新浪首页 > 新浪教育 > Queen乐队摇滚金曲:我们是斗士(2)

Queen乐队摇滚金曲:我们是斗士
http://www.sina.com.cn 2005/06/28 17:31  国际在线

  [歌手简介]

  Few bands embodied the pure excess of the '70s like Queen. Embracing the exaggerated pomp of prog rock and heavy metal, as well as vaudevillian music hall, the British quartet delved deeply into camp and bombast, creating a huge, mock-operatic sound with layered guitars and overdubbed vocals.

  Queen's music was a bizarre yet highly accessible fusion of the macho and the fey. For years, their albums boasted the motto "no synthesizers were used on this record," signaling their allegiance with the legions of post-Led Zeppelin hard rock bands. But vocalist Freddie Mercury brought an extravagant sense of camp to the band, pushing them toward kitschy humor and pseudo-classical arrangements, as epitomized on their best-known song, "Bohemian Rhapsody."

  Mercury, it must be said, was a flamboyant bisexual who managed to keep his sexuality in the closet until his death from AIDS in 1992. Nevertheless, his sexuality was apparent throughout Queen's music, from their very name to their veiled lyrics -- it was truly bizarre to hear gay anthems like "We Are the Champions" turn into celebrations of sports victories. That would have been impossible without Mercury, one of the most dynamic and charismatic frontmen in rock history. Through his legendary theatrical performances, Queen became one of the most popular bands in the world in the mid-'70s; in England, they remained second only to the Beatles in popularity and collectibility in the '90s.

  The origins of Queen lay in the hard rock psychedelic group Smile, which guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor joined in 1967. Following the departure of Smile's lead vocalist, Tim Staffell, in 1971, May and Taylor formed a group with Freddie Mercury, the former lead singer for Wreckage. Within a few months, bassist John Deacon joined them, and they began rehearsing.

  Over the next two years, as all four members completed college, they simply rehearsed, playing just a handful of gigs. By 1973, they had begun to concentrate on their career, releasing the Roy Thomas Baker-produced Queen that year and setting out on their first tour. Queen was more or less a straight metal album and failed to receive much acclaim, but Queen II became an unexpected British breakthrough early in 1974. Before its release, the band played Top of the Pops, performing "Seven Seas of Rhye." Both the song and the performance were a smash success, and the single rocketed into the Top Ten, setting the stage for Queen II to reach number five.

  Following its release, the group embarked on its first American tour, supporting Mott the Hoople. On the strength of their campily dramatic performances, the album climbed to number 43 in the States.

  Queen released their third album, Sheer Heart Attack, before the end of 1974. The music hall meets Zeppelin "Killer Queen" climbed to number two on the U.K. charts, taking the album to number two as well. Sheer Heart Attack made some inroads in America as well, setting the stage for the breakthrough of 1975's A Night at the Opera. Queen labored long and hard over the record; according to many reports, it was the most expensive rock record ever made at the time of its release. The first single from the record, "Bohemian Rhapsody," became Queen's signature song, and with its bombastic, mock-operatic structure punctuated by heavy metal riffing, it encapsulates their music. It also is the symbol for their musical excesses -- the song took three weeks to record, and there were so many vocal overdubs on the record that it was possible see through the tape at certain points. To support "Bohemian Rhapsody," Queen shot one of the first conceptual music videos, and the gamble paid off as the single spent nine weeks at number one in the England, breaking the record for the longest run at number one. The song and A Night at the Opera were equally successful in America, as the album climbed into the Top Ten and quickly went platinum.

  Following A Night at the Opera, Queen were established as superstars, and they quickly took advantage of all their status had to offer. Their parties and indulgence quickly became legend in the rock world, yet the band continued to work at a rapid rate. In the summer of 1976, they performed a free concert at London's Hyde Park that broke attendance records, and they released the hit single "Somebody to Love" a few months later. It was followed by A Day at the Races, which was essentially a scaled-down version of A Night at the Opera that reached number one in the U.K. and number five in the U.S. They continued to pile up hit singles in both Britain and America over the next five years, as each of their albums went into the Top Ten, always going gold and usually platinum in the process. Because Queen embraced such mass success and adoration, they were scorned by the rock press, especially when they came to represent all of the worst tendencies of the old guard in the wake of punk. Nevertheless, the public continued to buy Queen records. Featuring the Top Five double-A-sided single "We Are the Champions"/"We Will Rock You," News of the World became a Top Ten hit in 1977.

