Sir Brian May enjoyed fame and prestige as one of the founding members and most essential parts of Queen, one of the most important Rock and Roll bands of all time.
As the band’s guitarist (and occasional vocalist), he made up a good portion of Queen’s songs and was the artist behind the riffs and melodies that came to be loved worldwide by millions of fans – who can forget the guitar solos in ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ or ‘Brighton Rock’?
In order to give fans a brief glimpse into the inspirations that built Brian May’s sound over the years, interviewer Liz Barnes from My Planet Rock asked him, in 2013, to name some of his favourite songs.
On the topic of his favourite guitar track, he was quick to pick Rainbow’s ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’: “Okay, what has popped into my head is ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’, because I think is quintessential. I suppose you call it Pop Rock in a sense, you know”.
“But it’s uncompromising, it’s a great song and it’s brilliantly played. […] And of course Ritchie Blackmore playing guitar, who is extraordinary. People don’t talk about Ritchie Blackmore enough. I don’t know why. But he was such a trailblazer and technically incredible, unpredictable in every possible way which is great. I mean, that’s what you love isn’t?”
“This is a good Pop record but that doesn’t take away from the fact that is great Rock music in my opinion. I think it’s perfect,” he said.
And May’s admiration wasn’t one-sided. In an interview posted to his own YouTube channel, he said: “Queen, I first heard them doing a song about a train, this is about 1974 or 1975. I can’t remember the title but I was very impressed with the guitar playing and of course the singing”.
“I’ve noticed that Freddie Mercury has a cross between Ronnie (James) Dio and almost like an opera operatic type of voice. To me he was a true star, he knew exactly how to milk an audience, what a musician.”
About Brian May’s guitar skills, he praised: “Some of the stuff they put down all those four part harmonies… very, very clever stuff. Of course there’s Brian, who is probably one of the nicest guys in the business. A brilliant guitar player to boot”.
“I’ve worked with Brian on other stuff and he is such a nice man. He is a bit too tall but he can’t help that. Wonderful band, excellent band and I was very surprised that they did so well in America.”
As well as ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’, Brian also named Queen’s ‘Made in Heaven’ and ‘I Want It All’, Black Sabbath’s ‘Paranoid’, Buddy Holly’s ‘Maybe Baby’, and his collaboration with Kerry Ellis, ‘Anthem’, as his most loved tracks.