Bands better live than in the studio?

[Axl Knows]

Cornell more versatile?

You'd have to look hard to find a more versatile rock band than Queen. Freddie sang rock, blues, trash metal, vaudeville, music hall, jazz, disco...

Some examples-

Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon -

Gimme The Prize-

How Can I Go On-

Pain Is So Close To Pleasure -

Mother Love (last song Freddie sang before his death) -

I've already heard the entire Queen catalogue mate. Including the outtakes from the Barcelona sessions like How Can I Go On (which is his best performance) And sorry, yeah, Cornell's more versatile: These are better than anything Freddie ever did.

Call Me a Dog:

When I'm Down:

Beyond the Wheel:

Preaching the End of the World:

Four Walled World:

[Tater Totts]

God I think even GNRDave was more accepting of other peoples than this guy

[Demon Wolf]

My point still stands, Axl. Speaking of Chris though, in a mildy related note, Sweden's Idol winner last year Erik Grönwall sounds very much like him at times, and has a similar range

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b0WZtMjO3g

Still, Freddie>Chris

Edited July 17, 2010 by Demon Wolf

[Axl Knows]

Sorry, Chris still takes him in range, power, resonance, emotion, phrasing, songwriting, versatility....

And that generic pop singer with generic poppy phrasing sounds nothing like Chris.

[Demon Wolf]

Eeeh at the end of the 18 & Life cover it sounds typical Cornell

Still can't understand the versatility part. Cornell always moves in his comfort zone and he does it well. I'd like to see him sing some vaudeville, music hall, jazz, faux opera....

[Axl Knows]

Still can't understand the versatility part. Cornell always moves in his comfort zone and he does it well. I'd like to see him sing some vaudeville, music hall, jazz, faux opera....

[Demon Wolf]

Still can't understand the versatility part. Cornell always moves in his comfort zone and he does it well. I'd like to see him sing some vaudeville, music hall, jazz, faux opera....

Haven't heard that before. Great vocals, awful arrangement.

[Axl Knows]

More on live bands, another thing that made Queen a mediocre live band was the fact that Brian wasn't that good at improvisation. He was great at writing for guitar, but his improv sucked ass and he often played the solo's exactly as they are on the records.

[Jakey Styley]

If you make a song in the studio that you can't perform almost the exact way life then don't make it, you're a fake.

Then what's the point in live performances if you just hear the exact same thing as on the album?

Thank you! It's DIFFERENT, which is why it's good. If they sounded exactly the same, why would I go see them? They make it unique live.

Also, how can one say Freddie COULD NOT hit the notes live? He did it in the studio, he probably could do it live too. But who knows? Maybe he'd end up just standing there like Celine Dion or something. He obviously had a strength as a performer, so he naturally took advantage of that. With all his moving around and constant sweating, he wouldn't have the proper breath to hit the high notes as clearly. So again, instead of risking making the performance sound like shit, he sang it differently. No big deal, better than hearing a cracking Freddie Mercury. That was smart of him and very professional. He wasn't cocky about those highs and didn't want to go out there to prove his abilities to hit them. He was more focused on giving his all in a great performance.

Look at Paul Stanley from KISS. As a huge KISS fan, I can still say Paul often in the 80s especially tried to hit notes that were just out of his range. He needed to accept defeat and just return to singing the songs in his comfortable range, which is what he did. Freddie accept defeat from the beginning, which again, was very professional.

Also, posting random videos and saying the songs always sounded like that doesn't make sense. I could easily post a bunch of Guns N' Roses videos where Axl sounds like shit or Slash fucked up big time and say that they sucked live. Is that the truth though? Of course not. Every band has their off days. We can look at a Guns performance like Paris or the Ritz and say yes, they really were a great live band. Just the same as we can look at a great Queen performance, like Wembley or Montreal or even Live Aid, and say yes, they were awesome live.

Edit: Making Hot Pockets because you can't cook a nice Steak dinner doesn't make the Hot Pockets taste better than the steak dinner.

"fuck man, what he just said was so awesome i cant even take it. ill just ignore it in my response to him."

[Axl Knows]

Yeah, people like to dodge around the "why did Freddie suck donkey nuts live" issue. They just come out with stuff like like, "he had vocal nodules". Guess what: Axl had a severely damaged voice during the UYI tour and he didn't half ass the songs like Freddie did. Freddie was just outright lazy as a live singer.

Great in the studio. Crap live.

Edited July 17, 2010 by Axl Knows

[Snake Eyes]

The Specials, probably because the productions outdated but their tight live, always into them.

The Flaming Lips make such an uplifting spectacle with their set up and big jams.

Crystal Castles are intense. Saw them in a small venue and it was bouncing.

