Your favourite VOCAL-PHRASING lines (studio versions)

gerry wrote:

yes we all know the americans didnt get it when freddie got dressed up in drag for "I want to break free" video,
and it was that which destroyed Queen in America and playing "sun city"!

I'm not so sure about either.

Very little was written about Queen in the papers by 1984, and the Break Free video was banned from MTV before many people even managed to see it.

So I think it just boils down to - their music wasn't as good as other music that was happening then.

Paul Prenter burning all their bridges with radio people and promoters certainly didn't help, as they couldn't tour without that. But at the end of the day, it comes down to the music, and people weren't buying it for a reason..

I'd match up ADATR and ANATO as follows:

Death On Two Legs/White Man
Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon/Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy
I'm In Love With My Car/Drowse
You're My Best Friend/You And I
39/Long Away
Sweet Lady/Tie Your Mother Down
Seaside Rendezvous/The Millionaire Waltz
The Prophet's Song/no comparable song
Love Of My Life/You Take My Breath Away
Good Company/Teo Torriatte
Bohemian Rhapsody/Somebody To Love
God Save The Queen/ADATR outro

Looked at this way, it's hard to make a case that any of the songs from ADATR are better than those on ANATO, with the exception of Millioniare's Waltz and Drowse. I love Teo T. but it can't compare to the awesomeness of Good Company, with Brian's guitar jazz band. I love Long Away but 39 is a perfect example of Queen adopting a non-rock format and putting their own stamp on it. On the other hand, Millionaire's Waltz is as good as anything on the previous 4 albums and Drowse is probably my favourite Roger song. (Maybe I should rephrase that last comment) :)

According to your match-up, I think

Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy,
Drowse,
You and I,
The Millionaire Waltz,
You Take My Breath Away and
Teo Torriatte

are better.

Its a bit un-fair to Queen to be matching up songs from 2 different albums.
If songs from "A day at the races" were left overs from
"A night at the opera" then yeah you lot may have had a point but " A day at the races" were a completely new batch
of songs and i am sure Queen did not want a repeat of the previous album A.N.A.T.O.
Just each track for what it is : classic Queen!

gerry wrote:

" A day at the races" were a completely new batch
of songs

No, they weren't. TYMD was written between SHA and ANATO.

gerry wrote:

i am sure Queen did not want a repeat of the previous album A.N.A.T.O.

In fact, they did, deliberately. The similarities between both albums were not by accident.

Queen always stated they never used left over tracks from previous albums
and i am very surprised if TYMD was written in between SHA and ANATO.
Can you prove this?

gerry wrote:

Queen always stated they never used left over tracks from previous albums
and i am very surprised if TYMD was written in between SHA and ANATO.
Can you prove this?

BM is on record as saying it's a shame those two albums ( opera and Races ) couldn't have been released together. Claiming the second was conceived very much in the mould of the first.

In an interview prior to ADATR BM mentioned a song which he said they refered to as the idiot rocker.he was pleased with how it was sounding. It was something they had tried to record before but weren't happy with. He went on to say that it has a Status Quo style riff, and that Status Quo were really good at what they do. . . . Tie Your Mother Down?

From memory the interview was in Melody Maker or Record Mirror.

well thanks for that "vocal harmony" i never knew that, and very interesting to learn!
i use to buy record mirror in the 70s as well, Queen were always getting slagged off,
and i sent many letters to the paper and had a couple printed!
Did i tell you the time i sent Freddie a bottle of nail varnish and razor blades for his birthday in 1980?
I rang the fan club up to ask had Freddie recieved the pressies and Jackie said he had, "What did he say"
i asked, "Erm he told me to tell you to "F**k off" and his not shaving his moustache off!
i was delighted that Freddie Mercury my hero had told me to f**K off" Classic!

gerry wrote:

Queen always stated they never used left over tracks from previous albums
and i am very surprised if TYMD was written in between SHA and ANATO.
Can you prove this?

They totally did. SHA was from the SHA era, and Freddie had Champions in his pocket in 75 already.

They tinkered with Silver Salmon in 77 even though it was written in the early 70s with Tim Staffell.

I Go Crazy originated in the Hot Space sessions, but showed up as a B side to Radio Ga Ga.

All God's People comes from the Barcelona sessions. We actually just recently had this discussion where it's clear that Mercury added vocals in 1990, as his voice sounds a lot thinner.

There are lots of examples !

Holly2003 wrote:

I'd match up ADATR and ANATO as follows:

Death On Two Legs/White Man
Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon/Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy
I'm In Love With My Car/Drowse
You're My Best Friend/You And I
39/Long Away
Sweet Lady/Tie Your Mother Down
Seaside Rendezvous/The Millionaire Waltz
The Prophet's Song/no comparable song
Love Of My Life/You Take My Breath Away
Good Company/Teo Torriatte
Bohemian Rhapsody/Somebody To Love
God Save The Queen/ADATR outro

Looked at this way, it's hard to make a case that any of the songs from ADATR are better than those on ANATO, with the exception of Millioniare's Waltz and Drowse. I love Teo T. but it can't compare to the awesomeness of Good Company, with Brian's guitar jazz band. I love Long Away but 39 is a perfect example of Queen adopting a non-rock format and putting their own stamp on it.

^ this.

Indeed, TMW is one of Queen's finest compositions ever.

interesting post wizard!
Holly: Yeah the "Millionaire Waltz" possibly the most regal Queen track ever! Brians Guitar work on this track is great and the tune just radiates regal qualities!
This track should have been done live on Queens Magic tour in 86!

The Real Wizard wrote:

All God's People comes from the Barcelona sessions.

Not really. It comes from *before* the Barcelona sessions.

Indeed, Queen would record *chiefly* (but not exclusively) new songs for each album, but there were loads of exceptions:

* Queen: They recycled a Smile track.
* Queen II: FtS, SSoR and OB had been written before the first album.
* SHA: SCC had been the first song Queen'd performed live, BRock had been demo'd for Queen II.
* ANAtO: GStQ was recorded shortly before the release of SHA.
* ADatR: TYM was written when Brian was in Tenerife in early '75.
* NotW: SHA'd been written in 1974; WatC'd been written by 1975.
* The Game: There are, apparently, demos of CS dating from the 'Jazz' sessions.
* Flash: There are demos for 'The Kiss' and 'Football Fight' dating from the 'Game' sessions.
* The Works: 'I Go Crazy' came from the 'Hot Space' era.
* The Miracle: 'Chinese Torture' had been played live in the 'Magic' tour.
* Innuendo: AGP predated 'Barcelona' and had been included on promos for 'The Miracle.'
* Made in Heaven: *Everything* apart from YDFM, AWT and ML had been written and, Fred-wise, recorded, between 'The Game' and 'The Miracle'.

Sebastian wrote:

* Flash: There are demos for 'The Kiss' and 'Football Fight' dating from the 'Game' sessions.

Not sure if that really counts, as the two albums were essentially recorded simultaneously.

The Real Wizard wrote:

Sebastian wrote:

* Flash: There are demos for 'The Kiss' and 'Football Fight' dating from the 'Game' sessions.

Not sure if that really counts, as the two albums were essentially recorded simultaneously.

Not really:

* 'The Game': June-July 1979 and Feb - May 1980.
* Flash: June 1980, September - October 1980.

So 'The Game' does predate it.

I think they were working on Flash sooner than we realize.

The reason why the red special isn't heard on that glorious solo at the end of The Hero is because it was at the other studio where the other three were busy recording The Game.