| The Real Wizard 14.10.2014 12:10 |
In light of comments about how Brian's voice isn't what it used to be... Well, here's what it used to be: And it wasn't overdubbed. They say a man's voice peaks around age 47. He was 45 here. At age 47 he recorded What Are We Made Of with Sissel. Bang on, whoever came to that conclusion. This is how good he and the band were. I'd actually forgotten. Blisteringly good. And the confetti hammers are perfect. |
| musicland munich 14.10.2014 12:19 |
Yeah, I've seen the show in Düsseldorf back then. Brian was in good shape. He missed a few of his vocals ( timing wise) but the background singers coverd it well. The dutch support group played a version of "Dear Friends" and get "booooooh"...too obviousliy their were fishing for compliments :) Hell I've seen Cozy playing live !!! |
| Oscar J 14.10.2014 13:06 |
link They had this brilliant guitarist too, Jamie something, that just was a much better live solo guitarist than Brian. I think they got rid of him though? |
| The Real Wizard 14.10.2014 13:58 |
Jamie Moses. Better than Brian? What are you basing that on? As far as I've seen he's the perfect side man with no ego at all. Unlike Mike Caswell, who was probably fired after those first five gigs in '92 where he did his Satriani clone thing and tried to upstage Brian. |
| Mr. Bed Guy 14.10.2014 14:12 |
To musicland: I was there, at Düsseldorf, too!!!!!!!!! Support was Robby Valentine, and he was really great!!!!!!! Like him since then!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Can't remember they were booooh'ed. I remember they got a lot of positive reactions! |
| scottmax 14.10.2014 14:16 |
Seeing Brian at Whitley Bay Ice Rink on that tour as a 15yr old, was fucking mind blowing. My first Queen related show. Also remember the support band coming on and saying hello Scotland.....!! |
| Oscar J 14.10.2014 15:41 |
The Real Wizard wrote: Jamie Moses. Better than Brian? What are you basing that on? As far as I've seen he's the perfect side man with no ego at all. Unlike Mike Caswell, who was probably fired after those first five gigs in '92 where he did his Satriani clone thing and tried to upstage Brian. That must have been the guy I was thinking about. Sorry, not that into Brian's solo stuff. I stand by my comment. Brian was superb live in the early-mid 70's - then things started to go downhill, and I really don't consider him being a particularly great live guitarist in the 80's and 90's. It's all majors and pentatonic minors and over the top treble booster hyper-vibrato-squealing on top of that. Have a look at Brian's face while Jamie does his solo here: link |
| Ale Solan 14.10.2014 16:01 |
I just love Brian's solo era 1992-1993 |
| MercurialFreddie 14.10.2014 16:34 |
Thank you Sir GH for reminding us how well he sang. His voice was indeed blisteringly good back than. He was daring at those shows but his voice is kinda thin... you don't hear that much power which is always present in Freddie's rendition of Hammer to Fall. During parts of Q+AL shows there were gigs when Brian was really trying to endure high note (e.g. LOML) and you could hear that he was grasping for it, that he is going to crack...... but fortunately he pulled off a nice performance. Anyway, comparing Q+AL era and the Brixton show... man he was vocally rocking it back in the day ! |
| The Real Wizard 14.10.2014 16:47 |
Oscar J wrote: Have a look at Brian's face while Jamie does his solo here: linkWell, he chose to have Jamie on board for the next 15 years, so he couldn't have been that pissed off ! There are plenty of other guitarists he could have hired. And he could have chosen not to show a full stage view of Jamie running to stage right while doing his solo. Brian surely makes all these final decisions with edits. I see your point, but something tells me you're looking a bit too deeply into it :-) |
| Holly2003 14.10.2014 17:14 |
I saw him at the Royal Albert Hall in 1998 and his voice was still strong then. At least it sounded strong in the hall. I;ve never heard a bootleg of it. That show was filmed and advertised for release but obviously never was. I wonder then if it wasn't as good as I remember it. Or maybe they just decided to pull it for commercial reasons. Ugh my brain is so dull at this time of night.* I;m off to bed. *shut up. |
| tomchristie22 14.10.2014 17:35 |
I think Brian's voice might've been at its most mature in the later 90s - he sounds even more confident on Another World than Back to the Light, and he sounds amazing on No One But You. |
| musicland munich 14.10.2014 17:53 |
