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Post by soundfreak1 on Apr 29, 2021 13:05:24 GMT
I think you all make a mistake here. You listen to some audio recording from 1984 and you believe, there is a keyboard solo. And you wonder, why Spike Edney was "allowed" to do so.
If you have been at a Queen-concert in the 70s and 80s, a huge part of the attraction was the light show. Lightshows became very important in the 70s and there was a real competition between acts like Pink Floyd, Genesis, ELO - and also "Queen".
On the Works-tour „Queen“ had their most ambitious stage set ever with elements from „Metropolis“. This stage must have cost a fortune and to highlight all possible effects, the stage got it's own „solo“. And that's where Spike Edney comes in. He delivered the musical background. So when you are now listening to some „out of date“ keyboard solo, you must imagine 12.000 people watching a spectacular lightshow no one had ever seen before at that point of time.
No video can reproduce that, you simply had to be there.....;-)
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Post by Chopin1995 on May 1, 2021 23:21:50 GMT
^ That's a very good point.
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Post by fireplace on Sept 23, 2021 20:37:00 GMT
I loved it, but then again I am a synth buff. Soundfreak1 has a point in mentioning the light show, the keyboard solo combined with lights and the Metropolis stage backdrop was very atmospheric. It kind of fit the whole Machines/Gaga/Metropolis vibe. You lose a lot of that just listening to the audio. Probably was a good time for Brian for a little tune-up as well.
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Dimitris
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Post by Dimitris on Sept 24, 2021 12:08:07 GMT
I find good and clever, it gives a kind of atmosphere especially when is combined with some guitar parts from machines (very early shows).
As someone said few posts before, it worked very well with the lighting rig.
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Sept 24, 2021 12:32:19 GMT
I find good and clever, it gives a kind of atmosphere especially when is combined with some guitar parts from machines (very early shows). As someone said few posts before, it worked very well with the lighting rig. i take you point, but the lighting rig is there for the whole gig. if the point of the keyboard solo was to show off the rig, then do it with a band member instead. I remember some great solo drums spots from Cozy Powell's days in Rainbow - the lights and strobes really came to the fore during his 1812 spot. Perhaps Queen could've "shown off the rig" during Freddie's vocal imrovs, or Brian's solo? or better still. and...it's not as if the lighting was OFF for the rest of the gig. As one who was there, I honestly don't think the 84 keyboard solo added anything to the gig itself - certainly nothing worth remembering. Update: Having looked at the YT footage of the Vienna & Stuttgart gigs, the lighting used during the keyboard solo is unremarkable, to say the least. in fact, it's not until right before Brian joins in that the three spotlights even appear to liven things up a bit. |
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antonio
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Post by antonio on Sept 24, 2021 13:43:02 GMT
About the medleys...I´m not a big fan of them...Well I can´t understand them if they´re not long enough...
I mean the Queen medleys were short so many things are missing...
Queen really used the medleys to avoid some parts of the songs that coudn´t be played onstage (BH opera section, Killer Queen harmonies of the last part of the song...) But I always wondered why didn´t play a full version of IILWMC for example...
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Sept 24, 2021 14:13:52 GMT
But I always wondered why didn´t play a full version of IILWMC for example... i think that at it's first introduction to the setlist (late '77) as a shortened "medley" element seemed to work so well, they decided to retain it in that format. I suppose, once you rehearse a song a certain way, it's easier to leave it as is. We only have to look at the predictability of other parts of the set - WATC/WWRY as encores for 8 years+, A couple of "recent" hits either side of Bo Rhap toward the end of the main set. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." |
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Dimitris
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Post by Dimitris on Sept 24, 2021 19:18:28 GMT
I find good and clever, it gives a kind of atmosphere especially when is combined with some guitar parts from machines (very early shows). As someone said few posts before, it worked very well with the lighting rig. i take you point, but the lighting rig is there for the whole gig. if the point of the keyboard solo was to show off the rig, then do it with a band member instead. I remember some great solo drums spots from Cozy Powell's days in Rainbow - the lights and strobes really came to the fore during his 1812 spot. Perhaps Queen could've "shown off the rig" during Freddie's vocal imrovs, or Brian's solo? or better still. and...it's not as if the lighting was OFF for the rest of the gig. As one who was there, I honestly don't think the 84 keyboard solo added anything to the gig itself - certainly nothing worth remembering. Update: Having looked at the YT footage of the Vienna & Stuttgart gigs, the lighting used during the keyboard solo is unremarkable, to say the least. in fact, it's not until right before Brian joins in that the three spotlights even appear to liven things up a bit. Yes they could use during Freddie's improv and Brian guitar solo. Brian once said that during his solo wanted the lights to work like a 3rd type encounter. Very sci-fi. You are very lucky having seen Queen live. As I understand it, the big picture was the band and the show as a presentation, so the keyboard solo was a minor detail. Maybe they were kind with Spike. |
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Sept 24, 2021 21:30:20 GMT
Maybe they were kind with Spike. hehe. or maybe there was a blowj*b or line (or three) of Colombia's best going begging?  |
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emrabt
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Post by emrabt on Sept 25, 2021 19:48:16 GMT
Making it 'Machines' didn't help, If Spike was able to improvise more it may have been better.
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vh
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Post by vh on Sept 26, 2021 11:06:32 GMT
The Works Tour was something new to Queen. The stage set and backdrop reflected the Radio GaGa video and the Fritz Lang film that inspired it. Those together with the album/tour title provided a complete visual link. They also worked songs from every album into the set list.
With this in mind the use of Machines makes sense, I believe they also wanted to feature Spike in a solo spot, not hide him behind the backline as some bands do. In saying this he was limited to that particular piece, did it work? Well it gave the band a breather and set the mood for the beginning of Brian’s solo. Did it stand out as something special? No, as part of the overall presentation/ show? Yes.
Could Rick Wright, Kieth Emerson or Rick Wakeman played a better build up to Brian’s solo? Yes!
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BrƎИsꓘi
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Sept 26, 2021 11:19:51 GMT
Making it 'Machines' didn't help, If Spike was able to improvise more it may have been better. agreed. it would've showcased him more if he'd been given a Jon Lord "Difficult To Cure" type spot, where a mashup of different non-band pieces are interwoven - this is a masterpiece: |
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Raf
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Post by Raf on Sept 27, 2021 17:02:23 GMT
Could Rick Wright, Kieth Emerson or Rick Wakeman played a better build up to Brian’s solo? Yes! Build up to Brian's solo in 1979, maybe. In 84-86, more like outshine his solo. |
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