Hot Space

Whoever thinks Michael Jackson is an average singer clearly hasn't heard Earth Song.  It's easily one of the most soaring and passionate vocals ever laid down onto tape.

At one of those award ceremonies (maybe the Grammys) they had some top-notch singers (Celine and some others) doing that one, and they weren't even close.

Holly2003 wrote: Jazz 78 wrote: Under Pressure came out first and it really set the anticipation for a great album. But then I put it on the turntable (yeah, we had them back then) and couldn't  figure out if I was to like or loathe it.

Very true. Under Pressure is not a funk-dance track, like a lot of Hot Space (Staying Power, Dancer, Back Chat, Cool Cat, Body Language). It is more 'New Wave', like Calling All Girls, Action This Day, or Coming Soon (from The Game). As such, even if one ignores that it was released as a single seven months before Hot Space was released and had already appeard on some Greatest Hits LPs, stylistically Under Pressure is a bit 'between albums'.

Regarding Hot Space, I dont know if it was as much Queen moving away from their fanbase as it was the poor quality songwriting on the album. Only one or two songs really stand out. Only one or two would've made it onto, for example, The Game. They simply made an album that wasn't very good, and which didn't connect with their core audience or the wider public. Many other bands were doing funk-soul better than Queen. They ended up looking like imitations of these artists. It's nice that MJ said it influenced Thriller, but let's be honest, Thriller is a classic, whereas HS is a dud.

"Hot Space" was the result of Queen (particularly Freddie and John) trying to recapture the success they had with "Another One Bites The Dust."  The two of them thought that having an lp full of dance/funk tunes was their
way of hitting the jackpot again.

mike hunt wrote: average singer at best

That's when he was actually singing onstage rather than lip synching.

skip wrote: mike hunt wrote: average singer at best

That's when he was actually singing onstage rather than lip synching.

Agreed

skip wrote: "Hot Space" was the result of Queen (particularly Freddie and John)
That's a widespread fake myth. The John part. Actually, he was the one who contributed the least to the songwriting department and the one whose function was replaced by machines the most. Besides, neither 'Dancer' nor 'Action' were written by Jeddie, nor Maylor were forced to come up with them or to arrange them that way.

Hot Space was the result of ALL of them moving away from their previous direction. And if anything, it was chiefly Freddie and Brian who did it (none of R's and J's songs have synth-bass, for instance), while both John and Roger were vocal about their dislike of the album. John was indeed more fond of 'black' music than Maylor, but it doesn't mean he was more involved on Hot Space.

Just listended to Hot Space today. I agree that it's a fun listen but by the end of the record you get a feeling of disapointment in the lack of varied and quality tunes and the absence of Brian May solos. What irratest me further is the fact that the band used Drum Machines and Programmed Keyboard Bass played by a non band member or for example, John decides to programe the drums of Cool Cat. The group does not sound like a group in hot space. Their songwriting is below par because I think they were aware that they were making a record focused on Dance music. It might have been the first time in their career that the band did not feel free.

I do begin to wounder why drum programming was used on Queen songs from Hot Space to Innuendo. I think most songs by Queen in the 80s were not played by Taylor with the use of Drum Machines. And I think the rating of a song is lowered by knowing that authentic instrements are not being played. For example,you listen to a great song like I Want to Break Free, Who Wants to Live Forever, I Can't Live Forever. You like it, but you suddenly discover Roger is not doing the drums or it's been played by on a keyboard by the guitarist. The listener then does not feel the same about that song, knowing that the band was not entirely involved in that record. You don't feel you are listening to a proper band when a song has some guy other than the drummer doing the percussion. Was Roger lazy, was he bored, why did Queen take the easy way in the 80s. After the Miracle, Queen were showing signs of moving away from that era but unfortuantly it was short lived with the death of Freddie Mercury.

Do the band play real instrements on I Can't Live Forever?

