In the posts regarding my top ten Queen songs a few days ago, you may have noticed that I didn't include "Bohemian Rhapsody". There were a couple of reasons for this, most of which have to do with its fame, but I do think the song is a remarkable achievement. However, I don't think it's unique - in fact, I think the song was inspired by, and perhaps even based on, a Mott the Hoople song called "Marionette" (from their 1974 album, The Hoople). Queen had toured with them in 1973, and alluded to the experience in "Now I'm Here" ("Down in the city just Hoople and me...") on Sheer Heart Attack, which was released the following year. On the Mott the Hoople website, in honour of their too-brief reunion of 2009, Brian May was quoted thus: "On tour as support to Mott The Hoople (the only time Queen ever supported anyone), I was always conscious that we were in the presence of something great, something highly evolved, close to the centre of the Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll, something to breathe in and learn from."

My contention today is that "Bohemian Rhapsody" was another result of that influence. Here are links to the track in question (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aWhdmFr61Q) and its lyrics (http://www.elyrics.net/read/m/mott-the-hoople-lyrics/marionette-lyrics.html).

Queen have recently released remastered versions of their first five albums, and the occasion has led to the publication of a couple of top ten lists, so I think I'll add one of my own. I'll start today with only spots 10. and 9. because I've been wanting to write about these two songs for another reason: their influence on Radiohead.

10. "White Queen (As it Began)" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHobnwUhhIM): This one's a Brian May song from 1974's Queen II. May's ultra-brainy concept of the guitar as orchestral instrument has been a clear influence on Radiohead's approach to the instrument and to the studio itself. And besides that, the strings at the beginning of this are very evocative of the way they're used on "How to Disappear Completely" and "Faust Arp", for a couple of examples.

9. "The Prophet's Song" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xmsXqgHHEI): A through-composed masterpiece, also by May, from A Night at the Opera (1975) which features the echo (a.k.a. delay) effect which he had applied to his guitar work on "Brighton Rock" (which became a showpiece of their live performances for years). Its influence on Radiohead can be heard in the two closing tracks from The King of Limbs, "Give Up the Ghost" and "Separator".

I'll have the last eight spots for you over the next couple of posts.

I think it's safe to say that there are very few, and perhaps not any, rock guitarists who've used the instrument to as many ends as Queen's Brian May. Over the course of his career, he's experimented with all sorts of overdubbing techniques in his famed guitar orchestrations; used delay to extensive effect (particularly on "Brighton Rock" on both live and studio versions); arranged all sorts of accompaniments in countless styles; and played some of the most beautiful (and varied) solos ever recorded. He strikes me as part George Harrison (i.e. he puts the the band first and thinks like a session musician) and part Clapton (i.e. he can wail). I also think that working with Freddie Mercury must have pushed his abilities a great deal, as frequently Mercury would be quite precise in what he wanted from the guitar, but because he would use the piano to demonstrate, May would then be required to find ways of playing parts that were not in the standard bag of rock guitar tricks. Of course, he made large contributions to Mercury's development, and to the other members' as well. If I had to pick one track as representative of May's six-string artistry, it would be "Death On Two Legs", the opening track from A Night at the Opera (1975). Every note that he plays is brilliant, but the sound sculpture guitar solo is amazing, even by his standards: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4zmv1IFCOA.