talon
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Post by talon on Mar 15, 2015 22:41:19 GMT -5
EDITED IN fun to the SomeboDY To Love Thread. This goes to show I'm getting a bit advanced in my age as I keep forgetting performances
Next? White Man has never been covered or sung with anyone so we move on to Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy. Never performed with Queen by anyone I don't think...and I only know of one cover so it's a by default..BUT it is a good very faithful cover! jason Mraz
I really enjoy Jason. He grew on me quite a bit. At first I didn't know what to make of the guy, but he's the genuine article and this is a nice nice version. Verdict (by default): Jason Mraz
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Post by talon on Mar 15, 2015 22:29:42 GMT -5
He did explain the gap. It was a very personal situation and thus completely understandable. Here is a link to a complete version - remastered a bit - with some hiss removed and unpacked and split up...It doesn't take long on QZ Sun City Remaster
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Post by talon on Mar 14, 2015 5:10:00 GMT -5
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Post by talon on Mar 14, 2015 4:11:28 GMT -5
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Post by talon on Mar 13, 2015 23:52:35 GMT -5
First off I must note I went back and edited George Michael's performance of '39 into that entry.
Long Away, Millonaire Waltz and You And I are no-go so we'll move on to Somebody To Love
Talon Entry
Played live through 1982 in full, truncated for the 1984 and 1985 tours before being dropped for the 1986 tour. Played to high acclaim at the Freddie Tribute and played by Brian with Kerry Ellis before QAL brought it back to the Queeniverse. Ignoring the straight covers: Queen Extravaganza, Jeff Scott Soto, Geoff Tate, Brittany Murphy, Anne Hathaway, Frank Turner, and Garth Brooks. EDITED IN: I FORGOT FUN!Catherine Porter - w/Brian on guitar. Catherine is a singer who also did backing vocals for Brian's solo tours as well as some Queen gigs as well as on the Made In Heaven album/ George Michael
Hannah Jane Fox - From the WWRY cast, she did perform it with Brian and Roger on occasion. Kerry Ellis - Both electric and accoustic (with Brian on some vocals as well) Marc Martel - On American Idol, Queen actually did one performance WITH Queen Extravaganza. Adam Lambert
Nate Ruess
Ok this is a very difficult one for me. So many good choices. I can cut some off the top. Catherine's version is unique which in interesting but ultimately interesting doesn't mean better. Hannah Jane works for the musical, but I prefer others. Kerry again is alright but it's not quite in her wheelhouse. SO it's George vs Marc vs Adam vs. Nate. Out of these four I really liked Nate's version (I know many here didn't especially since it meant Adam wasn't singing it. I thought Nate showed great respect and had a lot of fun (no pun intended) and showed a lot of energy. One of my fav moments was watching him sit back by his guitarist and just watch Brian do his solo and just with this big huge "I can't believe I'm getting to do this" grin to the point where he almost forgets to come back in. BUT at the end of the day while better than those I have eliminated already - it's still a notch less than the other 3. George Michael's is considered the definitive non-Freddie performance of the song. It was the performance that for the next 10 years or so stoked rumors that Queen would tour with George. And from some people behind the scenes it was considered It was decided against for a few reasons - many of which revolved around it being too soon. But it doesn't take away from the fact that it was an extremely powerful moment in the Tribute Concert that won him many fans from the Queen side. Marc - Well it was also Marc's signature song - the one that won him the job, the YT sensation and even a spot on Ellen! His take is uncanny and sounds much like Freddie so it certainly is hard to dislike! Of course it was also the debut of the new up-tempo ending that QAL adapted during their tours. Adam - Honestly during 2012 I would have crossed Adam off the list with Catherine, Hannah, and Kerry. I was highly disappointed in his take especially because I had such high hopes for it. But then something happened in 2014-2015 and Adam got much MUCH better at the track. I'm not sure what it was but I suddenly liked his performance a ton more. I really really can't decide here. All three are worthy choices and all three have some sentimental value so for the first time...and hopefully the last time during this journey - I'm chickening out... Verdict: George, Marc, and Adam
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Post by talon on Mar 13, 2015 0:50:05 GMT -5
On Brian's Soapbox he mentions that he was recording today on a new project with Kerry Ellis. Personally I believe it has to do with the whole Common Decency thing he's driving at. But we'll have to see!
