n39
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Post by n39 on Dec 1, 2020 12:56:00 GMT
Did Freddie record any piano for 'Let Me Live' in the sessions with Rod Stewart which was later used in the track on Made in Heaven? I assume the piano outro must be played by Brian, but not sure if the piano in the verses is Freddie or Brian. Could anyone shed some light on this? Thanks
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Post by harry6116 on Dec 2, 2020 7:23:17 GMT
That's a great question. The piano in the verses definitely sounds like the style that Freddie used.
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velizar
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Post by velizar on Dec 2, 2020 11:39:15 GMT
Did Freddie record any piano for 'Let Me Live' in the sessions with Rod Stewart which was later used in the track on Made in Heaven? I assume the piano outro must be played by Brian, but not sure if the piano in the verses is Freddie or Brian. Could anyone shed some light on this? Thanks The sound of the piano in the demo snippet is pretty quiet so it's hard to tell.
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n39
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Post by n39 on Dec 2, 2020 11:50:33 GMT
Sounds similar to Let Me Live - think we can assume it's Freddie. Still unsure as to who played the piano outro - surely Brian?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2020 17:08:31 GMT
I think the outro's sampled from 'Going Back', varisped and looped.
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georg
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Post by georg on Dec 2, 2020 17:59:54 GMT
Great question, and one I've always wondered myself. Looking at the "special thanks" on the list, some of the keyboardists include Mike Crossley, Spike Edney, and Erdal Kizilcay (well, he's not a keyboardist; he can play anything). Could possibly be one of them? Or maybe the outro was something from a separate session of Freddie noodling around on piano that they discovered? Or maybe it's Fred Mandel, even though he's not thanked or credited, as he could have been at the initial session in Los Angeles?
Someone should ask Brian, though he might be a little distracted by trying to save live music as we know it.
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n39
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Post by n39 on Dec 3, 2020 15:07:06 GMT
I think the outro's sampled from 'Going Back', varisped and looped. Possibly - however the piano in Let Me Live has a completely different tone to the one in Goin' Back. The parts aren't quite identical either.
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n39
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Post by n39 on Dec 3, 2020 15:08:03 GMT
Great question, and one I've always wondered myself. Looking at the "special thanks" on the list, some of the keyboardists include Mike Crossley, Spike Edney, and Erdal Kizilcay (well, he's not a keyboardist; he can play anything). Could possibly be one of them? Or maybe the outro was something from a separate session of Freddie noodling around on piano that they discovered? Or maybe it's Fred Mandel, even though he's not thanked or credited, as he could have been at the initial session in Los Angeles? Someone should ask Brian, though he might be a little distracted by trying to save live music as we know it. Excellent point - could well have been a guest keyboardist
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2020 19:21:18 GMT
It could've also been programmed rather than played.
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georg
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Post by georg on Dec 4, 2020 14:50:56 GMT
It could've also been programmed rather than played. How would that work? I'm genuinely curious – programming has always been a subject of fascination for me, as I've seen it thrown around for years, but I just don't understand the technicalities of it, even from a general overview.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Dec 4, 2020 16:20:21 GMT
Excellent point - could well have been a guest keyboardist Elton? the beginnings of the ill-fated Supergroup: Hair, Nose and Teeth
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2020 22:47:43 GMT
How would that work? I'm genuinely curious – programming has always been a subject of fascination for me, as I've seen it thrown around for years, but I just don't understand the technicalities of it, even from a general overview. Basically, you input the notes on a MIDI and then get the computer to play it using sound fonts or something like that; you can also send the MIDI to a synthesiser (or a MIDI piano) and then it plays it. Brian admitted using a lot of programming all over his solo career, giving an impression of being a far better player than he actually was (and, IMO, he was/is quite skilful, as live versions of 'Save Me' and 'Teo Torriatte' show). I think this is quite a nice introduction to programming.
