You cannot deny the existence of certain bands and their prominent place in the industry. That is what Queen has done with their numerous achievements. Apparently, drummer Roger Taylor’s son, the Darkness’ Rufus Taylor, also greatly appreciates the band’s shine. The musician shared the top ten albums that changed his life with Music Radar, and guess what? Two Queen albums took their spot.
“I would be lying if I didn’t say ‘News of the World’ or ‘Night at the Opera,’” Rufus named the Queen two albums that had musically influenced him the most. “I think the first time I properly listened to ‘News of the World,’ I was coming to an age where I knew dad was a musician; I could figure that much out.”
He added, “Then obviously, he’d get some attention here and there, and I realized people know who he is. Then I heard that, and I was like, ‘Okay, yeah. Wow. I get it.’” After Taylor saw what his dad had been doing and what they had created as a band, his perception of him started to shift.
According to the drummer, those two albums had the signature of all the Queen members, adding to their value. Rufus said, “There’s not a lot of albums where you get that kind of thing, and they each wrote different songs on both of those albums. Freddie usually wrote the main bunch, and every single one of those is always genius, I think.”
When he properly got into Queen, his mind was blown by their meticulous way of making music. The musician explained, “When I first started understanding, and properly listening to lyrics, and putting arrangements together; then you’re imagining doing it on tape with all these weird guitar solos and genius, little backing vocal hooks. It’s like, ‘F*ck me!’ How did you sit down and come up with that? I’ve tried to write songs, but to come up with something like that…”
Especially the chemistry between Brian May and Freddie Mercury greatly impressed Rufus. He explained the duo’s harmony, saying, “Stuff like ‘It’s Late.’ One of the coolest rock and roll intros ever. I think that guitar riff and Freddie, those two things together at the beginning of that song, is one of the ultimate rock and roll snippets. It grabs you right from the first second, and then it’s got this six-and-a-half minute-long, insane arrangement with all sorts of different showcases. But it was tastefully done.”
Rufus Taylor also mentioned his dad’s contribution to the band and the melodies he brought to songs. He added, “Roger Taylor is another musical player. ‘You’re My Best Friend’ and stuff like that, all those musical fills. It’s always for the song.”
Considering the band’s dynamics, there has usually been a democratic environment. Even though the leader was Mercury most of the time, it didn’t bother the rest of the guys because they enjoyed the process. There’s also the fact that May and Mercury had a different kind of chemistry, showing itself in tracks. So if you have yet to hear of the albums, here’s your chance.
