Hello to all of my crazy and wonderful subscribers! This is an upload that I’ve wanted to get up for a long time. This show has had a long and controversial history behind it - and I’m so glad that I can sleep soundly at night now! Over the last year, this show has had a couple of upgrades that have resulted in some great discussions, uploads, and debates from various sources. This version of the show was sent to me by a collector and it sounds like it is at least one generation better compared with the 2018 version on Ryan Newton’s Youtube. While the sound is still not great, it does sound slightly better overall. There is less distortion, less hiss, and a slightly more balanced and brighter sound in general. Freddie’s vocals are slightly easier to distinguish in the mix and certain songs are definitely going to be talked about more often! Unfortunately, this upgrade still has “Don’t Stop Me Now” cut and misses “Love Of My Life,” “’39,” “Keep Yourself Alive,” the guitar solo/instrumental inferno, and “Liar.”
While the band aren’t 100% in the pocket at times during this show (“I’m In Love With My Car” being the worst offender), they still sound generally great overall and feed off the amazing atmosphere from the crowd. Freddie sounds excellent overall during this concert and this is the earliest circulating show with his “Crazy Tour voice.” On this tour, Freddie would be at his absolute peak as a live vocalist and would often display gutsy singing throughout the sets. His voice never sounded better live and while he would go on and still have excellent shows after this tour - these late 1979 shows (mostly) can’t be beat from a live vocal standpoint. Now… time to talk about the songs!
The fast “We Will Rock You” has Freddie singing the first verse conservatively, but otherwise is a great version of the song with the crowd adding an amazing atmosphere to the performance. “Let Me Entertain You” has John fudging up the bass line in the second verse, but Freddie sounds great overall on the performance and sings album phrasing in a couple of spots. “Somebody To Love” sounds excellent overall with Freddie going for some great high notes and sounding beastly in general. While this version isn’t quite up to the Newcastle versions, it’s still a top-notch rendition that shouldn’t be ignored. “Mustapha” once again has the crowd adding their atmosphere to the performance (which is great overall) and Freddie sounds very clean on the higher notes. “Death On Two Legs” has the best vocal delivery of the song on the tour (Freddie embellishes “conscience all right” and has a nice tone on the song), but Brian counterbalances the performance by not being nearly as clean with his playing as the other Crazy Tour versions. “Killer Queen” sounds great overall with Freddie’s vocals and Brian’s solo both being very solid. “I’m In Love With My Car” unfortunately isn’t solid as it’s the worst version of the song during Queen’s classic era. Roger forgets the lyrics and completely throws off the band. Freddie comes to the rescue and sings a couple lines to get the song back on track. “Get Down Make Love” is the best version on the tour as Freddie nails the studio Bb4 on the first chorus (“every time I get high”) and “You’re My Best Friend” is a solid and consistent version!
The earliest circulating live version of “Save Me” is on this recording and it’s wonderful overall. Freddie sings the song very smoothly and displays some great soft tone throughout (almost like the record). While the instrumentation isn’t 100% in a couple of spots, this performance still is excellent and serves as a great comparison to the Newcastle and Liverpool performances that would happen over the next few days. “Now I’m Here” has a very unique improv section (when compared to the other Crazy Tour versions) and Freddie has a lot of fun with his vocal phrasing in spots. “Don’t Stop Me Now” is cut, but sounds great overall. “Spread Your Wings” sounds awesome at this show with Freddie displaying some great belting power and a great tone on the B4s. “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” is an elite version with the crowd being totally into the performance and Freddie singing some creative phrasing throughout. “Bohemian Rhapsody” from this show is the bane of my existence as I was wrong for nine years and Freddie DOES hit the C5 in the rock section. He also nails most of the phrasing in the verses and has a nice soft tone during the ending section. This is the best version of Bohemian Rhapsody live (at least vocally). “Tie Your Mother Down” sounds beastly with Freddie acing most of the vocals and slightly flubbing the lyrics at the beginning. “Sheer Heart Attack” is energetic with a strong vocal performance. “We Will Rock You” is the all-time best version of the song as Freddie nails the vocals. “We Are The Champions” starts off funny as Freddie fumbles the piano intro (takes him three attempts), but he sings the song well and the crowd sounds great!
ENJOY!!!
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