Yara 15.01.2008 00:07 |
Thanks for uploading Queen's 1984 live concert in Brussels. It's an amazing concert from beginning to end and dear Freddie is in excellent shape. He's full of energy and the band is playing just fine, especially Brian who's in top form and keeps the songs' structure together. Brian is the true star in this one. Freddie is kind of funny in this concert. He's singing much faster than usual, with a lot of energy, and really going for some risky high notes in the beginning of the show. Really, I'd like to know if the recording was in some way "speeded up" because some songs are just a hurricane. In the beginning of the concert Freddie is just perfect. I always talk about Under Pressure because it's one of my favorite Queen's tunes. Wow, he does a lot of perfectly executed lines in falsetto and chamaleon-like transformations in his voice throught the same note. Take a "hear", for example, at his bird singing about 1:51 and 2:14 into the song. Most importantly, Taylor and Freddie do a wonderful job in the last verse and they afford to keep its energy and don't let the pitch drop so much as in the Montreal gig. As usual, Freddie is totally wasted in the end of the concert. He ruins, literally ruins Radio Ga-Ga (his voice fails sistematically) and, really, he's strangely out of tune in "I want to Break Free". I guess I had never heard Freddie singing so out of tune before. He was damn wasted and, above all, absent-minded in the end of the show. I LOVED THIS CONCERT! It's really good, the guys are playing great and Freddie is in good shape for most of the show. |
saltnvinegar 15.01.2008 05:34 |
Hi Yara I really like your concert review. I'm also a huge fan of the song 'Under Pressure' and I love to hear it live. It's a little different everytime. You seem to know what you're talking about in terms of singing and delivery. I look forward to more of your opinions on bootleg and official shows- Post some more! |
Yara 15.01.2008 08:33 |
Many thanks for the kind words. This website is really great and people here are very nice. I like to talk about things I like. :op Being a Queen fan, I can't avoid writing some lines about this material I had never had access to. I know basically only the official live and studio releases. Now I'm beginning to listen to this vast material people have been so kind to share. It's a great resource for me to keep going with my musical studies. I play the piano and sing, but I'm really an "absolute beginner". I used to think that Queen was a band of four musical genius who had no problem delivering great performances. I still love the band, but now I realize they were not, by any means, exceptional musicians, individually speaking. Freddie was not an exceptional singer either. They were exceptional as a band! A band of four talented guys who could work together and had some great ideas. They had a wonderful style and watching - not just hearing - them performing live is a huge fun. I love the songs and now it's been very instructive for me to listen to part of this material because I'm very interested in the way the flesh-and-blood band managed to deal with all their limitations on stage. Judging from what I've listented to up until now, they did a great job. They sounded good enough live as to please the audience and let everybody have a lot of fun! They were/are good, yes, but also clever musicians who knew how to make the best of their skills, I think! Many thanks for the reply! |
Mr Faron Hyte 15.01.2008 15:26 |
Yara wrote: I still love the band, but now I realize they were not, by any means, exceptional musicians, individually speaking. Freddie was not an exceptional singer either.I am sure you're going to get a lot of disagreement here. Starting with me. I don't think each of the four of them were "exceptional musicians, individually speaking", but I am sure at least one of them is, probably two, and maybe three. |
The Real Wizard 15.01.2008 17:01 |
Yara wrote: I still love the band, but now I realize they were not, by any means, exceptional musicians, individually speaking. Freddie was not an exceptional singer either.Ah, you've just listened to a few off nights. Listen to Copenhagen 4-13-78 and Newcastle 12-4-79... I guarantee you, you won't be saying that. :) |
Queengirl47 15.01.2008 17:30 |
Mr Faron Hyte wrote:I agree w/ you 100%!Yara wrote: I still love the band, but now I realize they were not, by any means, exceptional musicians, individually speaking. Freddie was not an exceptional singer either.umm, sorry.... you are TOTALLY wrong on ALL accounts! try to explore MORE on the guys1 ;) I am sure you're going to get a lot of disagreement here. Starting with me. I don't think each of the four of them were "exceptional musicians, individually speaking", but I am sure at least one of them is, probably two, and maybe three. |
Yara 15.01.2008 18:57 |
Thank you, guys, for taking part of the thread and giving so helpful answers. I'll definately look out for the concerts Sir GH mentioned in his reply. Yes, my friend, who's himself a really great pianist, also tells me I'm just wrong and that the FOUR guys were exceptional musicians by all measures, and he does some good explaining. So, I know I'm the stubborn here. lol Regardless of their qualities as individual musicians, I really love, love, luuuuv (like Woody Allen in Annie Hall) the band. I LOVE this OFF NIGHTS! I think part of being a good musician is not just learning to blossom to one's full potential, but also learning how to simulate what he can't do and circumvent his limitations in a clever, musically intelligent way. Freddie was great in that. Under Pressure is always my "control sample" lol Depending on the way the band is playing, the way he's feeling in a particular night and sometines on his physical conditions, he gives many different renditions of the same line and THEY ALL MAKE SENSE MUSICALLY. "These are the days it never rains but it pours". If he's on fire and want to simulate what's in the studio version, he goes for the angelical beauty of the verse; if he wasn't sure about singing the line in falsetto, whether because it'd not