By Rick Stanton
I was still living in Kelso in 1973 when my neighbor Nick came and pounded on my front door. Nick and I shared the love of playing guitar and primarily loud rock ‘n’ roll. And for the record, we were pretty good.
He said, “Oh my f%$#@!& god, you have got to come and listen to this album (Remember when albums were records?), it’s gonna blow your $%#@ away. That was the first time I listened to the debut collective titled “Queen.” I had never heard anything like it. It was the closest thing to a true musical revelation since Sgt. Pepper.
It did blow my $%#@ away.
The next day, I bought the album and began trying to figure out the virtuoso riffs of lead player Brian May. To this day, I believe May was/is one of the 10 best rock-guitar lead players of all time. My efforts to figure out his style, as they say, sucked.
Music, the visual arts and writing all are joined at the creative hip. Having dabbled in all three, I understand that there’s a shared “soul” among them. And when it comes to music, I love everything Queen ever did. The best words to define them are “stunningly original” and “powerful.” If you haven’t seen their concert in Montreal, do whatever you must to see it. The only other band in my lifetime that exuded the same power with so few band mates was Cream.
So, with all of these platitudes (and expectations) in mind, I was reluctant to go see the movie, Bohemian Rhapsody. It features Queen and is being marketed as the biopic of their late lead singer, Freddy Mercury. Some of the reviews were great, some were tepid and some were pretty unflattering.
I had a good understanding of Mercury’s story and didn’t want to spend $10 (matinee) to see a great group of artists trivialized. I decided to risk it. Best $10 I’ve ever spent! This movie is awesome—even if you’re not a Queen fan.
And it’s also awesome if you have any idea what it’s like to be lost, in pain and trying to find some sense of who you are through your art. There are a few times when the plot lingers a bit too long, but all-in-all the actors and the story are spellbinding. To be sure there are detractors. But go see it and decide for yourself.
After I saw it, I was struck not just by what I consider to be a great story, but by the actors’ seeming ability to perform in the playing scenes. While the director was prepared to insert doubles in some of those scenes, it turned out that it wasn’t entirely necessary, as you’ll learn in the link below.
My hope is that greatness continues to emerge in all the arts, and that being different is revered, not ridiculed. Think Freddy Mercury.
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/bohemian-rhapsody-musical-scenes/