[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]gem27 wrote: [/QUOTENAME]I also have the Japan 1985 show on dvd and it is not one of the best. Roger's drum sound is annoying and pretty weak but I have a cd of Queen in Milan 1984 on the first part of that tour and it sounds pretty good to me. Also if Queen were that bad in 1985 and audiences were disapointed would the following years Magic Tour been so well recieved that tickets sold out in record time? [/QUOTE]
I have that DVD too. You have to remember that it isn't digitally enhanced. Not saying Queen were subpar when live, but as it wasn't filmed with top class equipment, it won't have used good recording equipment etc. What really bugs me is Brian's guitar in Now I'm Here.
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Well Roger's drums in the works tour were actually crap!!
Hmm http://youtube.com/watch?v=_XIz-81gCww&feature=related First of seven videos of the Works Tour; this is "Final Live Japan." I personally think they were in top form, but Roger's drum sound...eh I don't really like it that much. Too synthesized/poppy sounding.
I think some of the concerts for The Works tour, had better versions of 'Hammer To Fall' than the one performed at Live Aid.
As far as looks go, Freddie in the spandix w/ his tighty whitey's showing was awful! Not to mention his "dun-lap diease" he had going on. Brian, being the bean pole that he was back then could pull it off better.
The Works tour is certainly not my favourite tour and some shows are indeed very mediocre BUT they also performed some truly fantastic shows! These are my favourites:
-Brussels 24/8/84 :freddie's voice is wonderful and they sound glad to be touring again
-Birmingham 31/8/84: they are very relax during this show and the audience is totally going crazy! Very energetic performance and some wonderful comments from freddie and great interaction with the audience. Truly a boogie version of AOBTD, a rocking Now I'm here and hammer to fall, a dramatic It's a hard life,..
-Tokyo 9/5/85: my favourite Queen performance for the 84-86 era.
Honourable mentions: Milan concerts(great quality so great to have) and I also like Stuttgart very much:-)
-Brussels 24/8/84 :freddie's voice is wonderful and they sound glad to be touring again
-Birmingham 31/8/84: they are very relax during this show and the audience is totally going crazy! Very energetic performance and some wonderful comments from freddie and great interaction with the audience. Truly a boogie version of AOBTD, a rocking Now I'm here and hammer to fall, a dramatic It's a hard life,..
-Tokyo 9/5/85: my favourite Queen performance for the 84-86 era.
Honourable mentions: Milan concerts(great quality so great to have) and I also like Stuttgart very much:-)
Could be personal taste, it could just be the recordings that stick in my mind,
but I never liked this tour. Just wasn't up to spec.
The concepts were good, I loved the idea of them bringing back old material in the set list (Keep Yourself Alive, etc.)
but I never liked this tour. Just wasn't up to spec.
The concepts were good, I loved the idea of them bringing back old material in the set list (Keep Yourself Alive, etc.)
[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]Zebonka12 wrote: [/QUOTENAME]Could be personal taste, it could just be the recordings that stick in my mind,
but I never liked this tour. Just wasn't up to spec.
The concepts were good, I loved the idea of them bringing back old material in the set list (Keep Yourself Alive, etc.)[/QUOTE]
Couldn't agree more. The last interesting tour for me was the european part of the Hot Space tour
but I never liked this tour. Just wasn't up to spec.
The concepts were good, I loved the idea of them bringing back old material in the set list (Keep Yourself Alive, etc.)[/QUOTE]
Couldn't agree more. The last interesting tour for me was the european part of the Hot Space tour
Last night I took the time to listen to Glasgow and Newcastle(first night)'79. These recordings are quite bad but the Crazy tour is brilliant. Cerainly Freddie's best tour. I'm sure he was fantastic during the entire tour and I really regret that there are so few recordings. He is not only able to hit the high notes but he also delivers the songs with great passion. Spread your wings is a good example. The 4 versions from the Crazy tour are all brilliant and yet he sings these very different from night to night. You gotta love how he sings 'miles and miles and miles away' during the hammy show. But during the newcastle shows he goes for higher notes and that's also brilliant.Spread your wings has become one of my favourite Queen live songs. There are many brilliant versions and that because of several reasons. Freddie was capable of singing it with great passion even when his voice was not in top shape(jazz tour concerts). Vancouver'78 for example is wonderful. There are no words for Brian's playing(just perfect!) and I love how he sings 'yeah' around 3min48 seconds into the song. Copenhagen'78 is great, Vienna'78, Chicago'77,... They did play a lot of fantastic versions of this song. The entire band plays together well too, with freddie on piano interacting beautifully with the others. the song leaves room for crowd participation too. Fantastic song!
