Freddie's best album, vocally?

OK. I pick a whole Queen album, not solo, for consistency, and disregard Made In Heaven because it is from so many different sources.

Innuendo is vocally the best, in my opinion.

.........and no mention of ANATO ???!!!!

Barcelona is the best of all, vocally.

With Queen, Innuendo.

I think the Works is where he really shows his stuff off. The songs aren't quality - the album is 4 hits and filler...but then there's the vocal tracks. It's A Hard Life is a great example of range and control. I'd love to hear an acapella version of that.

Best vocal melodies are definitely all over A Day At The Races & Innuendo.... sweetness vs. sinister.

But yea, his best all around is clearly in Barcelona - and that's a different beast altogether.

I don't know if this counts, but I love his performance in The Great Dragger. Plus Innuendo, QII, Barcelona and ADATR.

[QUOTE] [b]cmsdrums wrote:[/b]

A Day At The Races is the first album where he was totally in control - power, smoothness, tone, control; all there.

Barcelona too is incredible [/QUOTE]

A night at the opera was the peak

[QUOTE] [b]Gregsynth wrote:[/b]

Hot Space, Barcelona, and Innuendo are amazing vocal albums![/QUOTE]

I don't know your opinion seems a lil backwards. ANATO ADART News of the World where his apex. He displayed vocal power and range he almost came close to recreating on Innuendo on News of the World but his voice and physical shape weren't able to match his youth completely but came close

I believe Innunendo is the album where Freddie sounded best. Brian also said that while recording Innuendo Freddie reached heights he has never been before and his voice seemed to get better and better. Saying all that I can't think of any album or song where he sounded bad. Freddie's voice has always been fascinating for me.

Here's what Peter Freestone says regarding his voice -

"Carlo asked about Freddie’s voices.

The plural is intentional as Freddie had 2 distinct vocal phases. You have the earlier, crystal clear, lighter voice with more falsetto, and the voice from some of the later tracks from the Game album onwards, where the voice gets, using Carlo’s words, strong and dirty. I think Freddie’s voice changed for a few reasons, mainly cigarettes and that he wanted to try out new styles. Queen’s music changed over the years and Freddie felt that the voice needed to change along with the music. As a singer he wasn’t scared of tying something different and used quite a lot of falsetto again during Hot Space and also when working on the tracks for Barcelona when Montserrat wasn’t there. Also as mentioned in the original question, Freddie moved away from all the glitter in his costumes from the 70’s and wore more ‘macho’ outfits, so used the more macho voice to go with them.

Adam asked how Freddie was able to sing the last recorded songs so well.

Basically I think it was his will power. Freddie knew, better than anyone else what his vocal state was for each take of each song. One of Freddie’s favourite sayings was ‘you are only as good as your last show/album/recording’. That is the one the public will remember. By that reasoning he felt he had to give his very best right to the last note, and by the end of his part of Mother Love, all his reseves had run dry."

[url=http://www.freddiemercury.com/askphoebe/index.php/blog-88]http://www.freddiemercury.com/askphoebe/index.php/blog-88[/url]/ .

And this is interesting as well. David Richards' comments about his voice on Innuendo - http://youtu.be/OJLm_x9ZWBk?t=4m47s

"His voice was amazing. He said to me: "You know, I don't know if it's the medication or what it is but I seem to be singing even better than I did before..." "

I have favourite vocal performances from each album, but if we are talking strictly albums I'd say The Game, Hot Space, Mr Bad Guy, Barcelona, Innuendo.

Kinda hard to pick 1... Maybe Hot Space...

Funny we're almost all in sync with what albums Freddie sounded best on. Of course this is subjective and as Peter Freestone put it Freddie's voice had two distinct phases.

Album wise I think he really changed with "The Game" AOBTD is not my favourite song, but Freddie's vocal took that song to a level I don't think any other singer could achieve.

"Hot Space" and "The Works" also had great vocals, listen to "Love Kills" and " Let Me In Your Heart Again" although not on "The Works" what a a vocal performance, also "It's A Hard Life" great.

Undoubtedly the solo works "Mr Bad Guy" and "Barcelona" amazing, in fact all Freddie's singing was great "The Miracle" , " Innuendo" and "Made In Heaven" too, even the much maligned "A Kind of Magic" had great vocals.

Personally I wasn't
So fond of the falsetto on some tracks, but in all honesty what a singer, truly unique and what a please it is to hear Queen on the radio again, strangely they're bigger than ever.

I just hope they're inspired to put out further unreleased songs, hopefully before I die of old age!

We're definitely not in sync. Some of us like his 70's vocals, and some his 80's ones.

love the control and versatility he shows in ANATO, ADATR and NOTW, but I tend to prefer the "power" displayed from Hot Space onwards (Works, Bad Guy, AKOM, Barcelona, Miracle). On Innuendo his voice had obviously changed, but of course was still a delight

His voice sounded (for me) the best from mid-eighties: Worls, The Miracle & A Kind Of Magic. High notes are not so extreme as on Innuendo