Tear It Up (6/10) - Sigh, this is a sad one for me and a show I have dreaded for a long time. Not because I think it will be bad (it’s probably gonna be Freddie’s weakest show of the leg but that’s beside my point) but simply for being the band’s last concert ever in Japan, a country that was the first to make the band members feel like superstars back in 1975 and this mood certainly leads to many melancholic and nostalgic moments within the band, most obviously for Brian though as we’ll later hear although the main reason for this is of course that the band wasn’t in a great spot mentally at the end of the tour, despite the overall very positive leg in Japan as they were about to break up, so in the band’s mind, this wasn’t going to be their last show in Japan but their last show as a band, at least for a long while. Anyway, we know what happened instead so for us it’s just an emotional goodbye to a very very special crowd and with all this out of the way, let’s start! For the last time, we hear an audience going crazy over how amazing the ‘Machines’ opening tape is and thanks to one of the best sounding recordings of the decade, we can almost feel how impactful it really was back in the day! As soon as Brian steps out to lead the band into ‘Tear It Up’, the crowd go crazy. Freddie, once again having had a day off between shows, gives up on the first chorus before even trying, dodging every single A4. After this disappointment, the verse is sung decently with some embellishing and a nailed “for SLEEPIN baby”. The second chorus features the same amount of A4 attempts as the first tone: zero. The outro is again decent although Freddie is way more careful than he was on the last few shows. Roger sounds kinda funny. Tie Your Mother Down (5.5/10) - Freddie does a really strange adlib during the intro, sounding like he was hurting himself. The first verse is an unfortunate return to the old Works as Freddie dodges all A4s except for a flat “NO way” and on top displays a raspy and unnatural tone with all cleanliness being gone. The first chorus sees Freddie dropping the octave twice and dodging the A4 at the end. Brian plays a great lick going into the second verse which Freddie again sings with not much power. The second chorus isn’t noteworthy; the entrance into the guitar solo isn’t the tightest both for Brian and Roger. What are you doing guysssss… The solo itself is pretty solid but lacks some of the creativity from previous versions. The bridge is pretty strong. Freddie drops “daddy out the DOORS” in a bad way, sounding like a bored monster. Idk how else to describe it lol. The outro is solid with Brian having some fun on his guitar. Under Pressure (6/10) - “Hello Osaka! Konbanwa! Ikaka desuka! Is everybody happy? Under control? Yeaaaaaah, ‘Under Pressure’!”. The first verse is solid although it is once again notable that Freddie’s voice has regained some of its raspiness tonight. The second verse is again a mixture of speaksinging and the studio phrasing but I HATE how raspy and dark Freddie’s voice sounds on the following scat part. The second chorus features the usual F#4 to G4 sustain. The bridge is decent and I like how loud Roger is in the mix. The “WHY” sustain is quite weak. The whole finale is decent although Freddie’s voice starts straining halfway through. Somebody to Love (7/10) - Freddie plays a really sweet introduction to the last EVER performance of this masterpiece on the piano before adding some really nice, baritone adlibbing on top, showing off his great vibrato while singing really soulful runs that are confined to his lower register for the entire time. Despite this, Freddie cracks on the adlibbed “Are you ready?” afterwards. The first verse is kinda rough, especially both Ab4s come out with that barking sound that I had hoped to never hearing again. The second verse has a surprisingly powerful, oversung “EVERY DAY OF MY BLOODY LIFE!” but Freddie’s voice falls really flat on the “LORD!” Ab4. The sustain afterwards is turned into a really fun scale at the top of which Freddie hits a great Ab4. The bridge features creative and really unique phrasings which I enjoyed as well as Freddie’s voice sounding decent. Brian’s guitar solo is a bit sloppy but features some really nice licks to make up for that. Freddie sings a great chorus with many unique vocal runs and OH MY GOD, Brian plays an INSANE run of licks before going into the final verse. Freddie does a decent job with it, dodging the Bb4 but hitting a solid “face no de-FEAAAAT” sustain. Goodbye, ‘Somebody to Love’, you will be missed dearly! The March of the Black Queen / My Fairy King / Killer Queen (7/10) - As he had done a handful of times earlier on the tour, Freddie extends his little piano improv a lot tonight which is funny because it sounds like he jumps STRAIGHT into ‘Killer Queen’ at first! But alas, it is actually ‘The March of the Black Queen’ together with a bit of ‘My Fairy King’, the last time these songs would be referenced live on stage and it’s absolutely GORGEOUS with the entire band joining in. The finale of it even includes tiny little hints to ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’ and ‘Death on Two Legs’ before Freddie finally launches into the last performance of one of Queen’s first major hits. The first verse sounds decent until Freddie does one of the worst speaksinging phrasings on “caviar and cigarettes” ever recorded. The first chorus is solid though. The second verse is a strange mess of sudden explosions, Freddie’s voice failing him during fun phrasings and nice guitar licks. The second chorus is solid. COME ON, BRIAN GIVE IT YOUR ALL! The last ever guitar solo is quite conservative and not very tight. Seven Seas of Rhye (7/10) - Seven Seas of Rhye. OH MY GOD FOR A SECOND I FORGOT THEY KEPT PLAYING THIS ON THE NEXT TOUR WHY?!?!??! This one at least features by now rare embellishments on “I stand be-FORE YOU NAKED to the eyes” as well as on “the Seven SEAAAS of RHYE” which I liked both. “Be-LONG to you” is dodged for the only time on this leg. Keep Yourself Alive (7/10) - Well, I am kinda