| matt V 06.03.2005 07:48 |
Hi all, Matt from Melbourne Aus here. I've been a Queen fan for about 25 years now, saw them live in Australia on the Works tour..best concert i've ever seen. Anyway I have a question that has baffled me for years. On the Live Killers version of Dreamers Ball the solo section is very unique..I'm guessing that it is Roger playing a Kazoo but what of the Trombone sound?(to my ears it sounds like an imitation of a trombone) Does anyone know who is playing that and what are they playing that is getting that sound? Cheers Matt |
| matt V 06.03.2005 08:32 |
Really, you think so? I can't imagine that it's an overdub..(I've been wrong before though). I think there is footage from the Paris Hippodrome show(again I maybe wrong on this). Anyone seen this footage and can you see them playing the solo parts? I'd be most disappointed if it was an overdub. Cheers Matt |
| brENsKi 06.03.2005 10:26 |
<font color = "crimson">ThomasQuinn wrote: This is gonna piss a lot of people off, but I'm pretty sure it's a studio overdub.Casper - you could be right - but ... i have the dortmund, frankfurt and Sappora gigs from that Tour and they do the "trombone and kazoo vocalisations" on Dreamer's Ball on those too ...so unless queen were in the habit of "studio editing" their bootlegs too - i'd say they did em live |
| Lester Burnham 06.03.2005 11:39 |
Same here. I think Freddie did the trombone impersonation, and Roger did the kazoo impersonation (I don't think it's a real kazoo). |
| brENsKi 06.03.2005 16:19 |
shame about this is that I WA AT B'ham 79 gig - and i can't remember Dreamer's Ball - know they must've done it - because it sat in nicely with LOML and 39 - but i honestly can't remember it - but as i said earlier - the other boots i have from that tour have the "vocal orchestrations" on - and queen wouldn't edit bootlegs - certainly not bootlegs that have been in the public domain for 25 years |
| Fireplace 06.03.2005 19:38 |
Wow, a a topic actually worth getting into. They're getting rarer these days! The kazoo's are a three-parter, which means Brian was involved as well (if it really was played live, anyway). Kazoo's are voice-driven, so John is out of the equasion. Personally I like this part very much, and I believe it was exquisitely performed. Chances are it really is a studio-overdub, but let's give the boys the benefit of the doubt here. Shame our eyewitness doesn't remember! |
| Lester Burnham 06.03.2005 21:31 |
Like I said, I think the kazoos are vocalized, not actual kazoos. This would mean that Roger (and maybe Brian) made the kazoo noises with their throats, while Freddie vocalized a trombone. It's not a studio overdub, because as Brenski and myself have already confirmed, they were played this way on bootlegs we both have, and why would they overdub on a bootleg? |
| matt V 07.03.2005 09:16 |
Thanks for the replies, If the solo section turns up on bootlegs then I'm definately of the view that they can't be overdubs. Either way it's a very cool way to transfer the song to a live setting and get around Brians layered solo on the studio version. Cheers Matt |
| wstüssyb 07.03.2005 11:39 |
I always thought it was a backing tape, like the opera scetion in bo rhap(and the techno beat on radio ga ga in magic tour), that would do stuff like special sounds that the band could not do to it being live |
| brENsKi 07.03.2005 12:18 |
one thing worth adding - although i honestly can't remember if they did "kazoo it" live - as i said i can't even remember the song! and i was at the NEC B'ham nov 79 but here's the thing - as i said earlier IT WAS on the other bootlegs i have - frankfurt, dortmund, sappora - so they won't dub boots but we all know that many "bits" of live killers came from over 50 concerts - so there's nothing to discount them editing in the best "kazoos" |
| nino trovato 07.03.2005 12:30 |
Both parts were done using their voices. Roger the kazoo and Brian the trombone effect. I have an old fanclub magazine from 79 after the Live Killers lp came out and a fan had written in asking the same question. the answer given. |
| Bohardy 07.03.2005 17:07 |