I think the real problem with this album is the quality of the more traditional Queen material. Side 1 is actually vibrant, experimental and brave. True, I don't like Body Language and when they missed they usually missed big time but you don't acheive anything creatively without taking risks..
Oddly I now prefer it to those mid eighties albums; Works, magic and Miracle and I actually think the album features some of Freds last great vocal performances before technology kicked in to shore up his ageing smoking voice.  
'Staying Power, Dancer and  Back Chat are all fine fresh songs even now but I understand that people who considered Q2, for example, the bees bollocks probably find it difficult to reconcile with such a different album just 8 years later.
Side 2, with the exception of Calling all Girls and Pressure, seems to lack heart and they seemed to be treading through areas where they had been before with greater inspiration. There's nothing wrong with 'Put out the fire' but once you've heard 'White Man' or It's Late...well and 'Las Palabras'...Sorry folks but I think it's sugary and awful.
If I could re-write history - how about Dancer as a first single ? Things could have been  different...

mike hunt wrote: skip wrote: mike hunt wrote: average singer at best

That's when he was actually singing onstage rather than lip synching.

Agreed

(i'm assuming this is another dig at Michael Jackson)
Actually, with some exceptions he DID sing live onstage... you may be forgetting that he only had a FEW tours. In a live set of about two hours, he DID do some notable Lip Syncs... "Stranger In Moscow" (while doing some HEAVY gyrations ...bad for vocal phrasing)... as well as some on and off parts of other songs... "Will You Be There", "Man In The Mirror"...

however, anything of "recent" years (meaning 1999-2003) broadcast... that's all been rescreened and edited for consumption. (Voice overs)... a HUGE notable was the live broadcast for the 2001 event...

people listening on the radio got the live feed (with bad P.A. issues... possibly due to inexperienced singers onstage? inexperienced sound man?... or just the massive amount of MICS onstage)... that had tons of feedback

while audiences who tuned in to watch it as it was later broadcast... got voice overs for really bad vocal takes...

(noticeably... none of the bad ones were Michael's)

VERSION AIRED
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2Jy1J8nvTw

LIVE RADIO FEED:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-R-TZmSqAY

Give the guy a break, he busted his ass onstage DYNAMICALLY  in all but that 30th anniversary special. For once he looked a little off.

Though, i'm not certain if he'd lip synced all those songs either, sometimes if the raw vocal take wasn't considered on par or had cracks, hiss, feedback whatever... it wasn't released. Having been less bootlegged than Queen, ya never know.

> What irratest me further is the fact that the band used Drum Machines and Programmed Keyboard Bass played by a non band member or for example, John decides to programe the drums of Cool Cat.

Those drums are real.

> I do begin to wounder why drum programming was used on Queen songs from Hot Space to Innuendo.

Because, at the time, it was trendy, and allowed non-drummers to have exactly what they wanted without having to explain in detail to Roger.

> I think most songs by Queen in the 80s were not played by Taylor with the use of Drum Machines.

Really? Most? Let's see:

Play the Game - Real
Dragon Attack - Real
Another One Bites - Real
Need Your Loving - Real
Rock It - Real

Don't Try Suicide - Real
A Human Body - Real
Flash's Theme - Real
In the Space Capsule - Real
Football Fight - Real

Flash to the Rescue - Real
Vultan's Theme - Real
Battle Theme - Real
The Wedding March - Real
Marriage of Dale and Ming - Real

Crash Dive on Mingo City - Real
Flash's Theme Reprise - Real
The Hero - Real
Under Pressure - Real
Soul Brother - Real

Staying Power - Real + Computer
Dancer - Real + Computer
Back Chat - Real + Computer
Body Language - Real + Computer
Action This Day - Real + Computer

Life Is Real, So Are Drums
Calling All Girls - Real
Las Palabras de Amor - Real
Cool Cat - Real
Radio Ga Ga - Real + Computer

Tear It Up - Real
It's a Hard Life - Real
Man on the Prowl - Real
Machines - Real + Computer
I Want to Break Free - Real (pads, but it still counts)

Keep Passing the Open Windows - Real
Hammer to Fall - Real
One Vision - Real (both acoustic and electric)
A Kind of Magic - Real
One Year of Love - Real

Pain Is So Close - Real + Computers
Friends Will Be Friends - Real
Gimme the Prize - Real
Don't Lose Your Head - Real + Computers
Princes of the Universe - Real

Party - Real + Programmed
Khashoggi's Ship - Real
The Miracle - Real
I Want It All - Real
The Invisible Man - Real

Breakthru' - Real + Programmed
Rain Must Fall - Real + Programmed
Scandal - Real
My Baby Does Me - Real + Programmed
Was It All Worth It - Real

Hang on in There - Real
Stealin' - Real
Chinese Torture - Real
Hijack My Heart - Real
My Life Has Been Saved - Real

Innuendo - Real
Slightly Mad - Real + Programmed (Shaker)
Headlong - Programmed
I Can't Live With You - Programmed
Don't Try So Hard - Real

Ride the Wild Wind - Real
All God's People - Real + Programmed
Days of Our Lives - Real
Delilah - Real + Programmed
The Hitman - Real + Programmed

Show Must Go On - Real

So: out of 171 songs featuring drums that Queen recorded at least partly in the 1980's, 153 (89.47%) of them have only real drums, and most of the remaining 18 have him alongside the machines. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaardly 'most songs by Queen in the 80s were not played by Taylor with the use of Drum Machines.'