I was going to write about the works tour but then I thought about spread your wings.....sorry!
maybe I can add this: listening to a song like spread you wings is more fun than listening to I want to break free. not only because freddie's voice was most of the time not brilliant in IWTBF but also because you know what will happen with IWTBF, no surprises(no creativity). That's why I prefer 70's Queen to most of the 80's Queen.
I was going to write about the works tour but then I thought about spread your wings.....sorry!
maybe I can add this: listening to a song like spread you wings is more fun than listening to I want to break free. not only because freddie's voice was most of the time not brilliant in IWTBF but also because you know what will happen with IWTBF, no surprises(no creativity). That's why I prefer 70's Queen to most of the 80's Queen.
Crazy little thing called taste. I really enjoy the Works and the Magic tours and I think it was about this time that Queen reached its peak as a band technically. All the guys. The way Brian rearranged many of the old songs was outright brilliant and his playing was quite clever and exciting. As the style of the band changed, he also had to change his take on the instrument and, for better or for worse, it depends on one's taste, he did have to play "I Want to Break Free", "Under Pressure" and the more pop-oriented 80's stuff. And he does it just fine, many of the songs, as far as his playing is concerned, sound much better live than in the studio. I love his playing in both tours and there's much to enjoy there, I think. It was difficult for him to adapt the songs to Freddie's changing performances. The fact that he sang the songs differently, not only from the recordings, but from a concert to another, placed a huge burden on Brian. He had to rethink the songs in all their elements: from the structure to the embelishments.
Freddie is great throughout, and no one agrees with me on that, which is just fine. lol It's my "favorite Freddie"; he had by then, it's just my humble personal opinion, undergone a technical progress, so to speak. He realized that was the voice he had and he had to make an interesting use of it as a singer - it's easy to sing when we're beautiful, in our 20's, full of energy and with the body in top form. Years of touring and unhealthy lifestyle, to say the least, did take, however, their toll on Freddie's voice, which was interesting.
There are many concerts in the Works and Magic tours where he sounds wonderful. His technique is so amazing. He took the harshness of his higher register to his advantage in order to add a lot of drama and passion to the songs; he did reach pretty high notes when the moment demanded and warranted - and then some, take his performance in Live Aid, for example, he hits what can be considered very high notes compared to his natural register just beautifully - but, most important of all, he started exploring his lower register. And that's when things start to get reeeeaaaally interesting.
He developed so much his lower register that, for all the pop sound they did at the time, Queen finally manages to sound really operatic - it's in these tours, and the Magic tour is the crowning of this process, that the fusion is finally reached live. In the 70's Queen sounded like a sophisticated rock and roll band, no doubt, but the operatic spin was not as intense as it become later, when Freddie began to explore his beautiful, pristine, clear and rare lower register.
He sounds so much like a bass or baritone opera singer in many of the songs. It's thrilling because the lower register is the most difficult to dwell in and to explore. Freddie's natural register is, well, pushing a bit, rare among males. The bass and baritone register are much less frequent among males than the tenor. That's why every fellow of orchestra, I hope there are some here that can expand on that, have such a hard time finding bass singers. Freddie did manage to emulate the bass register quite convincingly and beautifully. His lower register is full, clear, pristine, and irresistibly virile and magnificent, overwhelming - he does sound here and there like an actor playing a Shakespearian King. It's damn good and beautiful.
I'm alone there, people who are much more knowledged than me think diffently, and that's great because that's the way I learn, by sharing my views, knowing what other people think about, and so on. We had this "debate" before in Queenzone and I did learn quite a lot.
So, thank you all!
Bye!
