way, way underrated.

Cewley: way, way underrated.

came here to say this

Best Guitarest ever? I stopped playing the 'best band/guitarist game', it's really hard to quantify great music. He is certainly one of the greatest. My favorite Queen song (and one that few have seemed to ever HEARD of) is 'Innuendo'. May seriously tears it up on that song.

Other 'Best Guitarests' ever:

Mikael Akerfeldt - Opeth
Andre Olbrich - Blind Guardian
Michael Romeo - Symphony X
David Gilmour - Pink Floyd

Steve Howe seen kicking a can down the street muttering "Why don't I get fark fanboys like Brian May does? I have a gay singer too!"

/steps away quietly
//knows not to piss off the Queen fans on Fark
///knows Anderson isn't gay

GoRedSoxGo: Cewley: way, way underrated.

came here to say this

I third the motion, but I don't agree that he's the best ever.
That would be me.
/jk

Brian May = awesome.

Chet Atkins > Brian May.

That's a great song.

I agree he is underrated but best ever? Nah. He has a very distinct sound and can surely rock along side the best of them.


But A Kind of Magic? Nah, go for something like Tie Your Mother Down!

Brian May is one of the greatest guitarists ever to grace this planet. I cannot get enough of the tone he gets from his 'May'. Seriously amazing player.

/fanboy
//do na' piss me off

Queen is probably the only band I could listen to everyday and not want to kill myself. Brian May = awesome.

Canadian Canuck: But A Kind of Magic? Nah, go for something like Tie Your Mother Down!

Sooo many choices, but yeah, generally I agree with you.

Saying that, here in the UK he's far from underrated. I'd say he's up there with the Pages and Iommis, not the best technically like Vai, Satriani or Di Meola, not a huge innovator like Hendrix or Les Paul, but they do what they do perfectly and electric guitar music's a far finer thing for their contributions.

Kliffoth rules for his honorable mention of Mikael Akerfeldt, who is also an amazing vocalist beyond his demonic growls.

Arthur the Sandwich Maker blows for likening May with Jimmy Page and Tony Iommi. Though Page and Iommi built bleach-blues riffs the likes of which Clapton could never quite reach, they were dime-a-dozen players. May is a composer. He is to his guitar what Freddie was to his stacked vocals. If you don't believe me, ask Frank Zappa. On second thought, his deadness might hinder that, so instead read his authorized bio in which he talks about May. Dude's also a muhfuggin PhD in outer space or something. Dude rules.

sonnyboy11: Brian May is one of the greatest guitarists ever to grace this planet. I cannot get enough of the tone he gets from his 'May'. Seriously amazing player.

/fanboy
//do na' piss me off

It cannot be denied that he is without a doubt the finest Doctor of Astrophysics ever to shred an axe.

When the band was rollin in full tilt jam mode there was nothing finer. Miss Freddy, miss the music that might have been.

Kliffoth: Best Guitarest ever? I stopped playing the 'best band/guitarist game', it's really hard to quantify great music. He is certainly one of the greatest. My favorite Queen song (and one that few have seemed to ever HEARD of) is 'Innuendo'. May seriously tears it up on that song.

Gotta agree, 'Innuendo' is my favorite Queen song, hands down. Especially love the bit where Mr. May gets absolutely furious on the guitar, with Roger Taylor matching him all the way until it's time to reign him in with the rigid tempo the rest of the song employs. Brilliant!

/uber Queen nerd
//points at user name

Brian May - Is in the LAP OF THE GODS when it comes to guitar.

'nuf said.

Worked with him. As a person he's a douche.

code_monkey: Worked with him. As a person he's a douche.

Shu'up. I met him once, and it was one of the best days of my life. As a day, it's second only to my wedding. He was gracious, cordial, humble, warm, and charming. If he was a douche to you professionally, you probably did something to deserve it.

I've been collecting Queen memorabilia since I had my own money. For my two cents, pound for pound they're the greatest band ever, and Brian's homemade guitar, that he hand-built from scraps with his dad at 14, that he used to create the most unique and singular tone ever, that he plays with skill, technique, instinct, restraint, and talent is just as much the reason why as Freddie's vocals, their ridiculously rich compositions, or any of a thousand other amazing reasons to worship them.

Seriously, there's a reason why musicians universally love that band. It's because they were farking amazing on every level. Sometimes I'm bummed that I live in the US, one of the only cultured countries in the world that is too much of a collective Jethro to appreciate them properly.

Jeezum Crow: Arthur the Sandwich Maker blows for likening May with Jimmy Page and Tony Iommi.

Meh. Everyone's got one and they all stink, yadayada.

Though I will say I prefer May greatly to both of the previous and don't really enjoy their work, but I wasn't comparing style, more niche.

Also it's late, bugger off. :p

As much as I enjoy May's excellent guitar work, I must say that as a lead vocalist in a rock band for about 15 years, Freddie Mercury is one of a group of male leads I can count on one hand that transcends excellence and exists in the la-la land of utter ridiculousness.

That guy had pipes the likes of which we may never hear again. His death was a terrible tragedy.

His homemade guitar certainly has a sound, but I've read somewhere that he and his engineer spent countless hours matching and mixing tubes from all over the world to be put in his Voxes amp.

As for him being a douche, he probably cannot compete with Robert Fripp...

MaxxLarge: Shu'up. I met him once, and it was one of the best days of my life.

You weren't stuck in a studio with him for a week.

Digging all the Queen love in here. Greatest band ever. Between the writing, the vocals, the instrumental talent, and the versatility of the band....who could be considered better?

/Still remember trying to figure out why the 8-track I had in my hands was called Queen II
//Thought there were 2 groups named Queen
///Hey, it was 1983, and I was 5 years old, ok.