Brian is the man! What he does is on another level completely. It’s not at all surprising he was ranked top guitarist in guitar world this year. I’m glad people are finally starting to appreciate Brian as they always should have. What he did on Queen 1 and Queen 2 would have been enough to cement him as one of the greatest that ever lived.
You got tired of people dunking on Brian in the Miracle box set thread too, huh? Brian is a great guitarist. More craftsman than improvisor, but a great tone that even other players who use a treble booster just can't match, much of it due to his legendary creation with his father, the mighty Red Special. As a solo or co-writer, well, just look at the resume: Keep Yourself Alive Doing All Right The Night Comes Down Son and Daughter Procession* Father to Son* White Queen (As It Began)* Some Day One Day* Brighton Rock Now I'm Here Dear Friends She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettoes) '39 The Prophet's Song Good Company God Save the Queen [not a Brian composition, obviously, but nobody else in the rock world could have arranged it like this] Tie Your Mother Down Long Away White Man Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together) We Will Rock You All Dead, All Dead Sleeping on the Sidewalk It's Late Fat Bottomed Girls Dead on Time Dreamer's Ball Leaving Home Ain't Easy Dragon Attack Sail Away Sweet Sister Save Me Flash's Theme [leaving out most of the rest of the Flash Gordon soundtrack as I don't think it exemplifies Brian's pop/rock song writing] The Hero Dancer Put Out the Fire Las Palabras de Amor (The Words of Love) Tear It Up Machines (or 'Back to Humans') Hammer to Fall Is This the World We Created...? I Go Crazy Thank God It's Christmas Who Wants to Live Forever Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme) I Want It All Scandal Chinese Torture I Can't Live with You The Hitman Bijou The Show Must Go On Mother Love Too Much Love Will Kill You No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young) Let Me in Your Heart Again *except for a Roger composition, the first half of the mighty Queen II is all Brian songs, and they're all fantastic. They're not all bangers (She Makes Me is camp fluff, Dancer is the lesser of Brian's Hot Space contributions, Chinese Torture is a harmonizer demo (though I love it so), and Bijou is more notable for the guitaring than the song proper), but there are rockers (Tie Your Mother Down), ballads (Who Wants To Live Forever), novelty tunes (All Dead, All Dead), and worldwide smash hits (We Will Rock You). Brian is a fine singer too; he does not have the rock'n'roll voice of his bandmates, but songs that have a quieter or more melancholic bent to them suit his voice perfectly. Never a one-trick pony, Brian is a great guitar orchestrator but his playing goes deeper than that, as a listen to something like It's Late makes clear. I was amused by a quote I heard on here that Brian is one of the foremost rock guitarists that seems to have little to no blues in his playing, and I have to say I agree, but that just means it's coming from a different angle, and that makes him special as a player. Also he played on the roof of Buckingham Palace, so there's that
I love Brian May, but Keep Yourself Alive was his peak as a guitarist. His biggest weakness was that he basically allowed Mercury to take over the songwriting process.
I guess starting with A Night with the Opera. From that point on I don't think there's anything in Queen's discography resembling Keep Yourself Alive or Brighton Rock.
What T F are you on about? I asked you when it was that Brian let Freddie take over the songwriting duties.
Brian May reached the peak with Sheer Heart Attack, after that… going down, incl. Song writing and guitar playing.
Very versatile guitarist. He had to be in order to adapt to the styles of four very different songwriters.
Shame the thread is already turning into a “let’s pile on Brian May” one. FWIW, I’d rate him as one of the greats.
My two favorite solos of Brian’s, if I had to choose, would be You Don’t Fool Me and Catcher In The Rye.
I was seven or eight years old when News of the World came out and my older sister had a copy. I remember hearing the guitar solo in "We Will Rock You" and it being the first time I could remember that the guitar really jumped out at me and made me go, "Wow, what's that?" I saw Queen with Adam Lambert and when they played that, Brian May absolutely transported me back into my seven or eight year old body for a brief second. Otherwise, there's not much to say about him that hasn't already been said. He's an utterly unique guitar player, his touch and tone are amazing, and he never goes for obvious ideas. He's also written god knows how many of my favorite songs, not just by Queen but by anybody.
I bought the first two Queen albums in 1974 when I was a senior in high school, and took note of Brian's unique guitar style right away. One song that I really got into was "Ogre Battle" (also really love "My Fairy King" that shows Brian's lyrical and melodic side).
The Night Comes Down is one of my favourite Queen songs. Great guitar player and I love the work he did for the Flash Gordon OST.
Big Queen fan here, and Brian is one of my favorite Rock guitarists for sure! Great man with a unique guitar sound.
Ah, let the fans have a hagiography and festschrift for a thread... As a fan of the hits i did a quick review of the credits for the first 8 or so albums, i had no idea until now who wrote what, a few surprises... okay, i had always guessed Mr. Mercury correctly for a few of them...
110% unique No one constructs a melodic solo like Brian May No one orchestrates the guitar like Brian May No one sounds like Brian May that's before looking at his writing credits. the man is a brilliant musician
As a guitarist myself, I always remember something he once said in an interview about soloing. He said something to the effect of 'when soloing, you can't just let your fingers do the walking'. In other words, don't allow yourself to just wank along mindlessly. Obviously, he lives by that rule because his solos are always melodic and interesting.