bummed that we have to say goodbye to this song as well, even though it’s “just” half of it! The intro doesn’t really fit this special occasion though as it is quite bland for 1985 standards, even Freddie’s adlibbing is a bit boring but at least Roger lets out an energetic drum fill right as the band are heading into the solid first verse. Freddie embellishes “in any WINDOW ANY DAY”. The improv section is a lot more interesting than the intro with Roger keeping at it with his fills and Brian playing some neat little licks but… that was it?! This is where Brian calls it a day and transitions back into the song without doing anything special. The second verse is alright with Freddie adding minor embellishments and hitting a brief and flat G#4. That is not a very worthy send-off for this classic! Liar (6/10) - Ending off the actual song section of this medley comes the last performance of this arrangement of ‘Liar’ as the intro riff of the song would remain part of every ‘Magic Tour’ show at least. The intro is already better than all of ‘Keep Yourself Away’ with Brian adding great licks. Freddie sings a solid first verse but I really don’t like the return of the barking voice on the sustains. “Why don’t you leave me” is sung in studio phrasing as are all embellishments during the second verse strangely enough. The sustain again sounds AWFULLY dry. The bridge is also kinda ruined for me by the dry tone of Freddie’s voice. It really pains me but this must have been the worst medley of the 1985 part of the tour. Freddie hits a strong “ALOOOOONE” sustain in the end. Impromptu (9/10) - “Tonight, tonight is the last concert in Japan for this tour and uh, thank you very much for giving us such a nice welcome, all of Japan. Now, take that!”, Freddie yells, surely throwing some water at the front rows. At least we got a sweet little speech again! Just as sweet are the opening adlibs by Freddie, all done in gorgeous falsetto. I love how the band kept in the background for this beautiful intro but even better is how they start up their bluesy jam for the last time this year. We got some great energy in this one, Roger’s really shining tonight! Freddie also finally blossoms and pours his everything into this performance. Brian also adds some great bluesy licks before it all climaxes in a superb, fast section that sees every single band member on an instrument add something unique while Freddie now keeps in the background to let his fellow band members shine. It’s a Hard Life (7.5/10) - Freddie sings the last ever performance of this gorgeous song in the third octave once again but at least pretty much nails “WITH a broken heart” this time around. During the first verse, he puts on an American accent on “this is a triggy siduashion” which I found funny. FINALLY, his voice sounds quite clean and paired with some nice phrasing choices, we get a nice first verse. The first chorus shines with strong band harmonies although Roger has a small slip up on the drums halfway in. “to trust in one another” is also phrased nicely. The second verse is quite good with a few solid guitar licks and Freddie sounding exhausted in a very fitting way, giving his all during the song. The second chorus features a GORGEOUS phrasing on “two lovers together” (a similar one has been sung in Australia) before Freddie pulls himself together for a powerful chorus overall. The instrumental breakdown is great and sees Brian play one final great guitar solo for this song. Freddie nails “YEAH it’s a hard life” and sounds really powerful for the rest of the chorus. The final sustain is dodged a whole octave lower as usually on the tour while Roger nails the Bb4.
Ay-Oh / House Burning Down / Dragon Attack (7/10) - As he had already given his speech at the start of Impromptu, Freddie goes straight ahead with his nightly Ay-Oh. Adapting to his weakened voice, Freddie very much plays around with his very low register and quite low notes and runs in general which is a fun change although the energy isn’t quite up there with the high belts. He does go higher and higher towards the end and nails a fantastic sustain which sounds EXACTLY like a run from the 1986 shows. “Not bad”, Freddie proudly says after some more lines. Roger starts off ‘House Burning Down’ and we go into the last performance of this live staple! I love how Roger then enters ‘Dragon Attack’ a bit later than the rest, giving it a quite raunchy sound. Freddie sings two great verses, his raspy voice working in his favour this time. The first chorus is weak as Freddie goes for three A4s and hits all of them in varying degrees flat. Brian’s lick afterwards is much more precise. The second row of verses is solid and as a result of the first chorus, Freddie only goes for one A4 during the second chorus. Brian lets out some whammy action at the start of his solo and it all sounds simply amazing! Unfortunately, the jam gets a bit stale afterwards, only shaken up by a few strong adlibs by Freddie. Brian’s riffing gets a bit looser but already sees him preparing the launch into the final jam. I am not too impressed with this performance overall, I can’t lie… Everyone goes silent and it’s just Roger with a steady beat while Brian comes in with… yep, it’s ‘Now I’m Here’ already. See you over there. Now I’m Here / Johnny B. Goode (8/10) - After letting the band play the intro riff for quite a while, Freddie finally decides to make his entrance into the song. He nails “just a NEW man” and hits two great A4s on “MADE me live a-GAI-n” before adding “Rock and roll!”. The first verse is solid with Fred nailing all key notes although sounding quite rough on some of them. He then gets a powerfully embellished “don’t I LOVE you SOOO” and dodges the A4 with a great alternate phrasing. The second verse sees him cracking on “the BEAMS of your love light chase” which causes the rest of the verse to be sung conservatively, only “my eye” sees him launch the initial G4 up to a very brief A4. The jam is good and starts with one final “Go, Johnny!” before Freddie lets out more of those lines with Brian going off more and more throughout. I quite like how this jam finally evolves and features the band going off in all directions as they should on this special night and song! After some more dirty rock and roll, Brian leads the band into the bridge. Freddie once again does his little ‘Game Tour’ like vocal improv but much shorter compared to the previous shows before leading the band into the finale. Roger drums up quite the storm during the final fanfare with Freddie yelling “YEAAAAH, LET’S GO FOR IT!”