TALON'S TAKE
I must preface this one by saying this is a long post. There are a lot of live performances to capture! (But even this is nothing compared to the longest posts of this education will be...and I will guess those will be
Tie Your Mother Down and of course
We Will Rock You might need it's own thread
Today we have...
Now I'm HereWritten by: Brian May
Musicians:
Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, organ
Brian May - guitars, backing vocals, piano
John Deacon - bass guitar
Roger Taylor - drums, backing vocals
- Issued as a single in the UK where it hit #11. It was also released in Belgium, the Netherlands (where it hit #32), Spain Hungary, and Japan (where it hit #87). Surprisingly not issued as a single in the US despite:
- Written by Brian after their tour in America with Mott The Hoople. Brian was very intrigued by how rock was perceived in America and the fun time they had (before he fell ill obviously). It really energized the band quite a bit.
- This song features a lot of delay effect (like in Brian's solo) and that would be revisited in
The Prophet's Song on the next album.
- This track was one of the most played Queen songs in Queen history. Once written it featured in the setlist (many times opening the show) from 1974 all the way through Freddie's last tour in 1986 and it was played at the Tribute Concert and Brian performed it on his first solo tour. Surprisingly, that was the last time it was played. Brian didn't play it on his second solo tour and shockingly it wasn't played with Paul or Adam. For being such a staple, it is surprising that it doesn't get played anymore, especially as it is a great live number!
QUOTES:
- "That was nice. That was a Brian May thing. We released it after
Killer Queen. And it's a total contrast, just a total contrast. It was just to show people we can still do rock 'n' roll - we haven't forgotten our rock 'n' roll roots. It's nice to do on stage. I enjoyed doing that on stage." – Freddie Mercury – Record Mirror – 1976.
- "We’d done a few things before I was ill, but when I came back they’d done a load more, including a couple of backing tracks of songs by Freddie which I hadn’t heard, like
Flick Of The Wrist, which excited me and gave me a lot of inspiration to get back in there and do some writing –
Now I’m Here was done in that period. The song’s about experiences on the American tour, which really blew me away. I was bowled over by the amazing aura rock music has in America.” – Brian May
ALTERNATIVE RELEASED VERSIONS:
BBC SESSION 5 VERSION- NOT essential listening.
- Very slight differences. Quite possibly the album backing track with a slightly different vocal take and more prominent guitars.
UNRELEASED AND UNHEARD:
LONGER OUTRO VERSION- I don't know much about this one but according to some Queen scholars a demo exists with a longer instrumental outro.
OFFICIALLY RELEASED LIVE VERSIONS:
LIVE KILLERS- Audio only.
- Quite possibly my favorite version. QUITE rocking and a great vocal call and response by Freddie in the middle. A long version to be sure but worthwhile!
ROCK MONTREAL- The instrument mix is better than
Live Killers and this too is a great version!
ON FIRE AT THE BOWL- A very energetic Freddie performance! (Aren't they all?)
LIVE AT WEMBLEY- These were 2 days in Wembley with the first being in a rainy afternoon at Wembley while the second is a bit more tired Freddie but still kicking it!
HUNGARIAN RHAPSODY- Another version from the 1986 tour
BRIAN MAY LIVE AT BRIXTON ACADEMY – 1993- Your first (in this thread anyways) track from a Brian solo concert! From his
Back To The Light tour featuring a full on band with female backing vocalists, Brian does quite a good job filling in for his friend on vocals.
ALTERNATIVE LIVE VERSIONS:
BRIAN MAY + GARY CHERONE + NUNO BETTENCOURT + STEVE VAI + JOE SATRIANI – GUITAR EXPO – 1991- ESSENTIAL listening!
- In 1991 Brian May was asked to put together a Guitar Expo for a concert in Seville Spain. It was to be a concert of nothing but guitar genius after guitar genius. So all the best were there (including Paul Rodgers...things to come!) They all did their own set and at the end a few of them jammed on a few tracks including this Queen track. Gary Cherone from Extreme was on lead vocals while all the guitarists shred on this classic. It just seems like they are all having a blast!
DEF LEPPARD + BRIAN MAY AT THE FREDDIE MERCURY TRIBUTE – 1992- At the 1992 A Concert For Life: A Tribute To Freddie Mercury, the concert opened with many rock bands doing their own thing while the second half was Queen + guest vocalists taking their turn at Queen classics. BUT during the first half, Def Leppard did their 2 songs and then invited Brian up to do
Now I'm Here. It was a fun version, mostly given the circumstances.
QUEEN + FOO FIGHTERS – BRIXTON ACADEMY 1999- Foo Fighters are HUGE Queen fans and great friends with Brian and Roger...and they have had NUMEROUS performances over the years, some VERY memorable. This one? Well it is memorable in the track they chose. Unfortunately Dave Grohl is not up to the task and is VERY sloppy. BUT at the same time he is very in awe of Brian and Roger who appear to be at least having a fun time. Brian comes on first to a
We Will Rock You intro..and then at the end Taylor Hawkins leaves his drum set and Roger comes on. It's ALWAYS great watching Taylor Hawkins react to ANY Queen member. He obviously is as obsessed as any Queen fanatic
SO while there are definitely better performances, it's still a fun watch.
PERSONAL NOTES:
- Would be good for ANY tour. Energetic song with tons of room to play.
CHANCES:
Now I'm Here......50% -- Pretty high percentage for a song they haven't played during a Queen show during 1986 (not counting Brian joining Def Leppard at the Freddie tribute or Brian and Roger joining the Foos) but I can't help but think it's going to be played now. Since 1974 it was played at every Queen gig til they went off the road and then Brian played it during his solo tours. Combine that with this nostalgic one more time in America feeling, it just seems too appropriate to play a song Brian wrote about discovering America to not play! But perhaps it's just wishful thinking!
SUPPLEMENTAL:
Part II (of III) of the Freddie Tribute songs!
Old FriendsFrom:
Happiness (1994)Written by: Roger Taylor
Musicians:
Roger Taylor - lead and backing vocals, drums, guitar, keyboards
Jason Falloon - guitars
Phil Spalding - bass
Mike Crossley - keyboards
Catherine Porter - backing vocals
- Written as Roger's tribute to Freddie. It was played live throughout the Happiness? tour with shots of Freddie on the video screen throughout.
- There was a rumor that Roger initially planned to debut it at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert much like Brian debuting
Too Much Love Will Kill You but that time ran short. This is dubious however. It is known that Roger singing
A Kind of Magic with Chris Thompson was cut due to time constraints so I wonder if people confused the songs for some reason.
LIVE VERSIONS:
LIVE B-SIDE VERSION - SHEPHERD'S BUSH - 1994- AUDIO ONLY
LIVE IN PARIS - 1994- VIDEO
PERSONAL NOTES: Love Love Love this track. It's Happiness'
These Are The Days Of Our Lives Roger's vocals, Catherine's haunting backing vocals. Just a great great track.
CHANCES:
Old Friends......0% -- Again, since Brian gets Last Horizon, I'd love Rog to get one solo song for his portions and this would be a nice tribute but it ain't happening...
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RT @beat102103: Brand new music from @avicii, @nilerodgers & @adamlambert coming up very shortly!!!