Nino seems to be right. I've just given it a few listens, and if it was performed live exactly as it sounds, Fred didn't feature in this section, aside from the a couple of "Hey"s and one "bububbubdududb" sound. There are only two 'vocal instruments' here, and due to the way the parts overlap and intertwine it's plainly evident that Brian is doing the trombone part (the main feature) and Rog is doing the muted trumpet part (a few bits here and there). It IS just about possible that this was performed live, but I'm sceptical. Brian's part appears to be almost too good, and there's a couple of moments when he interjects the odd "hey" or "yeah" and they very nearly overlap his trombone part, as well as being at a completely different volume to the trombone part. Oh yeah, and there's not a kazzoo in sight/earshot. Rog's part sounds absolutely nothing like one. Conclusion: it's just about possible that what we hear was done live that way, but I suspect Brian re-did his trombone part and tidied it up a bit. |
| FriedChicken 07.03.2005 18:11 |
At the Paris video you can see that Brian is bended towards the microphone with his mouth when the "Kazoo" starts |
| Bohardy 07.03.2005 18:51 |
Ok, I now officially retract my conclusion that Bri overdubbed his trombone part. I've just listened to a couple of other bootleg versions of it and Bri performs the part to pretty much the same standard as on LK, and much the same things are going on. Conclusion (revised edition): I need to give Bri more credit. It was played and sang live exactly as we hear it on LK. |
| Fireplace 07.03.2005 19:48 |
Whatever it was, voice or kazoo, I have always thought it was a great demonstration of musicality. The arrangement is beautiful, and it is not easy to produce these lines just using your voice. All in all, it sounds very convincing to me. Who knows, they may still do it this spring! |
| Lester Burnham 07.03.2005 20:02 |
I wouldn't hedge your bets on that - rumor has it Roger hates the song. |
| The Real Wizard 08.03.2005 02:17 |
Live Killers is full of overdubs, but this certainly isn't one of them. :) |
| nino trovato 08.03.2005 06:20 |
You're right Sir GH. I saw them here in the States in 78 and they did it pretty much the way we hear it on the live album. Another piece of evidence that Rog and Bri used their voices is the video of the Paris show in 79. |
| Lady Cool Cat 08.03.2005 18:05 |
Dreamer's Ball is my favourite song ever!! :D |
| My Melancholy Blues 08.03.2005 18:19 |
I love live version of Dreamers Ball very very much. It's one of the coolest numbers of the set list of the Jazz tour. Freddie used to sing it with various ad-lib depending on his mood and the audience and so on, which made stage very relaxing... |
| brENsKi 09.03.2005 11:44 |
Bohardy wrote: Ok, I now officially retract my conclusion that Bri overdubbed his trombone part. I've just listened to a couple of other bootleg versions of it and Bri performs the part to pretty much the same standard as on LK, and much the same things are going on. Conclusion (revised edition): I need to give Bri more credit. It was played and sang live exactly as we hear it on LK.so my comment that "they did it live on the bootlegs" and "they probably used the best "kazoo/trumbone sounds" from various concerts for the final edit of live kilelrs...was correct then? thanks |
| yamamamia 09.03.2005 12:19 |
That's all done by manipulating their lips along with a bit of "rasp" here and there. They are doing a ragtime style of humming and brass emulation. Just listen to "Seaside Rendezvous" and you'll get my drift. They really are performing this simultaneously and all it takes is practice. Cheers. |
| Bohardy 09.03.2005 15:44 |
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not Brenski, but, Yeah. |
| brENsKi 12.03.2005 12:46 |
sarcastic? me? surely not - i was merely pointing out that i'd tried to make the point several times i mean - if you have bootlegs from that tour and the kazoo/trombone sound is done on bootlegs - then they did em live - full stop |
| Bohardy 12.03.2005 13:41 |
Cool. I didn't doubt what you were saying at all. I just wanted to clarify that it was performed by Bri and Rog, that there were no kazzoos, and whether the Live Killers version was really performed live, as despite there being numerous bootlegs that prove that B & R did do this live, it was still possible that they'd 'cheated' for the LK release. |