From Queenpedia.com
A live album from Queen was long overdue, though that's not to say that there hadn't been plans in the past: the band's November 1974 shows at the Rainbow Theatre had been planned as their first live album, though it was felt that Queen were too soon in their infancy to release a live album; the reasons that the June 1977 Earls Court Arena and May 1978 Bingley Hall shows were scrapped aren't known. Yet that's what makes Live Killers all the more disappointing: while the early winter 1979 shows in Europe had been successful, the set list by that time focused too much on Queen's arena rockers and less on the more quirky side of the band, so songs like Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy and epic excursions like Father To Son were out of the repertoire. It's likely that Live Killers was released because Queen had no immediate plans for a follow-up to Jazz, and their record companies had wanted something to hold over the demand in the interim. Spread across four sides of vinyl, the band wind their way through twenty-two well-known hits and lesser-known rarities, including rare traipses through Dreamers Ball, Spread Your Wings, and Don't Stop Me Now, three songs which would be out of the live sets by the end of 1979. Also performed is a lengthy medley of six songs ( Death On Two Legs, Killer Queen, Bicycle Race, I'm In Love With My Car, Get Down, Make Love, and You're My Best Friend), merging effortlessly from one to the other. Of course, the familiar hits – We Will Rock You, We Are The Champions, Tie Your Mother Down, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Now I'm Here – are all here, as is a new singalong acoustic rendition of Love Of My Life, drastically different from the original studio recording. With all these components, why was Live Killers not received as rapturously as expected? Partly because the mix was muddled and indifferent, while the live version of Bohemian Rhapsody left a lot to be desired. Queen's live shows were all about theatrics and visuals, so a lot is lost in translation from actually being there to listening to it on vinyl. Still, the third side – Don't Stop Me Now, Spread Your Wings, and a lengthy Brighton Rock – is perhaps the finest twenty-two minutes of the bunch, and worth the price of purchase alone. Unfortunately, four tracks – Somebody To Love, It's Late, Fat Bottomed Girls, and If You Can't Beat Them – were omitted, all of which were excellent songs from the tour and should have been released. Unusually, a live single – the reconstructed Love Of My Life – was released ahead of the album in June 1979, reaching a dismal #63 in the UK. Instead of that single, the US received We Will Rock You (fast) in August, which failed to chart. The album itself reached #3 in the UK and #16 in the US. TracklistsCredits
Charts
Information supplied by Fedepeti, 24 August 2004 Liner notesFor the past 5 years or so, Queen has been one of only a handful of rock groups to attract consistently huge audiences in every major city in the western world. If you wonder why, this album may provide some answers. To you who were there, no explanation is needed, for you were part of the show recorded here, and to you this album is dedicated. Queen's live performance has always been a complete show in every sense, and many of the group's special sound, lighting, and stage ideas, initially dismissed by some as "excessive", are now almost standard features of live rock shows. An entirely self-contained rig is transported from concert to concert in a number of articulated trucks, and the complete stage set takes a crew of about 20 "roadies", all experts in their field, about 8 hours to put together. An hour-long "sound check" is done by the group and crew as a final preparation before doors are opened. Finally the house lights dim, the vast lighting rig explodes into light and swivels back, the stage becomes an inferno of light and the first chords ring out. For the next 2 hours, Queen are in direct contact with their audience. In the course of this live album the listener is transported effortlessly from city to city, each having its own atmosphere, but each having in common the unique feeling which is a Queen audience. This is how Queen sound in 1979, but the material is drawn from almost all phases of the band's development since 1973. We Will Rock You this blatant version of the song is a flexing of the muscles and leads straight into the mood setter Let Me Entertain You, deliberately over the top on stage as on record, Freddie wasting no time in selling his body and his voice to the audience. The Medley (play the Hits!) was born about 1975 and remains a popular item; since then it has evolved, and of the original component songs, only "Killer Queen" remains. Death On Two Legs was added on the release of A Night At The Opera, an infamous and famous song and the source of tedious legal battles. It is performed with its original acidity but with a touch of humour, shared with an involved audience. In complete contrast a snippet of Killer Queen retains the subtle approach of the 1974 single, which was Queen's first true world-wide hit; the song displays Freddie's writing to great advantage, an instantly recognizable melody combined with great mobility between keys. Bicycle Race is a natural for the medley, on record a complex jigsaw, on stage, pure fun. I'm In Love With My Car features Roger singing on his own composition, a favourite from A Night At The Opera. Get Down, Make Love varies greatly according to audience from night to night, hovering between earthiness and eeriness, with its "harmonized" middle section and vocal gymnastics from Freddie. Finally, John Deacon's You're My Best Friend, a very singable tune with sentiments never forgotten by Queen fans. Now I'm Here was the stage opener on the British, American, and Japanese tours of 1974. It was then used an encore and later dropped. Recently reintroduced it has become a platform for some rapport between Freddie and the audience and is a guaranteed show-stopper. The acoustic set is the point where the group relax on (venue permitting) a special intimate small stage flown in from above. Dreamers Ball from the Jazz album and Love Of My Life from A Night At The Opera are both performed informally and very differently from the studio versions. Again, the audience takes over much of the action. '39 is a natural to close this "singalong" part of the evening, taking on a slap-happy feel in contrast to the rather serious original recording. Written by Brian, it also features John on Fretless bass. Keep Yourself Alive, the first track ever recorded by Queen, though never a hit except in Japan, is always requested, and regarded as a kind of trademark even by those who found Queen much later on. The song is strangely prophetic and, having gone full circle over the years, sounds much as it did in 1973. Don't Stop Me Now is the most recent Queen hit, literally fighting its way up the charts to win a new audience in Britain, 1979. The song is in its youth on stage and is already developing new features. It is a good example of how Freddie's piano technique has broadened the scope of the show. Spread Your Wings was a concert favourite even before the News Of The World album had made its full impact, a John Deacon narrative song with a relaxed feel. Brighton Rock gave a home to a guitar solo on Sheer Heart Attack. This solo grew and was developed by Brian as a showpiece for his unique technique of using a single echo (in this case, 2 single echoes) to build up counterpoint and 3-part harmony guitar sections live on stage. (The effect is also used elsewhere, e.g. by Brian on the "Keep Yourself Alive" solo and by Freddie in "Now I'm Here'.) In 1979 the guitar solo became reintegrated with bass and drums and the whole piece is used as a basis for improvisation between Brian, John, and Roger, and as a rest for Freddie. This section also features a timpani piece by Roger. A single spotlight picks out Freddie at the piano singing the beginning of Bohemian Rhapsody, which needs no introduction as Queen's biggest hit in Britain and Europe. It is unthinkable that the song could be omitted although the classic multi-layered "operatic" section was a purely studio creation. Fiercely opposed to playing with any kind of backing tape, the group solve the problem in typically uncompromising Queen manner. They leave the stage and play the record; the lights and the audience take care of the rest. The group re-enter to perform the last portion of the song to a guaranteed standing ovation. Tie Your Mother Down, from A Day At The Races, was evidently built for the stage. It is pounded out mercilessly and signals the end of the concert proper. Sheer Heart Attack, not from the album of the same name but from News Of The World, sees Roger miraculously drumming up new reserves of energy for a blistering few minutes during which all remaining inhibitions are lost. Finally the group returns as if asked (somehow they always are) for We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions, a final consummation of the feeling of togetherness which makes a Queen concert so moving, the group's biggest-ever hit in America and most of the world, and a fitting end to the evening. Queen leave the stage, the audience add their voices to the Night At The Opera version of God Save The Queen, and another Queen show is over. Until the next night... Singles
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External linksBob's Live Killers analysis |
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