  By 1991, Queen had drastically scaled back their activity, causing many rumors to circulate about Freddie Mercury's health. On November 23, he issued a statement confirming that he was stricken with AIDS; he died the next day. The following spring, the remaining members of Queen held a memorial concert at Wembley Stadium, which was broadcast to an international audience of more than one billion. Featuring such guest artists as David Bowie, Elton John, Annie Lennox, Def Leppard, and Guns N' Roses, the concert raised millions for the Mercury Phoenix Trust, which was established for AIDS awareness. The concert coincided with a revival of interest in "Bohemian Rhapsody," which climbed to number two in the U.S. and number one in the U.K. in the wake of its appearance in the Mike Myers comedy Wayne's World. Following Mercury's death, the remaining members of Queen were fairly quiet. Brian May released his second solo album, Back to the Light, in 1993, ten years after the release of his first record. Roger Taylor cut a few records with the Cross, which he had been playing with since 1987, while Deacon essentially retired. The three reunited in 1994 to record backing tapes for vocal tracks Mercury recorded on his death bed. The resulting album, Made in Heaven, was released in 1995 to mixed reviews and strong sales, particularly in Europe. Crown Jewels, a box set repackaging their first eight LPs, followed in 1998.

  很少有乐队能象QUEEN那样彻底地体现70年代世界摇滚舞台的丰富多采。QUEEN就象一个综艺大厅一样,完美地将华丽摇滚,前卫摇滚,古典音乐和重金属融和在一起。这个来自英国的四人乐队致力于发掘华丽和夸张的艺术风格,创造出一种带有浓厚歌剧色彩的摇滚乐形式,主唱性感而如同唱诗班的嗓音,层层铺垫的键盘和绚烂花哨的吉他solo是他们的标志。

  QUEEN的音乐具有非凡的想象力,雄壮而带有一丝诡异,而且风格变化多端,你可以从他们的音乐中听到几乎所有欧洲音乐形式的影子。不过,QUEEN多变的音乐形式居然全部是用传统的摇滚方式表达出来的,多年来,他们的专辑一直宣称“从未使用过合成器”,忠诚地保留着LED ZEPPELIN时期硬摇滚乐队的特点,尽管到80年代,乐队也开始尝试了更多的键盘,但始终没有碰过电子乐,因为电子乐正是那些“真正的摇滚”乐队所不屑的。

  值得一提的是,由于主唱Freddie Mercury是一个同性恋,致使乐队的整体风格偏于奢华,编曲经常仿造古典音乐的那种华丽氛围,这集中体现于他们的名曲Bohemian Rhapsody。具有讽刺意味的是,QUEEN那首关于同性恋的赞歌We Are The Champions却成了弘扬体育精神和奥运冠军的经典庆贺曲目,直到现在在各种体育盛会上我们还能时常听到这首歌——不过这也得归功于Mercury那富有传奇色彩的生平和歌剧色彩浓厚的舞台表演方式,他使得QUEEN在70年代中期成为最广为人知的乐队之一。在英国,直到90年代中期,QUEEN仍是知名度和受欢迎程度仅次于BEATLES的摇滚乐队。

  A Night At The Opera(歌剧院之夜)是QUEEN乐队最为经典的专辑,乐队为这张专辑的制作耗费了巨大的精力,有报道称这是摇滚乐史上制作费用最高的一张专辑。其中著名的单曲Bohemian Rhapsody(波西米亚狂想曲)成了QUEEN的招牌曲目,在酷似歌剧唱诗般的华丽配乐中不断加入大段的重金属吉他riff和solo,这正是QUEEN的典型风格。歌曲的制作过程也体现了QUEEN那种典型的精益求精的态度,他们用了3个星期的时间来进行录制工作,而且在歌曲的音轨上加入了大量的背景配音,以至于在录制完成后,母带的有些地方磁粉已经薄到可以看穿的地步。Bohemian Rhapsody这首单曲在英国排行榜上迅速升到冠军的位置,并且在这个位置上停留了足有9个星期,并最终打破了英国单曲排行榜上冠军停留时间最长的记录。在美国,这首歌和整张专辑也获得了巨大的成功,进入了排行榜前10位并同时成为白金单曲和白金专辑。甚至在十多年后的1992年,这首Bohemian Rhapsody还在美国单曲排行榜上获得过数周的亚军成绩。

[上一页] [1] [2] [3] [下一页]


评论】【论坛】【收藏此页】【 】【多种方式看新闻】【下载点点通】【打印】【关闭
Annotation
新 闻 查 询
关键词
热 点 专 题
《头文字D》
网络窜红女名人
2005年高考
安徽甲肝疫苗事件
中海油购石油公司
理性购车完全手册
百对网友新婚靓照
湖南卫视05超级女声
《秦腔》连载



教育频道意见反馈留言板 电话:010-82628888-5747 欢迎批评指正

新浪简介 | About Sina | 广告服务 | 联系我们 | 招聘信息 | 网站律师 | SINA English | 会员注册 | 产品答疑

Copyright © 1996 - 2005 SINA Inc. All Rights Reserved

版权所有 新浪网
北京市通信公司提供网络带宽