Live songs Queen seems to love, but you don't

Over the years there's been a number of songs that have been featured on most set lists. Now of course less, since they tend to play just the biggest hits. Here are my choices.

Dragon Attack - I really don't like this song, not the studio version nor the live versions. It's really boring and having Adam sing it didn't make it any better.

Now I'm Here - Another one of Brian's. They seemed to really enjoy performing this early rocker, but the extended versions played on later tours are just too boring for me.

Crazy Little Thing - Don't get me wrong, I love this song. But live, with the exception of Live Aid, it just dragged on. I personally have no need to listen to Freddie repeat "mama" or "CLTCL" for minutes while nothing interesting happens.

There are probably more, but for now this is enough. How about you guys?

Get Down Make Love. I don't enjoy it that much although in the venue it was probably a more interesting experience.

Brian's guitar solo (if that counts). I just find it too long.

I love the NIH/Dragon Attack medley thing.........some nice jamming from the band........and even CLTCL, same thing, especially when they had the keyboard player get into it as well.........

I do agree about Get Down Make Love, tho......I'll usually skip that on a bootleg.........the guitar solo? sometimes I will skip that, too, it's like I gotta be in the right mood for it or something......lol

I often find myself skipping the encores (in post-77 shows!)........its the same WWRY and WATC.......kinda gets boring after you've heard it 50 times.......maybe Brian adds some extra guitar at the start of WWRY, or maybe the crowds more into it than usual, but that about the only real difference there ever is..........a different story if you're actually there, though!

You're My Best Friend

It was a hit, so they had to play it, hadn't they? I find the live versions incredibly weak compared to the wonderful album version.

For this song alone, they should have brought the Fender Rhodes on stage and let John play it. No drums, no guitar, just the Rhodes and their voices/harmonies. That would have been ace :-)

Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYn8FDR352Q

Not a huge fan of Now I'm Here, but I can understand why they keep playing it, as it's a good 'concert' song.

And never thought Killer Queen sounded good live. Ever.

Oh, there are quite a few, especially from the 80's.

* The poppy and repetitive 80's performances of Now I'm Here. The song rocked in the early 70's though.
* 80's performances of Tie Your Mother Down. Again, once a heavy rocker, but by the 80's it sounded like one of Status Quo's lamest numbers.
* A Kind Of Magic
* I Want To Break Free
* Is This The World We Created?
* Radio Ga Ga
* Friends Will Be Friends
* Under Pressure (except the Montreal version, that's a good one)
* Keep Yourself Alive (go ahead and bash me for it - though the drum solo's are often great)
* You're My Best Friend

That's about it I think.

[QUOTE] [b]The King Of Rhye wrote:[/b]
I often find myself skipping the encores (in post-77 shows!)........its the same WWRY and WATC.......kinda gets boring after you've heard it 50 times.......maybe Brian adds some extra guitar at the start of WWRY, or maybe the crowds more into it than usual, but that about the only real difference there ever is..........a different story if you're actually there, though![/QUOTE]

Agreed with this – the encores got very familiar and (to me) boring by '78. (Remember they closed with Jailhouse Rock and Sheer Heart Attack between November '77 and May '78, only switching it up at the last London show – check out Bob's site for definitive answers, as I can't quite remember off the top of my head!) They switched it up a few times in '80, and then added Friends Will Be Friends in '86, but it was just very predictable.

I really do wish they had been a bit more adventurous in that regard. They always switched up their openers, but kept the closer the same.

Also, Friends Will Be Friends never did anything for me. It just never seemed to work as a live song.

"now i'm here" is a timeless classic!
no matter what the arrangement is.
it's a piece of ... well... capturing a piece of time when queen were on their way to peak the top!
GREAT! the '79 revisions RULE big time!
as speakting of "we will rock you", "we are the champions". ... now... those are GREAT songs...!
but repeating (and reducing) the legacy of that very band to those two songs (and they DO by repeating those on any occasion)... well.... dosn't feel good in any way!
yes. maybe they're thinking, it's what people want to hear... but the past years... appearing on various TV-stations and repeating the same old... the same old...
it's not the way that the original spirit of queen feels like.
i LOVE the band for delivering stuff no-one expected...
in the times where queen albums were original.
i kind of ...well... think it's regressive and boring to reduce the legacy to some overplayed songs.
for god's sake they don't do that with AL.!
yes... they play some of their biggest hits...
it's like people want to hear them....
but most welcome is to have their more unknown songs...
for being simply good music and extraordinary statements.
*for god's sake*.. one more arrangement of "white queen", "the millionaire waltz" or something like that.
i'd die for that !

The Prophet's Song's studio version is sublime - live, it just sounds bad by comparison, even in some of their stronger shows.

Now I'm Here was never one of my favourite Queen tracks, but I'll give them credit for focussing on a particular period in that last tour. Nice to have an album or period in focus, and having Now I'm Here and Stone Cold Crazy played, along with Killer Queen of course, did that for Sheer Heart Attack to some extent. Friends Will Be Friends is another track that leaves me cold with the live versions. I also agree that WATC/WWRY has been played to death a bit unfortunately. Fine if you're there though of course.

I hate the rock n roll medleys, especially the magic tour ones. I always skip these tracks. Hated Jailhouse Rock on previous tours too. I can understand that being there in there early days due to firstly lack of material and needing to play songs people knew if the audience were unfamiliar with there own material. But in 86, why? If they wanted to play an acoustic set,39 plus other reworked Queen tracks would've gone down a storm, surely?

Live stuff I don't like .....

Modern Times Rock'n'Roll - don't get me wrong, I LOVE this song, but Freddie's voice just doesn't fit to it, I don't know why. Roger's voice is just perfect for this song.
Now I'm Here - I like the 1979-1982 live versions, but not the rest. The early versions were too slow, the later versions are too long and too boring
You're My Best Friend - this song is my definition of boredom
Get Down Make Love - I just hate this "headache maker"

Crazy little thing.... just keeps going and going like it will never end. I don't like the original song that much, and live version is unbearable.

Now I'm Here sounded better in the 70s.

I'm in Love with My Car... boring, and boring, would have been better if Freddie sang the leads I believe. Roger is perfect on backing vocals and occasionally on lead (especially Say It's not True) but on this one he sucks!

Get Down Make Love... never loved the song

Roger's lead vocal for I'm In Love With My Car is great on the album. He just can't recreate the phrasing so nicely because he's trying to play drums at the same time.

i want it all
now i'm here
fat bottomed girls
'39
crazy little thing
dragon attack

are getting boring...they should try some other songs from innuendo or made in heaven album instead