| deleted user 11.11.2003 17:08 |
What do you love and (mostly ;-))what do you hate on Queen live performances? Give it a try! |
| The Real Wizard 15.11.2003 01:04 |
"So what?Wasn't Freddie confident enough for his voice or he couldn't hit the high notes?I doubt both but then...why?" Absolutely not. When you're touring for months on end, you have to be careful about how you use your voice. Sure, you could hit those notes on the first couple nights of a tour, but your voice would be totally finished by the fifth night. Attention: Works tour enthusiasts!! To Spisso and Airmusic: please don't become critics if you haven't heard at least 100 Queen concerts. The official releases aren't always the best examples of live performances. "Also an amazing vocalist such as Freddie had to choose which high notes hit, and which not, 'cause he had to sing 25-30 songs in a show." Robert Plant sang 3 hour shows when Zeppelin was in their hey-day, and you didn't see him giving any less than his best, ever! Amazing as Freddie was, he was limited on stage, because he couldn't waste his voice away by hitting all the high notes that are on the record. "the setlist was like a greatest hits show, they should have played more album only tracks..." Yeah, because they felt obligated to play them. They resurrected some old stuff on the Works tour, but on the Magic tour, it was mostly hits. But with their huge sound they had by '86, it really didn't matter what they were playing! Their sound as a band was just amazing. "I never liked the middle part of Get Down Make Love....Just kept waiting for them to get back to the regular part of the song." But that's the best part... it's brilliant how they can create these sounds. "- Brian's solo: I consider he is far away from being a virtuoso. In someone like Steve Vai or Yngwie J Malmsteen I love over 10 minutes solos, but that's because they can really do magic with the guitar. I'd prefer Brian did a 30 second solo and that's it." Some nights Brian was on, and some he wasn't. His digital delay technique is brilliant and inventive, and it was always great to hear him building new ideas while using it. "Instrumental Inferno: About Roger's percussion solo, same argument as above" Yeah, I'll agree that a solo on two drums can only go so far. "Fred's stupid vocal non-sense with the audience" Nah, it's all good fun! "Pianos done by the auxiliar keyboardist instead of Fred. Particularly Save Me (HS tour) and Friends Will Be Friends" Agreed. Put Freddie on the piano where he belongs. "As well as Hammer. When he completely ignored the 1st. half of the solo (the best part)." No, Wembley 7-12-86 was the only time Brian forgot to play the solo, and it's been officially-released about 5 or 6 times! "Adding synths to Now I'm Here." Yes, I hate that too. Get Spike off the keyboards for this part! Yuck. "They stuck to the same bloody setlist night after night out hardly ever changing things up" Just like most bands. They find a setlist that works, and they use it. Keep in mind that they weren't considering bootleg listeners when they planned their setlists. They planned a show that would work for that one night, for those 20,000 people in the arena. "Maybe they liked to give the same product to every crowd so no one got a lesser quality show." That's what I'm talking about. :) "I don't like (but I don't hate it) the Impromtu's and the guitar solos. I don't like You're So Square and the other cover songs during the Magic Tour except from Gimme Some Lovin' either..." So in other words, you don't like creativity that goes beyond Queen songs only? "During a show you decide if you're going to hit particular note or not- confidence is vital. if you doubt it at that moment- you avoid it in some way, going lower or changing melody slightly... Remember- he knew what he was doing!!!!" Brilliant. I'm glad there are still people with good brains posting on this board. That's the best post in this topic so far! |
| Virtuoso 15.11.2003 01:12 |
"So in other words, you don't like creativity that goes beyond Queen songs only?" Personnal taste,I think. |
| The Real Wizard 15.11.2003 01:17 |
Nah... it's definitely closed-mindedness. As soon as a Queen fan realizes that it's Queen having fun, they have no problem with hearing 50s covers. But when someone's closed-minded, they hear a non-Queen song and skip it. I know it, because I was that kind of person once upon a time. I'm glad I grew up. |
| goinback 15.11.2003 06:07 |
The middle section of "Get Down, Make Love" was cool though because that's when they showed off all their lights :) |
| Fenderek 16.11.2003 14:27 |
