Anybody know why Brian May omitted the first part of the guitar solo from killer queen when they played it live? He only played the harmonized part live. Why was that?
Because he forgot how to play it live. When Brian played the Killer Queen solo in the studio, he had a BIG instruction booklet on how to play it. Live, he couldn't remember--so he played the easy part to fool people into thinking that what he played live was the real solo.
Bull whip!! Freddie was allergic to Bb notes, and the first part of the solo contained a lot of B flats. That Javier guy wasn't even a guitarist, he just took care of John Deacon's backing vocals.
"Killer Queen" was always part of some medley. The song obviously was too difficult to do live in it's full glory, as some parts simply rely on multitracked vocals and guitar harmonies. So I guess Brian May decided to drop the first part of the solo in favour to have the main part in the centre of the attention. Cause the bridge between the two solos relied on several guitars and with just one guitar you could not do that. Just a theory of course....
The bridge in between the solos in definetly possible with one guitar. I have done it and I have witnessed other tribute bands doing it...So there must be another theory...especially since the first part of the solo is the part that most people know because it is basically the melody to the song
LMFAO at Microwave's comment.
All right, I'll try to be serious (for once).
Here's a couple explanations (I think):
[listu] [li]1. Brian's solo has the "bell effect," making it difficult to replicate live (though I think he could do it) [li]2. The band probably had a discussion and agreed that the song works best as a part of a medley (due to the overdubs) [li]3. Something to do with Freddie's refusal to sing "falsetto" (though I doubt it).[/listu]There's my 2 cents
Perhaps it was a time issue. They didn't want to drag on the medley for too long to avoid boring the audience.
Besides, Queen seldom (if ever!) played songs following the exact pattern of the studio recording. Their philosophy was that it's not why people paid money to go to the shows.
That's my best answer, without any jokes. But you have to agree that the jokes were funny :-D
V.
bigV wrote:
Perhaps it was a time issue. They didn't want to drag on the medley for too long to avoid boring the audience.
Besides, Queen seldom (if ever!) played songs following the exact pattern of the studio recording. Their philosophy was that it's not why people paid money to go to the shows.
That's my best answer, without any jokes. But you have to agree that the jokes were funny :-D
V.
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The jokes are funny! LOL
I think your second theory is the best one (plus the first one).
"The bridge in between the solos in definetly possible with one guitar. I have done it and I have witnessed other tribute bands doing it...So there must be another theory...especially since the first part of the solo is the part that most people know because it is basically the melody to the song"
Never forget - it was more than 35 years ago. And all the effects you now find as a standard in the cheapest equipment weren't there. Today Brian May has effects that multiply his guitar like in "Show must go on". But they were not there then.
Soundfreak wrote:
"The bridge in between the solos in definetly possible with one guitar. I have done it and I have witnessed other tribute bands doing it...So there must be another theory...especially since the first part of the solo is the part that most people know because it is basically the melody to the song"
I agree, i do it every week. What it comes down to, I think, is a matter of choice. As far as I know, Killer Queen was always played as a part of some medley, seguing into the next song. Queen only played the parts that were a combination of "easy to pull off" and "keeping the audience interested". The guitar part you mention replaces a part of Freddie's vocal, and since Freddie was the focal point of the band on stage they chose to leave that out and let Freddie do his thing.
For the same reasons Freddie sang '39 in stead of Brian.
Fireplace wrote:
The guitar part you mention replaces a part of Freddie's vocal, and since Freddie was the focal point of the band on stage they chose to leave that out and let Freddie do his thing.
Exactly. On the record, the second chorus isn't as long as the first chorus. Since the song was part of a medley and wouldn't make it to the third chorus, they decided to extend the second chorus at the expense of half of the guitar solo instead of only doing 1 1/2 choruses of the song. I don't think it was a matter of Brian not being able to play it. They just chose the more important part of the song.
In 1986, Javier found himself back on the payroll, after a mishap at the Wembley Concert at two different points in the show. The sequencer went out of tune during Stone Cold Crazy and couldn't be fixed in time for Tutti Fruitti. Those two cuts have been edited out of every version of the Wembley concert that I've found.
Unfortunately, the US tour did not happen. By the time The Cosmos Rocked, Javier had died homeless and penniless and never found his place on stage.