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Queen: The Definitive Biography
Laura Jackson has interviewed members of Queen, many of their close friends, and several of the world's leading rock musicians to turn the spotlight on the private lives, professional struggles and personal triumphs of the band.
- GenresMusicNonfictionBiography
240 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 27, 2018
Lagane pripreme prije filma!
Dokumentarno opisan put najbolje grupe na svijetu. Njihov razvoj pojedinačno, te kako su rasli i mijenjali sebe, ali i tijek muzike kao takve. Uvijek bili svoji i time pokazali da se može napredovati izvan okvira, biti drugačiji i vjerovati u sebe. Dvadeset godina grupe koja je postigla jako puno okončala je svoje djelovanje nakon smrti najkarizmatičnijeg među njima, jednog i jedinog kralja za kojeg svi znaju. Freddie je bio posebna duša koja je živjela ispred svoga vremena, te se i nakon više od 25 godina što ga nema i dalje sluša, štuje i gušta u njegovom radu i djelu!
Preporuka za čitanje fanovima i onima koji žele više doznati o grupi Queen!
„Mike Bersin kaže: „Mislim da nas je to usmjerilo u krivom pravcu. Sve je u njegovu ponašanju bilo vrlo feminizirano. U mnogo toga, Freddie gotovo nije bio stvarna osobba.“
Dokumentarno opisan put najbolje grupe na svijetu. Njihov razvoj pojedinačno, te kako su rasli i mijenjali sebe, ali i tijek muzike kao takve. Uvijek bili svoji i time pokazali da se može napredovati izvan okvira, biti drugačiji i vjerovati u sebe. Dvadeset godina grupe koja je postigla jako puno okončala je svoje djelovanje nakon smrti najkarizmatičnijeg među njima, jednog i jedinog kralja za kojeg svi znaju. Freddie je bio posebna duša koja je živjela ispred svoga vremena, te se i nakon više od 25 godina što ga nema i dalje sluša, štuje i gušta u njegovom radu i djelu!
Preporuka za čitanje fanovima i onima koji žele više doznati o grupi Queen!
„Mike Bersin kaže: „Mislim da nas je to usmjerilo u krivom pravcu. Sve je u njegovu ponašanju bilo vrlo feminizirano. U mnogo toga, Freddie gotovo nije bio stvarna osobba.“
December 4, 2018
Biografija o rock grupi Queen je definitivno jedna od boljih knjiga koje sam pročitala u ovoj godini. Izuzetno je profesionalno napisana, zadržala je poželjnu dozu objektivnosti a uz to je u nekoliko navrata i dosta emotivna. Fascinirao me izuzetno trnovit put do slave, kao čist dokaz da ne postoji uspjeh "preko noći". A Freddy, njihov frontman, je priča za sebe. Rođen je da postane istinska superzvijezda i ovakvi kao on se rađaju samo jednom.
January 14, 2014
I didn't know that much about Queen before start reading this book (believe it or not, I didn't even know that Freddie was gay >.<).
I really enjoyed the book, she writes really well and is really easy to read it. Moreover, it is easy to forget about the time when reading the book :)
Finally, if you like Queen, you should definitely consider reading this book. You will like it :)
I really enjoyed the book, she writes really well and is really easy to read it. Moreover, it is easy to forget about the time when reading the book :)
Finally, if you like Queen, you should definitely consider reading this book. You will like it :)
June 19, 2015
Here is the story of Queen, one of the greatest bands in rock history. The book did what it said on the tin: it went through the lives of guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, bassist John Deacon, and singer Freddie Mercury, from birth, throughout their youth, their respective meetings, their careers as a musical unit, Mercury's death, and a few later activities of the band up until the date of publication in 1999. Although I enjoy Queen's music, I am not an avid fan, and never really followed the band in the tabloids at the height of their fame, so there were some interesting snippets of which I was not aware. Finally, it went into some detail about Mercury's illness and passing which, after the tale of their amazingly successful lives, struck a melancholic chord. There were even some words of hope at the end for Queen surviving somehow into the future.
However, there were a couple of glaring inadequacies that really stood out. First of all, there was no evidence of interviews with the surviving members of Queen. Although May was mentioned in the acknowledgements section, Taylor and Deacon were not, and the text didn't mention any specific discussions with any of them. Perhaps author Jackson did interview them, but I got the impression that many of their quotes were taken from press reports rather than her own efforts. Most quotes seemed to be from the time things happened, rather than the interviewee, older and wiser, analysing their actions in hindsight. No good biography goes without up-to-date quotes from its subject(s), if they are still alive.
