I'm thinking of buying a Queen concert DVD, but I'm not sure which one. I want one from the '70's. In your guys' opinion, when did Freddie's voice sound the best?
Return of the Champions is actually very good, but if you want one with Freddie, I'd recommend "Queen On Fire: Live At The Bowl" It's from the Hotspace tour, 1982.
Technically, it's not a Queen concert, but no one can deny that Queen at there live best can be found on the 'Live Aid' DVD. It was recently named the greatest moment in rock history or something like that.
I know it isn't 70's, but their performance at Live Aid was voted the greateast gig of all time in some poll. Seems like a good indication of what to try...
deleted user 12.02.2006 09:17
TheImpossibleMan wrote: I know it isn't 70's, but their performance at Live Aid was voted the greateast gig of all time in some poll. Seems like a good indication of what to try...
Just doin' some searching for these wonderful concerts and here's what I've found (and didn't find):
can't find: Hammy 79, Rainbow 75.
I did find Earl's Court and Houston.
However, what is your guys' opinion on Christmas 75 in London?
Here's the link: link
Thanks so much.
Hammersmith 1979
Definitelly NOT a Hyde Park 1976- it was one of their worst performances EVER, Freddie was so nervous his voice was cracking every few seconds- entire band sounded pretty bad...
Hammersmith Odeon 1979 – from what most people say – was their best filmed concert ever. Sadly the complete show isn't available yet, there just exists a TV Special that shows parts of the concert. But from that and the audio bootleg you can tell it was an awesome gig.
Hammersmith Odeon 1975 was a relatively short concert that was filmed professionally and broadcasted on Television. It's great because of its technical quality and it shows a better than average yet not extraordinary performance.
Same goes for Rainbow 1974 (not 75!), technically brilliant, but – since it's an official release – overdubbed and a bit too clean IMO.
Houston 1977 was a great concert, but the video is very unspectacular, I find it a bit boring. Also the quality isn't too good.
Earls Court 1977 is an average show, available in quite good but not perfect quality, nice to have, but no must.
Tokyo 1979 is available on DVD, too, but I haven't seen it yet.
There are more concert videos from 1979 (Munich, Paris ...?), but all incomplete or in bad quality.
Maybe you should have a look at the early 80's shows, too. There's Sao Paulo 1981, for instance, IMO the 2nd best Queen performance ever, right after Hammy 79. Milton Keynes 1982 (official) is very good also, especially technically, and the official We Will Rock You video from Montreal 1981 is nice to watch also.
But 70's definitely is something different. Queen changed their style after 1979 from raw, entraining, sheer rock concert into a more visual and entertainment oriented show. I like them best in 1977 to 1979.
I have to put my hand up for Earls Court at this juncture. Though unfortunately you really don't hear the audience, and Freddie's mic has some irritating cut-outs (most noticably in Tie Your Mother Down I think) they were on FIRE that night! Death on Two Legs, while pitchy, is great stuff because he actually goes for the higher notes whereas he'd usually go for something lower instead.
The performance of Bring Back that Leroy Brown is very tight, damned brilliant stuff.
And, if you want to hear less than a few seconds of John Deacon singing, listen to Somebody to Love (the 'find me somebody to looove' bit later on in the song). Nothing great - in fact, he just sounds exactly the same as when he's talking. Methinks this is why he doesn't sing - because his singing sounds unpleasantly ordinary like his speaking voice (heck, that's why *I* don't sing).
So yeah, go for Earls Court.