airmusic>> About Ronnie James Dio... Listen to "Live Evil" Black Sabbath and check out how he struggled with Sabbath material (Ozzy era I mean)... Of course, they weren't his songs and he's brilliant with his own material, but check this out: Dio is a kind of rock musician that writes songs during jam-sessions and therefore they are already kind of "live" tracks. Queen however very often wrote songs without thinking how they're gonna be done in live situation. Take Queen II for instance- even Brian said that they were too complex sometimes to be performed live. When Freddie was recording his parts, he was creating perfect melody, very often incredibly difficult to sing at once. Once it was recorded, they rehearsed those songs to create their live versions, which could be sang and/or played on stage... Did he ever hit clearly the highest note in "We Are The Champions"? NEVER!!! It's not only about vocals, but also about guitars- Brian just simply couldn't recreate EVERYTHING he did in the studio... That's my opinion, anyway... |
| deleted user 16.11.2003 19:47 |
"During a show you decide if you're going to hit particular note or not- confidence is vital. if you doubt it at that moment- you avoid it in some way, going lower or changing melody slightly... Remember- he knew what he was doing!!!!" Brilliant. I'm glad there are still people with good brains posting on this board. That's the best post in this topic so far!>>> Come on guitar hero!We are NOT criticising Queen or Freddie here!The topic wa about what YOU LIKE and what YOU DIS-LIKE about Queen live performances!It is a matter of personal taste.We don't blame,and we don't excuse nobody!And I can assure you I am not closed minded just because I may wished that freddie hit more high notes!!! |
| The Real Wizard 17.11.2003 00:19 |
"Come on guitar hero!We are NOT criticising Queen or Freddie here" But I like it when people criticize Queen or Freddie. It shows that people have the brains to realize that Queen weren't perfect. "The topic wa about what YOU LIKE and what YOU DIS-LIKE about Queen live performances!It is a matter of personal taste" If the topics consisted only of likes and dislikes, how friggin' boring would that be? That's why you talk with the other people about their likes and dislikes, as opposed to just listing them and saying "ok". |
| Fenderek 17.11.2003 08:29 |
And again no-one responded to your post... seems like people don't like to discuss, they'd rather post their DVD collections or something... ;-) |
| rogut 17.11.2003 08:38 |
Best bits ?? Apart from the usual stuff - when they do covers as part of the gig - I loved their amazing version of Tutti Frutti at Wembley. Dislike ? Brian's solo's could go on a bit too much (Sorry if your reading this, Mr May !!) |
| deleted user 17.11.2003 14:06 |
And again no-one responded to your post... seems like people don't like to discuss, they'd rather post their DVD collections or something... ;-) lol Although I believe there were quite a few guys who responded pretty nice on this post.Thanx guys :-) |
| Anto 17.11.2003 19:00 |
Dislikes - Magic Tour. The set list, the typical 80's loud snare drum, Freddies voice, Brians guitar sound had way to many effects lost some of that signature sound. Other than that it was great!!! The cutting of the second verse of Death on 2 Legs mid way through 77. Loves- Brighton Rock Death on 2 legs from early 77 shows Let me Entertain You The South American tour The Hero We will Rock You (fast) and Slow from Houston 77 Houston 77 Hammer to Fall and One Vision from the magic tour I want to break free from the early Works shows Early Works Shows |
| The Real Wizard 17.11.2003 22:25 |
"The cutting of the second verse of Death on 2 Legs mid way through 77." Interesting that you mention this! Honestly, I think this was a good move to cut the song and make it part of the medley. Why? Because I don't think the complete song worked very well on stage. The studio version (mainly the second verse on) is full of vocal harmonies and effects, and it sounds empty on stage without all that. I think the NOTW-Jazz-Game version was perfect, right into Killer Queen. |
| Fenderek 18.11.2003 03:37 |
Same applies to BoRhap- I think they should stick to the idea of making it a part of some medley rather then walk of stage for difficult bits... |
| Anto 18.11.2003 04:35 |
Nah, I dont like the cutting of songs one bit. About the lack of effects, 90% of their songs live lack all the studio effects and multi layer harmonies. The best lyrics are in the second verse too. All IMO |
| Polar Bear 18.11.2003 07:54 |
I find the electric drums used, ewspecially in HAmmer to Fall, very unpleasent. IT majkes the sound very weak, and lacks alot of the heaviness of the Magic tour witht he acoustic kit. And where was the gong for Bo Rhap during the magic tour? |
| Guy 18.11.2003 08:29 |
