|
Post by pi on Aug 21, 2019 17:53:32 GMT -5
Can anybody find me a live recording of "Under Pressure" where Freddie even contemplates to do the "Why?". It is not very strong even on the studio version, once you compare it to Adam's. It was meant as a rhetorical question, but I really had to google it. Here is the first ever live performance on Under Pressure in 1981. Freddie was in a pretty good voice. Yet there was something missing... youtu.be/U_IhiEUp2bQ?t=144I find it interesting that the "Why?" was there in QAL 2012, then disappeared in 2014 and it took about 3 years to show up again. I wonder if Roger or Brian discouraged Adam from doing it in order to preserve his voice, and then eventually Adam could not hold back and decided to reincorporate it in the live shows? That's a question I would ask if I were an IG user The "Why?" is now my first go-to moment on any live recording, even before TSMGO and WWTLF. I hadn't really heard Freddie singing Under Pressure before until your video, but I prefer the current version with Adam and Roger much more than the original, and like you, the "Why?" is what I search out first in the concert videos. I didn't realize that the "Why?" had disappeared in 2014, and I've been here for all the tours, but I think Adam has certainly worked on it to achieve this current state of perfection that Adam sings now. It feels so complete and so soul satisfying when he swoops up to that top note and sustains it for those few moments. I'm always surprised that no reviews mention that part of Adam's singing in Under Pressure, because it's a real highlight for me. I also like to see how the audience responds when he sings that part..
|
|
|
Post by Jablea on Aug 21, 2019 18:37:12 GMT -5
I just wanted to let you know that I for one am fine with you supporting Freddie. If you do a search for "Talon" you'll find we had a very strong Queen fan on board in him for many of the past tours. (We miss him and don't know what happened to not see him this tour). It's always good to see someone fill that role. We go a little crazy at stupid reviewers/critics who are too cool for school. My view on the pink elephant speech is that Adam doesn't give a crap what the reviewers say and that he bases his speech on what feels good to him. He likes the pink elephant laughter, he's tried the torch and he'll probably keep running it out now and then but it doesn't get the same visceral immediate audience feedback. And for Freddie, he was unique and the stars aligned for him to meet up with a band that could handle both his eccentricities and do justice to the music they created together. The same thing for Adam, nobody else could be that phoenix that fills the Freddie void with integrity and impeccable vocals and good will. Queen has a bit of miracle luck (movie timing/actors included) that they work for but sometimes they really are in the lap of the gods.
|
|
|
Post by DancyGeorgia on Aug 21, 2019 19:06:56 GMT -5
Ok, I activated my new phone today and tested mixlr setup on it. So hopefully I will have better luck streaming now. We will see next 2 days.
And when I went to the phone store to activate my new phone, the guy helping me looked at my Adam background picture and recognized Adam. He said he was a really big fan too!!
|
|
|
Post by svca on Aug 21, 2019 19:07:34 GMT -5
I have no problem believing that Freddie was incredibly talented...from what I know or have heard about him. But it's hard to deny that he's achieved god-like status since his death.
As Adam fans, I don't think anybody here wants to deny Freddie's prior place with Queen, we just think that it's time Adam stopped apologizing for his current place with them, since he's been with them now for 8 years, and it doesn't look like Freddie is coming back.
|
|
|
Post by DancyGeorgia on Aug 21, 2019 19:08:37 GMT -5
I know someone looking for a Charlotte ticket if anyone has an extra!
Also, do any females need a female roomie for Atlanta or Charlotte?
|
|
|
Post by christina91 on Aug 21, 2019 19:12:23 GMT -5
Jablea thank you I'm so glad you understand what I meant. Oh I have to look this user up. Shame I wonder what's happened to him why he isn't here for the current tour. Hope he returns at some point would love to be able to chat with him too. svca I understand where you are coming from completely and even I admitted in my post just two or three days back that I think since his death and maybe more so since the movie he has been elevated to god like status. It does tend to happen from what I've seen not just with singers even with other iconic figures. I just got a bit upset maybe I shouldn't have I also haven't had the greatest of days so I think the stress contributed to my response.
