the works tour

after live aid john said that they were not more a band in the months before it and they were only four musicians that worked togheter, if I listen to the concerts of the tours of the '85 i feel the sensation of 'boring' fo the boys during the shows, and i don't like too much the works tour /8485, what do you think about theese tours?

Works concerts had their ups and downs, mainly in terms of Freddie's voice. Roger's drum kit has definitely raised some controversy, and personally, I don't like most of the electronic effects he used.

Another complaint of mine, that I've voiced several times, is that I can't stand Spike's singing voice. On many of the Works bootlegs, his microphone is louder than Roger's or Brian's, and it drives me crazy that a non-member of Queen is clearer in the mix than actual members of Queen. His keyboards are sometimes unnecessary as well. For years, Queen were able to perform songs like TYMD and NIH without him, so they should have kept doing it the way they always had. However, keys in the improv section of NIH are a nice addition.

On a side note, I listened to the Budapest 86 show today, and Spike is exactly where he belongs in the mix. Vocals are mute, and keyboards are exactly loud enough, and only where they belong. Cheers to the folks who were in charge of releasing this show.

Back to the Works tour... many of the shows were just average shows, but here are the shows that I think people should seek out:

Brussels 8-24-84 (Freddie's voice is in great shape for this show, and it's worth it to hear him sing Seven Seas and It's A Hard Life "properly")

Birmingham 9-2-84 (for the sound quality)

London 9-8-84 (for the atmosphere)

Milano 84 (both shows, for the performance... Italy was new ground for Queen, so they gave that extra push for their fans having their first Queen experience. Or perhaps it's the excellent sound quality that just makes the band sound better than most of the other bootlegs from the tour!)

Stuttgart 9-27-84 (Freddie's falsettos were amazing throughout this show)

Rio 1-12-85 (A good night for Freddie, but a lousy recording)

Tokyo 5-9-85 (One of the greatest Queen concerts ever. Freddie's voice was in amazing shape, and they all knew it, and they delivered a much better show overall)

I agree with Bob, the last one he mentioned is probably the best from that tour.

I agree,it has some very good shows.

The worst thing about it was Spike Edney's keyboard solo and the drumkit.

I agree with William, AOBTD is great live, but it's crap at the Works tour.

Oh yeah, I forgot about the key solo... probably because I just skip it every time without thinking!

I like the way they bought songs like Great King Rat and Stone Cold Crazy out of retirement.

I don't think The Works tour was anywhere near as a good as the Magic one.