. Is This the World We Created…? (7/10) - “Domo arigato (… more Japanese that I don’t understand follows). Many audience members keep yelling for Brian during the introduction but fall quiet as soon as Freddie comes in for the first verse which he sings absolutely beautifully. The first chorus sounds good with Freddie hitting “inva-DEED” and almost whispering at the end which just sounds haunting, especially on this recording. That was kinda ASMR like, can’t lie! The second verse is also nice. The following chorus is again great with Freddie nailing the high note (and cracking afterwards) and finishing the song quite well. Love of My Life (8/10) - "This is kind of a sad night in a way because it's not only the last night of the Japanese tour, it's the last night of the world tour, so this stuff will never be seen again. And uhm, I'd just like to take this opportunity of saying that it's not just us four guys that go around the world. It's a complete team and it's the best team in the world. So, I'd like to say thank you very much to the Queen crew and everybody who's worked with us. And to you. And this is for everybody!” Oh boy, this is hitting HARD! The last ‘Love of My Life’ Japan would ever hear with Freddie sees Freddie not singing much at all during the first verse as he lets the choir (aka the audience) take over after just a few words. They do a brilliant job! The second verse sees Freddie singing along with them for a bit more and while he doesn’t sound as gorgeous as he did earlier on the tour, he still sounds good. Freddie gives them a chuckled “Domo arigato” before raising the energy with some acoustic thinging I don’t even know what he’s doing lol! Brian reminds him they still need to finish the song so he launches into a gorgeous bridge. “I love you, love you, love you!”, an emotional Freddie adlibs before leaving the stage for Brian’s solo. The finale is great again. Guitar Solo / Brighton Rock (7/10) - Freddie again motivates the crowd for some energetic clapping before Brian clashes in with the start of his guitar solo which is a mix of fast chording and moody chord sustains. Brian then does some really vibey chords that sound very ‘Queen II’ / ‘Ogre Battle’ like and they go straight into more riffing which sees Brian add a vibe of late 80s U2 just for a brief second before going back to straight riffing. This again only lasts a couple of seconds before Brian goes back into some distorted chords which again leads into something damn chill I can’t keep up. Unfortunately, these different sections aren’t unique or new at all and all rather just collect some of the typical beats of 80s guitar solos by Brian. He then tries to experiment with delays and echos paired with choppy chords but it doesn’t really work for me, especially with everything that has come before these chords. He then does the screeching guitar thing again and Brian please do something gooooooood. No. NO! It’s time for ‘Brighton Rock’ already… Roger adds some spicy as hell fills, more interesting than most of the guitar solo. Freddie again adds the “I must apolo-GISE” embellishment for the last ever performance of the ‘Brighton Rock’ finale. Another One Bites the Dust (7/10) - “Mr. Brian May! Okay, we’d like everybody to do some boogie! This is… ‘Another One Bites theee Dust’! Come on, come on, come on with you! Alright, wooh-ha-yeah!”, Gary Mullen uh Freddie Mercury screams at the start of the song in a very stupid sounding voice lmao. The first verse is quite good. The chorus sees Freddie hit the first A4 flat, nail the second one and crack on the conservative “gonna GET you too”. The second verse is pretty good with Fred nailing both A4s effortlessly. Going into the next chorus, Freddie hits both A4s decently but then sings the final line very flat. The jam is quite fun with Fred doing some adlibbing for a change (at least at the start) and John playing an improvised bassline for most of it. The band as a whole are a bit bland, I can't lie. Freddie nails the bridge B4 out of nowhere! The final verse again sees Freddie strongly hitting both A4s. The chorus has both A4s hit (the second one comes out cracky) but Fred again fails on the last line. Mustapha / Hammer to Fall (8.5/10) - As usually on the leg, Freddie sings the intro of the beloved ‘Jazz’ tune after saying (again), “Is everybody happy? Is everybody under control?” We then go into a quite solid first verse of the Brian May tune although Freddie definitely strains more to reach the A4s by now. The first chorus sees Roger completely overshooting his line and the vocal harmonies are quite bad in general. The second verse is quite bad as Freddie cracks badly on “LIFT your FACE” and then sings “build your muscles” in the third octave. The second chorus sees Fred skipping all high notes which was a smart move, the harmonies are also much better than before. The bridge is surprisingly strong with Freddie nailing everything up to the A4s without too much struggle which makes the second verse even more painful. “All in vain” is just said out loud though. The guitar solo is FANTASTIC, YO BRIAN MAY FINALLY WOKE UP AGAIN! This was a great solo indeed! The final verse is solid but Freddie still struggles during the following chorus so he skips the A4s again. Talking about that note, FREDDIE FRICKING ACES AN INSANE SUSTAIN AFTER THE VERSE! HOW! ANOTHER ONE! The jam then goes absolutely INSANELY WITH BRIAN GOING THE HELL OFF HOLY SHIT YES. WHY IS IT ONLY NOW THAT EVERYONE GOES INSANE! That was some of the finest riffing I’ve heard, well done! Freddie hits a less stable but still solid A4 sustain in the end.
