QueenZone discussion #541053
The best, and worst, bits of the FM Tribute concert
| fat_buddino 20.05.2005 14:50 |
Apologies if this has been discussed previously. I'm fairly new to all this and was just interested in what everyone else thought. By the way this is the un-cut as shown on TV version I'm talking about here not the crappy edited to shite video/DVD release. Highlights of the Freddie Tribute gig for me were, 1. Extreme medley 2. Bowie/Ian Hunter set 3. George Michael (goes without saying) 4. James Hetfield doing Stone Cold Crazy was scarily good! Suited his voice but didn't he look kind of lost without a guitar!? 5. Daltrey Worst, 1. Bob Plant and Innuendo/Kashmir. Bitterly disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I think Bob Plant is ace but substituting the 'wandering minstrel' guitar section for Kashmir did nothing for me and lets face, he spooned the whole song (if I'm blunt about it) 2. Bowie doing the Lords Prayer. Lovely thought but I can't help but shrivel with embarassment everytime I watch it 3. George Michael preaching. CRINGE!! 4. Liz Taylor being... well... like an embarrasing Nan 5. Paul Young. Nuff said 6. Liza. Can't help but think that when she walked on, everyone went 'Who?' What the highlights and bad points for you guys? Discuss... |
| Scott_Mercury 21.05.2005 09:06 |
Anything having to do with Asshole Rose that night, in my opinion, ate total ass. Asshole is passable in singing G-N-R songs.... but Asshole filling in for Freddie is like your wife telling you that Michael Jackson is going to be taking care of your "bedroom duties" from now on. I thought Robert Plant's CLTCL was weak. George Michael was great. Bowie/Ronson, Ian Hunter set was great. Bowie/Lennox sucked (if she could sing, that would be a plus). Michael/Stansfield....would have preferred George singing TATDOOL alone.... Lisa Stansfield looked waaay hot that night though. Liza Minelli?? What the F?? I'm not so sure that Deacon couldn't have sang a better "We are the Champions". I am a Elton fan, his BoRhap left alot to be desired.... then when Asshole redbeard came out, wearing his skirt, and screaming his hoarse, out of tune...."So you think you can stomp me and spit in my eye eeeee I'ssssssss" ...... I reached for the puke bucket. Not a whole highlights for me at the tribute concert.... I thought everyone made it even more clear how good Freddie is/was. As far as the "hair bands" doing their songs, and Queen tributes.... whatever, I thought that was a wank festival. Metallica and James "Exit Light-ta! Hetfeld can go eat fruit loops off Asshole's ass for all I care. Gary Cherone, something about this guy I can't stand.... it could be because while he can somewhat sing... he can't sing 1/100th as I think he thinks he can. that, and he ripped is look off of Darlene from the Rosanne show. Def Leppard... again, whatever. Leppard may be one of the worst live bands ever?? I'd have to get Asshole Rose to verify that is he was in the worst live band. Whats funny is that about 2 weeks after this tribute concert..... The likes of Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice-N-Chains started taking over with the Seattle grunge scene.... The Def Leppard's and Extreme's were hardly ever heard of again. |
| DarkQueen 21.05.2005 09:08 |
The last time I actually saw the tribute concert was when they played it on TV back in '91. And all I can remember is being horrified at Axl Rose trying to pull off WWRY, so I guess that's the worst bit for me... |
| zaiga 21.05.2005 09:58 |
The last time I saw it was 13 years ago, but I can clearly remember, that: - Robert Plant sucked total ass on Innuendo - Most acts were belove average - Extreme was decent - George Michael was great on STL - There's no one like Freddie Mercury |
| NTL 21.05.2005 10:06 |
I actually thought Axl was great, and for me the highlight was Lennox and Bowie doing Under Pressure. Worst moment of the night was Brian, I know he was probably miles away thinking this was the end of Queen but his guitar playing was dreadful, the original solo ( not the overdubbed VHS & DVD ) in Stone Cold Crazy was the worst piece of live gutar playing I have ever heard. But the concert as a whole... Shite. Actually the worst moment was Elton, didnt know whether to laugh or cry when he 'attempted' TSMGO, but I certainly had a good laugh when I saw him in that wig for the first time, bloody hillarious. |
| moonie 21.05.2005 11:32 |