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Post by talon on Mar 12, 2015 23:09:32 GMT -5
You Take My Breath Away
Talon Entry
The band played it for about a year and half and then dropped it forever. No one has performed it with Queen probably because for all intents and purposes it is almost a solo Freddie track... It has been covered by two artists Elaine Paige
Valensia
Elaine still is too Broadway for me and while this number could work on stage as a ballad it works better the way Valensia did it...fairly straightforward. Verdict: Valensia
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Post by talon on Mar 12, 2015 23:05:24 GMT -5
Ok so not official news but an interesting day in Queen fandom. About six years ago, a chap on Queenzone came forward claiming he had a soundboard recording of one of the Queen concerts from Sun City (the controversial ones) form which nothing had ever surfaced previously. He soon provided the first half, said he would upload the second half soon and disappeared. Now this wasn't just another bootleg....I mean a soundboard tape! That's what official releases are made from (well at least that's where they start). So the sound was an extremely raw one with no mix done on it...and yes Freddie was fighting vocal problems (they had to cancel a few shows due to his nodules) so there are some struggles but it was still one of my fav recordings. It had one of my favorite improvs. But that was it...Today...he showed back up and we got the second half (well minus a few cuts) and it was glorious! Some very interesting choices by Freddie including a falsetto moment in Hammer To Fall. Either way Sun City Remaster - CompleteIt may be hard to understand but this was something I waited six years for and had given up that it was ever coming. Easily one of my fav recordings from the 1984 tour
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Post by talon on Mar 12, 2015 3:48:58 GMT -5
^ Axl's version is decent but something about his voice has always grated on me a bit. I love a lot of GNR songs...and he's got a real rock voice but it never really did it for me. On this one Paul beats Adam as it sounds more natural in Paul's voice. Adam sounds a bit too...boyish for me but to each their own obviously
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Post by talon on Mar 12, 2015 0:53:53 GMT -5
Ok so no God Save The Queen but another big one... Tie Your Mother Down
Talon Entry
Played at every Queen concert since it debuted and all throughout QPR, QAL, Brian's solo tours, Kerry tours - this song honestly might be THE most played Queen song. Quite honestly Brian whores this song out to EVERYONE at some point. SO I think I'll leave the Brian-less (at least)covers like Lemmy (From Motorhead) teaming with Ted Nugent, L.A. Guns, Little Angels, Lynch Mob, Shinedown, Slash's Snakepit, Talisman, Warrant, Velvet Revolver, WASP and a bunch others out.... Gary Cherone (of Extreme) - Brian has guested with Extreme a few times now. Joe Elliot (of Def Leppard) - This one is from the Freddie Tribute and Brian did the first verse Axl Rose (of Guns N' Roses) 5ive - The boyband. Most Queen fans weren't a fan of this collaboration..... Foo Fighters #1 (Dave Grohl singing)
Foo Fighters #2 (Taylor Hawkins singing)
Kerry Ellis - Firstly from a WWRY afterparty and with both B&R and second a MUCH better quality vid of Brian and Kerry at their recent "acoustic" gigs. Amanda Harrison, Jacen Wooten, Katie Sheik, Olga Belya, Mazz Murray - Various WWRY afterpartys (Except Mazz which was her wedding - she being a WWRY cast member) - No vid - Haven't heard it so I can't judge Paul Rodgers
Justin Hawkins (of The Darkness) Adam Lambert
Whew! Quite a list! Ok let me just eliminate a few right off the bat - Joe Elliot (never been a super fan of his voice - I do like a lot of Def Lep's songs though), Axl Rose (not bad, just not top notch), 5ive (the less the said the better), Foo Fighters (Dave Grohl - I don't mind but if I'm going to pick a Foo, I like Taylor's rendition better), Kerry Ellis (Not a fan of her on rocking stuff either to be honest.. OK So that leaves us Gary Cherone - I've always loved the guy - one of my favorite singers so tough to eliminate. Personally he's one of the few guys I would love to see a Q+ gig with in an alternate universe. The Hawkins (no relation) - Taylor & Justin - Sheer exuberance wins a lot of points and I like their version but there are better on the list. Paul Rodgers - Top notch bluesy/rock singer. This song was much more up his alley than a lot of the Freddie fare. Adam - Not in his wheelhouse - I still think he struggles a bit on this one...he has improved - I will definitely give him that. So with that in mind - in my mind it would come down to Gary vs Paul. I want to give it to Gary...BUT if I'm honest Paul does it better...when he remembers the words that is Verdict: Paul Rodgers
And I decided here and now that it might be interesting to have a sub-list to keep track of. Paul vs Adam as the two most longterm Q+ vocalists. I think given how completely supportive I was of both eras, I'd be a good non-biased judge! At this point? Paul - 1 (Tie Your Mother Down) Adam - 1/2 (Bohemain Rhapsody (1/2)) (Note I gave Adam only 1/2 since although he won - Paul really only sang a couple of lines so it's not really fair to credit that as a full song for Paul. Yes Freddie sang on Adam's as well but Freddie sang more on Paul's.)
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