This ones a bit tricky to put into words to reflect what I'm trying to say so bare with.
Do you guys think Freddie sang specific phrasings randomly as he approached them or did he choose them in advance based on vocal capabilities that night.
For example something like Under Pressure during Rio first night shows Freddie mucking up and singing second verse phrasing on the first verse so he then goes out to hit the long sustained A4 in the second verse - something like that seems planned.
And yet at the same time listening to hundreds of performances of Freddie's over the years, especially 81 and onward, a lot of the stuff seems spontaneous, as in he just goes for the highest that his throat allows him.
What do you guys think?
I'm pretty sure he chose them on the spot. Sometimes improvised sometimes based on what he thought worked on previous shows where he altered the phrasings and melodies.
He had a great understanding of harmony and was able to switch between the 'available' notes very quickly.
When you analyse it this much it stops becoming enjoyable. Like the sound wave idiots who judge new releases by the way they look on their laptops. Listen. Enjoy. If you don't enjoy then change the source. Who gives a fuck about phrasing? Do you think Freddie thought about it before he went on stage?
Have a word with yourself.
Mucking up verses and then hitting a high note sounds like compensation for the bad bits
but yeah. Micro analysing stuff is pretty ridiculous. Most of these acts would do it after a gig though by themselves.
They never had any idea any of it would really be recorded.