Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2020 21:59:54 GMT
Hi everyone.
A few months ago I sent this preliminary list based on my obviously flawed and fallible hearing abilities. Here are my suspicions of what kind of drums were used on each track from Hot Space onwards. They're not 100% confirmed as not even those who were actually there remember everything with utmost accuracy, but not getting everything right is not the same as not getting anything right. I appreciate any corrections and constructive criticism anyone can offer here but I'd also be really thankful if those very few who issue snide comments to keep them to themselves.
Staying Power: The basic beat is clearly programmed on a Linn computer, both the drums and the tambourine. The demo has some real drums for the second cycle (roughly from the end of the first chorus until the end of the instrumental break), but the album version drops them except for the very end of the horn part, and even then they're subdued in the mix. Roger played an interesting part there, but most of it was muted, unfortunately. There's still a tiny bit of human drumming on the final release.
Dancer: The basic beat is again programmed, but then for the chorus there are some real cymbals (but the hi-hats are still programmed). It sounds like the second verse has both the computer and Roger playing the same pattern simultaneously (you can hear his characteristic hi-hat trademark). The snare overdubs (before the solo and in the middle of it) are obviously human, likely recorded separately. There are also a few cymbal ornaments here and there. The tambourine is also a combination of computer and real: from the break onwards, it's obviously only the 'real' one, double-tracked. The bass, on the other hand, is completely synth-generated, same as 'Staying Power'.
Back Chat: Surround mix helps a lot here. Again, the basic drum/tambourine part is completely computer-generated, and nicely mixed stereo. Roger did the e-drum solo and introduced Brian's epic show-off. This might be one of the very few Queen recordings not to have any acoustic drumming at all.
Body Language: Again, the basic part is programmed, even the cymbal breaks here and there. The only bit which sounds real to me is just before 'knock me down for a six anytime', where Roger takes over for a few seconds. The handclaps and fingerclicks are also clearly programmed.
Action This Day: Similar trick as most of it is only computer-generated, but during the sax solo Roger overdubbed the real part as well, which then keeps going until the fade-out.
Put Out the Fire: Completely human (drums + double-tracked maracas). It wouldn't surprise me if they'd done this backing track 'the good old-fashioned way'. The drumming during the solo is particularly interesting and sounds marvellous. Mack was definitely an extraordinary producer.
Life Is Real: The snare sounds different from one section to another (verse, pre-chorus, chorus). I don't know if that's a case of EQing, mixing, miking, or if it was a sneaky way to cross-fade real drums into computerised ones. I'd love to get the stems or multi-tracks to this one. The break is clearly human. What comes at the end of the solo and from then on sounds indeed like the programmed version of the beat Roger'd been previously playing on real drums. So this is also a bit of a mixture methinks.
Calling All Girls: Live drums, and deliciously played as well. Backing track must've been a power trio with Brian on acoustic and John on bass. Very underrated record, in fact. Reportedly, Roger played the feedback guitars. I sort of like the video, too - it's ridiculous, but in a good way.
Las Palabras de Amor: Human. You can compare the sound of the hi-hats semiquavers with the ones on the first side ('Back Chat' et al), and there's a clear difference. There are also some overdubbed rolls (or perhaps even another gong?) in the second verse. It's a really interesting arrangement in terms of instrumentation, very detailed.
Cool Cat: This one's always fiery debated. We all seem to agree they're looped. But looped from what? Roger playing the beat once or twice, or a computer? IMO: looped from Roger playing the beat once or twice, then EQ'd and sped-up (similar to 'Another One Bites the Dust' or 'Coming Soon'). It also sounds like he used a different snare, or perhaps even an electronic one. The album version is sped-up anyway, which also accounts for the different sound on both percussion and vocals. Speaking of vocals, I think Roger co-sings harmonies there, quite prominently.
Under Pressure: The drum part is real, played simultaneously with the bass and Brian's rhythm guitar (a lot of which got later replaced by a twelve-string one).
Soul Brother: Human throughout.
I Go Crazy: Also human. The live backing track was the power trio.
Radio Ga Ga: Both the basic beat, the cymbal rolls and the tambourine are computer generated. The only part which could have real drums doubling (as opposed to replacing) the programmed ones are sixteen bars after the second chorus is over (a bit of a re-intro).
