Hello all, following the debate on Save Me, which I thought enlightening I thought I might ask the same question re CLTCL ?
I'm old enough to recall first seeing the Kampuchea clips on TV in 1980, and was blown away by how different CLTCL was live and I still think this version great. I know for some reason Greg Brooks thinks the definitive version was Tokyo 5/11/1982.
Knowing there are so many keen ears out there, what is the best version in terms performance & clarity?
As far as a good jam at the end goes I'd probably say 1986-06-11. Specially since it seems that Freddie wants to end it a bit early and then decides they should keep going for another minute and half.
Otherwise I would probably agree that the later ones during the Hot Space tour were great. The real issue with the song was that it was quite meh before they decided to have a two minute improv after the last chorus.
I agree. the HS shows in Japan were great reditions of Crazy. Its the only video on Rare Live thats really worth watching. The early versions from 79-81 are good. but not long enough. The SNL gig is brief for obvious reasons, but is a great jam. They kick into an extra gear & are clearly have fun. Its one of my favorites.
The versions from the Crazy Tour are great for Freddie's vocal performance (he'll embellish A4s and Bb4s randomly), but if you truly want the all-time best versions of the song (overall), look no further than the Hot Space Tour versions (especially the versions with Fred Mandel on piano). Those versions have awesome improv sections and I don't get tired of hearing them!
Live Aid's version is also great, and the Magic Tour versions are also worth a listen!
I like the extended ending on the Magic Tour ones where they go up and extra octave on the chords. Wembley was always my favourite, but the mix is messy and I prefer the earlier ones where Freddie is playing a proper acoustic rather than the telecaster. Conversely, what Brian was thinking on the Adam Lambert shows when he played the intro with distortion as a 'rock' riff, I just don't know.
