Every music buff has heard about Queen, and it is common to identify their music as deep and soulful with an element of rock. However, when we hear someone say Queen, more often than not the face of Freddie Mercury pops up in our minds. While he is one the greatest singers and performers in the history of music, the contribution of all the four members of the band; namely Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon, and last but not the least Roger Taylor, has made Queen what it is today.
As a drummer, Taylor was recognised for his unique sound. People loved how dynamic his playing was, and the precision with which he played. Take, for example, the opening roll in “Innuendo”. The way it swells and ebbs and drives the music forward as it continues on shows his understanding of the craft. It’s probably easy to get caught up in the simplicity of some of his drumming, especially post 1980, but the band’s earlier sound was strongly influenced by glam rock and prog rock (especially Yes), and if you listen to earlier songs like “Liar”, “Ogre Battle”, or metal-ish songs like “Stone Cold Crazy” or “Sheer Heart Attack”, you’ll definitely agree he’s up there with the top drummers of all time.
As a musician, Taylor contributed songs to Queen’s albums all along, composing at least one track in each of the band’s 15 studio albums from day one, and regularly singing lead vocals on his own pieces. He famously composed Queen’s milestone hits “Radio Ga Ga” and “A Kind Of Magic”, and was especially quick to make an independent album, 1981’s “Fun In Space”. To date he has delivered 5 independent albums, which, beside his work with Queen, further showcased Taylor as an artist and writer with a solid feeling of character and a wide melodic viewpoint.
However, compared to his drum and songwriting work, Taylor is lesser known for his falsetto vocal range. The term falsetto is most often used in the context of singing to refer to a type of vocal phonation that enables the singer to sing notes beyond the vocal range of the normal or modal voice. The screaming high Bb perched on top of the orchestrated ‘me’ driving int yeo the heavy part of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is definitely the most notable illustration of Roger’s ’70s-style high falsetto notes that make you wonder if a kick between the legs was needed to reach. Most people have difficulty making the words distinct as they approach the top of their range. Taylor’s voice stays quite distinct even right up at the top. You can make out the words he is singing. Taylor often provided backing vocals for Freddie in many of Queen’s songs and during live concerts. The harmonizing of Freddie’s baritone and Taylor’s falsetto results in the surreal sound you can hear in the majority of Queen’s songs. A couple of examples of the songs in which one can witness the vehemence of Taylor’s falsetto are “In the Lap of the Gods” and “My Fairy King”.
Roger Taylor’s vocals never failed to give that aesthetic operatic effect. People have known to mistake those high notes he hit for a guitar. With such an amazing and powerful sound, I think it is fair to say that his voice is criminally underrated. With the movie ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ reigniting Queen’s work, hopefully, Roger Taylor will receive his due credit in making Queen one the greatest band ever.
Written by Naman Kumar
Image Credits : GETTY
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