|
|
|
Post by theosgma on Aug 21, 2019 19:14:49 GMT -5
I have a single ticket for Atlanta Paid $175 will discount for an Atopper. Section 111 Row C seat 5
|
|
|
Post by Q3 on Aug 21, 2019 19:26:08 GMT -5
I really hate doing this because it is an Adam fansite and I think we should respect both Freddie and Adam. I get some people don't dig Freddie's voice that's cool everyone has a preference but Freddie wasn't an amateur. No he wasn't musically trained but he had a fantastic voice. His voice ended up in horrible shape for various reasons but the main thing was his nodules that plagued him since 1975. This could have easily been fixed but Freddie refused in fear of losing his voice completely. Prior to that Freddie was great at singing live. One of my fave retro Queen concerts was The Rainbow 74. Freddie was stellar. Compare it to a year later where exhaustion and nodules had begun to take their affect on his voice and you can see the difference. Of course as I've said other things factored into it. It reminds me of the recording session of Bohemian Rhapsody. Freddie did many different takes and from there decided which worked best on each part of the song.Or when they re-recorded Keep Yourself Alive it sounded like a totally different song. While at the time there was no autotune and so therefore what you hear is their natural voices(sometimes layered to cause that sound like its 50 voices instead of 3)they did have the option of re-recording it till they got it perfect. As I said because he was struggling with nodules till the end of his life during a tour there is no way he would attempt to do the "why" on Under Pressure and risk blowing out his voice mid way through the show. His voice did give out on him many times in 79. And back then Queen's tours were much longer and much harder on them due to the schedule. That doesn't mean if he wanted to he couldn't do it if he was fully rested. As for Live Aid I've watched the rehearsal footage and it is in no way the same as the actual performance. Of course it was rehearsed this was a major event which would also be aired live on tv and Queen hadn't played together in 6 months. Everyone said Queen took it more seriously then everyone else and clearly it paid off as we see even today. Plus at the time he performed against doctors orders. Infact most of the time from what I've seen in performances Freddie wasn't rehearsed as in it wasn't a carbon copy of the show (ex: Freddie didn't say exactly the same thing night after night) he always threw in something different. In a show you have to be rehearsed to some extent. As for why people prefer Freddie I've said this a hundred times it's what's drilled into them. I'm not saying Adam doesn't have a stellar voice but we have to remember Queen was a rock band and rock back then was not crystal clear vocals. I'm one of those people who likes both crystal clear vocals and gritty vocals hence why I like both Freddie and Adam. Ok I'm done. I just had to say this because I hate when people make Freddie seem like he wasn't a great performer. Everyone is allowed to have their opinions but still. Also the irony of it was Freddie's voice was prob at it's strongest the year prior to his death even up to a few months prior to his death (ex mother love, SMGO) One more thing the critics didn't like them in the beginning of their career but after it seemed like interest grew and slowly they got more respect. I don't think Freddie's death triggered the respect I just think it elevated Freddie's status in the rock world but again that doesn't mean he wasn't talented of course he was you have to be talented to do some of the things he did whether it was recorded or not.
Professor Christian Herbst stated that according to his research, the key lies in Mercury's vibrato, which differs slightly from those of other classically trained singers. "Usually, you can sing a straight tone, but opera singers try to modulate the fundamental frequencies,. So they make the tone, if you like, a bit more vibrant. Typically, an opera singer's vibrato has this frequency of about 5.5-6 Hz. Freddie Mercury's is higher, and it's also more irregular, and that kind of creates a very typical vocal fingerprint."
While Adam and Freddie are quite different, both share one thing that intrigues me -- there is a quality in their live vocals that I never here on a recording. I am not sure what "subharmonics" are but I do know that both singers left/leave me feeling like my brain heard more that it could understand.
***
I agree with you about Freddie in 1974 vs. 1975. I was lucky to see Queen live multiple times in 1974 and again in 1975. The difference was apparent -- he was unbelievable in 1974, although he was not consistently vocally great. There are no recordings of most of these early concert and that is a great loss.
I recall many people leaving Queen concerts and commenting about Freddie being a great frontmen (and Brian being a great guitarist), but I never recall anyone walking out of a '70's Queen concert and talking about how great a vocalist Freddie was. In my experience, talking about Freddie as a great vocalist did not really become prevalent until Freddie started his solo push and position himself as a solo vocalist.
This is very different than QAL where Adam's vocal prowess and precision is unmistakable. He may mangle some lyrics here and there but he rarely misses a note. I will always remember being at the iHeartRadio QAL concert set and hearing people, mostly Clear Channel PDs, MDs, and major DJs, talking about what an incredible vocalist Adam is.
***
I do not know a lot about vocal care but Freddie drank a lot, I mean a lot, of vodka (and other substances) prior to performing and also drink vodka while he was performing -- at least through 1982. (After that I have limited knowledge of their concert behavior because they abandoned the Queen fans in the US.) I believe some of his vocal issue were not related to the nodules but to his poor vocal technique. This is not so much about vocal training as it is about singing arena rock style music and the damage it caused to rock frontmen in the 70's as concerts moved to arenas and became really loud. He did a lot of extreme screams in the early years -- for example, "Ogre Battle" -- something Adam does not do.
In addition, Freddie made heavy use of his falsetto live until Feb 1975 when the nodules were diagnosed. After that, it was limited to recordings and rare bits of performances. So it is another reason why his live vocals were so different from 1975 on.
Does singing while drinking a lot of alcohol lead to vocal damage? I am interested in knowing if singing with a loud falsetto also causes vocal issues. I recall it sounding strained at times when Freddie was singing in his loud falsetto.
Regarding critics and Queen, it depends on the country. In the UK, yes, they got some respect in the late 1970's but not in the US. Frankly, the first time Queen got consistently good reviews in the US is QAL -- although these reviews contain a lot of revisionism about Queen circa 1971-1991, which still cracks me up. Some of the US reviews of their concerts and albums are funny.
|
|
|
Post by adamrocks on Aug 21, 2019 19:26:29 GMT -5
LOL! That reviewer saying Freddie wasn't Broadway theatrical! Sure..OK!
|
|
|
Post by nica575 on Aug 21, 2019 19:35:58 GMT -5
Jablea thank you I'm so glad you understand what I meant. Oh I have to look this user up. Shame I wonder what's happened to him why he isn't here for the current tour. Hope he returns at some point would love to be able to chat with him too. svca I understand where you are coming from completely and even I admitted in my post just two or three days back that I think since his death and maybe more so since the movie he has been elevated to god like status. It does tend to happen from what I've seen not just with singers even with other iconic figures. I just got a bit upset maybe I shouldn't have I also haven't had the greatest of days so I think the stress contributed to my response. talon not only participated in tour discussions but he actually shared his expertise and created a full blown college course worth on everything Queen. it was deeply appreciated, especially for those of us who didn’t know much about them. It is here: adamtopia.com/board/84/queen-discussionThe “college course” is 95 pages long! and it is absolutely fascinating even for those familiar with their music and history. I highly recommend going thru it as your time allows. talon, come back!
|
|