Being an older fan of 28 years we were used to having some really killer albums prior to Hot Space. We were cruising along with the band nice and smooth until that album came out then it was like we hit a brick wall at 100 mph. We didn't know what to expect back then. It was a big disappointment when we were so used to things like "Opera" "Races" etc then this funky thing came out. Some tracks are good but some are... BUT I will say that when they brought those songs to the stage it was a totally different song. Staying Power, Calling All Girls etc. They just exploded in a live setting. Not my favorite album but certainly not dismissed.
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I also love the hot space tracks performed live they seem to have that cutting edge to them live which is ever so slightly lacking on the album.
We have freddie to blame for the sound and perhaps john also whereas brian and roger would have stuck with a more familiar and rockier sound.
Staying power, back chat and calling all girls are brilliant live as well as Put out the fire is also.
One very obvious and totally baffling omission to me is WHY THE FUCK WASN'T DANCER PERFORMED? a great track with a rock edge to it.
We have freddie to blame for the sound and perhaps john also whereas brian and roger would have stuck with a more familiar and rockier sound.
Staying power, back chat and calling all girls are brilliant live as well as Put out the fire is also.
One very obvious and totally baffling omission to me is WHY THE FUCK WASN'T DANCER PERFORMED? a great track with a rock edge to it.
On record almost all the Hot Space songs are covered up with bells and synths and goodness knows what else. That all went when played live, and they sounded great. Especially Action This Day and Staying Power.
> Firstly, why on earth did Queen record the stuff on the album the way they did, and not with the energy the live versions had?
I've got similar insights about Sheer Heart Attack (with exceptions).
> that it'd have been a much bigger hit.
It wasn't even a "small hit" in the first place ;)
> I love the songs; Under Pressure, Staying Power, Life is Real, Action This Day, Cool Cat etc. but the recording is terrible!
The same I say about SHA (of course the recording isn't terrible there, but certainly they could have done it much better).
> We have freddie to blame for the sound and perhaps john also whereas brian and roger would have stuck with a more familiar and rockier sound.
I don't think Fred and John put a gun in Roger's and Brian's faces and forced them to arrange 'Dancer' and 'Calling All Girls' the way they did. Btw John said several times that he didn't like Hot Space.
I've got similar insights about Sheer Heart Attack (with exceptions).
> that it'd have been a much bigger hit.
It wasn't even a "small hit" in the first place ;)
> I love the songs; Under Pressure, Staying Power, Life is Real, Action This Day, Cool Cat etc. but the recording is terrible!
The same I say about SHA (of course the recording isn't terrible there, but certainly they could have done it much better).
> We have freddie to blame for the sound and perhaps john also whereas brian and roger would have stuck with a more familiar and rockier sound.
I don't think Fred and John put a gun in Roger's and Brian's faces and forced them to arrange 'Dancer' and 'Calling All Girls' the way they did. Btw John said several times that he didn't like Hot Space.
@Sebastian: SHA the album or the song? I think the SHA album is super. The song though yeah, I think the live versions are far better than the studio recording. Not that I mind the studio recording, it sounds pretty impressive, but live it's a different story altogether. Such amazing energy!
As for Calling All Girls...haha yeah not even a small hit soz. :( pity really..Was Staying Power a small hit? I think many people might actually love it had they the opportunity to listen to e.g. a good live rendition of the song
As for Calling All Girls...haha yeah not even a small hit soz. :( pity really..Was Staying Power a small hit? I think many people might actually love it had they the opportunity to listen to e.g. a good live rendition of the song
ummmm..
I hope you wont think that i got no taste if i say that HS is my favourite album and i like that sound very much ( tho it wouldnt be good if all albums sounded the same way)
I hope you wont think that i got no taste if i say that HS is my favourite album and i like that sound very much ( tho it wouldnt be good if all albums sounded the same way)
I'll never understand why Queen only played Put Out The Fire only a few times, it sounds incredible live!
Also I used to hate such numbers like Cool Cat but since a few years I've really began to like them, they're different. Not the usual Queen sound but still very good. :-)
Also I used to hate such numbers like Cool Cat but since a few years I've really began to like them, they're different. Not the usual Queen sound but still very good. :-)
I think it's great that Queen has had such diverse sounds through their musical history. From the (less-popular) funk sounds of Hot Space, the hard rock of the early albums, the operatics of the ANATO era (and of before that even), the emotional balladic tracks interspersed throughout their career, the stadium rock et al...
I quite like the video for Staying Power, that was a sweet outfit Freddie wore.
The video for Back Chat, Friends Will Be Friends, Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy, and Tie Your Mother Down, is Freddie wearing the same white suit in all of them??
The video for Back Chat, Friends Will Be Friends, Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy, and Tie Your Mother Down, is Freddie wearing the same white suit in all of them??
Hot Space was my first non-greatest hit album soleley because of MK82