Freddie is great throughout, and no one agrees with me on that, which is just fine. lol It's my "favorite Freddie"; he had by then, it's just my humble personal opinion, undergone a technical progress, so to speak. He realized that was the voice he had and he had to make an interesting use of it as a singer - it's easy to sing when we're beautiful, in our 20's, full of energy and with the body in top form. Years of touring and unhealthy lifestyle, to say the least, did take, however, their toll on Freddie's voice, which was interesting.
There are many concerts in the Works and Magic tours where he sounds wonderful. His technique is so amazing. He took the harshness of his higher register to his advantage in order to add a lot of drama and passion to the songs; he did reach pretty high notes when the moment demanded and warranted - and then some, take his performance in Live Aid, for example, he hits what can be considered very high notes compared to his natural register just beautifully - but, most important of all, he started exploring his lower register. And that's when things start to get reeeeaaaally interesting.
He developed so much his lower register that, for all the pop sound they did at the time, Queen finally manages to sound really operatic - it's in these tours, and the Magic tour is the crowning of this process, that the fusion is finally reached live. In the 70's Queen sounded like a sophisticated rock and roll band, no doubt, but the operatic spin was not as intense as it become later, when Freddie began to explore his beautiful, pristine, clear and rare lower register.
He sounds so much like a bass or baritone opera singer in many of the songs. It's thrilling because the lower register is the most difficult to dwell in and to explore. Freddie's natural register is, well, pushing a bit, rare among males. The bass and baritone register are much less frequent among males than the tenor. That's why every fellow of orchestra, I hope there are some here that can expand on that, have such a hard time finding bass singers. Freddie did manage to emulate the bass register quite convincingly and beautifully. His lower register is full, clear, pristine, and irresistibly virile and magnificent, overwhelming - he does sound here and there like an actor playing a Shakespearian King. It's damn good and beautiful.
I'm alone there, people who are much more knowledged than me think diffently, and that's great because that's the way I learn, by sharing my views, knowing what other people think about, and so on. We had this "debate" before in Queenzone and I did learn quite a lot.
So, thank you all!
Bye!
Has anyone mentioned that this is Freddie at his most visibly chunky?
I thought he was at his most chunky in parts of 1987, parts of '88, and parts of '89
Well, Freddie did have love handles during The Works tour, but I think he was worse in 1987 through parts of 1989, like Jake said.
Magnificent post, Yara! I'm glad you're a member of Queenzone. Never leave!
Magnificent post, Yara! I'm glad you're a member of Queenzone. Never leave!
[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]Yara wrote: [/QUOTENAME]Crazy little thing called taste. I really enjoy the Works and the Magic tours and I think it was about this time that Queen reached its peak as a band technically. All the guys. The way Brian rearranged many of the old songs was outright brilliant and his playing was quite clever and exciting. As the style of the band changed, he also had to change his take on the instrument and, for better or for worse, it depends on one's taste, he did have to play "I Want to Break Free", "Under Pressure" and the more pop-oriented 80's stuff. And he does it just fine, many of the songs, as far as his playing is concerned, sound much better live than in the studio. I love his playing in both tours and there's much to enjoy there, I think. It was difficult for him to adapt the songs to Freddie's changing performances. The fact that he sang the songs differently, not only from the recordings, but from a concert to another, placed a huge burden on Brian. He had to rethink the songs in all their elements: from the structure to the embelishments.
Freddie is great throughout, and no one agrees with me on that, which is just fine. lol It's my "favorite Freddie"; he had by then, it's just my humble personal opinion, undergone a technical progress, so to speak. He realized that was the voice he had and he had to make an interesting use of it as a singer - it's easy to sing when we're beautiful, in our 20's, full of energy and with the body in top form. Years of touring and unhealthy lifestyle, to say the least, did take, however, their toll on Freddie's voice, which was interesting.
There are many concerts in the Works and Magic tours where he sounds wonderful. His technique is so amazing. He took the harshness of his higher register to his advantage in order to add a lot of drama and passion to the songs; he did reach pretty high notes when the moment demanded and warranted - and then some, take his performance in Live Aid, for example, he hits what can be considered very high notes compared to his natural register just beautifully - but, most important of all, he started exploring his lower register. And that's when things start to get reeeeaaaally interesting.
