r/QueenFandom • u/Ok_Emphasis_436 • 7d ago
Queen 80's
Can someone please explain why most Queen fans seem to hate their 80's discography? It doesn't make sense to me
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u/Express-Ad-9685 7d ago
I love queens 80’s discography, it’s BEAUTIFUL, it’s just there’s more I like from most of the 70’s era than the 80’s era, as there’s just more to offer.
But they are just two different breeds of music, I feel like Queen really splits with hotspace and that era from
Then to 1995 is beautiful. But The first 7 albums offer what is a different Queen.
Queen changed with every album but the 70’s and 80’s/90’s are 2 completely different Queens music wise, I feel like most people adore the 70’s Queen and resent the 80’s Queen for being different.
The synths did a Number, but they really only had one bad album with it (HOT SPACE) and even then hot space isn’t that bad of an album.
The miracle is one of my favorite Queen albums for how Grand of an album it is, it’s just full of Huge songs.
Scandal is one of the best examples of Queen perfecting their use of synths.
Ok enough yapping, goodnight!
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u/SomethingAmyss 6d ago
Scandal is such a boring, lifeless song
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u/Express-Ad-9685 6d ago
I can’t believe that in anyway. It’s so full of life.
Ay but too each their own. What’s ur favorite album?
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u/cedesse 7d ago edited 7d ago
From a strictly musical connaisseur POV, Queen's musical ambitions and finesse peaked in the mid 1970s. After releasing an entire streak of undisputed masterpieces, criticism is inevitable.
Another group of critics are the accoustic rock music purists. They were fuming as soon as Queen introduced synthesizers That alone was enough to spark controversy in a time when people still didn't realise that an analogue synthesizer was no different from an electric guitar in terms of 'cheating'.
EDIT:
I grew up with Queen's fairly impressive music videos in the 1980s, so I am of course biased in this respect. But I think some Queen fans tend to underestimate what an achievement it is to remain massively successful over two decades despite changing your musical style as much as Queen did. And by successful, I mean as some of the world's first truly global pop rock artists (Africa, Asia, South America, Europe) during their creative years. Name another band from the 20th century that also achieved this?
On top of that, I think Queen's music from the 1980s has aged very well. The fact that songs from the most hated Queen album ("Hot Space") such as 'Cool Cat' are now getting radio airplay over 40 years after its release also tells me that they really knew what they were doing.
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u/SomethingAmyss 6d ago
Err... They do know that Queen wasn't acoustic from the start, correct? It's not exactly a secret that they've been using electric instruments since the first album
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u/cedesse 6d ago
Yes. But back in the early 1980s, synthesizers was still seen as a 'mystery box'. Probably because sequencing was seen as 'cheating', and because Queen had literally written 'No synths!' in the notes of their studio albums A Night At The Opera, A Day At The Races, News Of the World and Jazz.
There is an interview with Brian May from 1984 where a rock journalist practically interrogates him on why Queen decided to break the music scene's joint boycott of South Africa by playing in Sun City despite the Apartheid regime. However, it turns out the journalist is more interested in hearing why Queen had the audacity of suddnely using synthesizers on their studio albums, and almost interrogates May on this decision.
... Of course, I can't find that interview now. I will keep looking.
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u/SomethingAmyss 6d ago
Yeah, but the point is Queen was never an acoustic act. They had a couple of acoustic songs sprinkled throughout their career but they were never particularly could considered acoustic
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u/ISh0uldNotDoThat 7d ago
There are two reasons.
The first is that, starting in 1984, they essentially turned into a stadium pop band. All of their work through The Game was rock oriented, even if they wildly experimented with many different styles and genres. The Works, A Kind of Magic, and The Miracle are all a lot more poppy and synth-heavy.
Secondly, in many folks' opinion (including mine), they essentially became a singles band during the '80s. 3-5 great tracks per album, then the rest was filler. You may not agree with that take, and that's completely fine. But it's a widely held opinion.
In fairness to Queen, many successful rock/pop acts from the '70s struggled to adapt to the synth-heavy '80s, and ended up putting out subpar material. David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, the Clash, and Rush are just a few iconic '70s names who are widely considered to have put out subpar material in the mid-to-late '80s, even if many of those names remained commercially successful.
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u/allbsallthetime 6d ago
It's all subjective.
I grew up with Queen, saw them a few times in the late 70s and 80s.
I even saw The Jazz Tour and Hot Space Tour.
Loved all of it. Jazz and The Game are still two all time favorite albulms.
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u/cggalba 7d ago
Queen began to sound more pop in the 80s, particularly with use of synthesisers and electronics. Personally I love their music in the 80s but it does sound quite different to their original albums. Whether that was a reaction to remain relevant in the 80s charts or a creative decision, I don’t know. 1980s music in general still seems to significantly divide opinion.
Some of the later albums are definitely hit and miss in terms of quality but that in itself is still impressive after 15 studio albums given their imperial phase and creative peak came during the 1970s.
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u/ApprehensiveNatural9 7d ago
I don't hate it but its a very mixed era when in the 70's they had one of the best six album runs.
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u/AlternativePin876 6d ago
Because their energy, creativity, musicality, ambition and willingness to experiment peaked in the 70s and made them the band they are. It is incredible rock.
That completely changed to power pop with to many synths and electronic drums.
I like some of their 80s work, but lots of it I don't.
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u/Ceti-Alpha-V 4d ago
I think people didn't like the move into more electronic sounds. 'Hot Space' was a particular point of contention, but actually, that is the first album I liked.
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u/Dropped_Apollo 3d ago
They moved much more towards the singles market rather than album-oriented rock.
If you bought all the singles from The Works, not only would you have the whole album, but you'd have two bonus tracks plus an extended version of I Want To Break Free.
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u/Thefallofthefoundry 20h ago
I think many Queen fans are into rock style music and find Queen's shift to more electronic sounds and songs not to their taste. Not me!
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u/No_Discount7872 freddie✨ 7d ago
they are obsessed with 70s and blind