Crazy Little Thing Called Love (7/10) - “You know what the next song is called? What is it? ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, let’s go!”. The verses section is quite good with Freddie adding some falsetto quips and the band playing really tightly. During the third verse (I think) Freddie starts off a fun phrasing on “she knows how to ROCK and roll” but drops the end off it into an off-key note. The first bridge features fun licks by Brian and Freddie doing a little Elvis. Brian’s telecaster solo is good but again very close to the studio one apart from a really great ending lick. The big chorus section features more fun embellishments by Freddie and Roger drumming with lots of energy. Brian is asked to take it by Freddie and taking it he does with some really good licks. So far we’re only in the tight area, please go off MORE band! Yeah, Brian, those licks are what I wanna hear, but he stopped again. More? Do something? Spike starts doing those fast piano runs but where is the improv? Did they fall asleep again? I mean, just compare this to Tokorozawa which was also the end of a world tour. Brian does start going off a bit more after a while but I’m pretty sure I’ve heard every single lick before but better. Sigh. Freddie sings some quite soulful phrasings during the outro. Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting) (10/10) - Okay, this remains in the set for this show so at least they’re going to pop off here, I’m sure of it! “Okay, this song was written by a well-known poofter. I’m sure you know what he’s called”, Freddie says before launching into this solid rocker. We once again go straight into the original song’s finale and YES THAT IS THE TYPE OF JAMMING I WANNA HEAR! After the first row of choruses (where Freddie added some adlibs after each “Saturday”) the band go through a tight and fun jam which suddenly goes slower but did you really thing we end off this soon? NO! Brian plays a few bluesy licks and back we go into a very heavy jam which includes all five musicians having fun. The band again do a fake outro but Freddie picks up the chorus melody again and with a few really beautiful guitar licks, Freddie yells “ONE MORE TIME!” and the band go into the absolute BEST jam of this performance! It’s absolutely FANTASTIC for all members and gets topped off with another row of choruses where Roger adds the adlibs this time. Bohemian Rhapsody (6.5/10) - Freddie sounds quite husky from the start. The first verse sees him hit a very strained (and overshot) A4 and an AWFUL growled out straight G4 phrasing. He then nails “Mama Ooh” and struggles his way through the rest of the verse, reverting to more growling to help his voice survive this song. The second verse has a crack on “aching ALL the time”, an unstable “GOT to goooo” and a slightly better G4 phrasing. “Mama Ooh” is again nailed and Freddie survives the rest of the song. OH LORD BRIAN! He plays a GORGEOUS lick at the start of the solo and plays one of the most soulful BoRhap solos ever. The rock section sounds very powerful in all regards. Well, until Freddie has to sustain the Ab4 from where everything goes to shambles, including a cracked “CAN’T do this” and Brian playing a bum note. The transition is rather clean and the outro sounds pretty awesome with Freddie giving his all and Brian playing some clean licks. Radio Ga Ga (6/10) - I am not ready for the end of the main set… The first verse gets off to a solid start with Freddie sounding quite strong and confident. He then cracks on “you GAVE them all” (???) and for some reason attempts the first A4 which results in a hilariously bad verse ending, filled with cracks and unstable moments. The first pre-chorus is conservative and has a crack on “fin-EST hour”, one of the two attempted high notes. The first chorus is surprisingly stable. The second verse has more of that rough singing by Freddie, as well as a voice crack on “let’s HOPE you never”, crack on “on you we de-PEND”, tired on “when we get tired”. The second pre-chorus sees Freddie nailing the final line somehow. The second chorus is again solid but Freddie sounds absolutely done for tonally which culminates in a very shaky sustain on “loves YOUUU”. The breakdown is tight with a solid guitar solo by Brian. The final pre-chorus sees Freddie nailing all A4s with absolutely NO hesitation or any sign of weakness, I don’t get this! The final chorus is stable as well. I Want to Break Free (7/10) - Am I ready for this? We’ll see. The opening guitar solo is strong. The first verse sees Freddie singing everything instead of relying on the audience. He attempts the first few high notes of the BIG line, slightly cracking and giving up on the second half of the line. That could’ve gone much worse! The second verse also sees Freddie sing everything and for some reason he completely messes up the timing on “this time I know it’s for real” while getting most high notes somehow. He again mistimes “god knows I’ve fallen in love” and has to speedrun through it as a result. Brian plays a few bum notes during the bridge which Freddie sings conservatively. Brian plays a quite bouncy and fun spirited solo with an EPIC run at the end. The final verse is sung conservatively and includes more awesome licks by Brian. Jailhouse Rock / Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On (11/10) - The last ever performance of this Elvis classic starts off with a very fast verse that Freddie can barely keep up with the lyrics! The second verse is also great although Freddie mumbles through the words which fuels my theory that he was just drunk here. The first jam is great with some fantastic riffing by Brian LIKE HOLY COW you are GOING CRAZY THIS IS AWESOME! Fantastic jam there, boys! Freddie sings a good third verse. The second jam sounds just as great, especially once we hit the key change section where the Brian goes the hell off once again. Freddie leads the band into the ending bit where they keep jamming with Spike doing really fun stuff on the keys as well. Freddie suddenly burls into a few lines of ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’ which is a great touch for this last performance. The jam suddenly goes VERY FAST YES THIS IS LIKE THE 70S BAND AGAIN YOOOOO. Instead of ending, they keep on going for more and more and more. “Thank you for being such a beautiful audience, we love ya!”, Freddie says, interrupting his adlibbing before letting the band jam on for a bit and ending off the song. We Will Rock You (7/10) - Tonight’s intro is a bit more on the standard side again which doesn’t mean it’s bad, Brian just stays on the same few chords for the entire time. Freddie sings all three verses with G4s and hits an E3 in both the first two verses. Brian’s solo is quite good. We Are the Champions (7.5/10) - The first verse is pretty good and Freddie nails a strong Bb4 drop phrasing during the first pre-chorus. The first chorus has the same A4 to G4 phrasing as the last few shows and Freddie dodges “NO time”. He then cracks during his sustain. The second verse includes a few fantastic licks but Fred hitting a piano note early. “NOOOO pleasure cruise” is embellished strongly, the second pre-chorus dropped after the A4. The second chorus sees BRIAN PULL OUT THE LIVE AID LICK FROM THE LAST CHORUS?! Freddie sustains an A4 WHAT?! WHY ARE THEY ALWAYS POPPING OFF SO RANDOMLY AT THIS SHOW?! Freddie dodges “NO time”. The final chorus has a really great G4 sustain by Freddie as well as the embellished “TIIIIIILL the end”. God Save the Queen - “Domo arigato! Sayonara! Thank you very much, Japan!” - The final words Freddie would ever say to a Japanese audience. Highlights: Impromptu, Hammer to Fall, Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting), Jailhouse Rock Lowlights: Tie Your Mother Down Average Rating: 7.30/10
I agree up to this tour! Must confess, I'm not a big fan of the 'Magic' tour one as it's only point was to be as big as possible, just a bit too much imo
12:17 - 12:52 I love that intro.!!. 20:25 very well done Freddie! 25:52 hold it like this! 34:56 In this Ay-Oh Freddie's voice is very soft and then with such power that the vibrations are noticeable.
I think calling this version one of the best interpretations of the song is a bit of an overstatement. Freddie's straining badly on the first timestamp (and he's done that phrasing a lot, usually better than here) and the second timestamp isn't unusually for this time as well. The sustain on the second timestamp is great though, I'll give you that
Shoot me, but I like the way he handles singing this version of BoRhap a lot. Already a cleaner tone than September 1984 even though it's still in a pretty limited vocal range.
1st Newcastle '79, but really all the Crazy tour shows we have shine in their own ways. San Diego and Oakland '80 are also up there. San Diego, like Leon already mentioned, is also my personal favorite.
Tear It Up (6/10) - Sigh, this is a sad one for me and a show I have dreaded for a long time. Not because I think it will be bad (it’s probably gonna be Freddie’s weakest show of the leg but that’s beside my point) but simply for being the band’s last concert ever in Japan, a country that was the first to make the band members feel like superstars back in 1975 and this mood certainly leads to many melancholic and nostalgic moments within the band, most obviously for Brian though as we’ll later hear although the main reason for this is of course that the band wasn’t in a great spot mentally at the end of the tour, despite the overall very positive leg in Japan as they were about to break up, so in the band’s mind, this wasn’t going to be their last show in Japan but their last show as a band, at least for a long while. Anyway, we know what happened instead so for us it’s just an emotional goodbye to a very very special crowd and with all this out of the way, let’s start! For the last time, we hear an audience going crazy over how amazing the ‘Machines’ opening tape is and thanks to one of the best sounding recordings of the decade, we can almost feel how impactful it really was back in the day! As soon as Brian steps out to lead the band into ‘Tear It Up’, the crowd go crazy. Freddie, once again having had a day off between shows, gives up on the first chorus before even trying, dodging every single A4. After this disappointment, the verse is sung decently with some embellishing and a nailed “for SLEEPIN baby”. The second chorus features the same amount of A4 attempts as the first tone: zero. The outro is again decent although Freddie is way more careful than he was on the last few shows. Roger sounds kinda funny.
