It’s no wonder Queen’s Brian May is high up on Rolling Stone’s list of the greatest guitar players of all time. May combines a rare combination of disciplined playing techniques and original composition, gear, and arranging that made him extremely hard to emulate. For starters, he most often uses a guitar he made himself when he was 15!
May was in a PhD program to become an astrophysicist, when he dropped out to play for Queen full-time (although he went back to school and earned his PhD in astrophysics in 2007). Bringing a love of old jazz arrangements along with popular music, as well as a love for technology, May was crucial to Queen’s guitar, vocal, and production sounds.
Additionally, May is respected for his well-honed guitar skills, and use of many different techniques in different songs, each used to create a unique effect.
“Killer Queen” shows a combination of what made him stand out among other guitarists of the time: Unique tones, and distinct arrangements. Listen for the great three-part solo, where May uses his one guitar to get three different “voices”.
“I Want It All” is a great example of May’s hard rock edge that contributed so much to the sound of Queen. The solos in this song demonstrate some of the many techniques May doled out throughout Queen’s career.
“Good Company” is a lesser-known 1930s-style jazz number from Queen’s breakthrough album, A Night at the Opera. Besides being a great song, it’s here for two reasons. The complex instrumental arrangement was done entirely by May. And the instruments? Other than the bass and drums, and the twangy banjolele (an instrument that’s part banjo and part ukulele) during the verse, every instrument is actually Brian May playing his guitar with carefully selected settings and tones. Try doing that yourself and you’ll see how impressive it is!
“Killer Queen”
“I Want It All”
“Good Company”