Secondly, there wasn't a lot of detail. At 250 pages, including index and discography, the book is quite short, considering it covers a 50-year period. It glosses over most of the facts, and misses out an awful lot: for example, Taylor was in jail briefly in Monaco, but it doesn't say why. Several times, it harps on the fact that Queen's after-gig parties were always lavish and outrageous, but apart from the occasional hint of mud wrestlers, Freddie autographing a girl's bare bum and somebody falling into a big cake, they get hardly a mention. Their personal lives are referred to only in passing - there is no real clue as to what was going on much of the time. Much of the text just lists facts: went on tour, recorded in the studio, went on tour, did some interviews. The dynamics between the members of the band and their entourage are mostly discussed in some idealistic way, and when they had disagreements, apparently they were resolved in a trice. In other words, it's bland. You'd think that Jackson, "an acknowledged Queen expert" (as it says on the back flap), already the author of Brian May and Freddie Mercury biographies, could provide a bit more for a book on the whole ensemble. I don't feel that I know Queen a lot better than when I started - yet this is the purpose of a biography.
That said, it wasn't a terrible book. Its author is a competent writer. And its conciseness might also be its strength: the book is almost like a summary of Queen, to catch reader interest so they can later pursue other, more detailed accounts of the band, its members, and their legacy. This is why I've given it a middling rather than a failing star rating.
However, there were a couple of glaring inadequacies that really stood out. First of all, there was no evidence of interviews with the surviving members of Queen. Although May was mentioned in the acknowledgements section, Taylor and Deacon were not, and the text didn't mention any specific discussions with any of them. Perhaps author Jackson did interview them, but I got the impression that many of their quotes were taken from press reports rather than her own efforts. Most quotes seemed to be from the time things happened, rather than the interviewee, older and wiser, analysing their actions in hindsight. No good biography goes without up-to-date quotes from its subject(s), if they are still alive.
Secondly, there wasn't a lot of detail. At 250 pages, including index and discography, the book is quite short, considering it covers a 50-year period. It glosses over most of the facts, and misses out an awful lot: for example, Taylor was in jail briefly in Monaco, but it doesn't say why. Several times, it harps on the fact that Queen's after-gig parties were always lavish and outrageous, but apart from the occasional hint of mud wrestlers, Freddie autographing a girl's bare bum and somebody falling into a big cake, they get hardly a mention. Their personal lives are referred to only in passing - there is no real clue as to what was going on much of the time. Much of the text just lists facts: went on tour, recorded in the studio, went on tour, did some interviews. The dynamics between the members of the band and their entourage are mostly discussed in some idealistic way, and when they had disagreements, apparently they were resolved in a trice. In other words, it's bland. You'd think that Jackson, "an acknowledged Queen expert" (as it says on the back flap), already the author of Brian May and Freddie Mercury biographies, could provide a bit more for a book on the whole ensemble. I don't feel that I know Queen a lot better than when I started - yet this is the purpose of a biography.
That said, it wasn't a terrible book. Its author is a competent writer. And its conciseness might also be its strength: the book is almost like a summary of Queen, to catch reader interest so they can later pursue other, more detailed accounts of the band, its members, and their legacy. This is why I've given it a middling rather than a failing star rating.
December 13, 2020
This is a competent, clear overview of the story of Queen. Jackson never goes that in-depth on anything but does give you an good view of how things happened. She finishes with a weird chapter talking about their legacy, where she quotes other artists talking about them, including the guys from ABBA. This seems rather pointless - if you're reading this book, and by the time you get to this session, you've already read this book, you know Queen and their impact. You don't really need ABBA confirming it for you.
Benny and Bjorn from ABBA are interviewed earlier in this book as well, and it seems sort of random. Jackson kind of explains it as their being contemporaries with Queen, but it seems more like they're included because she had access to them than because they're capable of giving any real insight into the band.
Overall, the book probably gives me everything I need to know about Queen. Although I like Queen, I was never a real fan, mostly liking their hits and not caring enough to delve deeper. None of the members come off sounding that interesting, so I don't know if that's just the way they are or if it's just the way that she presents them. Even Freddy Mercury, obviously the most interesting, seems a little two-dimensional given Jackson's treatment.
A decent book if you're looking for the story of Queen, falling short if you want insight or revelation.
Benny and Bjorn from ABBA are interviewed earlier in this book as well, and it seems sort of random. Jackson kind of explains it as their being contemporaries with Queen, but it seems more like they're included because she had access to them than because they're capable of giving any real insight into the band.
Overall, the book probably gives me everything I need to know about Queen. Although I like Queen, I was never a real fan, mostly liking their hits and not caring enough to delve deeper. None of the members come off sounding that interesting, so I don't know if that's just the way they are or if it's just the way that she presents them. Even Freddy Mercury, obviously the most interesting, seems a little two-dimensional given Jackson's treatment.
A decent book if you're looking for the story of Queen, falling short if you want insight or revelation.
September 18, 2014
MANY significant factual errors!!!
January 2, 2015
This book is a gift from a very special person, so the book is also special. I'm a great fan od Freddie Mercury, this book is a great story of four extraordinary musicians.
October 1, 2015
Stvarno potpuna biografija queenovaca
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews