What Do You Think Are The Most Underrated/Overrated Queen Gigs (Debate)?

In terms of impact, being the highlight of an important event, blah blah blah of course Live Aid is a milestone. BUT, in terms of performance, Queen had 50+ better nights.

Same for the Tribute: great as a Iommi + May + Taylor + Daltrey + Deacon combo is, I still prefer Mercury + May + Taylor + Deacon.

IMHO, Hyde Park is very overrated. The overall performance sucks. The 39 version is ugly, and I've always hate the Brighton Rock outro in Flick Of The Wrist
Also Live Aid is very overrated in my opinion: undoubtly it was a huge moment in Queen carrer, but the band made so many mistakes in a very short time: just take a look at Hammer To Fall's end. Also, Freddie couldn't get some notes wiht his voice. They were dressed terrible too (especially John and Freddie). 

Underrated: Montreal 1981. Fantastic performance, despite the extremely quiet audience.

Sorry for my English! Cheers!!

Sebastian wrote: In terms of impact, being the highlight of an important event, blah blah blah of course Live Aid is a milestone. BUT, in terms of performance, Queen had 50+ better nights.
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My point exactly. I'd like to also add that Live Aid is probably in the top bracket for "atmosphere/crowd participation."

I thought that Freddie looked fantastic at live aid ,great pair of jeans and a pair of trainers to die for!!!! Oh and that studded arm band.Great set,one of the best days of my life ,Cold beer,Sex mad girlfriend,Hot day,Fred struts his stuff !!Perfect!!

Concerning Freddie's vocal performances on Live Aid--I recently found out that the guy had freakin' laryngitis while performing:

On another point, Freddie does have some vocal milestones: It's the first time he actually sang Bohemian Rhapsody's 1st verse RIGHT (none of that undersinging, scoop singing, or oversinging stuff he tends to do). It took Freddie 10 years to sing the verse with the right phrasing. :D  Concerning Radio Ga Ga, it's his best vocal performance of the song, for Hammer To Fall, it's probably his best vocal performance of that song. Crazy Little Thing Called Love is awesome, We Will Rock You is nice (though sadly the whole song wasn't played), and We Are The Champions is great (despite the minor flubs in the vocal). The Champions from this show deserves props, because it's the only time he ever sang the chorus correctly (on all Bb4s).

jamster1111 wrote:

Yes the atmosphere was great but there were a lot of concerts where Freddie connected thousands of people.

The reason why i say it's overrated is because it's the center of many Queen live discussions, and plus, they're even making a movie out of it!

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Queen didn't just play to 80,000 people at Wembley that day.  They also played to about a billion people watching on TV.

They're making it a focal point of the Freddie biopic so that a new generation of people can experience Queen's single greatest moment again.  It's a pretty brilliant idea, and I hope they succeed.

Bo Alex wrote:

[QUOTE]just take a look at Hammer To Fall's end.[/QUOTE]

Roger is playing based on what he's hearing in his monitors.  They didn't get to do a soundcheck, so if he couldn't hear the vocal or guitar clearly, he couldn't possibly know when the song was ending.  Roger is a very competent drummer, so this is really the only explanation I can think of.

[QUOTE]Underrated: Montreal 1981. Fantastic performance, despite the extremely quiet audience.[/QUOTE]

It wasn't extremely quiet.  On the previous "WWRY" releases, the audience was brought down in the mix.  They were lively like any other - just watch or listen to Queen Rock Montreal.

Gregsynth wrote:

It's the first time he actually sang Bohemian Rhapsody's 1st verse RIGHT (none of that undersinging, scoop singing, or oversinging stuff he tends to do). It took Freddie 10 years to sing the verse with the right phrasing.

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Maybe it was a conscious choice.  He knew he was playing for the world, not just a Queen audience.  So perhaps he wanted to sing the song in the way that everyone knows it instead of embellishing it like he usually did.

They played Hammer To Fall more like the single version (again, the familiarity factor), and kept all the other songs concise just so they could fit as much as they could into those 17 minutes.  They were the only act that day who dialed it in right.

Making little decisions like this are what separate the men from the boys.  And on that day, most of the big stars made fools of themselves - but not Queen.  Who cares what notes he sang.  They played for a billion people that day, and in the eyes of the majority of that audience, they were perfect.  At the end of the day that's all that matters.

I'll tell you who made big fools of themselves at Live Aid: Led Zeppelin!

If any performance at Live Aid is overrated, it's Zeppelin's. Least with Queen, Freddie's voice was actually in excellent form, Brian wasn't DRUNK OR HIGH playing the guitar (plus it wasn't buried in a flange effect), Freddie connected with the whole audience (plus the billions watching at home). Whatever errors Queen did on their set are minor, and can be excused/not brought up. Zeppelin was just a mess.

Sir GH wrote: jamster1111 wrote:

Yes the atmosphere was great but there were a lot of concerts where Freddie connected thousands of people.

The reason why i say it's overrated is because it's the center of many Queen live discussions, and plus, they're even making a movie out of it!

=======================

Queen didn't just play to 80,000 people at Wembley that day.  They also played to about a billion people watching on TV.

They're making it a focal point of the Freddie biopic so that a new generation of people can experience Queen's single greatest moment again.  It's a pretty brilliant idea, and I hope they succeed.

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Yes it's obvious that Queen were by far the best act at Live Aid, but I still wouldn't consider it their best concert of all time. Even during Radio Ga Ga, you could look into the audience and see that not everyone (maybe about half the people) are clapping. People exaggerate about that...Nonetheless, Freddie's vocal performance during that song was perfect, though he did make a few errors due to nervousness on a few other songs. 

I also have to agree that the band weren't dressed very well, but this is a matter of opinion. 

Since someone mentioned Hyde Park I might as well share my opinion on that. To me, musically, it wasn't a very good concert. Due to nervousness (hell, I'd be nervous too), many things are off throughout the evening, but most obvious is Freddie. To me, he sounds off throughout the whole thing (specifically the beginning)...though I do love his rendition of You Take My Breath Away (which I'm glad they are releasing as a bonus track on the Races remaster)! Anyway, as much as I am for 70's concerts being releasing, I think releasing Hyde Park would be an embarrassment to Freddie and it make it look like he can't sing live. - However, the amount of concerts where he sounded great and how he connected with the audience (not to mention his studio work), makes up for a small batch of off days. 

The point is that people use Live Aid as a tool to prove how great Queen were...as if Live Aid never happened, they were still just as great. What made Queen great and specifically such a great live band wasn't a 20 minute performance on July 13th, 1985, but rather a period of 2 years of genius music spanning from many different genres, and even in the end, Freddie pulled through and the band we're able to pull of brilliant albums till the end. The other main thing that made Queen so great were their live performances. Not only did Freddie have the voice, but over the years, he was able to grow into the greatest frontman of all time and connect with audiences over 250,000 and incorporate every person to feel like they were really part of the music. Yes Live Aid was a great example of this but the point is, it wasn't the only example and musically, Queen put on MUCH better concerts.

The point, is that this Freddie Mercury biopic is geared towards the general public (who know mostly Freddie as the 1985/1986 version with the Wembley Jacket, powerful voice, Live Aid, etc). Live Aid is the best way to generate public interest about the film, and it rules for the promotional stuff (plus their concert has an excellent reputation). I can't think of any other filmed concert that would be the best for promoting the movie: Montreal has a (relatively) tame crowd, and Freddie doesn't look happy in some spots. Hammersmith 1975 is more towards the hardcore fans, Hyde Park has nervousness written all over it, Wembley has the great atmosphere, but the vocals aren't quite the best. Live Aid is the best idea to promote the film!

Live Aid is OVERRATED as is Wembley (official release).

The Mannheim 1986 performance is underrated (so isn't Budapest in my view). Chicago 1978 is underrated, Zurich 1978 is CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED (first boot of the News Of The World Tour I owned and my personal favorite). Cologne 1979 is underrated. Boston, January of 1976 was a TEN TIMES BETTER GIG THAN HAMMERSMITH AND/OR HYDE PARK.

I didn't mind Freddie singing things lower than normal, it's what made a rock and roll show. If I wanted to hear like on the record I'd put on either Lady Gaga or Britney Spears or KISS or AeroSUPPLY (Aerosmith).

I thought Rio 1985 was better than Live Aid. For what it's worth, the set was the most energetic of the UK acts but pales compared to other Queen shows I've heard over the years.

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You nailed it with Mannheim 1986! Awesome energy, brilliant performances! It's a favorite gig of mine! Boston 1976 is also awesome (puts Hammy to shame). You should check out Edinburgh 1976--it's before Hyde Park, and I think it's better overall!

Cologne 1979 is probably my favorite 1979 Live Killers gig--tons of awesome musical moments (love the Keep Yourself Alive on that gig)!

NOTWMEDDLE wrote: Live Aid is OVERRATED as is Wembley (official release).

The Mannheim 1986 performance is underrated (so isn't Budapest in my view). Chicago 1978 is underrated, Zurich 1978 is CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED (first boot of the News Of The World Tour I owned and my personal favorite). Cologne 1979 is underrated. Boston, January of 1976 was a TEN TIMES BETTER GIG THAN HAMMERSMITH AND/OR HYDE PARK.

I didn't mind Freddie singing things lower than normal, it's what made a rock and roll show. If I wanted to hear like on the record I'd put on either Lady Gaga or Britney Spears or KISS or AeroSUPPLY (Aerosmith).

I thought Rio 1985 was better than Live Aid. For what it's worth, the set was the most energetic of the UK acts but pales compared to other Queen shows I've heard over the years.

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Yes!!! Finally!!! I do also agree that Rock In Rio (First Night) was much better than Live Aid. Live Aid was special that Queen were watched by 2 billion viewers but 1/12/1985 was a much better concert. 

For NOTW I have to say in my view the most underrated are Stockholm and the last couple UK gigs. All the gigs you mentioned are very underrated though, specifically Boston 1976.

And Montreal is actually slightly underrated as most people think that it's a bad concert because the audience was so quiet. Well, the audience wasn't the best but it didn't stop Queen from putting on a fantastic show. Musically, it's tight and spot on and in my opinion, is musically the best show of 1980-1981.