Freddie's live vocals

flash00. wrote:

I take it you have been watching that youtube video of the Soprano critiquing Freddie's voice from Live Aid to Somebody to Love 81 Montreal show? ha

She sounds desperate to find fault.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvQiSV--hGY

She didn't know that Queen live was full on rock show, with growling and shouting and more "bad" singing techniques.
Like most people who get a false image about Freddie being something like Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston and the rest of the band was there to accompany him while he gives a nice recital.

indeed

Because as a singer he actually wasn’t as good as Adam. He was good, but not THAT good.

Adam Is The Best! wrote:

Because as a singer he actually wasn’t as good as Adam. He was good, but not THAT good.

Trolls abound here lately.
No Freddie wasn't wasn't that good...he was that great. Legendary even ;-).

I'm still pretty blown away at the falsetto he was able to use in Montreal

I'm still pretty blown away at the falsetto he was able to use in Montreal

Greg summed it up pretty well, but one thing i'd like to add is that personally I believe a lot of the time his dodging of notes live was less that he couldn't do it and more that he could, but wanted to play it safe and avoid risking cracking/straining.

I think there were a lot of shows where he could've hit, say, the C5s in "Bohemian Rhapsody" or "We Are the Champions", but didn't because he didn't want to risk it. Even within the shows themselves, there's evidence that he could've hit a lot more notes if he chose. Like on a lot of Magic Tour shows, he has no trouble hitting most of the A4s in "Tie Your Mother Down" or "Tear It Up" but doesn't go for any in "Seven Seas of Rhye" or "We Will Rock You".

Of course, there was several shows (*cough cough* most of the Japanese 1979 leg *cough cough*) where he wouldn't have been able to hit the highs either way.

Nodules means that one's larynx is not closing properly due to bumps. It means your voice just doesn't work the way it's supposed to. Freddie knew how to sing those high notes. He would do the work and then wait and see how it turns out. In a live situation it's a gamble. And live he didn't risk it most of the time because he just didn't know how it would go. He could do it fine and he could do this - http://youtu.be/N1oh6DRGqhs?t=136 . Nodules can also make voice sound hoarse which in turn makes you sing louder and push the voice which is not a good thing in long term. Japan 79 was a severe vocal fatigue, it must have been a depressing period for Freddie because he sounded nearly on the brink of losing his voice completely, it probably was a concern in his mind as well at the time.