> For example,you listen to a great song like I Want to Break Free, Who Wants to Live Forever, I Can't Live Forever.

Break Free - All instruments are real (synths are a real instrument too, or d'you think they're imaginary?). And even if synths counted as 'imagunary', still drums, bass and guitars are real so real instruments win.

WWTLF - One synth vs real harp, real flutes, real violins, real violas, real celli, real guitar, real percussion, real horns... mostly real.

ICLF - If you mean I Can't Live With You, then again: real bass + real guitars. The majority is still real.

> You like it, but you suddenly discover Roger is not doing the drums or it's been played by on a keyboard by the guitarist.

Brian did not play the 'Can't Live' drums on keyboard. He programmed them on an Apple Mac, which is not the same thing.

> Was Roger lazy, was he bored, why did Queen take the easy way in the 80s.

When 89.47% of the songs with drums have exclusively real drums, a comment like that is lazy, bored, easy and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off.

It's incredible to see that most of the drums we hear in the 80's albums (+ Innuendo) are "real" drums, as opposed to them being drum machines, like a lot of people seem to think.

There seems to be something here. Something that makes the overall perception of the average Queen fan lean towards the idea that in the 80's Queen stopped "painstakingly crafting" their music and programmed everything on computers.

There was a change in sounds in Queen's music (including the drum sound) when Mack came on board. Eventhough you can hear differences in previous albums (Q1, ADATR, NOTW, Jazz all have different drum sound), it became more evident around this time.

Why does the "Live" feel on a rock song like Hammer to Fall is less evident than in -say- It's Late or Stone Cold Crazy?
Why does it feel artificial?

Roger plays "real" drums on HTF. Did he use triggered samples or synth drums in that song?
Something is off. It doesn't sound like an entirely acoustic drum set.

The average music listener apparently doesn't know the difference between a Drum machine, Acoustic drums sampled and looped, synth drums played by a real drummer, etc... If the song doesn't sound like Roger is playing drums next to you in the room (like ANATO-NOTW) then "THEY MUST BE SYNTHS".

Sebastian wrote: >

Radio Ga Ga - Real + Computer

Machines - Real + Computer
I Want to Break Free - Real (pads, but it still counts)

A Kind of Magic - Real
One Year of Love - Real

Pain Is So Close - Real + Computers

Don't Lose Your Head - Real + Computers

The Invisible Man - Real

Breakthru' - Real + Programmed
Rain Must Fall - Real + Programmed
Scandal - Real
My Baby Does Me - Real + Programmed

Slightly Mad - Real + Programmed (Shaker)
Days of Our Lives - Real

Are you absolutely sure?  To me all the songs above sound totally programmed. I mean, they might have sampled a single drumhit from Roger or something, but they don't even sound vaguely human to me.

Obviously, that was the sound they were going for, a more "modern" pop sound. I can't see it as being laziness or inability, Roger obviously had the chops. I think they probably did it because it worked better for the song. That's the important thing. Not who gets to show off the most on their instrument.  That's why Queen weren't a metal band ;)

> It's incredible to see that most of the drums we hear in the 80's albums (+Innuendo)

Innuendo was also (drum-wise) mostly done in the 80's, as they laid down backing tracks in March to December 1989 (and guess what: 1989 is still the 80's). The 1990 sessions were mostly for computer stuff, overdubs and so on.

> There seems to be something here. Something that makes the overall perception of the average Queen fan lean towards the idea that in the 80's Queen stopped "painstakingly crafting" their music and programmed everything on computers.

Yes: A says something; B believes it, without even making an effort to verify if it's true; C thinks 'if A and B say so, it must be true'; D thinks 'if A, B and C say so it must be true', and so on. Soon enough you'll have thousands of people thinking Roger sat on his arse for a full decade and then out of thin air came up with Innuendo. Both statements couldn't be further from the truth.