Tear It Up: Sounds programmed (merely edited and mixed differently to make them sound more rocker), including the tambourine. Roger's main role, besides the backing vocals, seems to have consisted of adding a few fills here and there, especially introducing the choruses.
It's a Hard Life: Drums sound real to me, played the old-fashioned way, possibly with bass and piano for the backing track.
Man on the Prowl: Again, they sound quite real. The handclaps too.
Machines: It starts off completely programmed and then the real drums take over in the middle of the chorus. After the chorus is over, programmed drums are on their own again, and they keep going until they're joined (as opposed to 'replaced') by Roger's human drumming in the middle of the second chorus. They keep 'battling' for the remainder of the song, cross-fading into each other.
I Want to Break Free: Programmed pattern with some real cymbal overdubs on top.
Keep Passing the Open Windows: Main pattern is programmed, but Roger overdubbed fills and rolls on top of that and also seems to have doubled the beat here and then. He played a mixture of acoustic and electronic drums for those stereo fills.
Hammer to Fall: Mostly real and recorded simultaneously with one of the rhythm guitars and possibly the bass as well. However, I suspect many (not all, and not most either) of the snare hits are doubled by a digital (computer-generated) sound.
Thank God It's Christmas: Sounds completely programmed (the tambourine/sledge-bell too). I think Brian confirmed on his website a decade or so ago that all Roger'd played on it was the synth.
One Vision: This article confirms it's a combination of acoustic, electronic and triggered.
A Kind of Magic: Completely programmed, including the rolls near the end. Same for the demo and film versions.
One Year of Love: Programmed.
Pain Is So Close to Pleasure: Programmed, except for the outro hi-hats.
Friends Will Be Friends: Programmed except for some fills just before the guitar solo.
Who Wants to Live Forever: Acoustic (plus orchestral percussion by whomever was at the NPO back then), except for the hi-hats before the solo.
Gimme the Prize: Acoustic.
Don't Lose Your Head: Programmed (both drums and shaker).
Princes of the Universe: They sound real to me, and quite interesting indeed. Clearly not completely 'live' though as at several points there's more than one Roger.
Party: The intro pattern (drums and tambourine) is completely programmed. There's a shaker later on but it's also programmed, same as the vibraslap. Roger added some overdubs on real drums during the solo but that was it. He also introduces the second solo with a typical Roger-esque fill but then disappears again.
Khashoggi's Ship: Mostly real, though again there may be some digital snares added for sound reinforcement.
The Miracle: Mostly programmed. Roger may have added some fills here and there especially in-between sections. The only section that sounds more or less human is the jam near the end. Even the coda sounds quite computerised.
I Want It All: Mostly real, but the double-time section is programmed. Confirmed by the late great David Richards.
The Invisible Man: Programmed, except perhaps for the middle-eight but even that one could be easy to programme. Also the short solo when his name is said.
Breakthru: Programmed. Roger seems to have mostly been involved with synths and backing vocals. Perhaps during the guitar solo there are some real drums on top of the digital ones.
Rain Must Fall: Programmed. Roger overdubbed some Latin percussion (congas and probably timbales and stuff) but a lot of it was ultimately muted to make room for guitars and vocals. Roger's overdubs are most noticeable during the guitar solo (as you can see, that's a bit of a trend - perhaps Brian demanded his solos had to be backed by real instruments as much as possible?)
Scandal: Sounds like a combination of human and programmed. The shaker and vibraslap are programmed, and probably the main beat as well, but Roger seems to have doubled it as well... then again, that could merely be a matter of good EQing and mixing to make them sound real. Also, as far as I know, the samples they used whenever they programmed drums still came from Roger's human drumming, which is why they still sound like him.
My Baby Does Me: Programmed. Roger probably didn't take part of this track at all.
Was It All Worth It: Human. As far as I know, most of the track was recorded 'live' at the casino with all four playing together. Ironically, it sounds like there are some programmed drums during the guitar solo, together with the real ones. The gong and timpani and orchestral drums during the interlude are clearly sampled (that section was added later, confirmed by David Richards).