It pains me to say it being a big Who fan but I was disapointed with Daltreys version of I Want It All. No disrespect intended to Roger, there could have been no better singer for the Who but he was seriously lacking in range to pull off a song written for Freddie. That Said, I remember pissing myself laughing at Liz Taylors continual use of the word condom(which she pronounced cundum!) And "Liza's" pub singer rendition of We Are The Champions was a hoot too! |
| sephiroth1395 21.05.2005 11:51 |
Well, I'm a recent fan of Queen (about one year) and I was three old when they showed the concert... I only could get WWRY sung by Axl Roses and it's...horrific in comparison with FM version. But...I think he did what he could. If one day I can see the whole concert (maybe via the sharing ?), I'll come back to the subject to give a more complete feeling. |
| carboengine 21.05.2005 12:49 |
The best - that John, Roger and Brian were able to do this at all! Watching someone ebbing away for years is devastating. And they had to adjust many of the songs because the performers couldn't reach Freddie's high notes. Liza Minelli was one of Freddie's favorite performers. There is a picture of them in the Queenzone picture gallery. Liza, just like Freddie, has enormous stage presence. I thought her bit was spectacular. Liz Taylor was one of the first celebrities to speak out about AIDS - she deserved to be there. Bless their hearts for all of the performers who came to sing. Queen always looked neat/polished no matter what costumes they were wearing (expert support by Peter Freestone, I imagine), no matter what hair length they had, no matter what stage set they had, no matter what they were singing. The worst - I thought quite a few Tribute performers looked like unmade beds - messy, messy, messy. |
| doremi 21.05.2005 13:19 |
Best..def. George Michael on STL. Blew me away and had all the power, depth, and emotion not only that the song deserved, but that a tribute to Freddie deserved. Michael's duet w/Lisa Stansfield on These Are The Days Of Our Lives was stunning too. I bought Five Live with both tracks when it came out and both songs got tons of radio airplay here all that year as well, testimony to how well those 2 pieces were and to George Michael especially. (I also have that on George Michael's Greatest Hits "Ladies & Gentleman" double CD as well. Worst..thanks Scott I love that...Asshole Rose, without a doubt. Screaching, whining no talent. I was shocked though at how God awful Robert Plant was on Innuendo. For a singer of his range and talent...he totally blew it though. Off key, sounded uncomfortable even trying to sing it. I thought Brian did an amazing job on that though. Liza & Liz were a bit overwrought in their pleas, but..they have also seen alot of their loved ones/celebrity friends succumb to AIDS...so I always consider that when I hear the sort of desperation in their words. Liz had lost Rock Hudson to AIDS, Liza lost her husband Peter Allan, to AIDS. So I was happy they put their celebrity to good use and if they came off a bit overemotional, think they had a damn good reason and their heart was most defintely in the right place. Think all of Queen was also on all cylinders when they performed with George on Somebody To Love. Roger's drumming on that and Brian, John...that all get swept up in the emotion and urgency of the day, the song, Freddie...it's all there. That's not just a performance. It's like their own proclamation anthem of love and friendship to Freddie, and like I said the spirit of the day and the cause. |
| bitesthedust 21.05.2005 13:40 |
the concert's been discussed previously and one performer I've always felt was underappreciated for his efforts that day was James Hetfield. Great performance on Stone Cold Crazy. |
| 7Innuendo7 21.05.2005 17:30 |
best -- "Heroes" worst -- Metallica (whole set) |
| Scott_Mercury 21.05.2005 18:19 |
Agreed- Bowie + Ronson doing "heros" with the rest of Queen was the best of that night for me. "All the Young Dudes" was great too. Its like.. George's "Somebody to love" And Bowie's set.... were the only highlights. Asshole Rose is lucky I wasn't in the front row.... with a bazooka. |
| wstüssyb 21.05.2005 18:28 |
IMO Best-I want to break free & Under pressure Worst- spinal tap |
| kyassor 21.05.2005 20:24 |
