Put Out The Fire - Brian lead vocal?

Greetings to you all on this fine Friday afternoon.  Or evening, or Saturday morning, wherever you may be.

I'm not sure if this has been discussed before, but here goes..

To my ears, the first line of the second verse of Put Out The Fire sounds like it's Brian - "she was my lover."  Agree or disagree?

I tend to agree.It does sound like Brian.

Also,if you listen to the lead-in to the chorus.I think he is singing along with Freddie there too.Because Freddie was exceptionally good at double tracking his voice.Till it sounded absolutely spot on.That doesnt.It sounds to me that Brian is singing alongside Freddie.

Would i be right?

i think so, sounds like brian, but freddie could sound like him when he wants to.

And likewise Brian could sound like Freddie.  Even Roger.  There's a "yeeeeeah" on Touch The Sky that eerily sounds like Freddie.

Bo Rhap wrote:

"Freddie was exceptionally good at double tracking his voice.Till it sounded absolutely spot on."

Indeed.  Brian once said he was so good at it that the tape would sometimes phase because he was so close from one take to the next.

"if you listen to the lead-in to the chorus.I think he is singing along with Freddie there too"

Absolutely, it's both of them.

Sir GH wrote: And likewise Brian could sound like Freddie.  Even Roger.  There's a "yeeeeeah" on Touch The Sky that eerily sounds like Freddie.

Agreed!.....I'm surprised you don't know this.  you're One of the experts around here.   I think some parts of 'sail away sweet sister'  he sounds like fred.  when he sings soft he sometimes sounds like  freddie.  Brian sings a nice ballad.

sorry, don't think it is brian. sounds like freddie to me ...

The "she was my lover" line sounds like Fred to me, but it could be Brian I suppose. My question is, what's the point? In Sail Away Sweet Sister Brian let Fred sing a line I'm guessing because Fred could sing it better than Brian. Could Fred not sing this line so he asked Broan to do it? Unlikely.

Fred. Goodnight.

Listen to how much "but the constitution's", just those three words, sounds like Bryan Adams.  Weird.

Put Out the Fire is one of those songs I've always wondered about. Large portions of the song sound like it could be either of the two.

That particular line, though, does sound very much like Brian...but so does the rest of the song. I suspect that Brian had a guide vocal track for Freddie, and Freddie followed it so closely that he inadvertently sounded a whole lot like Brian for most of the track.

As far as that particular line goes, yes, it sounds a lot more like Brian than Freddie, but considering how the rest of the song sounds (and the fact that, almost 30 years later, no one's come out and said anyone other than Freddie sang that line), how could one ever be sure?

I always thought that Brian sung on all demo recordings of his songs, and Freddie re-recorded the vocals for the album version, trying to sound like Brian.
The same with Roger's songs - just check Radio Ga Ga.
Or with the old Smile songs - Doing Alright, Polar Bear, Silver Salmon ... - he sounds like Tim on all these songs

Does it make sense ?

if it makes it easier i can upload the isolated vocal tracks?

bluephoenix wrote: if it makes it easier i can upload the isolated vocal tracks?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please do.
Hot Space is the first of the 80's albums that I find a vocal cut and vocal isolation option doesn't work on.
If you can do it, I'd love to know what you're using - both software and audio source (ie which release)

I don't see (hear?) what the confusion is. Freddie sings lead on this and every other verse of the song. The refrains, sung in his really high voice ("I've been told it's the fashion...") do sound like Brian is in there too, I'll grant you that, but I always heard his voice in there.

The main verses, including the one in question, are sung in his gravelly, blues voice; very rough. It doesn't sound like Brian at all, or him doing an imitation of Brian. He just sings that part that way. It's a bluesy rock song and he sings the verses accordingly. It IS interesting that he really uses three or four different techniques, sometimes in the same part, throughout the song.

Verses = gruff, blues voice
Refrain = falsetto (with Brian...or double-tracked)
Refrain finale = Full out Rock voice
Chorus = all three, at different points, plus chorus with Roger and Brian

In the choruses he even drops back to the rough, blues voice for the last line ("Need a gun like a hole in the head!"). For me, there's no mystery here.