Are The Beatles and Queen overrated?

roy.or.r said:
It might be an unpopular opinion but does anyone else think Beatles and Queen are both overrated? Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying they aren’t good bands but I don’t think they are at the very top. I much prefer Rolling Stones and the Who.
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Welcome to the 173rd Beatles thread of the last 4 years. To save time, those that like them will swear they’re great (which they are), whilst those that don’t like them will claim they’re overrated or shit……
 
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Phil1 said:
I always got the impression that those who don’t like queen tend to be a bit on the grumpy side in general so I’m not overly surprised to see them not getting much love on BM! Haha!
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Its the trying to be cool or being a bit dim in expressing themselves properly.

That or just really stupid.
 
Exeter Blue I am here said:
Welcome to the 173rd Beatles thread of the last 4 years. To save time, those that like them will swear they’re great (which they are), whilst those that don’t like them will claim they’re overrated or shit……
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You have missed the sane 3rd option for our resident deaf heads. Saying you don't like someone but admitting that doesn't make them shit or overrated.
 
Yes, along with Oasis and The Smiths, they are two of the most overrated bands ever in my view. But that’s not to say I don’t enjoy some of their songs.
 
OB1 said:
Also, objectively, not the case but also rather irrelevant. Lots of session musicians will, by necessity, have technical ability but that is very different to having personality, style or the ability compose highly successful or original music.

Roger Taylor is a very fine rock drummer, one of the the best of the many 100's I've seen live in concert.

Brian May is a great rock guitarist (Total Guitar named him as the greatest in 2020). And whether you like his guitar sound or not, it is unique. Steve Vai, who is probably as technically gifted as a rock guitarist gets and can parrot most other guitarists, has made these comments about May:

“He has real quality, integrity, rock sensibilities – he has a phenomenal ear for the actual music, you know? His inner ear constructed that amazing tone that he has, and it always sounded great. And just the fact that he was able to build that guitar when he was young… that Red Special was hand-built by him, so it has a myriad of tones to it. “But all these tones and everything in his guitar, in his amp, are just one dimension. It all comes from his fingers and his mind.”

“And I’ll never forget that day, perhaps a few days after I moved out to Los Angeles when I was 20 years old, when I walked into the Rainbow Bar and Grill on Sunset Blvd and there was Brian standing at the bar. It was surreal.

I went up and just started talking to him and he was so so kind. He was interested and interesting, and I could not even believe I was talking to my guitar hero. He even invited me to a Queen rehearsal the next day. Of course I went and got to meet and see the whole band. It was kind of unbelievable to me. And there it was, The Red Special plugged into his Vox Rig. It was so odd to see this guitar in real time. And then Brian said, 'You’re welcome to try it.' It was just a few years prior that I was still ogling this guitar from my Long Island teenage bedroom, and now it was in my hands. Of course I played it, but to my chagrin it didn’t sound anything like Brian. All that magnificent tone is in his fingers.”

“… When I heard Queen, and all that great music of the ’70s… it held a special place that never goes away. “And lucky for me, they were all absolutely brilliant musicians. There’s nothing like that, nothing even remotely like it. It was like a paradigm shift, and what Brian was doing, and the way the stars came together with him and the band. And Brian’s whole overview of sound and guitar parts, there was just nothing like it."
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May was different to any other guitarist I‘ve heard. His solos were written to follow the melody of the song so he didn’t have to improvise them live he could reproduce them almost note for note. Unlike Page who played a different solo every night.

He had a brilliant musical ear - have a listen to Good Company off a Night at the Opera the song starts with a ukulele but by the end he’s reproducing a brass band - reproducing the sounds of the clarinet and brass instruments on his guitar.

Queen’s trademark was vocal harmonies. I know some people hated that but they were incredibly good at layering voices upon voices (for me even better than the Eagles or the Beach Boys). Somebody to Love is an example of creating brilliant gospel harmonies. A lot of this disappeared when they turned commercial in the eighties and started churning out shit like ‘body language“ - I’m surprised May didn’t leave at that point.
 
BlueHammer85 said:
Cliff Richard's worldwide sales are 260 million, which makes him the second highest selling British male solo artist worldwide of all time, after Elton John.
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For many years I used to organise coach trips to the NEC for musical concerts. The two acts that booked the most coaches were -
1. Cliff Richard.
2. New Kids On The Block.
Chacun a son gout!
 