> There was a change in sounds in Queen's music (including the drum sound) when Mack came on board.

And David Richards.

> Eventhough you can hear differences in previous albums (Q1, ADATR, NOTW, Jazz all have different drum sound), it became more evident around this time.

Partly because Roger changed to smaller kits as well. Also the new (to them) studios had a different set-up and the switch from analogue to digital played a key role as well. Bass also sounds different but people don't seem to misatribute it to machines as often as Roger's drumming. Not to mention piano or guitars...

> Why does the "Live" feel on a rock song like Hammer to Fall is less evident than in -say- It's Late or Stone Cold Crazy?

Kit, mics, tape recorders, pre-amp (if there's any), console, engineers, producer, generation tapes.

> Roger plays "real" drums on HTF. Did he use triggered samples or synth drums in that song?

I'm listening to it (Karaoke version not to be distracted by the wonderful vocals) in order to double-check. So:

* The snare beats on the beginning sound odd because the song is varisped. It makes the tuning different and very uncharacteristic. Same for B/D.

* Hi-hats are obviously real: technology to emulate them that well did not exist in 1983. Also check out Rog's trademark foot thing... not only it's a bitch to programme, but also totally unnecessary as you've got the person there.

* Crash cymbals seem to be muted somehow... besides the varisped thing there seems to be something like mic position affecting it. Or maybe there's some sort of interference between the different mics set-up.

> It doesn't sound like an entirely acoustic drum set.

As you wrote later on, not everything that doesn't sound like Opera to News of the World is not acoustic. There are literally thousands of ways to mic and mix drums, even if you've got the same player.

> The average music listener apparently doesn't know the difference between a Drum machine, Acoustic drums sampled and looped, synth drums played by a real drummer, etc...

Indeed. Moreover, they think drum-machines are magical things where you just programme and listen. Even nowadays with such amazing samples, it's still a hundred times easier, cheaper and better to get a real drummer playing the part.

>  If the song doesn't sound like Roger is playing drums next to you in the room (like ANATO-NOTW) then "THEY MUST BE SYNTHS".

Indeed. Ignorance is bliss... but not in this case. Had 'Best Friend' or 'Misfire' been recorded in the 80's, people would be convinced they're synths too.

-----

Regarding the inquiries about Ga Ga, etc... first of all, let us pretend, for a second, that those were all computers: you'd  still have 81.87% of drums being totally real, which still renders qrock's comment absolutely categorically wrong and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay off.

Now:

Radio Ga Ga: The intro sound is programmed (and nicely mixed in stereo). That sound keeps going throughout most of the song. Again I'm listening to the karaoke version to have a clearer image. Note how the hi-hat misses the trademark Roger thing... it does accentuate it at the end but that's not the same sound and is also an easily programmable pattern for Linn computers (in fact, if I'm not mistaken, it may well even be a preset). When 'So don't become' kicks in, there are about three or four seconds of a real kit in the background, with Roger's hi-hat thing and all (listen to the live versions for the same sound). By 'you had the time' there's that real kit again doing some overdubs. Chorus is interesting: hi-hat is programmed, claps are done on e-drums (not the same as machines as you've actually got to play them), cymbals are real. So yes: it IS real + computer. As a side note, bass is also a combination of real + machines. The cymbal rolls before the synth solo (and then again before the guitar solo) are real too BTW. Only the piano is 'fake': it's actually a Fairlight CMI-II with (close to) piano sound. Live, Spike did use a Yamaha CP80 to get a (much better) sound, and for the Magic tour he used an Emulator II+ that sampled it much more accurately.

Machines: Again, listening to the instrumental version to be more certain. The main pattern during the verses is almost identical to 'Ga Ga', with only some different effects to make the snare deeper. When Brian hits those power chords (e.g. before the vocal comes in), Roger adds some cymbal + bass-drum, which are real. So my point is already confirmed: real + computer. For the refrain, the programmed hi-hat goes to the background but the real kit enters: real B/D, real snare (with a similar effect to HTF), real toms (with Roger's trademark fills). In the instrumental version you can really notice the contrast between programmed and acoustic drums, both of which play key roles on this song. Something similar happens to bass. Reportedly, it was Brian's idea to have that: the machines and the human band sort of fighting each other. By 2.57 (on the instrumental version) acoustic drums are much more prominent, with Roger's hi-hat thing (the acoustic giveaway) audible.

