Since 1973, Queen have captivated listeners through the intense sonic palette of voices and guitars, the sprawling and epic journeys of songs, and charismatic splendour of their live performances. Rock and Rhapsodies is the first book to undertake a musicological study of the band's output, with a fundamental aim of discovering what, exactly, gave Queen's songs their magical and distinct musical identity. Focusing on the material written, recorded, and released between 1973 and 1991, author Nick Braae provides readers with an in-depth and nuanced analytical account of the group's individual musical style (or "idiolect"), and illuminates the multifaceted stylistic and historical contexts in which Queen's music was created. Aspects of Queen's songs are also used as a springboard for exploring a range of further analytical and discursive issues: the nature of a musical style; the conceptual relationship between an artist, style, and genre; form in popular songs; and the character and identity of a singing voice. Following an introduction and "primer" on Queen's idiolect, Rock and Rhapsodies presents ten further chapters, each of which offers a snapshot of a particular musical element (form, the voice), a particular subset of repertoire (Freddie Mercury's large-scale 1970s songs), or a particular era (post-1991), thus painting a rich overall picture of both the band's history and their ongoing presence in popular culture. Along the way, there is an underlying focus on interrogating and substantiating the themes and ideas that emerge from the writing, documentaries and other media on Queen, using a variety of analytical tools and close readings of songs, to demonstrate how aspects of critical reception align (or not) with musical details. Rock and Rhapsodies will reward any reader who has been enchanted by the myriad and complex musical components that make up any Queen song.

About the Author
Nick Braae is Principal Academic Staff Member in Music and Performing Arts at Waikato Institute of Technology in Hamilton, New Zealand. He has published widely on the music of Queen, New Zealand popular music, and conceptual understandings of style in popular music. He has taught music history, composition, performance, and musical theatre performance studies at Wintec since 2016. Outside of teaching, he works regularly as a session keyboardist, musical director, composer, and arranger.

Reviews
Braae weaves music analysis, critical theory, and production techniques to investigate the band and their work from an impressively large range of angles. Not only is this book for those of us who think Queen is the greatest band to ever grace the world stage, but the ideas and methods herein are also incredibly useful to scholars interested in popular music analysis more generally. * Justin Williams, Senior Lecturer in Music, University of Bristol *
While Queen's output may now be historical, Braae draws upon and synthesizes a wide range of current theoretical positions, extending outside music itself, in order to encapsulate it. In asking many apposite questions, the book is excellent in seeing behind individual songs, towards what makes them tick as a body of work. It is also engagingly written, a model both for understanding Queen and for addressing any band's idiolect. * Allan F. Moore, Emeritus Professor in Music, University of Surrey *
Braae's book is a brilliant analytical journey of how Queen created their unique and identifiable sound. It is an insightful, original and much-needed text that explores not just the notes, but also the historical, performative and production contexts that shaped their music. * Jadey O'Regan, Lecturer in Contemporary Music, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney *



Book Information
ISBN 9780197526743
Author Nick Braae
Format Paperback
Page Count 320
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 454g
Dimensions(mm) 160mm * 236mm * 20mm