fit the live version all that well or he was unsure about taking such step, he gave a powerful, resonant and moving cry full of drama which gradually fades away into lighter and higher notes; if he was TOTALLY WASTED (lol Freddie's Freddie) he'd just speak the line, not with disdain, which would be a sign of lack of musical cleverness, but with a feeling of wise resignation, as if he were giving you an advice: "Hey, you guy, these are the days it never rains but it pours, but that's life". lol I love the band. And I love these details which reveal a very touching and moving way of delivering a beautiful line taking advantage of one's own limitations. That's just great. I really like all that. To me it's much more rewarding than listening to official releases, though, of course, I love to see Freddie singing because he could be as elegant as a brave knight or a refined gentleman (I think I'll never get tired of watching him sing "I Want to Break Free" in Budapest, his moves and gestures are so beautiful)or as depraved as anything you have ever seen. Thank you all for participating in the discussion and giving such helpful replies. I'm trying hard to improve my English, believe me. Sorry! |
Bobby_brown 15.01.2008 19:39 |
Yara wrote: I used to think that Queen was a band of four musical genius who had no problem delivering great performances. I still love the band, but now I realize they were not, by any means, exceptional musicians, individually speaking. Freddie was not an exceptional singer either. They were exceptional as a band!Some things you have to understand is that "the Works" tour is considered by many to be their worst. There´s an explanation to this- their lifestyle. But if you listen to some earlier performances or even some 1986 you´ll find out that a bad performance was an exception (or maybe not- depending of what you think is a bad performance) If you want to hear Freddie and the band at their best, check out the "Game" tour in 1980 or even 1979. His voice was superb! Take care |
victor fleitas 15.01.2008 22:43 |
can you please tell me about what show in brussels exactly are you talking about in this thread? |
Yara 15.01.2008 23:25 |
Hi, Victor! King's favourite, 12h September, 1984, Brussels. Best regards! |
Yara 15.01.2008 23:26 |
21th September, sorry. Best regards. |
on my way up 16.01.2008 07:01 |
Sir GH<br><h6>ah yeah</h6> wrote:My thoughts exactly!!Yara wrote: I still love the band, but now I realize they were not, by any means, exceptional musicians, individually speaking. Freddie was not an exceptional singer either.Ah, you've just listened to a few off nights. Listen to Copenhagen 4-13-78 and Newcastle 12-4-79... I guarantee you, you won't be saying that. :) It's nice to read the reviews by Yara:-) Great to hear the views from someone who just gets to know Queen live shows(unofficial recordings):-) So, please yara, continue to do that;-) |
on my way up 16.01.2008 07:06 |
Yara wrote: Thank you, guys, for taking part of the thread and giving so helpful answers. I'll definately look out for the concerts Sir GH mentioned in his reply. Yes, my friend, who's himself a really great pianist, also tells me I'm just wrong and that the FOUR guys were exceptional musicians by all measures, and he does some good explaining. So, I know I'm the stubborn here. lol Regardless of their qualities as individual musicians, I really love, love, luuuuv (like Woody Allen in Annie Hall) the band. I LOVE this OFF NIGHTS! I think part of being a good musician is not just learning to blossom to one's full potential, but also learning how to simulate what he can't do and circumvent his limitations in a clever, musically intelligent way. Freddie was great in that. Under Pressure is always my "control sample" lol Depending on the way the band is playing, the way he's feeling in a particular night and sometines on his physical conditions, he gives many different renditions of the same line and THEY ALL MAKE SENSE MUSICALLY. "These are the days it never rains but it pours". If he's on fire and want to simulate what's in the studio version, he goes for the angelical beauty of the verse; if he wasn't sure about singing the line in falsetto, whether because it'd not fit the live version all that well or he was unsure about taking such step, he gave a powerful, resonant and moving cry full of drama which gradually fades away into lighter and higher notes; if he was TOTALLY WASTED (lol Freddie's Freddie) he'd just speak the line, not with disdain, which would be a sign of lack of musical cleverness, but with a feeling of wise resignation, as if he were giving you an advice: "Hey, you guy, these are the days it never rains but it pours, but that's life". lol I love the band. And I love these details which reveal a very touching and moving way of delivering a beautiful line taking advantage of one's own limitations. That's just great. I really like all that. To me it's much more rewarding than listening to official releases, though, of course, I love to see Freddie singing because he could be as elegant as a brave knight or a refined gentleman (I think I'll never get tired of watching him sing "I Want to Break Free" in Budapest, his moves and gestures are so beautiful)or as depraved as anything you have ever seen. Thank you all for participating in the discussion and giving such helpful replies. I'm trying hard to improve my English, believe me. Sorry!On the site link (sir GH's site:-) there's a list of 10 legendary shows and other notable performances. check these out! All these shows are fantastic. Much better than the 2nd night in Brussels in '84 for example;-) |
Yara 16.01.2008 12:25 |
Many thanks for all the replies. I'll look out for all these concerts. I'm getting neurotic. I don't even trust my piano anymore, and it's damn good, poor boy. lol |
on my way up 16.01.2008 14:52 |
Sir GH<br><h6>ah yeah</h6> wrote:What great off nights:-)Yara wrote: I still love the band, but now I realize they were not, by any means, exceptional musicians, individually speaking. Freddie was not an exceptional singer either.Ah, you've just listened to a few off nights. |