Tie Your Mother Down (5.5/10) - Freddie does a really strange adlib during the intro, sounding like he was hurting himself. The first verse is an unfortunate return to the old Works as Freddie dodges all A4s except for a flat “NO way” and on top displays a raspy and unnatural tone with all cleanliness being gone. The first chorus sees Freddie dropping the octave twice and dodging the A4 at the end. Brian plays a great lick going into the second verse which Freddie again sings with not much power. The second chorus isn’t noteworthy; the entrance into the guitar solo isn’t the tightest both for Brian and Roger. What are you doing guysssss… The solo itself is pretty solid but lacks some of the creativity from previous versions. The bridge is pretty strong. Freddie drops “daddy out the DOORS” in a bad way, sounding like a bored monster. Idk how else to describe it lol. The outro is solid with Brian having some fun on his guitar.
Under Pressure (6/10) - “Hello Osaka! Konbanwa! Ikaka desuka! Is everybody happy? Under control? Yeaaaaaah, ‘Under Pressure’!”. The first verse is solid although it is once again notable that Freddie’s voice has regained some of its raspiness tonight. The second verse is again a mixture of speaksinging and the studio phrasing but I HATE how raspy and dark Freddie’s voice sounds on the following scat part. The second chorus features the usual F#4 to G4 sustain. The bridge is decent and I like how loud Roger is in the mix. The “WHY” sustain is quite weak. The whole finale is decent although Freddie’s voice starts straining halfway through.
Somebody to Love (7/10) - Freddie plays a really sweet introduction to the last EVER performance of this masterpiece on the piano before adding some really nice, baritone adlibbing on top, showing off his great vibrato while singing really soulful runs that are confined to his lower register for the entire time. Despite this, Freddie cracks on the adlibbed “Are you ready?” afterwards. The first verse is kinda rough, especially both Ab4s come out with that barking sound that I had hoped to never hearing again. The second verse has a surprisingly powerful, oversung “EVERY DAY OF MY BLOODY LIFE!” but Freddie’s voice falls really flat on the “LORD!” Ab4. The sustain afterwards is turned into a really fun scale at the top of which Freddie hits a great Ab4. The bridge features creative and really unique phrasings which I enjoyed as well as Freddie’s voice sounding decent. Brian’s guitar solo is a bit sloppy but features some really nice licks to make up for that. Freddie sings a great chorus with many unique vocal runs and OH MY GOD, Brian plays an INSANE run of licks before going into the final verse. Freddie does a decent job with it, dodging the Bb4 but hitting a solid “face no de-FEAAAAT” sustain. Goodbye, ‘Somebody to Love’, you will be missed dearly!
The March of the Black Queen / My Fairy King / Killer Queen (7/10) - As he had done a handful of times earlier on the tour, Freddie extends his little piano improv a lot tonight which is funny because it sounds like he jumps STRAIGHT into ‘Killer Queen’ at first! But alas, it is actually ‘The March of the Black Queen’ together with a bit of ‘My Fairy King’, the last time these songs would be referenced live on stage and it’s absolutely GORGEOUS with the entire band joining in. The finale of it even includes tiny little hints to ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’ and ‘Death on Two Legs’ before Freddie finally launches into the last performance of one of Queen’s first major hits. The first verse sounds decent until Freddie does one of the worst speaksinging phrasings on “caviar and cigarettes” ever recorded. The first chorus is solid though. The second verse is a strange mess of sudden explosions, Freddie’s voice failing him during fun phrasings and nice guitar licks. The second chorus is solid. COME ON, BRIAN GIVE IT YOUR ALL! The last ever guitar solo is quite conservative and not very tight.
Seven Seas of Rhye (7/10) - Seven Seas of Rhye. OH MY GOD FOR A SECOND I FORGOT THEY KEPT PLAYING THIS ON THE NEXT TOUR WHY?!?!??! This one at least features by now rare embellishments on “I stand be-FORE YOU NAKED to the eyes” as well as on “the Seven SEAAAS of RHYE” which I liked both. “Be-LONG to you” is dodged for the only time on this leg.
Keep Yourself Alive (7/10) - Well, I am kinda bummed that we have to say goodbye to this song as well, even though it’s “just” half of it! The intro doesn’t really fit this special occasion though as it is quite bland for 1985 standards, even Freddie’s adlibbing is a bit boring but at least Roger lets out an energetic drum fill right as the band are heading into the solid first verse. Freddie embellishes “in any WINDOW ANY DAY”. The improv section is a lot more interesting than the intro with Roger keeping at it with his fills and Brian playing some neat little licks but… that was it?! This is where Brian calls it a day and transitions back into the song without doing anything special. The second verse is alright with Freddie adding minor embellishments and hitting a brief and flat G#4. That is not a very worthy send-off for this classic!
Liar (6/10) - Ending off the actual song section of this medley comes the last performance of this arrangement of ‘Liar’ as the intro riff of the song would remain part of every ‘Magic Tour’ show at least. The intro is already better than all of ‘Keep Yourself Away’ with Brian adding great licks. Freddie sings a solid first verse but I really don’t like the return of the barking voice on the sustains. “Why don’t you leave me” is sung in studio phrasing as are all embellishments during the second verse strangely enough. The sustain again sounds AWFULLY dry. The bridge is also kinda ruined for me by the dry tone of Freddie’s voice. It really pains me but this must have been the worst medley of the 1985 part of the tour. Freddie hits a strong “ALOOOOONE” sustain in the end.