I Want to Break Free: Again, listening to the karaoke version to be sure. Cymbal rolls on the intro are real. The pattern is also real, note how the snare sound 'bounces', in a way no machine or synth could emulate back in '83 (it's still nearly impossible in 2010). Hi-hats are real but have a different set-up to Roger's traditional way. They probably experimented a lot at the studio in LA - note that Brian used a different guitar to record both HTF and TIU (something most people have never noticed).  The crash for the middle-eight is sort of muted, but it seems to me that it was more of a post-production thing. It'd be great to hear those raw tracks and get someone like Rob Cavallo remixing them. For the instrumental verse (single version), the fact drums are real is more evident (compare them to Magic Tour versions, although those have a waaaaaay better set-up and miking). Mack (or an engineer) probably thought of dubbing the snare with a (possibly sampled) tambourine. Actually, that's a technique Queen may have used in the 70's (with handclaps instead of tambourine), as it was a favourite of the late Geoff Workman. I know for a fact that Workman used that trick (having claps and snare coming in at the same moment - listeners don't notice the claps but they just feel the snare is stronger and deeper) with other bands he worked with, but I'm not sure if he applied the technique with Queen. Maybe on 'Leaving Home Ain't Easy', one of my favourite songs BTW.

A Kind of Magic: Karaoke version again, just to be certain. Well, fingerclicks are real (they have an 'echo' that only sounds that way when doing real ones). The hi-hat in the background is obviously programmed, it's almost as if they'd copied and pasted what they'd done on Machines and Ga Ga. Snare could be either way... to be fair that sound is easily gotten on pads but it can also be a (

A Kind of Magic: Karaoke version again, just to be certain. Well, fingerclicks are real (they have an 'echo' that only sounds that way when doing real ones). The hi-hat in the background is obviously programmed, it's almost as if they'd copied and pasted what they'd done on Machines and Ga Ga. Snare could be either way... to be fair that sound is easily gotten on pads but it can also be a (slightly muted) real one. Fills are real (e.g. 'eternity'), although Roger probably used drum pads rather than actual toms. Still, drum pads are not the same as programmed or computer drums, as you have to actually play them (i.e. hit them with a stick - check out the 'One Vision' video). Bass-drum comes from Simmons SDS-VII (IIRC), it's part of what made them famous. Again, it's not acoustic but it's still real as you have to play them, not programme them. The snare fill on 3.20 is obviously real, and the snare becomes real from then on (listen to the live version for a closer sound). So, it's not completely real but it's combination of programmed hi-hat plus real (both acoustic and electric) drums. Note that the live version does have the hi-hat thing, missing from the album cut. A shame really, as Roger's playing is way better than that stupid looped computer hi-hat. As for the film version: pattern's real, but looped (a la 'Rock It', 'Coming Soon' or 'Another One Bites the Dust'). There are some overdubs here and there (e.g. before 'the waiting') that are neither acoustic nor programmed, but electronic. Come to think of it,
it seems that the chorus pattern (obviously real) is the same as on the album, only that on the album it was mixed more in the back, which people tend to mistake for programmed.

One Year of Love: Couldn't get an instrumental, so I'm analysing it through the extended version, which includes some instrumental passages. B/D is real althoug mixed in a very Deacy way (see my YBMF point above). Same for snare... although that sound could be obtained via e-drums too (or at least close to it). If multi-tracks ever surface we can be positive. Hi-hat is also real, but looped (a la AOBTD), and there's the tambourine trick again. It seems, then, that it was a John thing (see IWTBF). Remember: a closed-miked kit is not the same as a MIDI.

Pain Is So Close to Pleasure: Listening to its extended version to be more certain. The pattern at the beginning is obviously real (listen to what Roger plays to warm up during the One Vision sessions), and quite cleverly mixed. Tom sounds are again obviously real (you couldn't get that exact sound in '86 as you can't get it right in 2010). There are some cowbell-like overdubs  before the verse starts (on the extended mix) which seem to be indeed programmed, I think Duran Duran also used them. Tambourine trick again. The main pattern during the verses is still the real one (listeneable on much clearer detail at the beginning of the extended mix), but mixed way in the back and with some weird EQing (as in Best Friend). Actually, after having hated this song for years and years, now I'm starting to like it thanks to those drums... not only are they (mostly) real, but they're a great pattern, I can't wait to try it out on drums next time I play ... I know I won't get it, but it's still nice to try. By the way, bass is a nice combination of real + synth. Intro is synth, but when vocal kicks in it's real. The e-piano, OTOH, is not a real one, but a DX-7 synth emulating an e-piano sound. Around 4.40 (extended mix) you can listen to the real and the synth bass simultaneously, then only the synth one and there's indeed a (not so) subtle difference... great ear training if you feel like it!

