| Gregsynth 19.05.2011 02:25 |
What do you guys think of this gig? I know the Works Tour gets alot of flack, but I think this gig is one of the best on the tour! Freddie and Brian are very creative throughout the show, and Freddie --goddamn, sounds extremely powerful throughout. It's got some of Freddie's best ad-libs on the tour (like on Hammer To Fall, Dragon Attack, and the impromptu). Like most of the other gigs on the tour, the band are pretty much spot-on, play extremely tight (a plus on the works tour), and sound like they are having fun on stage. I'd rank this high on the 1984 list (among Brussels, Dublin, the first two Birminghams, and the Milan concerts). |
| Soundfreak 19.05.2011 02:34 |
I wasn't in Stuttgart then but I saw the show days before in Dortmund. And of all four Queen concerts I saw the Works tour was the most impressive. I cannot see, why this tour gets any "flack". The stage was amazing, the choice of songs had some surprises. And the huge gaps of silence between songs as happened on the Hot Space tour before were a thing of the past. So if I could go back to one of the four concerts (Jazz/Game/Hot Space/Works) I would not have to think twice. |
| Gregsynth 19.05.2011 02:41 |
Soundfreak wrote: I wasn't in Stuttgart then but I saw the show days before in Dortmund. And of all four Queen concerts I saw the Works tour was the most impressive. I cannot see, why this tour gets any "flack". The stage was amazing, the choice of songs had some surprises. And the huge gaps of silence between songs as happened on the Hot Space tour before were a thing of the past. So if I could go back to one of the four concerts (Jazz/Game/Hot Space/Works) I would not have to think twice. ============= From what I've seen on comments, the flack usually is geared towards the sound set-up on stage (mostly those AWFUL electronic drums Roger used), and Freddie's hit-and-miss vocal shape: He'd be great on some gigs (Brussels, Stuttgart), then be terrible on some gigs (London, Vienna). I've also seen comments on the "staleness" of the shows from the 1985 gigs (the Australia shows). However, I've seen alot of great comments about the set-list, and the stage set-up (like the lighting effects). |
| cmsdrums 19.05.2011 06:30 |
I think a lot of the opinions that the Works tour was not great comes from the stereo mixes they have put out of this tour - Rio, snippets of offficial Sydney, Japan 85 etc.. all have very strange mixes compared to Queen's usual live output. The drum sound is very 'un Roger' and has a very poor snare sound, the toms have no real definition or attack, and the overheads (cymbals and hi hats) just sound 'peculiar' compared to usual. The choice of electronic drums for big parts of the show (Another One Bites The Dust for example) is just madness!! Whether the recorded mixes (by Mack??) they have issued are representative of the actual sound mixed in the arenas by Trip Khalaf I simply don't know though. Coupled with this is that Brian's guitar sounds thin and very low in the mix, and as stated by other posts, Freddie's vocals were very hit-and-miss between shows. Having said all that, the set list (whilst we are all familiar with it now) was very good - a mix of very old (Liar, Seven Seas of Rhye, Great King Rat), mid period (Somebody To Love, Dragon Attack) and then the hits (plus album tracks like Tear It Up) from The Works was very good. Addiitonally, if you listen to the Rock In Rio Blues official mix from that tour which is on the Winter's Tale CD single, the sound is fantastic, and shows what CAN be done with the audio from The Works tour if they want to. I'm always surprised that they seemingly went to the effort and expense to remix just this track, solely for a single B side; my hope is that they have actually properly remixed a whole shows or shows from that time and so just picked that out to put on the single, and have something like Rio or Japan 85 (where we know professional full footage exists) ready to release at some point. |
| Doga 19.05.2011 07:21 |
I'll pray for a Rio (full night) or Japan Yoyogi release. The quality of the Japan video is superb. But i don't know the director, or the tipe of film used in. I think the only 5 concerts filmed in 35 mm was Rainbow, Montreal and Budapest. But the quality of this is incredible, someone know if it is filmed in 35 mm? |
| Soundfreak 19.05.2011 12:07 |
Quote: I think a lot of the opinions that the Works tour was not great comes from the stereo mixes they have put out of this tour - Rio, snippets of offficial Sydney, Japan 85 etc.. all have very strange mixes compared to Queen's usual live output. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Rio has nothing in common with the regular indoor shows of that tour. Performing open air leads to a different sound and also performance, they had no "in ear monitoring" or something like that in those days. The Rio video always sounded very strange, peculiar mix, weird mastering, it was lacking the "edge" of the Queen sound. Anyway, it's impossible to judge a show by a recording, whether it was a professional tv recording or an audience tape. No media can capture the vibe of the evening. And that goes in both ways. I saw concerts of other bands, where the audience really "booed" and on tv it looked like a regular happy show. And I saw concerts, that were highly exciting and the recording was a complete disappointment.... The Works tour in 84 was brilliant...you had to be there.... |
