| Gregsynth 24.03.2011 13:09 |
I was listening to various bootlegs from the Works Tour, and my question is: Why was his voice much deeper and raspier than his 1986 voice? Freddie starts off the Works Tour sounding like the later Hot Space gigs (timbre-wise), on Brussels and Dublin. By Birmingham, his voice starts to slowly roughen and deepen into this "different" voice. Just compare something like Brussels to Stuttgart--both have him in good voice, but Stuttgart has a much "deeper-sounding" Freddie. Also, listen to the (many) gigs on that tour where his voice wasn't in good shape--he's got this "raspy" edge to his voice (that's not so much on his "good" gigs--or the Magic Tour. Someone who attended some of the Sun City shows, messaged me in the past, and said that Freddie completely lost his voice on a couple of the gigs-- (assuming one of them is 10/7/1984), and witnessed Freddie spitting blood. That begs the question: Was that nodule-related? Did one of the nodules burst? Whatever the case, the next recording (from 10/19/1984), shows Freddie's voice has healed, and his timbre is closer to his early Works Tour voice (rather than the "deep and raspy" one). He even nails a C5 during the impromptu (!!!)! For the 1985 Works Tour voice, his voice shape fluctuates, but his timbre stays pretty much the same. On the Japan 1985 shows (mostly 5/9/1985), his tone is very light and phrases stuff closer to 1980-1981 (rather than belting out notes). At Live Aid, he's in perfect voice, and doesn't even sound like he SMOKED! That's what I don't get. He sounds like 1982 Freddie! For the Magic Tour, his timbre deepens a tad, but not even close to his 1984 voice. His timbre stays pretty much the same throughout the tour (with his vocal shape fluctuating from excellent to weak). Look at Zurich 1986--his voice is at it's worst on the tour--but he doesn't sound "bad." He just sounds "tired" with his high range shot out. Compare that to the Works Tour--when his voice was weak, he sounded really BAD. So here's some questions we can discuss: 1. Did Freddie find new singing techniques in the 1985-1986 timeframe? 2. Did the nodule burst actually HELP him? 3. Why did Freddie sound so "clean and fresh" at Live Aid (on breaks during the Works Tour, he never sounded 100% Fresh)? 4. Did Freddie improve with age? THOUGHTS? |
| formulaone+queenmad 24.03.2011 15:39 |
1 and 3. I think it's possible he found new techniques but a major thing that we may have forgotten was the fact that during the Works Tour, Freddie was recording Mr Bad Guy so any rest he could've had was probably wasted in the recording studio so after Japan 1985 he was able to rest for the first time since late 1983 so this could explain the freshness in his Live Aid voice which shows what 6 weeks off without him singing did! (counting Live Aid rehearsals) 2. Did the nodule burst actually HELP him? It probably relieved his throat alot after doing most of the European leg with them hurting his throat but the doctor requested him to have at least 3 months off yet he ignored this and his voice was actually pretty decent with Sun City and 1st Rio sounding fantastic! 4. Definately! He probably learnt from the later HS gigs and the recording of the Works/Mr Bad Guy/Works tour to rest after doing each thing. Interestingly though, even though Freddie claimed to never have had vocal surgery, I actually believed he could've had it as early as 79 but the claim of singing lessons too is also believable. But didn't he cut down the smoking in 85/86 as well? This may have helped his voice a lot and it also shows on the later albums with his voice being very clean on songs! |
| Gregsynth 24.03.2011 15:46 |
