The iconic guitarist Brian May feels has been hugely “underrated by the guitar community”
In the 1970s, Brian May helped bring Queen to the masses, adorning Freddie Mercury’s energetic glam-rock whim with expertly executed guitar solos. As a part-time astrophysicist with a PhD from Imperial College London, May is among our more mathematic artists, who, contrary to the likes of Sid Vicious, takes great care in honing complex and refined compositions.
Just as May polished off his BSc in physics in 1968, London became the epicentre of the burgeoning psychedelic rock wave. The Beales had become major proponents thanks to their work on Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, but they certainly weren’t alone.
Like practically everyone during this period, May became entranced by the startling virtuosity of guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. Something about the psychedelic era seemed to bring the best out of rock instrumentalists, inspiring the imminent complexities of the prog-rock wave.
While May could undoubtedly be described as a virtuoso, Queen stood apart from the prog-rock movement. Thanks to Mercury’s vibrant stage persona and the band’s flamboyant compositions, Queen were more commonly associated with the glam-rock wave alongside the likes of David Bowie, T. Rex and Roxy Music.
Although the glam-rockers didn’t use Sgt. Pepper as a blueprint like progressive acts such as Genesis, one would be hard-pressed to find an artist from the early 1970s that wasn’t fascinated by The Beatles. As far as May was concerned, George Harrison was one of the most underrated lead guitarists of the psychedelic era, ostensibly eclipsed by the grandeur of his close friend Clapton and the American import Mr. Hendrix.
Speaking to the Express in 2022, May revealed that the Beatles were Queen’s “bible”. He explained that “at every stage in their career and their music development, they were models. And they still are to me, I must say.”
With perhaps the exception of multi-instrumentalist Paul McCartney, none of The Beatles are often considered musical virtuosos, but they were creative innovators who set the pace for fellow artists. “They are the pinnacle of writing, performance and ethos of rock music,” May beamed. “They broke down so many barriers, they changed the world many times. I will always love The Beatles without any reservation.”
The Queen guitarist then praised the Beatles on an individual level. While he had the pleasure of meeting the other three Beatles, May lamented that he had never met John Lennon. “I wish I had,” May said, “I would have loved to have done. What a wonderful talent and a wonderful voice. Incredible.”
In his appraisal of Harrison, May noted that the guitarist was not only overlooked within the Beatles as a songwriter but also universally as a guitarist. “I love George, I love his playing,” he said. adding, “I hold George in such reverence and I think he’s so underrated by the guitar community. Everyone raves about people who play fast, but if you look at the catalogue of stuff he’s produced, it’s colossal.”
Harrison perhaps couldn’t compete with Hendrix in terms of technical ability, but he had a unique approach as a songwriter and knew just what flavours to add to his compositions. The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards joins May in this position, commending Harrison’s altruistic approach. “The thing is, you’ve got your Jimi Hendrix, you’ve got your Eric Clapton, and then you’ve got guys who can play with bands,” the guitarist once said. “George was a band and a team player.”
Richards concluded his point emphatically: “George was an artist, but he was also a fucking craftsman.”
Listen to one of George Harrison’s most famous compositions below.