My favourite bit was the Queen / David Bowie / Ian Hunter / Mick Ronson section. In the early 70's my older brother was a Bowie fan and he tended to buy/see anything Bowie related - Bowie wrote 'All The Young Dudes' for Mott The Hoople (Ian Hunter & co) - Mott The Hoople toured with Queen as support - my brother bought the Queen album and I became a fan. Mick Ronson is one of my favourite musicians ever both with Bowie and with others (Lou Reed's Transformer is a Ronson classic) so to see all of them on stage together was a magical moment for me - shame it was Mick Ronson's last live appearance (he died of cancer the following year) I've just been to see Ian Hunter in Sheffield tonight (oops, last night now) and he is still a great musician/singer/entertainer and his most recent album (Rant) is better that the hits he had in the 70's |
| TheDrown 22.05.2005 04:19 |
I have mixed feelings about this, and I just want to state these are my own personal opinions, so don't be pissed if I god forbid question BM, etc. For one thing, I would have liked more of a 'FM "TRIBUTE"- and this seems more like half a tribute and also, we haven't gotten to play in a few years, so lets play a concert also. There actually aren't *that* many Freddie songs, are there? And, as others have suggested, why not have more of the people Freddie worked with, as opposed to Axl Rose? It's that method of thinking that gets us 5ive and Britney. George was good, but the vocal show-offs on "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" seem just that- unneeded and a little insincere. Same with Liza, but the difference is, Freddie was a huge fan. Monsaret and Peter Straker, Billy Squire, even Michael Jackson- even if you aren't fans of them, these are people Freddie worked with. I do understand bands like Extreme, etc. cited Queen as a huge influence, but still. The vocals on WWRY are just horrible. Guns.. funny band. All image. No need to smoke a cig while you're playing anyhow- but to play at FM's tribute and have to act like that- well. If it didn't bother John, Bri, and Rog, I won't complain. It was cool to see Ronson again, especially on a non-Ziggy Bowie era song, as he didn't play on the studio version of "Heroes". Could've been longer! |
| The Fairy King 22.05.2005 08:50 |
Best: George Michael Worst: Robert Plant |
| DarkQueen 22.05.2005 09:00 |
zaiga wrote: The last time I saw it was 13 years ago, but I can clearly remember, that: - Robert Plant sucked total ass on Innuendo - Most acts were belove average - Extreme was decent - George Michael was great on STL - There's no one like Freddie MercuryI think that pretty much covers my views as well... |
| spikejrt 22.05.2005 09:59 |
The worst bit - releasing the DVD with only half of the entire show on it.... Stu |
| the fireplace 22.05.2005 10:54 |
Well said, typical of QP to release "half-things" |
| deleted user 22.05.2005 12:00 |
Quit a nice show. Plant sucked compeltely. Liza Minelli performend WATC great in her own style, the style Freddie loved. Mr. Michael tres bon Mr. Bowie aussi tres bon, but with hunter it was classic. Extreeme decent indead. Young nice performance. Hetfield sucked. Elton John, nope not worth a dime. Axl Rose not worth a penny. |
| deleted user 22.05.2005 12:02 |
TheDrown wrote: Monsaret and Peter Straker, Billy Squire, even Michael Jackson- even if you aren't fans of them, these are people Freddie worked with. I do understand bands like Extreme, etc. cited Queen as a huge influence, but still.Indead they shoudl have played. they where his friends, c'mon. |
| kyassor 22.05.2005 12:41 |
The Lord Of Darkness wrote:Possibly they were asked to play but didn't want to ? That could be a reason why they weren't thereTheDrown wrote: Monsaret and Peter Straker, Billy Squire, even Michael Jackson- even if you aren't fans of them, these are people Freddie worked with. I do understand bands like Extreme, etc. cited Queen as a huge influence, but still.Indead they shoudl have played. they where his friends, c'mon. |
| great king rat 1138 01.06.2005 05:59 |
Alright Chris, I thought I'd leave my ideason this one since we enjoy slagging this concert off (whilst watching it) every time we get together! Best: John Talking (a good start) The Metallica Set The Extreme Medley The Bowie set (best version of Heroes EVER) Hetfield growling his way through Stone Cold Crazy was fantastic, but was spoilt for me by Brian's God-Awful attempt at the solo. Uncle Chunky coming on stage on a very small bicycle with a monkey in a fez sitting on his head smoking a cigar.....Sorry, dreams and reality melding into one again. Worst: Las Parablas De Amor - Zucchero heinously murdering one of the best songs from Hot Space. Evil man! Radio GaGa - Paul Young simply can't sing. The usually fantastic Seal warbling his way through Who Wants to Live Forever (and he didn't even balance a ball on his nose - Honk Honk) Plant's Innuendo, although I love his version of Cwazy Little thing called love. Brian singing in general (thank God Uncle Chunky stayed off the Mic) There you go, the definitive list. 8 DAYS UNTIL DOWNLOAD!!! |