Mr. Bed Guy wrote: To musicland: I was there, at Düsseldorf, too!!!!!!!!! Support was Robby Valentine, and he was really great!!!!!!! Like him since then!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Can't remember they were booooh'ed. I remember they got a lot of positive reactions!Yes for his own stuff he get a warm ovation but as he startet to sing "Dear Friends" he get "booooohed"...only for that song of course. |
| Fart Sandwiches 14.10.2014 18:43 |
I've read it elsewhere, probably here, but if Cozy Powell hadn't died, I imagine Brian would still be actively working on his solo career. Brian always glowed about Cozy's drumming, and was certainly more than "just a drummer" to Brian – he was definitely more like a silent collaborator, and Brian always seemed to get off on Cozy's drumming in ways that he didn't seem to with Roger. (Not putting Roger down, just that Brian always loved to rock out, and Cozy was especially good at that.) |
| people on streets 14.10.2014 20:29 |
Saw Brian in 1998. His voice still sounded very acceptable. |
| FlorianS 15.10.2014 00:54 |
My very first concert ever was Brian May Band live in Hamburg 1993, I was 15 at the time. Still I have so stong and emotionally memories about that night...this is one of the most fantastic concerts I ever attended. The crowd was absolutly wild! I am also a fan of Robby Valentine since then. Shame that all his CDs are only released in Japan |
| guil1980 15.10.2014 01:11 |
I think that he is not pissed at all, and I also believe that it is planned. This is a time where Brian lets Jamie have is moment. Why do I believe that ? Because, when I saw them in Paris with Paul Rodgers, during Crazy little thing called love, the solo is not done by Brian but by Jamie. And Jamie did not stole the solo. Brian literally pushed him in the back, with a big smile, to put him in front of the stage so that he has his moment. That was quite cute actually, seeing Brian push Jamie and Jamie, kind of shy, doing the solo. |
| The Real Wizard 15.10.2014 02:07 |
^ bingo. Bri usually gives Jamie a solo spot somewhere in the show. Not sure if he did in 2005-06, but otherwise he did. |
| cmsdrums 15.10.2014 02:44 |
Absolutely agree with the comments about Brian and Jamie; if there is one guitarist who credits others and has no real ego (despite his stature in his profession), it's Brian. He has said on countless occasions how good Jamie is and how he enjoys playing with him, and that as Jamie is a 'real player' because he is always working, it inspires him to play more. As said above, Brian gave Jamie the 'Crazy Little Thing...' solo in 2008 (which gutted me cos that's one of my favourite 'Brian moments live!), and Jamie respects that he is there to do a job as second guitarist and sticks to that role with no ego or desire to 'break out' from that. Mike Caswell on the other hand did take it upon himself to try to showcase himself when he was hired, and that simply wasn't what he was there to do. Absolutely bizarre that someone who is a professional musician simply can't hold himself back to do what he's being paid to do (the clue was in the title ' The Brian May Band'..!!!!) In addition to 'Fart Sandwiches'' comments about Brian and Cozy - I have commented here before that my feeling is that Brian may not have migrated back to Queen as fully as he has if Cozy hadn't died - he was a 'collaborator' with Brian and not just a drummer, and the pair of them really did enjoy working together. Whilst Brian did also enjoy playing with Roger, on a personal front they often had their clashes, and I think they may have only done the odd guest slot alongside Brian's solo stuff if Cozy were still here. |
| mooghead 15.10.2014 04:02 |
scottmax wrote: Seeing Brian at Whitley Bay Ice Rink on that tour as a 15yr old, was fucking mind blowing. My first Queen related show. Also remember the support band coming on and saying hello Scotland.....!!Snap... Whitley Bay Ice Rink was my first (and only) Queen related gig too. I just stood there open mouthed for the whole show. I remember a roadie walked onto the stage at the start carrying Brian's guitar and that alone got a huge cheer. It was cool seeing Cozy play but I always thought the first thing he played on Tie Your Mother Down always sounded wrong. It should be bass/snare/bass like Roger and not the mini roll he did. |
| Vocal harmony 15.10.2014 07:33 |
Oscar J wrote: I stand by my comment. Brian was superb live in the early-mid 70's - then things started to go downhill, and I really don't consider him being a particularly great live guitarist in the 80's and 90's. It's all majors and pentatonic minors and over the top treble booster hyper-vibrato-squealing on top of that. linkThat would be the same treble booster set up he's used since the early 70's. In fact what you've described can be heard through a lot of the Live Killers album, and beyond. |
| tomchristie22 15.10.2014 07:58 |
