A thing I’ve been noticing listening to all the bootleg concerts again is that Japanese shows are most of the time a hit or miss. I know there are many good ones and many bad ones I’ve always wondered which ones are considered the best, and which are the worst.
I consider March 31st 1976 to be the best and Kanazawa 1979 to be the worst. That’s just my opinion, but I’d like to here some more.
May 1 1975 was an outstanding show where all the band are committed and full of energy and creativity. Liar clocks in at 11:17, add Hangman and See What a Fool I've Been ... I could go on and on. 18.02.1981 has them playing Teo Toriatte after We Are The Champions and a snippet of Millionaire Walz; the last 1985 show had bits of My Fairy King and The March of the Black Queen. I reckon that their first experiences touring in Japan left a lasting memory. Every time they played there, there is greater spontaneity in their performances and connectvity with the audience. Obviously Fred's voice was as raw as a vulture's crotch in 1979, but they still gave it their best shot.
Mercury was in rough shape in Japan 79, as it was the tail end of their longest ever tour. They probably should have cancelled a bunch of the shows.
But apart from that, they pretty much always gave top notch performances in Japan - even in 82 when the band was kind of falling apart. Really can't say a bad thing about these shows.
My favourites:
Osaka 3-29-76 (afternoon)
Tokyo 4-1-76
Tokyo 4-13-79
Osaka 4-20-79
Tokyo 2-16-81
Nishinomiya 10-24-82
Sapporo 10-29-82
Tokyo 5-9-85
Osaka 5-15-85
Some of my favourites:
Kobe 4/23/1975: Everyone is in top form. Roger and Freddie are very good on this show. With the full show seeing the light of day for the first time this year, it can now be seen in all it's glory.
Tokyo 5/1/1975: One of their best concerts ever. Incredible setlist, and nobody is showing any signs of wear despite being the last show on the tour.
Tokyo 3/31/1976: Great show from the whole band, with a rare 1976 rendition of Seven Seas of Rhye. See What a Fool I've Been also slays on this show.
Tokyo 4/1/1976: An even better setlist then the previous night with Hangman and Father to Son in the mix, and the performance is just as good.
Tokyo 4/23/1979 : Even though Freddie's voice is in shambles by the third or fourth song, Brian is at his absolute peak here.
Tokyo 2/13/1981: Probably the best of the Japan 1981 shows. Freddie is still in great voice (which wouldn't be the case by the fourth night), and the instrumentation is about as good as it got on the Game Tour.
Nishinomiya 10/24/1982: Easily the best of the Japan 1982 shows, even though it's a bit hasty. Nice snippets of older songs like It's Late and Spread Your Wings. Also nice to hear a rare 1982 rendition of Jailhouse Rock, even though it's a bit messy.
Tokyo 5/9/1985: Freddie at his best on the Works Tour. Brian is also on fire here, with some spicy solos all through the show.
Nagoya 5/13/1985: Another fantastic show on the 1985 Works Tour, Freddie still sounds great, and the band are even better than they were at the past few shows in Tokyo.