| Daburcor? 01.06.2005 06:10 |
In my opinion, The best bits by a MILE were those with George Michael, Seal, and Bowie (minus "Under Pressure"). They were the only ones who had 'it' that day. Brian on "Too Much Love..." was great as well. |
| dixie 01.06.2005 07:09 |
best bits hammer to fall stone cold crazy slash's solo on tymd george michel singin STL worst bits rob plant singin innuendo (took me ages to find out what he was actually singing) lisa stansfield doing iwtbf i think axel rose is a good singer but only when hes singin GnR songs not queen songs. if only i had the other half of the show where i can see the rest of the bloody concert |
| kerfuffle87 01.06.2005 07:24 |
did i hear correctly smoewhere that there's more on the VHS? well, with half a concert, i can say that George Michael was outstanding, and David Bowie + Ronson kicked ass on 'Heroes'. Bits not so good, would be... Paul 'i've got something stuck in my throat' Young, and I couldn't adjust to Annie Lennox's singing, still gives me terrible shudders. but still, great that it ever happened. |
| great king rat 1138 01.06.2005 09:03 |
kerfuffle87 wrote: I couldn't adjust to Annie Lennox's singing, still gives me terrible shudders.I'd still give her one (wink, wink) |
| john bodega 01.06.2005 11:43 |
The Extreme singer doing "Love of my Life" was very nice. Somebody to Love, being Freddie's favourite song, of course it turned out well. It would've been a disaster if it didn't. I want to cut my own pecker off with a blunt chopstick every time I hear Elton John sing The Show Must Go On. Say it with me people - HE CANNOT SING. He's just so goddamned awful. Roger Daltrey was good. Well, he wasn't pitch perfect or anything and he didn't have Fred's range. All round, he wasn't that bad. |
| ANAGRAMER 01.06.2005 14:54 |
fat_buddino wrote: Apologies if this has been discussed previously. I'm fairly new to all this and was just interested in what everyone else thought. By the way this is the un-cut as shown on TV version I'm talking about here not the crappy edited to shite video/DVD release. Highlights of the Freddie Tribute gig for me were, 1. Extreme medley 2. Bowie/Ian Hunter set 3. George Michael (goes without saying) 4. James Hetfield doing Stone Cold Crazy was scarily good! Suited his voice but didn't he look kind of lost without a guitar!? 5. Daltrey Worst, 1. Bob Plant and Innuendo/Kashmir. Bitterly disappointed. Don't get me wrong, I think Bob Plant is ace but substituting the 'wandering minstrel' guitar section for Kashmir did nothing for me and lets face, he spooned the whole song (if I'm blunt about it) 2. Bowie doing the Lords Prayer. Lovely thought but I can't help but shrivel with embarassment everytime I watch it 3. George Michael preaching. CRINGE!! 4. Liz Taylor being... well... like an embarrasing Nan 5. Paul Young. Nuff said 6. Liza. Can't help but think that when she walked on, everyone went 'Who?' What the highlights and bad points for you guys? Discuss...Am I missing something - I was at the gig, Robert Plant sang Innuendo, then Thank You (Led ZepII) then Crazy - where did Kashmir fit in ?? - genuine enquiry!! |
| Cwazy little thing 01.06.2005 15:15 |
Plant does some of Kashmir in the middle of Innuendo - in place of the spanish guitar solo etc....then comes back into Innuendo at the "Through the sorrow all through our splendour Don't take offence at my innuendo"....missing out the "you can be anything you want to be" part. I must now get a copy of SCC with Hetfield undubbed - I always assumed this was as it was heard on the night, and Im gutted that Brian messed up in real life - always liked the version on the DVD/Vid |
| moonie 01.06.2005 16:42 |
Hi Cwazy! Am I right in thinking that you took your name from the way Plant sang CLTCL at the Tribute?! It was nice to hear him do a little bit of Thank You as well eh? |
| kerfuffle87 01.06.2005 16:50 |
great king rat 1138 wrote:lol, i think thats the only comment i can come up with on that one..kerfuffle87 wrote: I couldn't adjust to Annie Lennox's singing, still gives me terrible shudders.I'd still give her one (wink, wink) |
| Queen& 01.06.2005 17:45 |
wot bout las palbras de amor not to good |
| Shvili 01.06.2005 18:15 |
GM toped them all Extreme was ridiculous |
| Fenderek 02.06.2005 08:51 |
