Rate-O-Rama: Bohemian Rhapsody

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Rate-O-Rama : Songmania is a reader participation game.

Every Saturday evening I will publish a Rate-O-Rama article which will feature three versions of a popular song.

The object is to listen to each of the music videos provided within the post.

After listening to each video you can rate each song in the comments section below.

(You must be a member to comment. If you are not a member you can join Vocal Media for FREE. You don’t ever have to pay for membership unless you choose to upgrade your membership)

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The rating method is easy. Simply give each song a rating of 1 to 100.

(The more you like the song the higher the rating).

If possible, please provide a brief comment explaination of the reasoning behind your ratings for each song.

After a week (Saturday evening) I will tally the ratings and in the next Rate-O-Rama post I will announce the average rating each song received from the previous post.

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Last week we featured the Year-End Special: Due to low response the ratings are not listed

The following are the average ratings for each song as resulted from the votes:

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The Nineteenth Edition of Rate-O-Rama features three renditions of the Classic Rock classic: "Bohemian Rhapsody."

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Queen (1975)

The masterpiece, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” was written solely by Freddie Mercury. A Rolling Stone Magazine reader's poll ranked Mercury's vocal performance as the greatest in rock history. Initially the song was released to mixed reviews. As time has passed critics have reassessed the song and it is considered a classic of all-time.

The song was recorded in five studios over a span of two months. The complex and detailed musical arrangement and multilayered vocals required extra effort. Engineers Mike Stone and Gary Lyon should be duly noted for their invaluable role in helping to make the song the masterpiece that it is.

The song was a major hit around the world and is considered to be Queen's signature tune. It was #1 in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, UK and #2 in South Africa and the US. #3 in Denmark, France. #4 in Hungary, Lithuania, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland. Plus several other positions within the Top Ten.

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The Braids (1996)

The Braids are a San Francisco R&B Hip Hop duo. A true one hit wonder having released only one album and three singles. Their only hit was a funked up rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The Braids with producers Stephan Jenkins (Third Eye Blind) and Eric Valentine completely stripped everything away from Queen's original and reimagined the song with hip hop beats and vocals. This rendition is presented from a streetwise female perspective.

The Braids had a huge hit with the song. Not as big as Queen but definitely a huge worldwide hit. They reached the Top Twenty in Belgium, Canada, France, Iceland, Italy, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. As well they took the song to #21 in the UK and #42 in the US.

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Panic! At The Disco (2016)

The popular American pop-rock band did a traditional recording of the song staying true to Queen's classical rock arrangement. The song was one they performed live in concert for several years before recording it. Once recorded the response was positive which resulted in the release of a single. They took the song to #64 in both Australia and the US, #47 in Canada, #80 in the UK. It wasn't a huge hit for them but their rendition received recognition.

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My Thoughts

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Queen: What can I say! This song is a classic and Freddie Mercury's vocal is astonishing. I especially love the layered vocals. The guitar work by Brian May is killer. I also like the fact that Ray Thomas Baker produced the song with Queen. Baker is known for producing many great albums including several for Queen, all of The Cars' classic studio albums, and albums for Foreigner, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, and Devo. I give Queen 100.

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The Braids: While I respect the creativity of completely reworking the song. At points it becomes too much. The song is hardly recognizable as “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which isn't a bad thing. However, I will give them extra points for originality and for Zoe Ellis' strong lead vocal. My score is 89.

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Panic! At The Disco: PATD remained completely true to Queen's arrangement even including Freddie Mercury's lead vocal. However, as much as lead singer Brendon Urie tried he just did not make the grade. Urie’s vocal performance of this song is more of a paint-by-numbers reading whereas Freddie Mercury's was a masterpiece. My score for Panic's rendition is 70.

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I will be back next week with the results of this Rate-O-Rama Edition.

Last Week's Rate-O-Rama:

With Love, RHC ❤️