Don't Lose Your Head: I'm listening to A Dozen Red Roses (extended) to be sure. Hi-hat is real (listen to [and watch!] the One Vision warm-ups again). The B/D + snare pattern is also real although probably done on electronic (rather than acoustic) drums, which again is not the same as programming something on keys or computers. Now, at 1.25 they're obviously real (note the acoustic echo), so either Roger played them all on real (Ludwig, I guess) drums, or he had the same pattern on both a- and e- and mixed them. The hi-hats at 2.42 and from then on are copied 'n' pasted from 'A Kind of Magic' (or the other way around).
So, I was right: real + computers.

Invisible Man: There was actually an interview with (IIRC) a French magazine where Roger confirmed that although people seemed to think they were programmed (as it was the trend at the time for Jax Trax), Invisible Man had been done with real drums. Again, I'm listening to the karaoke version as I write - yes, the intro fills are real, you can't get that sound from machines even now in 2010. The pattern is also real (it's got the hi-hat thing) although probably looped (not a rarity for Roger's songs, check Rock It, Coming Soon or his solo career!). The chorus adds the same programmed hi-hat as Magic, Machines, Ga Ga and Don't Lose Your Head. The build-up before the middle eight is a combination of programmed hi-hats plus the real thing. The other build-up (before the May-estic solo) is also real, but crash cymbals are very weak (miking and mixing are to blame, or probably Rog used a different kit, but it's definitely acoustic anyway). For the solo in question, hi-hat is again the same old thing as in most Roger's songs from the 80's, but with a much better sound (closer to the real thing but still programmed), and the fills near the 'Roger Taylor' line are also real, but processed via limiters and flanged to sound more 'techno'. Still, most of the work is on authentic acoustic drums.

Breakthru': Karaoke again. Hi-hat is programmed and the same old shite as on Machines, Ga Ga, Magic, Head and Invisible. That indeed seems kind of lazy :) But main kit is obviously real: note the fills before the chorus - not only they're very very very hard to programme, but it's also unnecessary as you can get Roger to play them in five minutes and get a way better sound. Not  only are drums real there, but they're also a very hard thing to pull off. People seem to think that Roger was only a great drummer in the 70's, and it's not quite right. For the 'your smile' verse, hi-hat begins programmed but fades out to make room for the real one by the end of the section. B/D + snare are real throughout. Note the very real and very nice crash cymbals on the chorus. Again, there's some flange and probably a limiter to make it sound more techno. Four-string bass is only real during the solo, otherwise it's two different kinds of synth sounds combined and alternating. Note the hi-hat thing near the end. For those who haven't noticed, Roger added an 'a-ha' voice doubling the bass at some points. You may like or hate this 'poppy' era of Queen, but in either case, the amount of work and effort behind four-minute gems like this one, from every aspect - miking, producing, engineering, playing (try doing Brian's solo) - is extraordinary.

Rain Must Fall: No kar version, so I'm using the album cut. Well, the pattern is obviously MIDI, and a good one actually in terms of mixing. Cymbal on 0.52 is real, and so are the tom fills near the second verse. Timbales, believe it or not, are actually real (e.g. 1.27), even in 2010 you can't get that sound from samples. Hi-hats are real during the solo. About that song, Roger did comment (BBC, May 1989) that it was mostly machine-like, with some overdubs he (Roger) put on top of it, most of which they (I assume John and Freddie) edited out. A shame. I suspect the programmed pattern was by John (listen to No Turning Back - the drummer's mostly put in the video as a prop). So, I was right: real + programmed. By the way, regarding the congas (3.01-3.03 for instance, and from then on), those ones are indeed sampled. Conga percussion is very very very hard to mic, and unless you've got a studio especially set-up for that (e.g. those used for Jamaican music), it's way cheaper to