formulaone+queenmad wrote: 1 and 3. I think it's possible he found new techniques but a major thing that we may have forgotten was the fact that during the Works Tour, Freddie was recording Mr Bad Guy so any rest he could've had was probably wasted in the recording studio so after Japan 1985 he was able to rest for the first time since late 1983 so this could explain the freshness in his Live Aid voice which shows what 6 weeks off without him singing did! (counting Live Aid rehearsals) 2. Did the nodule burst actually HELP him? It probably relieved his throat alot after doing most of the European leg with them hurting his throat but the doctor requested him to have at least 3 months off yet he ignored this and his voice was actually pretty decent with Sun City and 1st Rio sounding fantastic! 4. Definately! He probably learnt from the later HS gigs and the recording of the Works/Mr Bad Guy/Works tour to rest after doing each thing. Interestingly though, even though Freddie claimed to never have had vocal surgery, I actually believed he could've had it as early as 79 but the claim of singing lessons too is also believable. But didn't he cut down the smoking in 85/86 as well? This may have helped his voice a lot and it also shows on the later albums with his voice being very clean on songs! ============== I don't know the exact dates on the Mr. Bad Guy recording sessions, but wikipedia gave me the spring of 1984 on some songs (which is way before the tour). Maybe Bob and Sebastian can help out. I've never heard of Freddie getting vocal surgery (and he actually refused), but I guess anything is possible. As far as the smoking goes, he was heavily smoking in the mid 80s, but he cut down in the later 80s! |
| formulaone+queenmad 24.03.2011 15:54 |
I looked at some of the Mr Bad Guy dates, some were about 2 months before the Works Tour but I believe he finished that section of the album then went straight into Works rehearsals which would go on to kill his voice! But I do know he recorded some stuff in early 1985! |
| Gregsynth 24.03.2011 15:58 |
And the stuff he was singing on that album was highly demanding. If he was doing vocal work up to the rehearsals then that can explain why he lost his chops early into the tour! |
| formulaone+queenmad 24.03.2011 16:03 |
So that would support my point of 6 weeks rest doing him the world of good before Live Aid but I still don't understand why he sounds so so fresh! We need TSS's opinion on that matter! |
| Gregsynth 24.03.2011 16:05 |
Good old TSS. I heard that Freddie actually had a sore throat during Live Aid! |
| formulaone+queenmad 24.03.2011 16:09 |
I heard that too, if he did then how did he sing the best versions ever of most of the songs there?! |
| micksea173 24.03.2011 16:59 |
I read somewhere that before Live Aid Freddie had problems with his voice and was told by the doctors not to do Live Aid. Freddie being Freddie he refused and did Live Aid. |
| marvinp01 24.03.2011 18:03 |
IMO On top of all his vocal problems during the works tours, didnt he sing rough on purpose? He has stated that he wanted the husky voice, so he must have possibly sang rough regardless of the risks while on tour. As for live aid, he must've realised how ineffective the husky voice was and return to whatever his standard live voice as you hear in Live aid. Why didnt he change his voice during the tour? because he had to sound consistent for the entire works tour, just like the entire Jazz tour! So singing lessons or not, he established another singing style for the Magic tour that didnt compromise his voice as much like the risky husky style from the works. |
| The Real Wizard 24.03.2011 18:05 |
Great interpretation, Marvin. Sounds about right to me. |
| Gregsynth 24.03.2011 18:28 |
Marvin's post made lots of sense. I just wish Freddie sang with his Live Aid tone, or even the Magic Tour tone on the Works Tour. Some of the gigs on that tour are a bit hard to listen to. |
| dive2063 25.03.2011 02:38 |
Guys, what do you think about the factor of not so frequent gigs on Magic tour comparing to previous one european leg of Works tour? In fact, they performed 26 gigs in 2 mothns on Magic tour and 23 gigs in 1 month and couple of days on european leg of Works leg, so the pauses between concerts to rest in 1986 were bigger. Maybe this happened because they often rented venues with more capacity on Magic tour (i.e. stadiums of open-air fields), so less shows were needed to satisfy public demand. Maybe it's not the general reason, but as the additional to what you have already stated here, I think it could be. |
| Gregsynth 26.03.2011 23:01 |
I'm willing to bet that the touring schedule also helped out Freddie's voice. BTW, does anyone notice that Freddie's tone is really "dry and thin" on Stockholm 1986 (especially if you compare it to the other gigs)? |