Impromptu (9/10) - “Tonight, tonight is the last concert in Japan for this tour and uh, thank you very much for giving us such a nice welcome, all of Japan. Now, take that!”, Freddie yells, surely throwing some water at the front rows. At least we got a sweet little speech again! Just as sweet are the opening adlibs by Freddie, all done in gorgeous falsetto. I love how the band kept in the background for this beautiful intro but even better is how they start up their bluesy jam for the last time this year. We got some great energy in this one, Roger’s really shining tonight! Freddie also finally blossoms and pours his everything into this performance. Brian also adds some great bluesy licks before it all climaxes in a superb, fast section that sees every single band member on an instrument add something unique while Freddie now keeps in the background to let his fellow band members shine.
It’s a Hard Life (7.5/10) - Freddie sings the last ever performance of this gorgeous song in the third octave once again but at least pretty much nails “WITH a broken heart” this time around. During the first verse, he puts on an American accent on “this is a triggy siduashion” which I found funny. FINALLY, his voice sounds quite clean and paired with some nice phrasing choices, we get a nice first verse. The first chorus shines with strong band harmonies although Roger has a small slip up on the drums halfway in. “to trust in one another” is also phrased nicely. The second verse is quite good with a few solid guitar licks and Freddie sounding exhausted in a very fitting way, giving his all during the song. The second chorus features a GORGEOUS phrasing on “two lovers together” (a similar one has been sung in Australia) before Freddie pulls himself together for a powerful chorus overall. The instrumental breakdown is great and sees Brian play one final great guitar solo for this song. Freddie nails “YEAH it’s a hard life” and sounds really powerful for the rest of the chorus. The final sustain is dodged a whole octave lower as usually on the tour while Roger nails the Bb4.
Ay-Oh / House Burning Down / Dragon Attack (7/10) - As he had already given his speech at the start of Impromptu, Freddie goes straight ahead with his nightly Ay-Oh. Adapting to his weakened voice, Freddie very much plays around with his very low register and quite low notes and runs in general which is a fun change although the energy isn’t quite up there with the high belts. He does go higher and higher towards the end and nails a fantastic sustain which sounds EXACTLY like a run from the 1986 shows. “Not bad”, Freddie proudly says after some more lines. Roger starts off ‘House Burning Down’ and we go into the last performance of this live staple! I love how Roger then enters ‘Dragon Attack’ a bit later than the rest, giving it a quite raunchy sound. Freddie sings two great verses, his raspy voice working in his favour this time. The first chorus is weak as Freddie goes for three A4s and hits all of them in varying degrees flat. Brian’s lick afterwards is much more precise. The second row of verses is solid and as a result of the first chorus, Freddie only goes for one A4 during the second chorus. Brian lets out some whammy action at the start of his solo and it all sounds simply amazing! Unfortunately, the jam gets a bit stale afterwards, only shaken up by a few strong adlibs by Freddie. Brian’s riffing gets a bit looser but already sees him preparing the launch into the final jam. I am not too impressed with this performance overall, I can’t lie… Everyone goes silent and it’s just Roger with a steady beat while Brian comes in with… yep, it’s ‘Now I’m Here’ already. See you over there.
Now I’m Here / Johnny B. Goode (8/10) - After letting the band play the intro riff for quite a while, Freddie finally decides to make his entrance into the song. He nails “just a NEW man” and hits two great A4s on “MADE me live a-GAI-n” before adding “Rock and roll!”. The first verse is solid with Fred nailing all key notes although sounding quite rough on some of them. He then gets a powerfully embellished “don’t I LOVE you SOOO” and dodges the A4 with a great alternate phrasing. The second verse sees him cracking on “the BEAMS of your love light chase” which causes the rest of the verse to be sung conservatively, only “my eye” sees him launch the initial G4 up to a very brief A4. The jam is good and starts with one final “Go, Johnny!” before Freddie lets out more of those lines with Brian going off more and more throughout. I quite like how this jam finally evolves and features the band going off in all directions as they should on this special night and song! After some more dirty rock and roll, Brian leads the band into the bridge. Freddie once again does his little ‘Game Tour’ like vocal improv but much shorter compared to the previous shows before leading the band into the finale. Roger drums up quite the storm during the final fanfare with Freddie yelling “YEAAAAH, LET’S GO FOR IT!”.
Is This the World We Created…? (7/10) - “Domo arigato (… more Japanese that I don’t understand follows). Many audience members keep yelling for Brian during the introduction but fall quiet as soon as Freddie comes in for the first verse which he sings absolutely beautifully. The first chorus sounds good with Freddie hitting “inva-DEED” and almost whispering at the end which just sounds haunting, especially on this recording. That was kinda ASMR like, can’t lie! The second verse is also nice. The following chorus is again great with Freddie nailing the high note (and cracking afterwards) and finishing the song quite well.
