Toshihiko Takamizawa is deeply in love with Queen, and he even watched Bohemian Rhapsody ten times. He has a deep understanding of Queen's songs, and this time we interviewed him to show us the charm of music.
In the 1970s, Takamizawa, who was still a student, fell in love with rock music. In his freshman year, the girls around him recommended "glam rock" to him, saying it was cool. This became the opportunity for him to meet Queen.
"The glam rock that was popular at the time (characterized by gender-ambiguous dressing, gorgeous theatrical typhoons and laid-back musical styles) was very avant-garde. Representatives David Bowie and T. Male musicians like Rex who can wear makeup are, in layman's terms, the visual department. But at that time, my favorite hard rock was a band like Led Zepplin, and I thought that the music of gorgeous rock was a bit soft, and I began to pay attention to Queen with such a preconceived prejudice, thinking ' Still queen?' Forget it'. As a result, after listening to it, their music is sonorous and powerful, which is my favorite genre, and the costumes of the members are both gorgeous and handsome. Since then, I have fallen out of love with them. At that time, the band mostly gave people a manly feeling, and the visual department seemed to be popular at once. Drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Brian May, in particular, are characters coming out of girl comics. Lead singer Freddy gave me the impression of being cold and stern. ”
One of the charms of Queen's music is that the melodies of their songs are very beautiful.
"Most of the hard rock we often say is derived from bruce. Queen's music certainly has blues characteristics, but there's something more original. I think the reason why Queen's music is so beautiful has a lot to do with freddie learning piano since he was a child and liking classical music and opera. Although classical music is a treasure trove of melodic material, it often takes tens of minutes to hear the climactic part of a piece. When Freddy is creating, he can extract the elegance of classical music and the vitality of opera from their original classification and mix it into rock music. That's pretty powerful. ”
After the melody is finished, we should talk about the singing part. Queen has a total of 4 members, three of whom are enough to serve as lead singers, and are a truly powerful band.
"The three of them are very good at their musical literacy and singing skills, and their chorus is also very thick, which is arguably Queen's biggest strength." Particularly outstanding is Roger's high-pitched harmony section, whose range is higher than Freddy's. No matter which song you listen to Queen, you can feel their singing skills deeply. ”
The next key word given by Mr. Takamizawa is "gorgeous".
"Gorgeous refers to the guitar played by Brian May on a tunes level. When recording records, Brian would record individually one part at a time, and then superimpose them to form a chorus. His method of repeating recording is famous, commonly known as 'Guitar orchestration', where layer after layer of overlap makes the sound thick and gorgeous. This is Brian May's unique method of making accompaniment. ”
The album that Takamizawa recommends to us is...
For those who learned queen after watching "Bohemian Rhapsody", people who are new to rock and roll should listen to their album first?
I suggest starting with their compilation, which I think is Jewels. It evenly brings together well-known tracks from the band's early to late periods. After listening to the collection and falling in love with their music, I suggested that the second album I would listen to was Queen II. The B-side of the album (6th to 12th songs if it's a CD) is called the 'black side', all composed by Freddy, with both hard rock and suite songs, and a lot of choruses. I especially recommend that you listen to the sixth "Orge Battle", its Japanese translation is directly "Human Eater", its Japanese translation is directly "Human Eater", "Man Eater", "War is an Ogre", the song's song structure is very careful, very handsome. Next... Well... I think "A Night At the Opera" is such a classic that everyone will always have a chance to hear; "Hot Space", which suddenly became disco, is also very interesting, but what I would like to solemnly recommend to you is "Made In Heaven" released after Freddy's death. After Freddy's death, the other three compiled the music he had recorded during his lifetime. The famous "I Was Born To Love You" is also included in this album. Originally a solo piece by Freddy, they re-arranged the recording to become even more perfect. "A Winter's Tale" is Freddy's last song, and every time he hears it, emotions slowly come to mind. ”
It has been 45 years since Queen debuted in 1973 and when "Bohemian Rhapsody" was released. "I'm very happy that their music is getting attention again and it's very popular with young people." Mr. Takamizawa said.
"Knowing through the movie that Queen is 'the way it was' and then listening to their music, I believe there will be a feeling in my heart."
《JEWELS》（2004）
In 2004, "I Was Born To Love You" was selected as the theme song of the TV series, which once again set off the Queen craze. At that time, 1 million albums were sold. In 2013, a high-quality version of the album was released, with a total pre-tax income of 2,700 yen (about 162.6 yuan). (from Universal Music)
《Queen II》（1974）
The first 6 songs were composed by Brian May, and the style of the song was beautiful and moving, commonly known as "White Side"; The last 6 songs are composed by Freddy, and the fierce style is mixed with charm, commonly known as "Black Side". The collision of white and black gives this album a strong hard rock color, and it sells for 2,700 yen (tax included). (from Universal Music)
《Made In Heaven》（1995）
The album was recorded after Freddy's death. It contains songs composed by Freddy and the original repertoire of the other three people, which took four years to complete. The album cover is a bronze statue of Freddy on the edge of Lake Lyman in Switzerland. Price is 2,700 yen (tax included). (from Universal Music)
【Information】
Toshihiko Takamizawa: Born in 1954 in Saitama Prefecture. Lead singer and guitarist for the band THE ALFEE. THE ALFEE's new album, Last Run!, is a hit. (from Universal Music)