Hang on in There: The beginning sounds programmed, it's also quite monotonous throughout. When Frederick sings 'pray for that magic', they change to Roger. For the second verse they sound programmed again, and then for the jam they're human again (the bass-drum in particular changes its sound completely).
Hijack My Heart: Much better sound that on 'Hang on in There' but probably still programmed, and then Roger may have played the beat on top for some parts and David mixed them. The synth break clearly has both a real snare and a digital one. During the guitar solo there's also a mixture of machines and human. The additional percussion sounds sampled rather than human (especially comparing them to 'Rain Must Fall'). The bass-break sounds like they did away with the sampled part and left only the real drums (but the vibraslap during the fade-out is programmed, I'm 99% sure).
Stealin': Sounds like human drums through and through, but the fingerclicks and handclaps sound sampled.
Chinese Torture: Human.
Innuendo: Real drums, but I strongly suspect the additional percussion for the interlude (handclaps, triangle, perhaps some timpani) was programmed.
I'm Going Slightly Mad: It sounds like Roger played the beat for a few bars and it was then sampled and/or it was programmed using already existing samples from his playing.
Headlong: A lot of them are programmed, but there's also some of Roger's real drumming in there at some points.
I Can't Live with You: Chiefly programmed but there are some bits that sound like Roger did play.
Don't Try So Hard: They sound real to me, but the shaker during the guitar solo is likely programmed. Just before the guitar solo there's a fill which could've been some timpani, or perhaps just a very low (or even detuned or varisped) floor tom.
Ride the Wild Wind: Either programmed or looped from his actual playing, or a bit of both.
All God's People: Programmed, except for a brief bit during the interlude.
These Are the Days of Our Lives: Programmed all the way. Listen to the Tribute version, which has Roger playing drums, and it's completely different.
Delilah: Programmed.
The Hitman: They sound human to me, with massive amounts of reverb as on 'The Show Must Go On', which is also why it wouldn't surprise me if Brian programmed digital ones alongside Roger's playing.
Bijou: Some cymbal rolls near the end. I'd say they're human.
The Show Must Go On: A mix of digital and human. Roger admitted at one point that he was there in the beginning and then missed out on a lot of its development and when he heard it again it'd progressed a lot, so perhaps while Brian was working on the song on his own he used the MIDI, and then he and/or David Richards decided they both (the MIDI and Roger's drumming) sounded well together and kept them.
Lost Opportunity: I wouldn't be surprised if the main part was programmed and then Roger added some hi-hats and perhaps a few other cymbals here and there (e.g. when the vocal enters). It generally sounds not too dissimilar from what Brian did in his solo album (except for the tracks featuring Colin Powell, of course).
It's a Beautiful Day: Real, probably...
Made in Heaven: I suspect they're programmed (and/or sampled from Roger's playing and then varisped to fit the tempo), with very few exceptions (e.g. the rolls when the big guitar choir enters, and introducing the solo and the final chorus). The outro blends the human and the machines.
Let Me Live: Handclaps sound sampled to me. So do the drums, to be honest, possibly merely programmed and perhaps sampled from Roger's actual playing somewhere else and then copied and pasted. The shaker is rather obviously programmed IMO. The fills during the outro do sound like real drums, so maybe that's what Roger added to it, instrumentally speaking.
Mother Love: The main part is clearly programmed, and it was done, as far as I know, when Frederick was still alive (on that legendary 13th May 1991 session). What Roger probably added consisted of the rolls and fills at the end of the middle-eight, just before the solo, during the solo and just before Brian sings 'my dreams are all the company I keep'.
My Life Has Been Saved: IMO, intro's programmed (even though it's quite different from the 1989 one, also programmed) and then Roger comes in when the vocal enters. The 'here we go' bit adds a programmed hi-hat and ride bit on top of the main drum part. In terms of sound, depth and creativity, drums are certainly an improvement over the 1989 MIDI.
I Was Born to Love You: For once, the main beat sounds like Roger's actual playing, but then for the verse it switches to programmed, and Roger returns just before the second chorus (when Frederick's singing 'an amazing feeling...). The middle-eight and the guitar solo also sound like they're Roger (at least chiefly). Again, a huge improvement over the original 80's-sounding machine.
