QueenZone discussion #1289080
Freddie's Best Album Vocally?
| malicedoom 14.10.2011 11:51 |
So on what (Queen) album do you think Freddie sounded his best overall? For me, it'd have to be Jazz. I'm not saying it's my favorite Queen album... but - to me - Freddie's voice sounds simply amazing on every song he sings. Vocals on tracks like Don't Stop Me Now (where Freddie basically IS the instrument that concludes the song), In Only Seven Days, Jealousy, Dreamer's Ball... well you get the idea. Just incredible. I don't think he ever sounded better than he did on that album. Thoughts? |
| The Real Wizard 14.10.2011 12:05 |
Agreed. He sounded amazing on tracks like Coming Soon and Staying Power as well. I'd say his vocal peak in the studio was 78-82. Live - 80-82. |
| Dan C. 14.10.2011 12:40 |
Though I prefer other records to it, on "News of the World," Freddie's vocals had a perfect balance of sweet and scathing that should've been impossible even for him. |
| Gregsynth 14.10.2011 12:45 |
Hot Space, Mr. Bad Guy, A Kind Of Magic, Barcelona, and Innuendo were his best vocal albums on a technical basis. Barcelona in particular was Freddie's first album where he learned how to effectively use his head voice (Montserrat Caballe most likely helped Freddie out). Innuendo has some of Freddie's best high range and head voice singing of his career (Don't Try So Hard, Innuendo, The Hitman, The Show Must Go On, etc). |
| ole-the-first 14.10.2011 12:46 |
Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack. Just listen to Nevermore and Lily of the Valley. |
| Hangman_96 14.10.2011 13:00 |
For me it is A Kind Of Magic. Freddie sounds amazing on there, especially on Who Wants To Live Forever. When I listen to this song, it seems to me like it is an angel singing. |
| rocknrolllover 14.10.2011 13:24 |
All songs which Freddie sung awesome and no matter is he author of songs or is not. His voice the best |
| Hangman_96 14.10.2011 13:26 |
rocknrolllover wrote: All songs which Freddie sung awesome and no matter is he author of songs or is not. His voice the best Completely agreed ! |
| rocknrolllover 14.10.2011 13:30 |
Lostman wrote:rocknrolllover wrote: All songs which Freddie sung awesome and no matter is he author of songs or is not. His voice the bestCompletely agreed ! For me personally(I don't care if somebody thinks otherwise) Freddie Mercury is the best very very best Singer, Composer.showman |
| Hangman_96 14.10.2011 13:39 |
rocknrolllover wrote:Lostman wrote:For me personally(I don't care if somebody thinks otherwise) Freddie Mercury is the best very very best Singer, Composer.showmanrocknrolllover wrote: All songs which Freddie sung awesome and no matter is he author of songs or is not. His voice the bestCompletely agreed ! For me he is too. He inspires me and he's the best man ever in the whole world for me. |
| rocknrolllover 14.10.2011 13:40 |
Lostman wrote:rocknrolllover wrote:For me he is too. He inspires me and he's the best man ever in the whole world for me.Lostman wrote:For me personally(I don't care if somebody thinks otherwise) Freddie Mercury is the best very very best Singer, Composer.showmanrocknrolllover wrote: All songs which Freddie sung awesome and no matter is he author of songs or is not. His voice the bestCompletely agreed ! Brother I completely agreed with you |
| jamster1111 14.10.2011 13:40 |
Best vocal albums i think are A Night at the Opera, Races, News, Jazz, Game, and Hot Space. Specifically I would say I think he sounded the best on A Night at the Opera and Races. I think his tone was the best there. A lot of singers could hit high notes powerfully but I think it was Freddie's timbre that made his voice so beautiful and not the high notes. - The high notes are just a plus! His worst vocal albums I think are Works, Magic, Miracle, and Innuendo. I'm not a fan of his thinned out voice on Innuendo - but that is something i am DEFINITELY not going to complain about as it wasn't in his power. Also I don't like his voice on Mr. Bad Guy. Cigarettes NEVER did well for his voice. He sang well on the first few albums but to me, his voice wasn't quite developed then and sounded somewhat unstable at times. But on an overall basis, he ALWAYS sounded great.. except for on a few live concerts ;) However, best live vocal period is late 1979-mid 1982. |
| Gregsynth 14.10.2011 13:52 |
Cigarettes barely affected his timbre (it was more of his style to sing deeper/more macho, plus you lose power when smoking affects your voice). I have the feeling that when a certain part of Freddie's voice was at its peak/top form, he would tend to "show off" that specific part of his voice. Like in the mid 80s, his chest voice and vocal power were at its peak--so he would belt high notes (as high as D5/Eb5) and use his chest voice (mostly), to reach them. On stuff like Barcelona/Innuendo--his head voice got really strong and he preferred that lighter approach (though to be fair--his illness did have some factor on his Miracle era voice-onwards). |
| Russian Headlong 14.10.2011 14:24 |
The Works, Queen 2 and NOTW |
| mike hunt 14.10.2011 15:04 |
