WHY IS WEMBLEY GIG SO OVERRATED...?

I love every minute of the Wembley concert and I am still getting used to the new DVD with all the previously edited material. I wore out 2 VHS tapes until I learned to make a digital copy of my 3rd tape. I bought the Brazilian DVD and now finally the official DVD in all its glory. You can criticise Freddie's voice but it's live, so what, it's still a breathtaking performance.

For years I've wondered about this. I've had the 80 minute version on tape, and now the full show on DVD. I keep asking myself.. should I enjoy this? Is it overrated? What will everyone think if I like it? I cannot rest until I know for sure that it's okay to enjoy this show.

OMG, you are so right! I didn't realize it until you said so, but it is way overrated and we should all burn our copies and never speak of it again! Thanks for showing us the truth man!

Fenderek is talking strictly from a performance point of view. If you've listened intently to many other bootlegs from the tour, and you've got a good musical ear, you'll realize that the second night at Wembley was actually the worst performance of the entire tour.

Freddie's voice was cracking a lot on the higher notes (which still weren't his highest for most shows on the tour), so he couldn't sustain them well as a result. Also, Brian was missing guitar cues all over the place. They knew they were being filmed for a later release, so the nerves kicked in, and at times it really shows.

Don't get me wrong, there are still many incredible moments during this show, but from a performance point of view, Knebworth, Budapest, both nights in Leiden, and the first night at Wembley all put the second Wembley night to shame.

Simply put, unless people have heard other complete concerts from the tour, then they really can't put in their two cents, as this topic is about the PERFORMANCE, not the QUALITY. If you've only seen/heard one or two shows from the tour, of course 7-12-86 is going to seem great! It is, but not as great as the others.

Fenderek is an honest fan, and he's judging this purely on the band's performance. In doing that, he is the antithesis of the word Stepford. Good stuff, Fenderek.

Wembley is just a fantastic show, they were at their peak and it showed a true kind of magic :D

I have heard a lot of Magic Tour shows in their best quality and I saw what we have from Knebworth, Budapest, Vienna, Manchester, Paris, Newcastle and Dublin, so I think I can voice an opinion. From all the shows I saw/heard Wembley is surely not the best performance but it's still a great concert and I simply enjoy watching it. But even if I had never seen another Queen concert it would be okay to enjoy Wembley. I don't need to rate shows and records all the time in terms of which is the best or worst single, album, concert etc. Maybe Fenderek, Bob and Niek are right when they say Wembley was not so good as so many other Magic Tour shows but it's the only one we have in excellent quality and complete, so forgive me when I just love to watch it:-)

"...it was Wembley, legendary stadium, London - home town of Queen, 2 nights in a row...
I guess all that makes Wembley so special. Not just for fans but also for the band members themselves. Like Brian said in the interview on the Wembely DVD, that playing at home is always different and special."

I totally agree with you

And YV you said you've heard a couple of their concert in EX quality? I wish I had...

It's not difficult. Budapest is available in stereo on an official video and Mannheim was broadcast on FM radio.

Before you head for some excellent bootleg sources.

Wembley turned out to be a big deal with fans, because it was the last concert recorded in full.

Its their best, as far as the concerts I've seen, and I havent seen much.

Wembley is a good show...but all Queen shows are, and I honestly never watch it. I've watched Budapest many times though. Freddie's voice is better of course, but I like how it was shot too. Even the "Bohemian Rhapsody" opera section is more creative, with the sparklers.

The medley at the beginning of Budapest is better IMHO. My favorite part is at the beginning of Tie Your Mother Down, where Brian jumps down by the crowd and starts the guitar solo, and the camera doesn't *quite* get the chance to focus properly. Then it cuts to John hitting his note as the lights all swell, then cuts to Freddie off hanging on the rafters somewhere. It just all seems more "raw" and exciting. The medley at Wembley, on the other hand, doesn't have the same energy at the start of "Tear It Up", and was also shot in daytime.

But I think a lot of fans have simply heard Wembley first, so that's why they like it.

"Maybe Fenderek, Bob and Niek are right when they say Wembley was not so good as so many other Magic Tour shows but it's the only one we have in excellent quality and complete, so forgive me when I just love to watch it:-)"

Same with me. I love it because of the quality. :) Being a musician, I can't help but rate things musically, but the quality of the new DVD still makes the concert an amazing thing to have. In a perfect world, if Sapporo 5-6-79 came out on DVD in that quality, I'd love it just as much, even though it was probably the worst Queen show ever! :P

I'm not a musician and Wembley is the best Magic tour show for me. Maybe if I heard other Magic Tour bootlegs in DVD quality, I would change my mind but at the moment I love Wembley and it's my favourite Magic Tour show (or second favourite after Mannheim). Despite Freddie's voice which was indeed in bad shape.

The audience makes a big difference too, in Budapest there were heaps of people who got the tickets because they were high in the Communistic Party and they knew shit about Queen.

<> Mr Jingles- thanks for good laugh, laddy <

I'm sorry, I just turned the sarcasm on because I didn't really see a point in asking why something is overrated.

I'm the last person to defend any concert recording because in general, I don't enjoy them. Probably partly out of jealousy since I never got to see them live so it's not always a great thrill to hear more privelaged fans screaming in joy, but also I just tend to like original studio recordings much better.

I just feel that a question like yours kind of answers itself.. people like it, and that's their choice. What can come of discussing the worth of something that isn't going to change? It's there, take it or leave it.

But perhaps I'm being too dismissive. I just get tired of hearing debates like this.

Perhaps if it were phrased differently, rather than calling it overrated, you could suggest that other concerts might make better releases.. but... that's been done a million times before already.

I don't know. I just finished reading Hutton's book and I'm quite sad so I'm not sure I'm even making sense right now.

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...no! Live at Wembley rocks!!!!