Heaven for Everyone: They took the time to replace the programmed drums of the original version, but these ones are also programmed (as is the shaker), at least for the most part. The chorus drums are not present in the original version but, again, they're programmed here. A side-note: the break before the solo preserves the bass originally recorded by Erdal Kizilcay, a session musician who used to play on Bowie's albums. The heavy section may contain Roger's playing alongside the programmed bit, as well as the coda. The vibraphone sounds sampled and is another remnant from the 1987 version.
Too Much Love Will Kill You: Sounds chiefly programmed (the 1995 release is the exact same version from The Miracle, only remixed and remastered). Roger does some cymbal rolls here and there and makes his proper entrance in the second chorus (the snare sound is completely different to the verse). The beat during the solo is not too dissimilar from what he'd play later on 'The Show Must Go On' (and also heavily reverb'd, though perhaps not as excessively). It wouldn't surprise me if Brian had copied Roger's 'Too Much Love' drums into 'The Show Must Go On', adjusting the tempo as needed.
You Don't Fool Me: The double-tracked shaker is programmed (as usual for the album). Roger seems to be playing the main beat (with his signature hi-hat trick), though it could've easily been that he only played a few bars and then it was looped (as it'd happened on 'Another One Bites the Dust' back in the day). There are some fills during the solo and coda which are probably human too, although they could've also been copied and pasted from a different song. The cymbal rolls after the solo sound real, only heavily effected and filtered.
A Winter's Tale: The main part is programmed (perhaps by Frederick himself when he was demoing the track in Switzerland). The cymbals at the end of the first verse could be real or programmed, not much difference there (David mixed them quite well either way, probably in order to make it difficult for the listener to tell the difference). The middle-eight does feature real drums (probably looped again, though). The guitar solo goes back to the programmed drums and then there's the second middle-eight with real drums once more. The last verse has programmed drums again, with Roger joining in after Frederick sings 'it's unbelievable'.
It's a Beautiful Day (Reprise): Real, but likely looped. Roger's main role on this song seems to have been backing vocals (unless, of course, he arranged this version, which could've easily been the case). You can tell the difference of style and recording techniques when they crossfade into 'Seven Seas of Rhye'. The outro has Roger playing a bit until it gets cut for the 'Yeah' track.
A few months ago I sent this preliminary list based on my obviously flawed and fallible hearing abilities. Here are my suspicions of what kind of drums were used on each track from Hot Space onwards. They're not 100% confirmed as not even those who were actually there remember everything with utmost accuracy, but not getting everything right is not the same as not getting anything right. I appreciate any corrections and constructive criticism anyone can offer here but I'd also be really thankful if those very few who issue snide comments to keep them to themselves.
Staying Power: The basic beat is clearly programmed on a Linn computer, both the drums and the tambourine. The demo has some real drums for the second cycle (roughly from the end of the first chorus until the end of the instrumental break), but the album version drops them except for the very end of the horn part, and even then they're subdued in the mix. Roger played an interesting part there, but most of it was muted, unfortunately. There's still a tiny bit of human drumming on the final release.
Dancer: The basic beat is again programmed, but then for the chorus there are some real cymbals (but the hi-hats are still programmed). It sounds like the second verse has both the computer and Roger playing the same pattern simultaneously (you can hear his characteristic hi-hat trademark). The snare overdubs (before the solo and in the middle of it) are obviously human, likely recorded separately. There are also a few cymbal ornaments here and there. The tambourine is also a combination of computer and real: from the break onwards, it's obviously only the 'real' one, double-tracked. The bass, on the other hand, is completely synth-generated, same as 'Staying Power'.
Back Chat: Surround mix helps a lot here. Again, the basic drum/tambourine part is completely computer-generated, and nicely mixed stereo. Roger did the e-drum solo and introduced Brian's epic show-off. This might be one of the very few Queen recordings not to have any acoustic drumming at all.
Body Language: Again, the basic part is programmed, even the cymbal breaks here and there. The only bit which sounds real to me is just before 'knock me down for a six anytime', where Roger takes over for a few seconds. The handclaps and fingerclicks are also clearly programmed.
Action This Day: Similar trick as most of it is only computer-generated, but during the sax solo Roger overdubbed the real part as well, which then keeps going until the fade-out.
