Anyone else noticed that their tempo is totally erratic?
It starts off at about 90 beats per minute, and it's about 85 when the drums come in. The song finishes around 82.
The joys of not playing with a click, and it just doesn't matter because it still sounds perfect anyway.
Hm, I'm getting about 84-85 bpm in the end as well. But you're definitely right that the guitar intro is significantly faster - my guess would be that it was recorded separately from the rest of the song and that Roger for one reason or another didn't have the exact tempo in his head when starting to play.
Quite often, in this league of great musicians, minor tempo shifts are either made intentionally or subconsciously to make the music feel right, with the right energy. Stone Cold Crazy increases by 7-8 bpm from about 240 to almost 250 in the end, and I have a feeling it might have felt as if it was dragging if the bpm didn't go up slightly, as the listener gets used to the frantic-ness.
Slightly off topic: one bit I've come to love with Tenement Funster are the flams Roger does after the guitar solo. So simple, so cool.
We had fightings about that matter in my last Band. I am a supporter of those things. Our drummer was a total opponent.
So my input was denied on Albums but I had my revenge during Live Gigs :)
The stickler was outrageous afterwards....
Anyway, if it sounds natural and unforced it's total okay with me.
I can recall a Ringo quote - when asked what his one bit of advice to young drummers would be, he said something to the effect of 'speed up during the solo'. Obviously applies best to 12 bar rock & roll style instrumental breaks, but it reaffirms that intentionally fluctuating the tempo is an effective device if done right.
@ Oscar J
I like the flams as well, but I like the whole drumsound on that album actually, Tenement Funster is one of my favs off that album.
And about the speeding up thingy, I don't mind it with Tenement Funster (although I always have the feeling that the beginning of the chorus is 'dragging'), but I do find it a bit annoying near the end of Now I'm Here, it speeds up a lot in just a few seconds.
I often play with a clicktrack with the band, some like to play without, it's just what a drummer prefers I guess.
I don't have any purple shoes but its one of my favourite Queen songs.
I hadn't noticed the tempo changes, well spotted Mr Wizard. Just wish RT had chosen to play this song at some point in the recent tours instead of IILWMC ;)