| Isle0fRed 28.03.2011 09:54 |
1. Did Freddie find new singing techniques in the 1985-1986 timeframe? 2. Did the nodule burst actually HELP him? 3. Why did Freddie sound so "clean and fresh" at Live Aid (on breaks during the Works Tour, he never sounded 100% Fresh)? 4. Did Freddie improve with age? 1. Possible, He uses lots a falsestto during late Works onwards 2. Possible. Batman Begins quote. "Why do people fall...So you could pick yourself back up" Look back at Jazz to Crazy 3. 1, Break between Tour 2, Cough drops and water 3, fewer rehearsals for Live Aid 4, Giving everything. Live Aid was susposed to be the farewell gig for the band. 4. Yes, see Barclona, The Miriacle, Innuendo and Made In Heaven |
| Gregsynth 28.03.2011 22:07 |
Isle0fRed wrote: 1. Did Freddie find new singing techniques in the 1985-1986 timeframe? 2. Did the nodule burst actually HELP him? 3. Why did Freddie sound so "clean and fresh" at Live Aid (on breaks during the Works Tour, he never sounded 100% Fresh)? 4. Did Freddie improve with age? 1. Possible, He uses lots a falsestto during late Works onwards 2. Possible. Batman Begins quote. "Why do people fall...So you could pick yourself back up" Look back at Jazz to Crazy 3. 1, Break between Tour 2, Cough drops and water 3, fewer rehearsals for Live Aid 4, Giving everything. Live Aid was susposed to be the farewell gig for the band. 4. Yes, see Barclona, The Miriacle, Innuendo and Made In Heaven ============== Very good explanations! |
| The Real Wizard 28.03.2011 23:16 |
Isle0fRed wrote: Live Aid was susposed to be the farewell gig for the band. ========== Interesting... I've never heard it put like that before. Are you sure though? No doubt the band were in a bad place in 1985 and this show brought them new life, but is there any confirmation that they were considering calling it quits at this point? |
| freddiefan91 29.03.2011 02:47 |
yes i heard that they were thinking of splitting up for good after the works tour but live aid rejuvenated them and thankfully so!!! |
| Bad Seed 29.03.2011 13:02 |
I have a newspaper cutting from the week before Live Aid. I don't have it to hand at the moment, but I think it was written by Rick Sky from the Daily Mirror. It goes something like............. 'Queen's Freddie Mercury is so determined to play next week's Live Aid concert, he is taking a risk of losing his voice forever! Mercury, who has recently had an operation on his vocal chords, has been told by doctor's that he must rest his voice for at least another month. Doctor's have told the star that if he sing's at the show, he may never sing again'. By the sounds of that, he went in for an operation as soon as The Works tour finished. It would certainly explain the dramatic improvement of his voice. |
| Gregsynth 29.03.2011 15:07 |
Doesn't it take a few months to heal from a throat operation? If that's true--then Freddie really took a risk! |
| maxpower 29.03.2011 16:40 |
From what I've read Freddie had a throat infection and was advised not to perform, but due to missing on the 1984 Band Aid record due to touring commitments, Geldof contacted Spike Edney (sometime Boomtown Rat & extra Queen player) convinced Freddie to do it due to missing out on the initial record. I think the rest did Freddie good, plus it was only 22 minutes (Is This The World ... aside) & I also think Freddie was just full of himself what with it being Jim's first time seeing him do his thing and what with them just getting together, so any mild discomfort he probably tolerated |
| koldweather123 29.03.2011 17:36 |
The big difference vocally seems to have been between the Australia shows and the Japan shows. For whatever reason it seemed like his voice just totally cleared out, the tonal differences between those shows is unreal, especially in the first few shows in Japan, thats the clearest and most 'open' he had sounded since the start of the hot space tour. |
| formulaone+queenmad 29.03.2011 18:08 |
Maybe that was the first time since late 83 where he could have a small break from singing as after Rock in Rio he recorded more solo stuff so maybe that helped! |
| Gregsynth 29.03.2011 18:12 |
Well he had like 2 weeks off between the legs! |