Recently started listening to this song again. It's a nice song with a great melody and some excellent bass by John, but I think it would have been much more powerful and sounded more heartfelt if Freddie had sung it. Its an unusual decision I think in having Brian sing it, his voice sounds strained in parts. Just want to hear peoples opinions on the decision to have Brian sing the majority of the song and have Freddie only sing the middle 8.
liam wrote: Recently started listening to this song again. It's a nice song with a great melody and some excellent bass by John, but I think it would have been much more powerful and sounded more heartfelt if Freddie had sung it. Its an unusual decision I think in having Brian sing it, his voice sounds strained in parts. Just want to hear peoples opinions on the decision to have Brian sing the majority of the song and have Freddie only sing the middle 8.
My opinion is that the song was very personal to Brian, hence his choice to do the lead vocal.
Of course it would've been more 'powerful' had Freddie had sung it, but Brian's softer delivery is the song's main charm.
What's funny is I never realised Fred sung the middle eight until much later when I read it online somewhere! Quite the nice surprise.
SASS is in my top 10 Queen list, and I don't think it would be if it were a Fred vocal. Agree that Brian's voice and delivery are key to the song's appeal. It's like Too Much Love Will Kill You. Sure, Freddie makes it more 'powerful', but the only thing that makes it believable (not that there's much that's particularly believable about that rather whiny and maudlin song in the first place mind) is the trade of Freddie's superior technical abilities on the track for Brian's greater connection and emotional investment.
Apologies for slight deviation, but Brian is perfect singing lead on the magnificent '39' - and well complimented with Freddie and Roger on backing vocals..
. Master marathon runner
You know, i've always loved the bass line to the song,...and the story is about "the sister he never had"
which is kinda odd or creative writing at its best. Being a young man and losing your playmate due to the changes she undergoes (assuming this is puberty or marriage etc).
Maybe he took the notion from someone else, or a book... who knows...
matt z wrote: You know, i've always loved the bass line to the song,...and the story is about "the sister he never had"
which is kinda odd or creative writing at its best. Being a young man and losing your playmate due to the changes she undergoes (assuming this is puberty or marriage etc).
Maybe he took the notion from someone else, or a book... who knows.
anyways, Guns N (EFFING) ROses... took to covering it often, ..playing it before November Rain.
too bad that band doesn't exist anymore.
SASS is one of those tracks of Queen's that I can play over and over again and never get bored of. Usually, when I listen and feel emotionally connected to a song, I tend to imagine visuals that would describe it in my head, and that always happens when I listen to SASS.
Brian's usually a better choice for backup vocals than for leads IMO, but in certain cases his voice actually fits the song like a glove, and in such cases Freddie's voice in the same track would be amazing, but something would be a little amiss there. In this one at least for me, Brian's slow soft, slightly mournful vocals got the point across perfectly: of this boy who is torn between his love for this girl-woman and his realisation that she's grown-up and therefore moving further and further away from him. Having Freddie there for the middle-8 rather than the whole song actually worked for me here.
I would have loved to hear a freddie version of this song, but Brian's voice fits the song nicely...no real complaints on my part.....I have a bigger issue with Prime jive....I love Freddie's Intro, and love the song musically, especially the guitar work, but i can't get by roger's voice for the main song....Freddie should have sang the whole song, with roger Providing backing vocals........ Roger's voice ruins rhe whole song for me......
I LOVE SASS. :D It's one of only two songs (the other being Save Me) that make the second side of The Game worth listening to IMO and is one of my favourite 'quiet' songs (songs that don't have hit written all over them.) Like others have said, the fact that Brian sang lead is a major reason why it's so great.
I think that Brian is a fantastic singer, and while I wasn't always a fan of his voice, I now adore it. :D
mike hunt wrote:
I would have loved to hear a freddie version of this song, but Brian's voice fits the song nicely...no real complaints on my part.....I have a bigger issue with Prime jive....I love Freddie's Intro, and love the song musically, especially the guitar work, but i can't get by roger's voice for the main song....Freddie should have sang the whole song, with roger Providing backing vocals........ Roger's voice ruins rhe whole song for me......
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Luckily there are plenty of live recordings from 80-82 where Freddie sang the whole thing.
These are the best ones.. link link
Sir GH wrote: mike hunt wrote:
I would have loved to hear a freddie version of this song, but Brian's voice fits the song nicely...no real complaints on my part.....I have a bigger issue with Prime jive....I love Freddie's Intro, and love the song musically, especially the guitar work, but i can't get by roger's voice for the main song....Freddie should have sang the whole song, with roger Providing backing vocals........ Roger's voice ruins rhe whole song for me......
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Luckily there are plenty of live recordings from 80-82 where Freddie sang the whole thing.
These are the best ones.. link link
Thanks sir!....sounded much better....