When do you feel Freddie's voice was at it's best - In terms of sound, range, etc.
What albums does he shine on?
I think Freddie sounds really good on The Works - A kind of Magic - Miracle.
He sounds notably different on The Game, and he did some decent work on Hot Space.
But I think all the late 80's albums are crammed with some of his best vocal work.
It's a Hard Life, Man on the Prowl, Is This the World We created...Friends will be Friends, One Year of Love, Who Wants to Live forever...
And so on, all are very powerful works.
Now, this doesn't mean that Millionaire Waltz isn't amazing :D
To me, his voice was finest during the late seventies into the early eighties. But, then again, there are different things to take into consideration for each 'era' of his voice. I think this is an unfair question.
Steven wrote: To me, his voice was finest during the late seventies into the early eighties. But, then again, there are different things to take into consideration for each 'era' of his voice. I think this is an unfair question.
Yes, I agree. However my opinion is that he did his "worst" vocals on these three albums. Not bad, not even close to average but not as good as the rest. Maybe that's just because I love his 70's falsetto and his "metal" voice of Innuendo. He also did his best live vocals late 70's and early 80's, again in my opinion.
Steven wrote: To me, his voice was finest during the late seventies into the early eighties. But, then again, there are different things to take into consideration for each 'era' of his voice. I think this is an unfair question.
Yes, I agree. However my opinion is that he did his "worst" vocals on these three albums. Not bad, not even close to average but not as good as the rest. Maybe that's just because I love his 70's falsetto and his "metal" voice of Innuendo. He also did his best live vocals late 70's and early 80's, again in my opinion.
81-82 Touring Voice was really amazing!
84 Works Album - Great Vocals!
84- Works Tour - Not bad, first signs of decline in power and onset of the gravelly voice-
85 Live Aid - 20 Mins of Rock Magic
86 - Kind of Magic Album - Rough and in decline
exceptions - One Vision - AKOM -Who Wants to Live Forever.
86: Magic Tour - exceptions here or there but mainly rough nowhere near the standard of the Hot Space Tour, but there again who could reach those levels???
89 - Miracle - loss of Power and Rough.
90/91 - Innuendo Back on Top Form.
I think recording wise, he really came to the fore on A Day At The Races - he had learned to control his vocie more and use his full tone and power. Vocally the stuff on Barcelona is amazing too, especially when singing in a way that he wasn't used to.
Live, I tend to prefer 79-82 as his most consistently strong period
I think as the years went on, Freddie's voice couldn't go as high as he could go, without raising his voice so loud, but it got better after Barcelona! Freddie literally changed his voice for recordings and live performances from his normal singing voice (that you hear on Barcelona) to a rock oriented rough voice. His vocals got more powerful through the 80s but his falsetto declined.
'73-'75 showed a singer learning his craft in front of new audiences and it's interesting to hear how much more confident he grows as time passes - from the almost embarassed shows of 1973 to the man widely adored in Japan in 1975. The Christmas 1975 broadcast from Hammersmith Odeon of that year, I believe, gave Queen their own sense of acceptance and from then on it was a consistent upward curve in terms of the band, it's material and the individual's skills to which Freddie really hit his straps during The Crazy Tour where he was at his absolute peak for night after night excellence.
From then on he gave some exceptional performances, but not quite on that same, consistent basis. Hot Space gave him a platform on which to "dine out" in terms of his attacking very new and different material which also provided an increase in the level of intensity he showed in his singing (note Staying Power and Somebody To Love from Milton Keynes). After that, the smoking and excess started to take it's toll and by the time The Magic Tour came along, he was noticeably struggling to hit many of the notes in the higher register that he was renowned for.
Both The Miracle and Innuendo display a much thinner and noticeably weaker voice (with some admitted highlights; Was It All Worth It bieng the biggest) due to the ravages of the HIV virus and then, the last performances on Made In Heaven are of a man at the very edge but, somehow, forcing the last strains out of himself.
I think his voice on Return of the Champions is great (waiting for someone to say he wasn't on this album, I beg to differ)
I am of corse messing around, album wise Innuendo is amazing, Live wise 1982 was his best year I think
Studio: News of the World.
Live: ...Live Aid.
It's enough to be the best rock n roll singer ever, even if he hadn't sung a line in between both or after Live Aid.
I mean:
Studio: News of the World.
Live: ...Live Aid.
It's enough to be the best rock n roll singer ever, even if he hadn't sung a line in between both or after Live Aid.
But it's important to take into account that he was a musical genius. It's not only a question of vocal range - very poorly analysed throughout when it comes to Freddie's vocals, by the way; but then, this kind of analysis is pretty hard to make - and so on.
You Queen fans know it better than myself who have been listening to Queen only for a few years.