What are your favourites. I think you'll understand what I'm talking about from these examples:
Radio Ga Ga - Rock in Rio VHS, "You HAD your time, You HAD the power" (towards the end of the song)
WHTLF - Mannheim & Budapest, "And we can have FOREVER", "Who wants to live FOREVER" (towards the end of the song)
Hi,
your mentioned melody variations are only the so called second voice: it is normally the fifth tone higher than the lead voice. Freddie sings it an octave deeper, because it is quite exhausting to sing high. The normal lead voice is then took over by ROger or Brian. These are not really variations, but the vocals you can hear on the record also if you listen to the background choir.
Other examples: Lap of the Gods revisited on Earls Court I guess, Bohemian Rhapsody on Hammersmith 75, ... everything that is sung quite high in the original has these variations
Well, I'm talking about singing a melody in a song differently from the album version. Here's another I forgot to mention:
Elton John at the Freddie Tribute -Bohemian Rhapsody: "Goodbye everybody, I GOTTA GO"
I really love those melody variations!
Queen and Freddie are the absolute master of it.
I think is both a combination of making it easy to sing and an artistic choice.
-For example it could be in "We Are The Champions" during the chorus the line NO TIME FOR LOSERS 'cause we are the champions...of the world!
-A kind of Magic:the bell that rings inside your mind,IS CHALLENGING,THE DOORS OF TIME
-Bohemian Rhapsody:so you think you can love me and live TO DIE
The main reason is IMHO is that the studio versions of these lines on most cases were originally sung in falsetto while Freddie live preferred sing them with chest voice to give 'em more power and so that's why they were lowerized.But I really love the way he did that!
In that case...I like most of the beginning vocals in Liar.
the whole "sire, i have stolen..." segment.
and "why don't they LEAVE me alone".
it really seems more like a rollercoaster-like when done live.
deleted user 12.10.2004 15:51
Freddie's voice lowering in CLTCL
Somebody to Love live
"The main reason is IMHO is that the studio versions of these lines on most cases were originally sung in falsetto while Freddie live preferred sing them with chest voice to give 'em more power and so that's why they were lowerized.But I really love the way he did that! "
Thats not true. He changed the melody because he couldn't hit the high notes.
EXACTLY, FriedChicken!
While other bands tended to transpose their songs or to tune the instruments down half-note, Queen played them (almost all I guess) in the original tune, and Freddie only varied to avoid singing the high notes, because he know he wont hit them (see: I want to break free, where he even lets the crowd sing!) IMHO these are still no alternative melodies. Alternative melodies are those which the solo guitar plays f.e. in Play the Game, or Killer Queen: a new invention or variation on the lead vocal.
You Take My Breath Away- without felsetto, just going down...
Freddie was altering melodies because he couldn't hit all the notes in live environment- simple as that! Once you're on stage and sing the whole gig you do it in matter of seconds- if you feel you will not reach the high note- you don't do it; forcing it when in doubt will result in some off-key scream or some mistake- even if you hit the note the doubt will b eheard, you will be slightly too late or will sound uncomfortable... If you feel it's not gonna happen- and you do know it, when you do it for so many years!!!- you just go somewhere else, preferably down, altering the melody- if you can make it sound great- you're a genius. Very often it doesn't work- just listen to Sapporo'79... Or almost any version of WATC (I dislike the song entirely, especially the live version)... Sometimes it worked great- You Take My Breath Away @ Earl's Court wouldn't sound so personal and so beautiful if Fred sang all the high notes... Not very often we had opportunity to hear his really beautiful baritone...