Put Out the Fire: Completely human (drums + double-tracked maracas). It wouldn't surprise me if they'd done this backing track 'the good old-fashioned way'. The drumming during the solo is particularly interesting and sounds marvellous. Mack was definitely an extraordinary producer.
Life Is Real: The snare sounds different from one section to another (verse, pre-chorus, chorus). I don't know if that's a case of EQing, mixing, miking, or if it was a sneaky way to cross-fade real drums into computerised ones. I'd love to get the stems or multi-tracks to this one. The break is clearly human. What comes at the end of the solo and from then on sounds indeed like the programmed version of the beat Roger'd been previously playing on real drums. So this is also a bit of a mixture methinks.
Calling All Girls: Live drums, and deliciously played as well. Backing track must've been a power trio with Brian on acoustic and John on bass. Very underrated record, in fact. Reportedly, Roger played the feedback guitars. I sort of like the video, too - it's ridiculous, but in a good way.
Las Palabras de Amor: Human. You can compare the sound of the hi-hats semiquavers with the ones on the first side ('Back Chat' et al), and there's a clear difference. There are also some overdubbed rolls (or perhaps even another gong?) in the second verse. It's a really interesting arrangement in terms of instrumentation, very detailed.
Cool Cat: This one's always fiery debated. We all seem to agree they're looped. But looped from what? Roger playing the beat once or twice, or a computer? IMO: looped from Roger playing the beat once or twice, then EQ'd and sped-up (similar to 'Another One Bites the Dust' or 'Coming Soon'). It also sounds like he used a different snare, or perhaps even an electronic one. The album version is sped-up anyway, which also accounts for the different sound on both percussion and vocals. Speaking of vocals, I think Roger co-sings harmonies there, quite prominently.
Under Pressure: The drum part is real, played simultaneously with the bass and Brian's rhythm guitar (a lot of which got later replaced by a twelve-string one).
Soul Brother: Human throughout.
I Go Crazy: Also human. The live backing track was the power trio.
Radio Ga Ga: Both the basic beat, the cymbal rolls and the tambourine are computer generated. The only part which could have real drums doubling (as opposed to replacing) the programmed ones are sixteen bars after the second chorus is over (a bit of a re-intro).
Tear It Up: Sounds programmed (merely edited and mixed differently to make them sound more rocker), including the tambourine. Roger's main role, besides the backing vocals, seems to have consisted of adding a few fills here and there, especially introducing the choruses.
It's a Hard Life: Drums sound real to me, played the old-fashioned way, possibly with bass and piano for the backing track.
Man on the Prowl: Again, they sound quite real. The handclaps too.
Machines: It starts off completely programmed and then the real drums take over in the middle of the chorus. After the chorus is over, programmed drums are on their own again, and they keep going until they're joined (as opposed to 'replaced') by Roger's human drumming in the middle of the second chorus. They keep 'battling' for the remainder of the song, cross-fading into each other.
I Want to Break Free: Programmed pattern with some real cymbal overdubs on top.
Keep Passing the Open Windows: Main pattern is programmed, but Roger overdubbed fills and rolls on top of that and also seems to have doubled the beat here and then. He played a mixture of acoustic and electronic drums for those stereo fills.
Hammer to Fall: Mostly real and recorded simultaneously with one of the rhythm guitars and possibly the bass as well. However, I suspect many (not all, and not most either) of the snare hits are doubled by a digital (computer-generated) sound.
Thank God It's Christmas: Sounds completely programmed (the tambourine/sledge-bell too). I think Brian confirmed on his website a decade or so ago that all Roger'd played on it was the synth.
One Vision: This article confirms it's a combination of acoustic, electronic and triggered.
A Kind of Magic: Completely programmed, including the rolls near the end. Same for the demo and film versions.
One Year of Love: Programmed.
Pain Is So Close to Pleasure: Programmed, except for the outro hi-hats.
Friends Will Be Friends: Programmed except for some fills just before the guitar solo.
Who Wants to Live Forever: Acoustic (plus orchestral percussion by whomever was at the NPO back then), except for the hi-hats before the solo.
Gimme the Prize: Acoustic.
Don't Lose Your Head: Programmed (both drums and shaker).
Princes of the Universe: They sound real to me, and quite interesting indeed. Clearly not completely 'live' though as at several points there's more than one Roger.
