Queen Best Live Versions - The Almost Definitve List

On the topic of Queen doing Imagine, there have been 3 recordings to surface so far. The first is from Wembley, then Frankfurt, then Munich.

At Wembley, it was the first time they would do it live, and Brian keeps messing up the chords while Freddie tries to save it, and it comes back when Roger comes in. Freddie also slightly changes the lyrics at the bridge.

At Frankfurt, I personally think there’s nothing wrong with this version. It’s in great quality, Brian gets the chords right, Roger comes in like the original song does, and Freddie sounds great!

For Munich, it starts halfway through, which is a bummer. Other than that, it’s a decent version.

Now after listening to the versions, Frankfurt 12/14/1980 is the best live version for me.

Anyone remember Opera Omina?

Disc 1
01. Keep Yourself Alive (2:34) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
02. Liar (2:55) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
03. Doing Alright (5:07) - Kobe, Japan, 23 April 1975
04. Son And Daughter (7:32) - London, England, 31 March 1974
05. Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll (2:43) - London, England, 31 March 1974
06. Seven Seas Of Rhye (1:22) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
07. See What A Fool I've Been (4:17) - London, England, 24 December 1975
08. White Queen (5:13) - London, England, 24 December 1975
09. The March Of The Black Queen / Bohemian Rhapsody (reprise) (2:30) - London, England, 24 December 1975
10. Procession (1:12) - London, England, 31 March 1974
11. Father To Son (5:49) - London, England, 31 March 1974
12. Ogre Battle (5:02) - London, England, 31 March 1974
13. Killer Queen (2:14) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
14. Now I'm Here (7:11) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
15. In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited (2:32) - Budapest, Hungary, 27 July 1986 ('Live In Budapest' video)
16. Stone Cold Crazy (2:14) - London, England, 20 November 1974 ('Rare Live' video)
17. Brighton Rock (14:15) - Montreal, Canada, 1 December 1978
18. Bring Back That Leroy Brown (1:15) - Copenhagen, Denmark, 12 May 1977
19. Flick Of The Wrist (3:18) - Los Angeles, USA, 29 March 1975 (evening show)

Disc 2
01. Bohemian Rhapsody (5:38) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
02. Love Of My Life (4:21) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
03. I'm In Love With My Car (2:22) - Montreal, Canada, 1 December 1978
04. You're My Best Friend (2:18) - Montreal, Canada, 1 December 1978
05. '39 (3:28) - Montreal, Canada, 1 December 1978
06. Death On Two Legs (Dedicated To....) (3:20) - Montreal, Canada, 1 December 1978
07. Sweet Lady (3:51) - Tokyo, Japan, 4 April 1976
08. Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon (1:22) - Tokyo, Japan, 4 April 1976
09. The Prophet's Song (6:16) - Tokyo, Japan, 4 April 1976
10. White Man (2:56) - Tokyo, Japan, 4 April 1976
11. Somebody To Love (4:11) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
12. Tie Your Mother Down (3:43) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
13. You Take My Breath Away (1:37) - London, England, 6 June 1977 ('Rare Live' video)
14. The Millionaire Waltz (1:07) - Berlin, Germany, 28 April 1978
15. Good Old Fashioned Loverboy (2:27) - Glasgow, Scotland, 30 May 1977
16. Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together) (4:26) - Sapporo, Japan, 29 October 1982
17. We Will Rock You (fast) (2:58) - Milton Keynes, England, 5 June 1982
18. We Will Rock You (slow) (3:21) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
19. We Are The Champions (3:56) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
20. Get Down Make Love (6:34) - Montreal, Canada, 1 December 1978
21. Spread Your Wings (5:40) - Montreal, Canada, 1 December 1978

Disc 3
01. My Melancholy Blues (2:55) - Houston, Texas, USA, 11 December 1977 ('Rare Live' video)
02. Sheer Heart Attack (2:34) - Houston, Texas, USA, 11 December 1977 ('Rare Live' video)
03. It's Late (7:12) - Montreal, Canada, 1 December 1978
04. Fat Bottomed Girls (4:35) - Milton Keynes, England, 5 June 1982
05. Bicycle Race (1:43) - Montreal, Canada, 1 December 1978
06. Let Me Entertain You (3:05) - Montreal, Canada, 1 December 1978
07. If You Can't Beat Them (5:01) - Montreal, Canada, 1 December 1978
08. Dreamer's Ball (4:13) - Montreal, Canada, 1 December 1978
09. Don't Stop Me Now (4:42) - Cologne, Germany, 1 February 1979
10. Mustapha (2:46) - London, England, 8 December 1980
11. Crazy Little Thing Called Love (5:13) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
12. Another One Bites The Dust (3:55) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
13. Play The Game (4:10) - Fukuoka, Japan, 19 October 1982
14. Dragon Attack / Now I'm Here (reprise) (3:52) - Fukuoka, Japan, 19 October 1982
15. Save Me (3:58) - Fukuoka, Japan, 19 October 1982
16. Need Your Loving Tonight (2:56) - Buenos Aires, Argentina, 28 February 1981
17. Rock It (Prime Jive) (4:13) - Buenos Aires, Argentina, 28 February 1981
18. Flash / The Hero (4:09) - Milton Keynes, England, 5 June 1982
19. Under Pressure (3:26) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
20. Staying Power (3:49) - Milton Keynes, England, 5 June 1982