He developed so much his lower register that, for all the pop sound they did at the time, Queen finally manages to sound really operatic - it's in these tours, and the Magic tour is the crowning of this process, that the fusion is finally reached live. In the 70's Queen sounded like a sophisticated rock and roll band, no doubt, but the operatic spin was not as intense as it become later, when Freddie began to explore his beautiful, pristine, clear and rare lower register.
He sounds so much like a bass or baritone opera singer in many of the songs. It's thrilling because the lower register is the most difficult to dwell in and to explore. Freddie's natural register is, well, pushing a bit, rare among males. The bass and baritone register are much less frequent among males than the tenor. That's why every fellow of orchestra, I hope there are some here that can expand on that, have such a hard time finding bass singers. Freddie did manage to emulate the bass register quite convincingly and beautifully. His lower register is full, clear, pristine, and irresistibly virile and magnificent, overwhelming - he does sound here and there like an actor playing a Shakespearian King. It's damn good and beautiful.
I'm alone there, people who are much more knowledged than me think diffently, and that's great because that's the way I learn, by sharing my views, knowing what other people think about, and so on. We had this "debate" before in Queenzone and I did learn quite a lot.
So, thank you all!
Bye! [/QUOTE] your not alone there, I personally love freddie's voice on the magic tour, and also agree on brians playing. What freddie lacked in range at that time, he made up with power.
Freddie is great throughout, and no one agrees with me on that, which is just fine. lol It's my "favorite Freddie"; he had by then, it's just my humble personal opinion, undergone a technical progress, so to speak. He realized that was the voice he had and he had to make an interesting use of it as a singer - it's easy to sing when we're beautiful, in our 20's, full of energy and with the body in top form. Years of touring and unhealthy lifestyle, to say the least, did take, however, their toll on Freddie's voice, which was interesting.
There are many concerts in the Works and Magic tours where he sounds wonderful. His technique is so amazing. He took the harshness of his higher register to his advantage in order to add a lot of drama and passion to the songs; he did reach pretty high notes when the moment demanded and warranted - and then some, take his performance in Live Aid, for example, he hits what can be considered very high notes compared to his natural register just beautifully - but, most important of all, he started exploring his lower register. And that's when things start to get reeeeaaaally interesting.
He developed so much his lower register that, for all the pop sound they did at the time, Queen finally manages to sound really operatic - it's in these tours, and the Magic tour is the crowning of this process, that the fusion is finally reached live. In the 70's Queen sounded like a sophisticated rock and roll band, no doubt, but the operatic spin was not as intense as it become later, when Freddie began to explore his beautiful, pristine, clear and rare lower register.
He sounds so much like a bass or baritone opera singer in many of the songs. It's thrilling because the lower register is the most difficult to dwell in and to explore. Freddie's natural register is, well, pushing a bit, rare among males. The bass and baritone register are much less frequent among males than the tenor. That's why every fellow of orchestra, I hope there are some here that can expand on that, have such a hard time finding bass singers. Freddie did manage to emulate the bass register quite convincingly and beautifully. His lower register is full, clear, pristine, and irresistibly virile and magnificent, overwhelming - he does sound here and there like an actor playing a Shakespearian King. It's damn good and beautiful.
I'm alone there, people who are much more knowledged than me think diffently, and that's great because that's the way I learn, by sharing my views, knowing what other people think about, and so on. We had this "debate" before in Queenzone and I did learn quite a lot.
So, thank you all!
Bye! [/QUOTE] your not alone there, I personally love freddie's voice on the magic tour, and also agree on brians playing. What freddie lacked in range at that time, he made up with power.
[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]mike hunt wrote: [/QUOTENAME] your not alone there, I personally love freddie's voice on the magic tour, and also agree on brians playing. What freddie lacked in range at that time, he made up with power. [/QUOTE]
Not a big fan of his voice on the magic tour. At Wembley, IWTBF sounds terrible and he doesn't hit any of the high notes on Under Pressure (I know it's a 'duet' with Roger, who hits them all as usual, but Fred doesn't do a good job at all).
Not a big fan of his voice on the magic tour. At Wembley, IWTBF sounds terrible and he doesn't hit any of the high notes on Under Pressure (I know it's a 'duet' with Roger, who hits them all as usual, but Fred doesn't do a good job at all).