TueartsOHK said:
May was different to any other guitarist I‘ve heard. His solos were written to follow the melody of the song so he didn’t have to improvise them live he could reproduce them almost note for note. Unlike Page who played a different solo every night.

He had a brilliant musical ear - have a listen to Good Company off a Night at the Opera the song starts with a ukulele but by the end he’s reproducing a brass band - reproducing the sounds of the clarinet and brass instruments on his guitar.

Queen’s trademark was vocal harmonies. I know some people hated that but they were incredibly good at layering voices upon voices (for me even better than the Eagles or the Beach Boys). Somebody to Love is an example of creating brilliant gospel harmonies. A lot of this disappeared when they turned commercial in the eighties and started churning out shit like ‘body language“ - I’m surprised May didn’t leave at that point.
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The early “no one played synthesiser” days were amazing.

Of course they nicked their approach to backing vocals from The Sweet ;-)
 
roy.or.r said:
It might be an unpopular opinion but does anyone else think Beatles and Queen are both overrated? Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying they aren’t good bands but I don’t think they are at the very top. I much prefer Rolling Stones and the Who.
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Queen are/were cheesy as fuck
 
bluemoon32 said:
Queen are/were cheesy as fuck
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The music scene in the 70’s and 80’s was cheesy as fuck.
Queen just managed to produce a better catalogue of songs than many others of the time.
They certainly managed a few stinkers like everyone else but their best stands the test of time.
 
Is it ok to not enjoy The Beatles ? Absolutely, rarely listen to them. I like their music but just don't choose to listen to them often.

They certainly weren't overrated though. Their output of classic songs and albums in about 6 years of recording music is phenomenal, not to mention how groundbreaking some of their music, songs like A Day In The Life, Tomorrow Never Knows etc. was and a lot of techniques used in recording today were pioneered on their records.

So it's hard to say they were overrated. They're so highly regarded in so many aspects of music for a good reason.

But music from a listening experience is subjective.
 
hilts said:
Some opinions are unfortunately just wrong , like them being just a boy band which can only come from being a simpleton or never having listened to most of their songs.
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Opinions are wrong....if you don't agree?
Lol....the perfect definition of a simpleton, from one ;)
You like them, carry on listening to them then, I think they're crap....and won't!
 
Crooked_rain said:
Is it ok to not enjoy The Beatles ? Absolutely, rarely listen to them. I like their music but just don't choose to listen to them often.

They certainly weren't overrated though. Their output of classic songs and albums in about 6 years of recording music is phenomenal, not to mention how groundbreaking some of their music, songs like A Day In The Life, Tomorrow Never Knows etc. was and a lot of techniques used in recording today were pioneered on their records.

So it's hard to say they were overrated. They're so highly regarded in so many aspects of music for a good reason.

But music from a listening experience is subjective.
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I agree with you mate. I heard Robert Fripp (highly regarded guitarist/songwriter with King Crimson) in an interview saying when he was a young guy, a student I think, he heard Sgt Pepper on the car radio while he was driving, he said it was so inspiring from that moment he knew exactly what he wanted to do as a career. The song I think was Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds....Fripp said it was an LSD trip brilliantly put to music. Loads of other famous respected musicians have said similar things. So you think, how can they be overrated If so many your peers think you are the best ?
I've played in loads of semi-pro bands in my life and nearly everyone I've played with admires them, even the guys who don't particularly like them. The premise is always "how did they write such great songs with such variety in 6 years". It's quite phenomenal what they did.
I think they released about 200 songs and every one has been covered by somebody.
Up to 2017 there are 2200 cover versions of one of their songs.... Yesterday.
And lets not forget, Britain was considered a joke musically by the rest of the world, nothing of renown, until The Beatles.

Of course there are the haters, but that's with everything isn't it ?
 
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My two favourite bands. The record sales and the enduring appeal of both don’t lie.

I’ve loved Queen ever since their first single, Seven Seas Of Rhye. Their music was full of brilliant tunes and intelligent lyrics.

Freddie was arguably the greatest front-man ever, with a fantastic stage presence and a superb voice to match.


The Beatles were brilliant too.

The evolution of their music was plain to hear from album to album, and they were pioneers in their use of non-conventional pop/rock music instruments, especially on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Neither band is overrated, IMHO.
 
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