Oh - and Babyshambles. Their class in the studio but live it's like seeing a fucking 50s legend or something, Dohertys just got a vibe about him. Witty fucker as well. Last time I saw them I almost got away with his mike stand which he passed into the crowd.

Edited July 17, 2010 by Snake Eyes

[Black Sabbath]

B)

[Demon Wolf]

Yeah, people like to dodge around the "why did Freddie suck donkey nuts live" issue. They just come out with stuff like like, "he had vocal nodules". Guess what: Axl had a severely damaged voice during the UYI tour and he didn't half ass the songs like Freddie did. Freddie was just outright lazy as a live singer.

Great in the studio. Crap live.

It just blows my mind how you can say he sucked "donkey nuts live" when he's done countless of amazing performances. And I am a huge fan of Axl, but he sounded like crap for most part of the UYI tour.

And Brian May, sucked at improv? Sure he often plays the solos as they are, but that's what you do for the iconic solos (like BoRhap). Slash played the Don't Cry and November Rain solos practically note for note every night but I don't hear you complaining. Solos isn't all about improv, some are compositions within the song and should be left as such.

[Tater Totts]

B)

Yeah NIN are a bit of awesome live.

[Axl Knows]

Yeah, people like to dodge around the "why did Freddie suck donkey nuts live" issue. They just come out with stuff like like, "he had vocal nodules". Guess what: Axl had a severely damaged voice during the UYI tour and he didn't half ass the songs like Freddie did. Freddie was just outright lazy as a live singer.

Great in the studio. Crap live.

It just blows my mind how you can say he sucked "donkey nuts live" when he's done countless of amazing performances. And I am a huge fan of Axl, but he sounded like crap for most part of the UYI tour.

And Brian May, sucked at improv? Sure he often plays the solos as they are, but that's what you do for the iconic solos (like BoRhap). Slash played the Don't Cry and November Rain solos practically note for note every night but I don't hear you complaining. Solos isn't all about improv, some are compositions within the song and should be left as such.

I say he sucked donkey nuts because he sounded great for ONE tour (Hot Space). He was downright horrible until 1979, OK for The Game tour, fantastic for Hot Space, crap on The Works tour, and only decent for the Magic tour. Also, Axl outright blew his voice out on the UYI tour, something Freddie never did. Not surprising considering how much more demanding singing GNR songs is and how much more abusive Axl's vocal style is.

Yes, but improv is an important aspect of live playing. I'm not knocking either Slash or Brian as guitarists, but it would have been better if they'd have deviated more often IMO.

Edited July 18, 2010 by Axl Knows

[GivenToFly]

It's a rock concert, not opera. There are more important things than how high your voice goes. It's about the energy you give out, the show you put on, the connection with the audience. But what the hell do you know. Your sole purpose here is to annoy. If that's what makes you feel good, than you're a really pathetic person.

[Demon Wolf]

It's a rock concert, not opera. There are more important things than how high your voice goes. It's about the energy you give out, the show you put on, the connection with the audience. But what the hell do you know. Your sole purpose here is to annoy. If that's what makes you feel good, than you're a really pathetic person.

Freddie was a PERFORMER. There is a reason he is constantly number 1 or in the top 5 when it comes to "Best frontmen"-lists. And Queen's act at Live Aid was voted best live performance of all time by 500 music journalists. Hmm hmm.

I have never heard anyone call Queen a mediocre live act, apart from Axl Knows, hence my confusion.

[Axl Knows]

Queen were a great live act in regards to crowd interaction, theatrics, showmanship etc.

Musically? Not so much.

Edited July 18, 2010 by Axl Knows

[moreblack]

I have never heard anyone call Queen a mediocre live act, apart from Axl Knows, hence my confusion.

It's a short list I would think

[Guest deleted_19765]

Any good band should be. Going to a show should always excel listening to an album.

[moreblack]

You would think so, but some acts are dead set on only replicating the studio effort as closely as possible. Which works for some people but you're right, one should get more for the amounts bands charge these days...

[Powerage5]

STP

Despite the fact that they're one of my absolute favorite bands, I don't particularly agree. I really think they lost a lot of their magic live after the Purple tour. It just never sounded as inspired or as intense after that point. Not to say I don't still enjoy going to see them, but they were really only amazing for those first few years. I will say, the video of Dead And Bloated on the Thank You DVD is probably one of the most electric performances I've ever seen.

[WhazUp]

Pearl Jam

here is proof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DTFwYZ6YJU

Edited July 19, 2010 by WhazUp

[Axl Knows]

Pearl Jam

here is proof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DTFwYZ6YJU

That''s not saying much though.

[WhazUp]

Pearl Jam

here is proof: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DTFwYZ6YJU

That''s not saying much though.

In that performance Eddie gives so much emotion into that song, especially at the tag at the end. The band as a whole is tight, and this performance rivals the studio version by far.