Often the music would be prerecorded for those kinds of shows. I am not sure if it is a live in the studio sound problem, or the ability to clean up any mistakes, or what, but often they would lay down a live backing take, and then the vocalist would sing live .... though many mimed anyhow.
Artists were forced by the Musicians Union to re-record their 'hits' for their appearances on television shows like 'Top Of The Pops'. I think that they were supposed to record a new version for broadcast, but they usually recorded a new vocal or remix a backing track and slipped that past. There are stories of groups getting the MU rep drunk and replacing the new recording for the original versions.
The band recorded a drastically different arrangement of the song and then mimed along to that. Brian's guitar isn't connected to anything and Freddie often stops singing before the vocal is complete. Roger also does Mike's Stones call out "Hey, boy where'd you get that from?" in this version. It may be a bit faster as well.
Queen News of the World bonus EP 2011 1. "Feelings Feelings" (Take 10, July 1977) May[49] 1:54 2. "Spread Your Wings" (BBC session, October 1977) Deacon 5:25 3. "My Melancholy Blues" (BBC session, October 1977) Mercury 3:12 4. "Sheer Heart Attack" (Live in Paris, France, 28 February 1979) Taylor 3:34 5. "We Will Rock You" (Fast) (Live in Tokyo, Japan, November 1982) May 2:54 Total length: 16:59 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So here we continue along in a similar vein. We start with an outtake, which in itself is really nice to see. Then we get 2 BBC tracks and two live tracks.
Why in the world did they not include the BBC version of WWRY (Fast)?! I was completely unaware of its existence until the BBC compilation was released 5 years later. I absolutely LOVE that version. IMO, They could've been released it as a promo single for the reissues.
Also - TOTP ran to a very tight recording schedule. There may not have been time to set up and properly sound check the five or six bands that might perform on one 27 minute episode.
Artists were allowed 2 hours studio time to record a 'version' of the record for use on 'Top Of The Pops'. In the case of Queen's first appearance (recorded 20th Feb 1974) for broadcast the following day, they were a last minute replacement for Bowie (the video for 'Rebel Rebel' failed to arrive in time), so they had to aquire some studio time, which they did courtesy of Pete Townshend. Roger was not fond of appearing on it, calling it a complete waste of a day and "using all your iron will not to get completely p****d."
Thought so. Roger's vocals are double-tracked in the audio, which made me think this whole thing is more playback than done live.
Feelings Feelings This is a nice raw rock song, that fits in well with the whole vibe of News Of The World. It probably needed a bit more work to get it exactly right, but as a bonus track it is good value.
Spread Your Wings For whatever reason, this is among my favourite Queen tracks, and this is a good version, worth a spin.
This has nothing to do with the EP, but I couldn't resist posting it Queen Live In Tokyo 1979 .... C'mon guys, some of this stuff looks good, get it cleaned up and on the racks.
Great song, great version. This and Save Me are two songs that are consistently overlooked as Queen's greatest.
A great excuse to share this wonderful young man who caught the attention of Brian May enough to give him a share on YouTube.
This song always reminds me of Norah Jones. Or the other way round, because she is from a later era. Anyway it sounds like taylored for her.
Melancholy Blues is one of the few Freddie-centric songs that a female could really have some fun with. The time has never been better for someone to give it a go.
Is this the one where Freddie's voice is knackered? Oh well - he was at the end of a world tour. And I am sure that Freddie had a great time shopping for woodblock prints and antique furniture in downtown Tokyo after the show. (Believe it or not - That's not a euphemism! Freddie had one of the finest private collections of Japanese art and furniture in the western world).
Speaking of Freddie and art - today I finally got to see the actual Fairy Feller's Masterstroke - the Richard Dadd painting that inspired the song on Queen II. Yes, Freddie's song is dense and bonkers. But nothing can prepare you for how dense and bonkers the actual painting is. So much action and texture on a small canvas (probably smaller than an A3 sheet of paper). Highly recommended viewing, if you are ever near the Tate Britain gallery in London.
I've never seen it in a gallery setting, just have a reproduction in one the old fan club magazines. Yes, it is dense and bonkers, but as you say, rich in action and texture.
I can't remember if this got posted or not, but while the topic was raised. This, I believe is the really, pretty cool picture/painting in question. Cheers @Orthogonian Blues for mentioning that
I haven't ever viewed the painting, the Tate is on my bucket list though. I didn't realize it's that small, about 16 x 21 inches. I understand there is also a poem he wrote about it.
Queen Jazz Bonus EP 2011 1. "Fat Bottomed Girls" (single version) 3:23 2. "Bicycle Race" (instrumental) 3:09 3. "Don't Stop Me Now" (with long-lost guitars) 3:34 4. "Let Me Entertain You" (live at the Montreal Forum, November 1981) 2:48 5. "Dreamer's Ball" (early acoustic take, August 1978) 3:40 Total length: 16:34 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- For me these bonus EP's are a big sigh. It is nice that there is something extra on the set, but, again, at least for me, it is all a little ho hum. An extra 16-18 minutes of bits and pieces that seem rather random, and really aren't very fulfilling. That isn't to say there is nothing good, but odd live tracks that will show up on dvd/bluray sets. Tracks where the vocal channel has been muted .... it isn't exactly earth moving stuff. Here we have an early acoustic take of Dreamers Ball, which may be interesting, and Don't Stop Me Now with "long lost guitars" that may be interesting. I am sure that the Fat Bottomed Girls Single edit may be of interest to someone, but I assume it is on Greatest Hits. I love Bicycle Race, but i'm not overly concerned about hearing it without the main vocal. Let Me Entertain You is sitting all alone as a live track, and I guess it has been unreleased to this point, but I would have been much more interested in a complete show from the Jazz tour than one track shoved in the middle of these tracks.... Idk, perhaps I am old a jaded. Anyway What do you guys think of this one? Did we get something of real value here, or a cookie to draw the fans that had already bought this album several times prior?
Does anyone know if the 'long lost guitars' on DSMN are vintage or recorded and added by Brian in 2011? The main cd adds an extra drum-track to Jealousy...