Oscar is right though, in that Brian's improvised guitar work on stage was so much tighter in 1973 and 74, regardless of treble booster. The Son and Daughter solo was just blistering. The one he played in the middle of White Man/Prophet's Song and then Get Down Make Love was interesting and not overly long or indulgent, too, but it was so psychedelic and derivative of Whole Lotta Love that it really isn't that memorable as a setpiece of Brian's. By 1986 it was forgettable. |
| JeroenG 15.10.2014 08:03 |
FlorianS wrote: I am also a fan of Robby Valentine since then. Shame that all his CDs are only released in JapanHis last CD's can be bought at his website. In two weeks his new album will be released, and last month he released a Queen Tribute album, which he recorded on demand because he played at the Queen Convention last month. |
| FlorianS 15.10.2014 08:40 |
Thanks for the Valentine Info! |
| Oscar J 15.10.2014 09:02 |
I didn't say he didn't use a treble booster earlier on, I'm saying he didn't rely on squealing treble booster sustains because he couldn't think of anything else to play. |
| The Real Wizard 15.10.2014 10:20 |
If anything, I'd say his improv was all pentatonics early on (definitely in 1974), which he soon grew out of. I'd say Brian peaked as a live player from 1976-81. |
| The Real Wizard 15.10.2014 10:21 |
cmsdrums wrote: Whilst Brian did also enjoy playing with Roger, on a personal front they often had their clashes, and I think they may have only done the odd guest slot alongside Brian's solo stuff if Cozy were still here.Exactly. We really do have to wonder if all of these Queen+ collaborations would have happened had Cozy not passed and Brian wanted something to do.. But - like a lot of things in life, for one reason or another, things do come full circle... |
| musicland munich 15.10.2014 12:11 |
JeroenG wrote:Ok, maybe I will give that guy a second chance...I will look out for his music on the weekend. See if there is something that I didn't noticed around 21 years ago.FlorianS wrote: I am also a fan of Robby Valentine since then. Shame that all his CDs are only released in JapanHis last CD's can be bought at his website. In two weeks his new album will be released, and last month he released a Queen Tribute album, which he recorded on demand because he played at the Queen Convention last month. |
| master marathon runner 15.10.2014 12:27 |
Yep, I was at Whitley Bay in '93, took my 8 year old son to his first concert , poor bairn, it proved a little too much, he fell asleep!!! Yes, I remember the cheer when the red special was carried on.....and the support band who ,Brian brought back from Brazil, and asked us to be generous to them. Sadly the crowd wasn't, they weren't very good I'm afraid. |
| mooghead 15.10.2014 12:31 |
I have absolutely no recollection of the support act at all. |
| Oscar J 15.10.2014 12:48 |
Well he always used a natural minor in White Queen, and generally liked using the major second and sixth from the dorian mode in his minor pentatonic (in Great King Rat and Liar for example). But let's face it: Brian never really knew that many scales. The ones he knew though, he knew well, and especially in the early year's I'd argue. Sure, he was still quite good by the late 70's, but from then on, thing were starting to get more predictable. In my opinion that is. |
| The Real Wizard 15.10.2014 13:23 |
Sure, there are tens of thousands of guys who can play circles around him, then and now... But - when you focus so much on your chops and theory, something else switches off... like the ability to write songs that people will be humming a century from now. I bet he hasn't practiced his scales in decades. He just does what he does, and one in 10,000 people will notice that he isn't playing with as much fire as he had in 1976. Everyone else is happy that he wrote songs that help them recapture their youth in some way. I really focused on my chops until my early 20s, and then I realized, from the standpoint of connecting with people (which is ultimately the job of a musician if he wants to eat and sleep indoors - and possibly get chicks), it was essentially pointless. After years of listening to intense prog and jazz fusion, I put on Yellow Submarine one day and it all made sense. Theory purists may call guys like me a hack, but if they're willing to sink that low they probably haven't ever written a song that more than ten people like. |
| Oscar J 15.10.2014 13:40 |
The thing Brian will be remembered for is that uncanny ability to write clever, memorable melodies. |
| The Real Wizard 15.10.2014 13:55 |
Yup. I just wish he were more known as an innovator. Things like the dixieland jazz band in Good Company are of utmost brilliance. All that said - I'd say his chops in 1993 were excellent. Ever seen the video of the Barcelona show? He's incendiary that night. Starting around The Miracle period he definitely got a second wind. |
