Forums > Queen - Serious Discussion > QUEEN and AEROSMITH... A PARALLEL

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welll... i im a huge fan of both bands and i've always noticed parallel or similarities between them...

they both started in 1970...

they released they first albums in 1973:
queen s/t
aerosmith s/t

in they first years they released a lot of albums... they worked really hard... they also shared some shows in the early years...

in 1975... both bands released two really important records...

a night at the opera...
toys in the attic...

by the end of the 70s both released live albums...

and in the early 80s they did greatest hits albums... both with the same name...

in 1982 both bands made their lesssuccesful records... "hot space" and "rock in a hard place"

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I'm also a grat fan of both bands. I have a lot of bootlegs from both bands too... Another difference between aerosmith and queen, was that Joe Perry and Brad Whitford left the band in 1979 and 1981 respectively, and both of them met again with aerosmith in 1984... unlike queen, which had the same members since 1971...

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Steve Tyler really wears costumes very similar to Freddie's 1970's Zandra Rhodes stff too, jumpsuits, long chiffon scarves, makeup...and Steve still looks great wearing that stuff too.

Steve also is a pretty good live performer, he does alot of acrobatics on stage, and he plays a MEAN blues harmonica. I Like their older 70's songs..."Train Keep A Rollin", "Big Ten Inch", "Dream On".

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That's cuz there is NO comparison. Steve Tyler is like a good cheesburger, just ok.

Freddie is a legend, like pheasant under crystal glass! First class! Legend and Icon!

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Perhaps the biggest difference is their popularity. Aerosmith failed to really make a dent in Europe outside of the die-hard rockers until 1989, when their first album charted. None of their 70's albums ever made the British charts, I don't even think they went Gold or Platinum (could be wrong about that one though). Whereas Queen were VERY popular in Europe during the 70's and became enormous during the 80's.

However, in America it's a different story. Aerosmith's 70's albums drew almost double the sales Queen usually did. Queen's Greatest Hits sold 7 million copies; Aerosmith's sold 20 million. Overall, Aerosmith have sold 67 million albums in the United States while Queen have sold 30 million.

It's worth noting that overall though, Queen seem to be more in the U.S.'s national consciousness. A great deal of my friends like Queen but none of them listen to Aerosmith.

I think that perhaps Queen's legacy has held up in the U.S. a lot better than Aerosmith's has. And with the advent of online sharing programs and downloads, album sales have become practically irrelevant when judging a band's present-day notoriety and impact

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lol..yup you got that rite:)))

my god queen are frigging huge!! i see absolutley no comparisons between the two,
but the aerosmith fans etc are cool:)

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Funny that this topic should arise. I was thinking along the same lines -- There is a definite similarity between Aerosmith's career and Queen's.

Both groups hit their respective pinnacles in 1975-76ish:

Aerosmith puts out 'Toys in the Attic'
Queen puts out 'Night At the Opera'

Aerosmith put out 'Rocks'
Queen put out 'A Day At the Races'

But even going through every album up until say 1982, they were running like two horses neck to neck.

Aerosmith's "Rock in a Hard Place" is great BTW --just have a bottle of aspirin ready cause you'll need it -- Joe and Brad-less but still really rockin.

This may be a mean thing to say, but I think in a way Aerosmith sort of lacked the intelligence to
allow their sound to evolve. As Queen continuously, and successfully, was able to test the waters in every genre and transition very smoothly from British choir boys into World Beat Euro-Pop kings, Aerosmith digressed into making
Hard Rock pop records with juvenille lyrics which continuously get worse with every release.

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Can anyone say why Freddie hated Steve Tyler. According to the last post there was an argument between them but when was it, what was it about, etc? Personally I like both bands and frontmen and they don't seem like complete polar opposites, unlike Freddie and Sid Vicious say? Any information?

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Brian has many favourite bands and guitarists. In fact every musician is one of his "heroes" as long as he doesn't critisize Queen and one of his "ultimate heroes" if he praises Queen.

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Biggest parallel....both opened for Mott the Hoople in 1974 at various concerts. Harrisburg PA being one of them.

I should know, I was there (though quite knackered)