The first 3 albums Queen as a band were on top of their game, but freddie' voice was still Developing, he was still in the top 5 rock singer's at the time though...maybe top 3...IMO, It was ANATO that put him on that next level....his voice really filled out on that album..Queen at their best was the first 5 or 6, but freddie as a singer his best was ANATO,, NOTW,JAZZ, Hot Space, Mr. Bad guy, Barcelona.......ADATR, AKOM, Innuendo were other solid albums for him as well...... |
| MadTheSwine73 14.10.2011 21:04 |
For any album, I'd have to say Barcelona. But for just Queen, It'd probably be The Debut Album or Jazz. |
| shanoon 15.10.2011 02:23 |
to me, news of the world and miracle have the best vocals.. but can't complain on any vocals on any albums. brilliant all the way |
| pietrek 15.10.2011 02:47 |
Innuendo, no doubt |
| liam 15.10.2011 03:22 |
ANATO and ADATR for me, his voice is pretty much the same in both and he still used that soft falsetto that he stopped using these two albums. NOTW would be my next favourite. |
| hauntofroulettedares 14.01.2012 01:29 |
A Night At The Opera...because of all the crazy multitracking and harmonies on tracks like Seaside Rendezvous. Not to mention he did all of the "woodwind instrumentation" using only his voice! Also, the vocal improvisation in The Prophets Song was pretty fucking epic. |
| ActionFletch 14.01.2012 02:16 |
Glad some people have mentioned the Barcelona album. I'm not sure about the technicalities of singing quality - but this period of recording seems to be the 'warmest' where I really get a sense of the rich character in FMs voice without the need for multi layers etc. So my vote goes to Barcelona and AKOM - fantastic recordings! |
| Gregsynth 14.01.2012 03:05 |
ActionFletch wrote: Glad some people have mentioned the Barcelona album. I'm not sure about the technicalities of singing quality - but this period of recording seems to be the 'warmest' where I really get a sense of the rich character in FMs voice without the need for multi layers etc. So my vote goes to Barcelona and AKOM - fantastic recordings!============= His voice was just stunning on that album! "Barcelona" and "How Can I Go On" are some of his best vocal performances! |
| Gregsynth 14.01.2012 03:23 |
Has anyone ever noticed how GREAT Freddie's vibrato got over the years? Just compare his voice on the mid 70s albums, then go to The Game or Hot Space, it's like his vibrato had more "depth" in it! I swear to God, he trained his voice in SOME way after the Jazz Tour--there's no way his voice got that much stronger/better live (and studio) between the Jazz/Crazy Tour with just rest. He had to have either self-taught himself some techniques, or he may have worked with someone on his voice? You can hear on the available recordings of the Crazy Tour, that Freddie has developed this awesome vibrato! You can really hear it on the excellent quality shows from 1980-1982 (Oakland, Wembley, Rosemont, Montreal, Milton Keynes, Edinburgh, etc)! I also think in-between the Osaka and Live Aid timeframe, he may have touched his voice up in some way. His voice was in excellent form at Live Aid, and his breath support was excellent on Live Aid: When he does that awesome vocal improv, he holds that A4 for like 7 seconds (and doesn't waver off the note, OR lose power/breath). On that Montreux 1986 improv, he holds a very powerful, well-supported Bb4 for several seconds as well! I think he may have trained his voice a bit in-between Osaka 1985 and Live Aid. On the Magic Tour, even on the weaker shows for his voice, his breath support was great, and was able to sustain decent notes for a good few seconds! |
| k-m 15.01.2012 06:35 |
I'm always impressed by his singing on The Miracle album, there's just some easiness and versatility to it. But I agree with some others saying that he sounded amazing overall, although there are some songs on which the delivery was exceptional (You Take My Breath Away, The Show Must Go On, Don't Try So Hard, Barcelona, Nevermore, It's a Hard Life - just to name a few). Good singer :) |
| Holly2003 15.01.2012 11:11 |
A Day at the Races. The recent Somebody to Love vocal isolation was magnificent and it reminds me how good he was on that album. If he has ever sounded better than on You Take My Breath Away I haven't heard it. And the touch of class he brings to the heavier songs really distinguishes Queen from their contemporaries. |
| Biggzy10 17.01.2012 16:57 |
I always thought Freddie sounded like a beast in the A Kind of Magic album. He sounds so strong vocally. Innuendo is also good, especially considering the pain Freddie was in during that period. |
| Gregsynth 17.01.2012 18:11 |
Biggzy10 wrote: I always thought Freddie sounded like a beast in the A Kind of Magic album. He sounds so strong vocally. Innuendo is also good, especially considering the pain Freddie was in during that period.Thousand times agree! |
| Biggzy10 17.01.2012 19:57 |
Princes of the Universe, One Vision, and Gimmie the Prize are the songs that come to mind. I don't know the exact notes but Im pretty sure he hit some really high ones in All Gods People. |
| Gregsynth 17.01.2012 20:18 |
Biggzy10 wrote: Princes of the Universe, One Vision, and Gimmie the Prize are the songs that come to mind. I don't know the exact notes but Im pretty sure he hit some really high ones in All Gods People.He topped off at F5! |
| Holly2003 18.01.2012 05:24 |
I'm pretty sure my cat can hit that note, but that doesn't make him a good singer ... |