GOOD: * James Hetfiled, Tony iommi + Queen on "Stone Cold Crazy" * Robert Plant and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (loved that!) *George Michael *Extreme's Medley BAD: *Paul Young *Seal *Zucchero *Gary Cherone on "Hammer to Fall" *Elton John *Axl Rose on "We Will Rock You" *Robert Plant on "Innuendo" ABSLUTELY TERRIBLE (MADE ME CRINGE): *David Bowie's "Lord's Paryer" *Betty Taylor * |
| MercuryArts 03.06.2005 10:09 |
All the Young dudes & Heros was the highlight for me. STL was great too. Plant was less the perfect on Innuendo, I'm being kind. Thank You at the start of Crazy was good. He still seemed unsure of himself singing the song up to the solo. The a capella was good & repeating "Til I'm ready..." & the crowd responding louder & louder each time w/ "Ready Freddie" was great. He finished strong on the outro. I never did understand why Billy Squire didn't perform. He was there, you can see him onstage during WATC at the end of the song. But why he never performed a Queen song never made sense. |
| Vad 03.06.2005 14:40 |
Good: - George Michael, though I don't like his music, fitted perfectly on Queen's style. Bad: - Elton John, when he started to sing Bo Rhap with his pathetic low-toned 'Mama...'. Why didn't they let G. Michael to play Bo Rhap? Ugly: - Annie Lennox saying in Rolling Stone that she went to the concert only because she wanted to sing with Bowie. - Many guests were very friendly with Brian and Roger after singing their sets, but just nodded at John on their way out of the stage. Mr. Deacon is as much a Queen member as the other two, people! |
| Sebastian 04.06.2005 23:17 |
IMHO, highlights were, in random order: - Young Dudes: Love the song, loved to see all those great musicians singing it (Brian, Phil and Joe at the same mic, great!) - Tie Your Mother Down: Brian sang great, Roger played brilliant, Joe was ace and Slash superb - Bo Rhap: I like it. Elton didn't have to sing it like Fred, just like himself and he did it well. Liked Axl's part a lot - Show Must Go On: Great harmonies by Roger and Brian in the "learning" "turning" verse. I like this version better than the '97 one. - Champions: Liza made it her own way, and I like it. Plus to see all the artists together was nice - Innuendo: It wasn't a "perfect" version from a technical point of view but I like it a lot - Love Of My Life / More Than Words: Absolutely gorgeous - Too Much Love: Sentimental and well played/sung Worst bits, imo, random order: - Paul's Radio: I never really liked that bloke as singer, and hated his Ga Ga. I preferred the one played by Extreme - Lisa's Breakfree: As much as I like her voice and her career (the little portion that I know of it), I didn't like her rendition. Roger could have done it a hundred times better. - Under Pressure: I love the music of David and I adore his voice, but this time he dissapointed me a little. He could have done it much better. Similar for Mrs. Lennox and her ridiculous outfit. - Hammer To Fall: Similar story. I love Gary's voice but I hated his lack of originality and his excess of confidence and fake Freddie-ism in this song. - Crazy Little Thing: Robert is one of my very favourite singers but this song imho is definitely not for him, at least in that kind of arrangement |
| Serry... 05.06.2005 02:42 |
Good: All The Young Dudes Somebody To Love Stone Cold Crazy Tie Your Mother Down The Heroes Worst: I Want It All (man cares only about wire of his mic) Hammer To Fall (what a comedian this Gary!) Las Palabras De Amor (stay cool, Zucchero! And don't mimick Brian's guitar playing) |
| Wundzun 05.06.2005 05:54 |
Things that stuck in my mind are George Michael's, Bowie's and Extreme's sets. I also like Plant's CLTCL, it's quite different, heavier than the original.
Dullest moment for me: Paul Young/Seal.
Sebastian wrote: - Under Pressure: I love the music of David and I adore his voice, but this time he dissapointed me a little. He could have done it much better.Oh yes he could! His "Reality tour" version is great, and also Gail Ann Dorsey sang it WAY better than Lennox IMO. |
| Leppar 05.06.2005 06:45 |
Def Leppard came, saw.................and completely rocked the stadium out. Followed by Axl + Elton (Not so much Elton - more Axl). Followed by Seal who was awesome that night. George M was sooooo overated, the nerve of him - trying to nick Freddie's place in the band. I never did like James Hetfield or David Bowie that night. They just didn't translate that well on the night. The morale of the story? Def Leppard rock in the studio AND live. Lepp on. |