Party: The intro pattern (drums and tambourine) is completely programmed. There's a shaker later on but it's also programmed, same as the vibraslap. Roger added some overdubs on real drums during the solo but that was it. He also introduces the second solo with a typical Roger-esque fill but then disappears again.
Khashoggi's Ship: Mostly real, though again there may be some digital snares added for sound reinforcement.
The Miracle: Mostly programmed. Roger may have added some fills here and there especially in-between sections. The only section that sounds more or less human is the jam near the end. Even the coda sounds quite computerised.
I Want It All: Mostly real, but the double-time section is programmed. Confirmed by the late great David Richards.
The Invisible Man: Programmed, except perhaps for the middle-eight but even that one could be easy to programme. Also the short solo when his name is said.
Breakthru: Programmed. Roger seems to have mostly been involved with synths and backing vocals. Perhaps during the guitar solo there are some real drums on top of the digital ones.
Rain Must Fall: Programmed. Roger overdubbed some Latin percussion (congas and probably timbales and stuff) but a lot of it was ultimately muted to make room for guitars and vocals. Roger's overdubs are most noticeable during the guitar solo (as you can see, that's a bit of a trend - perhaps Brian demanded his solos had to be backed by real instruments as much as possible?)
Scandal: Sounds like a combination of human and programmed. The shaker and vibraslap are programmed, and probably the main beat as well, but Roger seems to have doubled it as well... then again, that could merely be a matter of good EQing and mixing to make them sound real. Also, as far as I know, the samples they used whenever they programmed drums still came from Roger's human drumming, which is why they still sound like him.
My Baby Does Me: Programmed. Roger probably didn't take part of this track at all.
Was It All Worth It: Human. As far as I know, most of the track was recorded 'live' at the casino with all four playing together. Ironically, it sounds like there are some programmed drums during the guitar solo, together with the real ones. The gong and timpani and orchestral drums during the interlude are clearly sampled (that section was added later, confirmed by David Richards).
Hang on in There: The beginning sounds programmed, it's also quite monotonous throughout. When Frederick sings 'pray for that magic', they change to Roger. For the second verse they sound programmed again, and then for the jam they're human again (the bass-drum in particular changes its sound completely).
Hijack My Heart: Much better sound that on 'Hang on in There' but probably still programmed, and then Roger may have played the beat on top for some parts and David mixed them. The synth break clearly has both a real snare and a digital one. During the guitar solo there's also a mixture of machines and human. The additional percussion sounds sampled rather than human (especially comparing them to 'Rain Must Fall'). The bass-break sounds like they did away with the sampled part and left only the real drums (but the vibraslap during the fade-out is programmed, I'm 99% sure).
Stealin': Sounds like human drums through and through, but the fingerclicks and handclaps sound sampled.
Chinese Torture: Human.
Innuendo: Real drums, but I strongly suspect the additional percussion for the interlude (handclaps, triangle, perhaps some timpani) was programmed.
I'm Going Slightly Mad: It sounds like Roger played the beat for a few bars and it was then sampled and/or it was programmed using already existing samples from his playing.
Headlong: A lot of them are programmed, but there's also some of Roger's real drumming in there at some points.
I Can't Live with You: Chiefly programmed but there are some bits that sound like Roger did play.
Don't Try So Hard: They sound real to me, but the shaker during the guitar solo is likely programmed. Just before the guitar solo there's a fill which could've been some timpani, or perhaps just a very low (or even detuned or varisped) floor tom.
Ride the Wild Wind: Either programmed or looped from his actual playing, or a bit of both.
All God's People: Programmed, except for a brief bit during the interlude.
These Are the Days of Our Lives: Programmed all the way. Listen to the Tribute version, which has Roger playing drums, and it's completely different.
Delilah: Programmed.
The Hitman: They sound human to me, with massive amounts of reverb as on 'The Show Must Go On', which is also why it wouldn't surprise me if Brian programmed digital ones alongside Roger's playing.
Bijou: Some cymbal rolls near the end. I'd say they're human.
The Show Must Go On: A mix of digital and human. Roger admitted at one point that he was there in the beginning and then missed out on a lot of its development and when he heard it again it'd progressed a lot, so perhaps while Brian was working on the song on his own he used the MIDI, and then he and/or David Richards decided they both (the MIDI and Roger's drumming) sounded well together and kept them.