Disc 4
01. Body Language (3:00) - Fukuoka, Japan, 19 October 1982
02. Calling All Girls (4:24) - Fukuoka, Japan, 19 October 1982
03. Put Out The Fire (2:05) - Fukuoka, Japan, 19 October 1982
04. Back Chat (5:16) - Fukuoka, Japan, 19 October 1982
05. Action This Day (5:08) - Osaka, Japan, 24 October 1982
06. Life Is Real (Song For Lennon) (3:33) - East Rutherford, USA, 9 August 1982
07. Radio Ga Ga (5:44) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
08. I Want To Break Free (3:22) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
09. Machines / Tear It Up (3:38) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
10. It's A Hard Life (4:22) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
11. Is This The World We Created? (2:47) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
12. Hammer To Fall (5:08) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
13. One Vision (4:17) - Budapest, Hungary, 27 July 1986 ('Live In Budapest' video)
14. A Kind Of Magic (5:53) - Budapest, Hungary, 27 July 1986 ('Live In Budapest' video)
15. Who Wants To Live Forever (3:59) - Budapest, Hungary, 27 July 1986 ('Live In Budapest' video)
16. Friends Will Be Friends (2:01) - Budapest, Hungary, 27 July 1986 ('Live In Budapest' video)
17. Tutti Frutti (3:40) - Budapest, Hungary, 27 July 1986 ('Live In Budapest' video)
18. Jailhouse Rock (2:45) - Tokyo, Japan, 11 May 1985 ('Final Concert Live In Japan' video)
19. God Save The Queen (1:04) - Fukuoka, Japan, 19 October 1982

Yes!
I still have the discs though i stupidly threw the box out years ago. Fantastic set and the Jazz-era stuff was fantastic quality.

Yeah the whole thing is great. PROPER boxset!

[QUOTE] [b]Dr Magus wrote:[/b]

Yes!
I still have the discs though i stupidly threw the box out years ago. Fantastic set and the Jazz-era stuff was fantastic quality.[/QUOTE]

All the source tapes are available here in equal or better quality. That Montreal tape is still one of my favourites.

[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]

[QUOTE] [b]Dr Magus wrote:[/b]

Yes!
I still have the discs though i stupidly threw the box out years ago. Fantastic set and the Jazz-era stuff was fantastic quality.[/QUOTE]

All the source tapes are available here in equal or better quality. That Montreal tape is still one of my favourites.
[/QUOTE]

Yep i suppose it brought back memories of the mid 90's (pre-internet for me) when Opera Omnia felt like an aladdin's cave of wonders and an exciting glimpse into what was out there. Just holding the box made me tingle.

Same. I like it when we remember the exciting pre-internet days.

I wouldn't list Hammersmith or Rock in Rio for the best versions of Somebody to Love. Hammersmith is good but is completely eclipsed by Newcastle, which is cleaner and more daring and just all-around better. Rock in Rio is a really good version but the thing is with Rio is that it would be hard to compare it against pre-Works Tour versions because there's no vocal solo, which is a big part in defining each version of the song.

Same thing for Bohemian Rhapsody. I'd personally go with one of the Leiden versions as being better than Budapest.

Nice list. And wow...a "newbie" comes along to tell another newbie that the list is actually theirs from another site. How did this "newbie" know to come here and look for the OP?

Prenter playing more divide and conquer.

Thank you guys for the input! MC_Sandman, my list was actually very (but not solely) influenced by comments you have made on versions. I appreciate your thoughts. Honestly, I didn't think Budapest's BoRhap was as good as some had made it out to be, but I went ahead and included it.

Yeah, Budapest doesn't really do it for me. Second Leiden, on the other hand...

Are there any multitracks from live concerts available on the web?

Big Spender definitly from Tokyo - 1st May 1975