we all know that George's performance was the best at the Fred Tribute.....
But what you guys maybe didn't notice is that both Somebody to love and Show must go on was played on lower key octave's than the original versions of the songs....meaning easier to sing the notes.
And remember ,George didn't play the piano while he sang Somebody to love so though he sang it good ,it'll never be like Freddie because Freddie not only sang the song in the right key , but played the piano while singing it..
And Elton , man he really sucks at singing, not that Show must go on is a easy song to sing but......No one can beat Freddie....
And Elton , man he really sucks at singing, not that Show must go on is a easy song to sing but......No one can beat Freddie....
ok In Elton's defense his singing does NOT suck...its just that he cant get in the range of Freddie's for that song...
I think we all know that those songs were played in lower keys than the original versions.
And, you know, Elton John did his best to sing a song that needs a very good vocal range. Freddie's version will be the best for ever, no one could even be near to it, but, between the many live versions of TSMGO, Elton's tribute (also if it's in a lower key), is still the best non-Freddie's heard. No Chris Thompson's, no Patti Russo's, no one else's...
Elton John maybe did not reach highest notes, and personalized the song, maybe too much. But, in fact, his voice never cracked and was quite good to listen to.
We cannot actually say the same about many singers that have tried to sing it in Freddie's key, losing their voice after 2:30 min or cracking at every high note.
Elton John, knowing his lack of range about the song, did absolutely his best, i repeat. You can love him or not, but that's the way it is
"No one can beat Freddie...."
I don't want to break your bubble, But Queen also 'cheated' with the pitch of the songs in the studio. Some songs were slowed down a bit, so it was easier for Freddie to sing. (a semitone lower)
Well, Elton was a friend of Freddie's and he did it in tribute to him and I think that all of them did a great job singing at the tribute concert. But Queen songs are just not everyone's thing, eh?!
FriedChicken: So you mean that original Show must go on is pitched?? That it isnt really Freds real vocal?? Naaa idont believe that , and how should you know about that?
"That it isnt really Freds real vocal?? Naaa idont believe that , and how should you know about that?"
Niek isn't saying TSMGO is pitched down - but for example Brighton Rock (The high vocals) are pitched up quite a bit. Can't think of any other examples though a.t.m.
I thought George Michael's performance was outstanding -- very strong voice and in the same key as Fred! Elton, on the other hand, was a little too torn up to really sing SMGO well, his voice was not in the form it should have been. Given that he's older, his voice has changed a bit from his Bennie and the Jets days...but I wager that if Freddie were still with us, his voice would be stronger than ever, and he could probably sing rings around Andrea Bocelli as well! (I love his voice too!)
Lisa J Goodrich : No George Michaels live version of Somebody to love isnt at the same key octave , i know this cause ive compared the fred's live version to his live version...
Probably depends which Fred version you are listening to, they did change the key of songs from time to time over the years, and as someone else said, a fair bit of studio trickery was also used when recording to make things song right, from drum loops to speeding up tapes to auto-correct bum notes!
Fact: at the FM tribute, Somebody To Love was played in G. To my knowledge, Queen always played it in Ab.
These keys are 'close' to each other - in fact, you can't get closer in Western harmony - but the fact remains that Fred sang it in a higher key than GM.
Elton John singing TSMGO at the Tribute sounded a bit flat IMO but I love the version on GH3; he sang it much better and the all-round performance of the group was fab.
On the other hand, George Michael singing Somebody To Love at the Tribute was ABSOLUTELY fab.