| The Real Wizard 19.05.2011 15:18 |
cmsdrums wrote: "Brian's guitar sounds thin and very low in the mix" Yeah, exactly ... that really is the deal-breaker, I'd say. But listen to the audience recording from the third night in Birmingham 84 - it is perhaps the heaviest Brian has ever sounded on stage. |
| The Real Wizard 19.05.2011 15:24 |
flu wrote: "I think the only 5 concerts filmed in 35 mm was Rainbow, Montreal and Budapest." Indeed you're right - that's it. None of the great Japanese shows were filmed in 35 mm. |
| Gregsynth 19.05.2011 15:34 |
I'm still trying to figure out what the hell happened to Freddie's voice between Stuttgart and the Vienna gigs. There's no way this gig ruined his voice (he still sounds strong at the end of the show), so I'm guessing Freddie partied hard! At Vienna , it sounds like a different singer (no joke). |
| kosimodo 19.05.2011 16:24 |
You had to be there.. Those indoor concerts were like exploding rockets! To bad they didnt film a show. |
| Gregsynth 19.05.2011 16:53 |
kosimodo wrote: You had to be there.. Those indoor concerts were like exploding rockets! To bad they didnt film a show. ================ I love the indoor concerts. There's none of that "traveling sound" stuff (unlike a stadium), and the sound quality is often better! |
| Wiley 20.05.2011 00:16 |
If Queen wants to keep on postponing a 70's live DVD, I'd settle for a full Works era show that doesn't sound like Spike's 80s Keyboard Mayhem and actually features Brian May. I don't mind Roger's e-drums that much. |
| Gregsynth 20.05.2011 00:25 |
I think Stuttgart would be an ideal choice for a Works Tour release: I absolutely love this version of Hammer To Fall (my favorite version on the whole tour). Love the guitar solo on this--and Freddie sounds SO STRONG (plus those falsetto improvs are wonderful) and he's very creative with his note choices! Rock In Rio has an edge on the atmosphere, but damn--the musical performances are tighter here! |
| 12yrslouetta 20.05.2011 15:14 |
I saw queen 3 times on the works tour and i really enjoyed them. The song choices i found more interesting than the Magic tour. I cant help feeling the "flack" is from people who didnt see them and are just speaking retrospectively,20 odd years later, which bugs me actually. |
| on my way up 21.05.2011 01:59 |
This show was one of the first unofficial recordings of Queen I got. I had been reading Bob's site a lot (the old one;-) and also the Queen forums so I knew that 1984 wasn't FM's best tour. I was amazed about how amazing he sounded... I thought: wow, if this is what he sounds like when he's weak:-) Then I got to know all the other shows and I found out it's actually one of the very best shows from the 1984 tour. I always enjoy that show very very much. It has it all imo: the atmosphere, the energy, the tight playing, the creativity,... Dragon attack jam is the best version... Hammer to fall is wonderful, intro to crazy little thing is awesome, FM sings I want to break free beautifully, the intro to STL is very nice etc. |
| Gregsynth 22.05.2011 00:23 |
9/7/1984 is also great! :D |
| phillyfan 27.05.2011 17:18 |
the works tour to me represents Queen trying to conform for the first time by sounding techno-80's .Great setlist but Freddie is off alot(esp Rio-awful) and to be honest i thought as a fan they were becoming like the Who.Then Live aid and the Magic tour where they sounded edgy and Queen-like again. |
| Gregsynth 28.05.2011 04:49 |
phillyfan wrote: the works tour to me represents Queen trying to conform for the first time by sounding techno-80's .Great setlist but Freddie is off alot(esp Rio-awful) and to be honest i thought as a fan they were becoming like the Who.Then Live aid and the Magic tour where they sounded edgy and Queen-like again. ================== Well, Freddie had his share of bad gigs, but the 1st Rio has him in good voice! The 2nd concert has him not in the best vocal shape! |
| The Real Wizard 28.05.2011 12:56 |
phillyfan wrote: the works tour to me represents Queen trying to conform for the first time by sounding techno-80's =================== Roger was using the electronic drums in '82.. check out Back Chat at Milton Keynes. |
| Gregsynth 28.05.2011 13:52 |
Sir GH wrote: phillyfan wrote: the works tour to me represents Queen trying to conform for the first time by sounding techno-80's =================== Roger was using the electronic drums in '82.. check out Back Chat at Milton Keynes. ================== But at least Another Bites The Dust was done on REAL drums! |
| phillyfan 28.05.2011 20:08 |
Good call Bob sure enough.But not as prominent as the 84 and 85 shows.Also i missed the curly headed guy during the works tours.Must have contracted the illness that made him awol during SHA recordings. |
| Rick 29.05.2011 06:08 |
Gregsynth wrote: Sir GH wrote: phillyfan wrote: the works tour to me represents Queen trying to conform for the first time by sounding techno-80's =================== Roger was using the electronic drums in '82.. check out Back Chat at Milton Keynes. ================== But at least Another Bites The Dust was done on REAL drums! ============ Not to mention that the ones used during the Hot Space tour sounded much better compared to the Works tour. |