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georg
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Post by georg on Dec 5, 2020 15:15:40 GMT
How would that work? I'm genuinely curious – programming has always been a subject of fascination for me, as I've seen it thrown around for years, but I just don't understand the technicalities of it, even from a general overview. Basically, you input the notes on a MIDI and then get the computer to play it using sound fonts or something like that; you can also send the MIDI to a synthesiser (or a MIDI piano) and then it plays it. Brian admitted using a lot of programming all over his solo career, giving an impression of being a far better player than he actually was (and, IMO, he was/is quite skilful, as live versions of 'Save Me' and 'Teo Torriatte' show). I think this is quite a nice introduction to programming. Fascinating, Seb – cheers!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2020 7:08:52 GMT
I think that's an interesting topic and it deserves its own separate thread. We could have some sort of musical glossary somewhere. By the way, this video offers marvellous insight regarding MIDI vs human orchestras.
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cmsdrums
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Post by cmsdrums on Dec 7, 2020 21:57:43 GMT
Great question, and one I've always wondered myself. Looking at the "special thanks" on the list, some of the keyboardists include Mike Crossley, Spike Edney, and Erdal Kizilcay (well, he's not a keyboardist; he can play anything).. Whilst Erdal Kizilcay may well have played on other stuff, he did play on some of the sessions for the Shove It album, and I think the little bass part around 3m20s before the guitar solo in Heaven For Everyone is him....there’s definitely a piece of the bass there that is lifted straight from the The Cross version and is not a re-record by John.
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IanR
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Post by IanR on Dec 9, 2020 7:57:39 GMT
I suspect, but cannot prove, that the piano on My Life Has Been Saved is by Mike Crossley, and was recorded before Brian got involved in the project.
As for Let Me Live, Brian said he spent about a year on the computer, compiling the track. I suspect he recorded the piano himself, perhaps based on an incomplete or flawed earlier take by Freddie.
Didn't Mack say that the original track was significantly different from the version on MIH? That might explain the re-recorded keyboards. What still remains a mystery is why such a tiny snippet of Freddie's vocal was used, given that the track was worked on multiple times between 81 and 83. Why is wasn't used on Mr. Bad Guy is yet another issue.
Great song, fascinating backstory.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2020 14:12:32 GMT
I suspect, but cannot prove, that the piano on My Life Has Been Saved is by Mike Crossley, and was recorded before Brian got involved in the project. According to what a live witness said, Michael was part of the Abbey Road sessions, which didn't include that track. As for Let Me Live, Brian said he spent about a year on the computer, compiling the track. Any source on that?
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IanR
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Post by IanR on Dec 11, 2020 20:03:15 GMT
I suspect, but cannot prove, that the piano on My Life Has Been Saved is by Mike Crossley, and was recorded before Brian got involved in the project. According to what a live witness said, Michael was part of the Abbey Road sessions, which didn't include that track. As for Let Me Live, Brian said he spent about a year on the computer, compiling the track. Any source on that? I bow to your knowledge regarding the keyboardist on MLHBS, Seb. I guess either David Richards or Spike Edney could be responsible for that part. As for the reference to Brian spending a year on Let Me Live, I honestly can't remember where I heard or read that. It came from the Doctor's mouth himself, of course, and was perhaps part of a magazine interview. If I find the source, I will let you know.
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jlf
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Post by jlf on Dec 12, 2020 17:44:14 GMT
I couldn't tell you who actually played the piano on Let Me Live but I do think at least some of it is Freddie's original track. As for programming, from what I remember the piano on Let Me Live sounds like a real acoustic piano, and even the best digital samples in 1995 were easily discernible from the real thing. I mean, they could have programmed a Yamaha Disklavier to play it of course, that would have been possible for Queen even in 1995, or a Bösendorfer CeusMaster, but I think it's more likely that Freddie provided some of the basis for it and then Brian finished it off, or a session player finished it off, in Freddie's style. I'll need to listen to the track again really, to hear if the piano changes in it. It's also possible that Freddie recorded a fairly complete piano part for the song in 1983 and it just didn't get any further than rambling with Rod Stewart.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2020 15:16:21 GMT
With only one complete verse and chorus they could've copied and pasted the rest. The middle-eight could've had a sampled piano or someone else providing it and the outro could be taken from elsewhere. A bit of a patchwork quilt, just like the rest of the album.