Some songs can't be played live fully (like they're supposed to be played anyway)... Death On Two Legs is one of them, and making it a part of a medley was a good decision in my opinion. I didn't like how they repeated some songs (mostly WWRY, fast and slow) throughout some tours... I'd rather hearing 2 different songs than the same one twice. Yeah, usually it was 1 time at the start and 1 time at the end, and the length of the show (100 mins or more mostly) made you forget you had even heard that song in the first place, but I didn't like it. That was one of the things that caused people to get fed up with WWRY - it was just being played all the time. |
| Sebastian 18.11.2003 08:37 |
I agree, the piano intro of Death On Two Legs is really amazing on stage, but the rest of the song lacks the strenght it had in the studio |
| Anto 18.11.2003 14:06 |
Weird. This post was in reply to GH yet it has appeared 2nd from the top. Gulp! Maybe I can see into the future after all!! Anyway, here's that post again>>> Nah, I dont like the cutting of songs one bit. About the lack of effects, 90% of their songs live lack all the studio effects and multi layer harmonies. The best lyrics are in the second verse too. All IMO |
| The Real Wizard 18.11.2003 14:35 |
"Nah, I dont like the cutting of songs one bit" But that's what makes a concert interesting! I think a concert would be boring if you went there to watch a band play the songs exactly as they appear on the record. As Freddie once said, "you can listen to the record at home". Some of the most brilliant pieces I've ever heard in rock concerts are medleys. Zeppelin played medleys in Whole Lotta Love that lasted a half hour long at times, and they were just incredible. Queen's 20 minute medley on the NOTW tour was their best one, I think. Rush has always put together medleys of songs, and their best was on the Roll The Bones tour in '92 when they combined about 10 old songs into one medley. That's the kind of stuff I want to see at a rock concert. If I want to hear the songs as they are, I'll stay home and crank up the stereo. I go to a concert to be entertained for my money, and changing the songs and having a good stage presentation is what entertains most people at a rock concert. Of course, this doesn't apply for most of today's pop music. Most fans these days are happy enough to see their favourite star dancing around and lip-synching to their record. |
| willem-jan 8923 18.11.2003 17:59 |
Nothing more to add, I fully agree with you! |
| slightly Fred 19.11.2003 08:59 |
And if the bits that are difficult to reproduce on stage are essential: use playback like for 'opera-part' of Bohemian Rhapsody. Perfect solution. |
| The Real Wizard 19.11.2003 12:02 |
I think that's the only piece in music history that I am in agreement of using an overdub. I hate overdubs with a passion. It's not playing live... it's a tape. With this song and only this song as an exception, if you can't play it live, you shouldn't play it at all. Rush has this problem, and almost every song they play that's less than 20 years old has keyboard, guitar or vocal overdubs. I realize they're a 3-piece, but they're brilliant musicians, and they should find a way to make it work, without the use of overdubs. |
| Kuku 28.11.2003 01:11 |
Yeah, I agree with people who were disappointed that Freddie didn't hit the high note... But when you get used to the fact, his performance is really enticing... and I also hated the part when the show was over... (My least fav song being God Save the Queen in the concerts...) |
| Fenderek 26.07.2004 11:06 |
"Yeah, I agree with people who were disappointed that Freddie didn't hit the high note..." I actually adore all those moments when Fred doesn't hit the high note and he's looking for sth suitable in lower registers... Some of the stuff he came up with was absolutely BRILLIANT! I'm not attending a rock gig to hear everything exactly the same way as on the record. I want to listen to guys, normal ppl, just like me, but a bit more talented... They make mistakes, sometimes they cannot play the exact notes that we know from LPs so they try to change sth... and very often those "re-done" versions, suitable for live situations are far better than studio cuts! Take "White Queen" or "See What A Fool I've Been"- sheer genius! And how about "You Take My Breath Away"- Freddie singing in the lower register made this track something incredibly beutiful!!! I prefer some versions of "Sweet Lady" (Osaka'76?) to ANATO cut... Same with "The Prophet's Song.... Or "In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited" (70s version) Etc, etc. etc- the list is looong... |
| frejorobri 28.07.2004 01:37 |
Very good point,Fenderek,darling. |