| Mr.QueenFan 15.10.2014 17:38 |
The Real Wizard wrote: Yup. I just wish he were more known as an innovator. Things like the dixieland jazz band in Good Company are of utmost brilliance. All that said - I'd say his chops in 1993 were excellent. Ever seen the video of the Barcelona show? He's incendiary that night. Starting around The Miracle period he definitely got a second wind.And in the more recent Queen+Adam Lambert tour he was as good as ever for me. Considering that i don't rate guitar players acording to speed, it gave me great joy to see Brian interpret the "Killer Queen" solo so beautifully! Many people will never understand what a bend is unless they play the guitar, so they will never share a fucking tear when Dr. May is bending pitch perfect on that beautifull solo at 67 years old, finishing it with one of the most beautiful vibratos rock has ever produced. And for the first time in his career - that i'm aware of - he incorporated the harmony in his solo. link At 67 yo, and still wanting to push the envelop a little further. Fantastic! And probably 99% of the people attending this show don't even notice or care. But i do, and that's why i respect this gentleman even more. In a way, i'm happy that he is more intuitive oriented than theory oriented. It worked well for him. For me personaly, i have to say that one of the most astonishing solos in rock or song has to be "We Will Rock You". People take it for granted now, but i can assure you that any other guitarplayer would have ruin it. Period! Think about it, if someone gave you WWRY with only the foot and clap, what would you do to it? Who else would have thought of soloing at the end of the song around a chord - the A major chord? Nobody, and i'm so glad that Brian did it the right way. And his phrasing and tone on this track is just perfect. You can put 1000 guitar players trying to emulate his phrasing on the live version and i can assure you they can't. It's so organic, and so Brian May, that it has become a part of his playing, like a breathing pattern. I love this man! |
| The Real Wizard 15.10.2014 21:27 |
Mr.QueenFan wrote: it gave me great joy to see Brian interpret the "Killer Queen" solo so beautifully! Many people will never understand what a bend is unless they play the guitar, so they will never share a fucking tear when Dr. May is bending pitch perfect on that beautifull solo at 67 years old, finishing it with one of the most beautiful vibratos rock has ever produced. And for the first time in his career - that i'm aware of - he incorporated the harmony in his solo. linkHoly crap, that was wonderful !!!!! Glad you noticed that. Indeed, I don't think he ever even tried to replicate the record in the Queen years in that spot. Great point about WWRY. Most other guitarists wouldn't have had a clue of how to play *for the song* ... they play for themselves, and wouldn't have served the song with the modulation and resulting sheer minimalist perfection. |
| waunakonor 16.10.2014 00:35 |
Fookin' love that "MAMA!" scream he lets out between Love Token and Headlong. |
| FlorianS 20.10.2014 07:15 |
I still remember having goosebumbs when he did the Bo Rhap Segmet during Resurrection. I think I will watch my old Brixton Video Tape tonight... |
| ili 20.10.2014 14:52 |
I disagree with opinions that Brian would have continued his solo stuff and not go back to Queen had Cozy not passed away. First of all there are 7 years between Another World and first Q+PR tour. are you telling that it took 7 years for Brian to decide not to follow solo career anymore and instead tour as Queen just because Cozy was dead? hell no. we all know that Queen is way better than solo works of its members and Brian is aware of that as well. we also now that he likes to be Queen, tour as Queen as he spent most of his adult life for Queen's success. I can feel that for all 4 members, Queeen was more important then their solo careers and they could always shelve any solo ideas when Queen was the main subject. Brian told a few times that he avoided being Queen for many years after Freddie died. Then in 2004.... well, you know the rest of the story... |
| Vocal harmony 21.10.2014 08:04 |
ili wrote: I disagree with opinions that Brian would have continued his solo stuff and not go back to Queen had Cozy not passed away. First of all there are 7 years between Another World and first Q+PR tour. are you telling that it took 7 years for Brian to decide not to follow solo career anymore and instead tour as Queen just because Cozy was dead? ...Well in the time between Another World and Queen+PR he didn't record another solo album so I'd say yeah Cozy's death had a lot to do with it. |