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Post by thesirhc on Dec 15, 2020 0:05:27 GMT
I imagined the outro was lifted from a live performance given how closely in feel it resembles the little intro to Bohemian Rhapsody from Milton Keynes. It certainly seems like a Freddie noodle.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 25, 2020 14:33:12 GMT
It came from the Doctor's mouth himself, of course, and was perhaps part of a magazine interview. Here's what I could find from a letter Brian sent to the Fan Club on Friday the 28th of June 1996: Talking of that ol' band Queen, thanks for rushing out and buying the "Let me Live" single in sufficient quantities to put it in the charts. This track started as rather a rudimentary scrap which was hanging around in the vaults, with very little in the way of Freddie vocals. (Big Secret - there IS a tape of us knocking the idea around with Mr. Rod Stewart and pals, dating from the Middle Ages!). It already seems a long time ago that we were committing months (years!) of studio time to reconstructing material such as this to make the "Made in Heaven" album. It actually carved great chunks out of US, but we're very pleased that it has been so well-received. And is still going well around the world. News of the single "You Don't Fool Me" is particularly good, in Europe, and recently also in the USA. Now that WOULD be something. No mention of him working on the track on his own, and note the use of the plural form of the pronoun (' we were committing months... t actually carved great chunks out of US, but we're very pleased that...').
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n39
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Post by n39 on Dec 26, 2020 21:51:51 GMT
It came from the Doctor's mouth himself, of course, and was perhaps part of a magazine interview. Here's what I could find from a letter Brian sent to the Fan Club on Friday the 28th of June 1996: Talking of that ol' band Queen, thanks for rushing out and buying the "Let me Live" single in sufficient quantities to put it in the charts. This track started as rather a rudimentary scrap which was hanging around in the vaults, with very little in the way of Freddie vocals. (Big Secret - there IS a tape of us knocking the idea around with Mr. Rod Stewart and pals, dating from the Middle Ages!). It already seems a long time ago that we were committing months (years!) of studio time to reconstructing material such as this to make the "Made in Heaven" album. It actually carved great chunks out of US, but we're very pleased that it has been so well-received. And is still going well around the world. News of the single "You Don't Fool Me" is particularly good, in Europe, and recently also in the USA. Now that WOULD be something. No mention of him working on the track on his own, and note the use of the plural form of the pronoun (' we were committing months... t actually carved great chunks out of US, but we're very pleased that...').Indeed, surely referring to the fact that John and Roger laid down their own respective bass and drum tracks. (excluding vocals) It's not far fetched to assume Brian recorded keyboards as well as his own guitar parts.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2020 14:32:36 GMT
By that same logic, it's not far fetched to assume he didn't.
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n39
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Post by n39 on Dec 27, 2020 16:36:34 GMT
Ok, are you suggesting that either John or Roger played piano on this song?
Roger was never really a pianist despite venturing into keyboards, and seeing as Brian is a fairly accomplished pianist himself, surely he would record these parts as opposed to John?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2020 17:43:46 GMT
There are plenty of options:
- Brian. - Frederick. - David Richards. - Michael Crossley. - Philip Edney. - Roger, aided by MIDI programming. - John, aided by MIDI programming. - Brian, aided by MIDI programming. - A combination of Frederick's live takes, samples, some punching here and there. - An uncredited performer.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Mar 5, 2021 15:03:27 GMT
I think the outro's sampled from 'Going Back', varisped and looped. Possibly - however the piano in Let Me Live has a completely different tone to the one in Goin' Back. The parts aren't quite identical either. agreed. the outro definitely sounds "newer" than Goin' Back. perhaps whoever was playing used GB as an inspiration?
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n39
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Post by n39 on Jun 30, 2021 8:55:57 GMT
Interesting update, Ash Alexander has said he thinks that the pianists will have been whatever Freddie left over, Brian and then maybe David Richards. Sounds to me like Brian took over as the main pianist to fill in the gaps on this album. So it's likely that Brian played piano on Let Me Live.
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antonio
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Post by antonio on Jul 1, 2021 10:38:02 GMT
As soon as Freddie starts singing this one, the piano in the background sounds "very Freddie" to me. The way that the keys are atacked it looks like as It´s A Hard Life for example...
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Steve
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Post by Steve on Jul 6, 2021 17:30:24 GMT
OT:
Has Seb been banned? It says that he is deleted.
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