Out of interest, what's everyone's preferred rendition of Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll? Not their most popular song, even among the 'hardcore' fan base, but I really like it.
To clarify, I mean the slightly different arrangements. The three 'studio' recordings we have, if you call the BBC versions studio recordings, are:
- Queen, 1973. Instruments drop out before first chorus, a capella 'Yeah, listen little baby, let me tell you what it's all about'. Abrupt a capella ending, with a lower pitched 'look out'. Plastic-y drum sound.
- BBC Session 3, 1973. More or less the same as above, except for spoken line 'It's not that I'm bright, just happy go lucky' before the first chorus. Shouted 'look out' at the end, before big instrumental finish.
- BBC Session 4, 1974. Slower tempo. Drum fill before the first chorus. Weird slide whistle(?) effects in places. Drawn out coda with Freddie and Roger's alternating 'rock and rolls' & 'move it to the left, move it to the right', brings up the running time by a good 40 seconds. Big instrumental finish, similar to above.
And I'll throw in the live arrangement, since that is fairly distinct as well. Virtually the same as the version that appears on Session 4, except with Freddie on lead vocals, and the melody line dropped down to better suit his voice.
Session 4 is my personal favourite - the drum fill that connects the verse and chorus makes it flow together nicely for me, whereas the instruments dropping out and having a comical vocal part in there kind of breaks it up (although I do like the joviality). And Freddie & Roger exchanging 'rock and roll' at the end is awesome. Thoughts?
Hi there,
BBC Session 4, 1974 and most live versions (Rainbow March 1974, Japan May 1 1975). The vocal interchange between Fred and Roger has so much energy and finds an echo in I Go Crazy. A live favourite for me, Roger just seems to go ape-shit every time!
Cheers