Lost Opportunity: I wouldn't be surprised if the main part was programmed and then Roger added some hi-hats and perhaps a few other cymbals here and there (e.g. when the vocal enters). It generally sounds not too dissimilar from what Brian did in his solo album (except for the tracks featuring Colin Powell, of course).
It's a Beautiful Day: Real, probably...
Made in Heaven: I suspect they're programmed (and/or sampled from Roger's playing and then varisped to fit the tempo), with very few exceptions (e.g. the rolls when the big guitar choir enters, and introducing the solo and the final chorus). The outro blends the human and the machines.
Let Me Live: Handclaps sound sampled to me. So do the drums, to be honest, possibly merely programmed and perhaps sampled from Roger's actual playing somewhere else and then copied and pasted. The shaker is rather obviously programmed IMO. The fills during the outro do sound like real drums, so maybe that's what Roger added to it, instrumentally speaking.
Mother Love: The main part is clearly programmed, and it was done, as far as I know, when Frederick was still alive (on that legendary 13th May 1991 session). What Roger probably added consisted of the rolls and fills at the end of the middle-eight, just before the solo, during the solo and just before Brian sings 'my dreams are all the company I keep'.
My Life Has Been Saved: IMO, intro's programmed (even though it's quite different from the 1989 one, also programmed) and then Roger comes in when the vocal enters. The 'here we go' bit adds a programmed hi-hat and ride bit on top of the main drum part. In terms of sound, depth and creativity, drums are certainly an improvement over the 1989 MIDI.
I Was Born to Love You: For once, the main beat sounds like Roger's actual playing, but then for the verse it switches to programmed, and Roger returns just before the second chorus (when Frederick's singing 'an amazing feeling...). The middle-eight and the guitar solo also sound like they're Roger (at least chiefly). Again, a huge improvement over the original 80's-sounding machine.
Heaven for Everyone: They took the time to replace the programmed drums of the original version, but these ones are also programmed (as is the shaker), at least for the most part. The chorus drums are not present in the original version but, again, they're programmed here. A side-note: the break before the solo preserves the bass originally recorded by Erdal Kizilcay, a session musician who used to play on Bowie's albums. The heavy section may contain Roger's playing alongside the programmed bit, as well as the coda. The vibraphone sounds sampled and is another remnant from the 1987 version.
Too Much Love Will Kill You: Sounds chiefly programmed (the 1995 release is the exact same version from The Miracle, only remixed and remastered). Roger does some cymbal rolls here and there and makes his proper entrance in the second chorus (the snare sound is completely different to the verse). The beat during the solo is not too dissimilar from what he'd play later on 'The Show Must Go On' (and also heavily reverb'd, though perhaps not as excessively). It wouldn't surprise me if Brian had copied Roger's 'Too Much Love' drums into 'The Show Must Go On', adjusting the tempo as needed.
You Don't Fool Me: The double-tracked shaker is programmed (as usual for the album). Roger seems to be playing the main beat (with his signature hi-hat trick), though it could've easily been that he only played a few bars and then it was looped (as it'd happened on 'Another One Bites the Dust' back in the day). There are some fills during the solo and coda which are probably human too, although they could've also been copied and pasted from a different song. The cymbal rolls after the solo sound real, only heavily effected and filtered.
A Winter's Tale: The main part is programmed (perhaps by Frederick himself when he was demoing the track in Switzerland). The cymbals at the end of the first verse could be real or programmed, not much difference there (David mixed them quite well either way, probably in order to make it difficult for the listener to tell the difference). The middle-eight does feature real drums (probably looped again, though). The guitar solo goes back to the programmed drums and then there's the second middle-eight with real drums once more. The last verse has programmed drums again, with Roger joining in after Frederick sings 'it's unbelievable'.
It's a Beautiful Day (Reprise): Real, but likely looped. Roger's main role on this song seems to have been backing vocals (unless, of course, he arranged this version, which could've easily been the case). You can tell the difference of style and recording techniques when they crossfade into 'Seven Seas of Rhye'. The outro has Roger playing a bit until it gets cut for the 'Yeah' track.