would just get the barest sense of what they were capable of.
So my answer is NO. Queen is not over-rated. I would say just Day at the Races and Night at the Opera put them in a class well beyond most bands.

.... Yeah, what misterD said...

Well except maybe the part of trying too hard to sound weird...

[nvmbrsdoom5]

As people like DaveMC have kinda already pointed out, I think part of the problem here is that to many Americans, Queen were just an old band with " a few radio hits". In other parts of the world, they were much more famous and the band's popularity never waned. In places like the United Kingdom and South America, for example, I think Queen were far more popular and successful during the 1980s than even before.

But I mean, the whole idea of "overrated" boils down to personal tastes and opinion anyhow. I don't personally find them to be overrated because I don't think they've been credited or acclaimed for doing anything that they didn't actually do. They've inspired loads of artists all across the board, sold millions of albums worldwide, and they are one of the few bands where every member was an accomplished songwriter who had major hits of their own (even the "quiet" member John Deacon had huge songwriting hits with You're My Best Friend and Another One Bites The Dust, for example). They level of musicianship and their ability to create such memorable melodies and harmonies isn't something you come across every day. Some of Queen's production techniques in the studio were groundbreaking and innovative as well, especially for their time. And while they receive a fair amount of airplay, it's not as if you hear Queen songs constantly being jammed down your throat, which helps to keep it a bit more fresh, I think.

And while I feel that Freddie's death is a sad thing and I don't want to be negative towards it, I also kinda feel like all the attention given to the band because of his death has overshadowed the fact that they were just an amazing band. Especially in N. America it seems like most people's first thought when Queen is brought up is the whole thing with Freddie and how he died, etc etc., because it was so highly publicized.

Frankly, at least here in the States, I feel the band is a bit too under-appreciated and everything. But again, it's down to personal tastes I guess. But they're up in that category with bands like Thin Lizzy and UFO who I think deserved more fame and recognition here than they got.

[GSPUSA]

over rated +1

[Hector]

over rated +1

I would like to read a formed opinion on why they are over rated + 1 in your opinion...enlightened me...please.

[Hector]

I'm glad there are a lot of posters in here who appreciate Queen as much as I do...it makes me feel sane once again.