Love of My Life (8/10) - "This is kind of a sad night in a way because it's not only the last night of the Japanese tour, it's the last night of the world tour, so this stuff will never be seen again. And uhm, I'd just like to take this opportunity of saying that it's not just us four guys that go around the world. It's a complete team and it's the best team in the world. So, I'd like to say thank you very much to the Queen crew and everybody who's worked with us. And to you. And this is for everybody!” Oh boy, this is hitting HARD! The last ‘Love of My Life’ Japan would ever hear with Freddie sees Freddie not singing much at all during the first verse as he lets the choir (aka the audience) take over after just a few words. They do a brilliant job! The second verse sees Freddie singing along with them for a bit more and while he doesn’t sound as gorgeous as he did earlier on the tour, he still sounds good. Freddie gives them a chuckled “Domo arigato” before raising the energy with some acoustic thinging I don’t even know what he’s doing lol! Brian reminds him they still need to finish the song so he launches into a gorgeous bridge. “I love you, love you, love you!”, an emotional Freddie adlibs before leaving the stage for Brian’s solo. The finale is great again.
Guitar Solo / Brighton Rock (7/10) - Freddie again motivates the crowd for some energetic clapping before Brian clashes in with the start of his guitar solo which is a mix of fast chording and moody chord sustains. Brian then does some really vibey chords that sound very ‘Queen II’ / ‘Ogre Battle’ like and they go straight into more riffing which sees Brian add a vibe of late 80s U2 just for a brief second before going back to straight riffing. This again only lasts a couple of seconds before Brian goes back into some distorted chords which again leads into something damn chill I can’t keep up. Unfortunately, these different sections aren’t unique or new at all and all rather just collect some of the typical beats of 80s guitar solos by Brian. He then tries to experiment with delays and echos paired with choppy chords but it doesn’t really work for me, especially with everything that has come before these chords. He then does the screeching guitar thing again and Brian please do something gooooooood. No. NO! It’s time for ‘Brighton Rock’ already… Roger adds some spicy as hell fills, more interesting than most of the guitar solo. Freddie again adds the “I must apolo-GISE” embellishment for the last ever performance of the ‘Brighton Rock’ finale.
Another One Bites the Dust (7/10) - “Mr. Brian May! Okay, we’d like everybody to do some boogie! This is… ‘Another One Bites theee Dust’! Come on, come on, come on with you! Alright, wooh-ha-yeah!”, Gary Mullen uh Freddie Mercury screams at the start of the song in a very stupid sounding voice lmao. The first verse is quite good. The chorus sees Freddie hit the first A4 flat, nail the second one and crack on the conservative “gonna GET you too”. The second verse is pretty good with Fred nailing both A4s effortlessly. Going into the next chorus, Freddie hits both A4s decently but then sings the final line very flat. The jam is quite fun with Fred doing some adlibbing for a change (at least at the start) and John playing an improvised bassline for most of it. The band as a whole are a bit bland, I can't lie. Freddie nails the bridge B4 out of nowhere! The final verse again sees Freddie strongly hitting both A4s. The chorus has both A4s hit (the second one comes out cracky) but Fred again fails on the last line.
Mustapha / Hammer to Fall (8.5/10) - As usually on the leg, Freddie sings the intro of the beloved ‘Jazz’ tune after saying (again), “Is everybody happy? Is everybody under control?” We then go into a quite solid first verse of the Brian May tune although Freddie definitely strains more to reach the A4s by now. The first chorus sees Roger completely overshooting his line and the vocal harmonies are quite bad in general. The second verse is quite bad as Freddie cracks badly on “LIFT your FACE” and then sings “build your muscles” in the third octave. The second chorus sees Fred skipping all high notes which was a smart move, the harmonies are also much better than before. The bridge is surprisingly strong with Freddie nailing everything up to the A4s without too much struggle which makes the second verse even more painful. “All in vain” is just said out loud though. The guitar solo is FANTASTIC, YO BRIAN MAY FINALLY WOKE UP AGAIN! This was a great solo indeed! The final verse is solid but Freddie still struggles during the following chorus so he skips the A4s again. Talking about that note, FREDDIE FRICKING ACES AN INSANE SUSTAIN AFTER THE VERSE! HOW! ANOTHER ONE! The jam then goes absolutely INSANELY WITH BRIAN GOING THE HELL OFF HOLY SHIT YES. WHY IS IT ONLY NOW THAT EVERYONE GOES INSANE! That was some of the finest riffing I’ve heard, well done! Freddie hits a less stable but still solid A4 sustain in the end.
Crazy Little Thing Called Love (7/10) - “You know what the next song is called? What is it? ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, let’s go!”. The verses section is quite good with Freddie adding some falsetto quips and the band playing really tightly. During the third verse (I think) Freddie starts off a fun phrasing on “she knows how to ROCK and roll” but drops the end off it into an off-key note. The first bridge features fun licks by Brian and Freddie doing a little Elvis. Brian’s telecaster solo is good but again very close to the studio one apart from a really great ending lick. The big chorus section features more fun embellishments by Freddie and Roger drumming with lots of energy. Brian is asked to take it by Freddie and taking it he does with some really good licks. So far we’re only in the tight area, please go off MORE band! Yeah, Brian, those licks are what I wanna hear, but he stopped again. More? Do something? Spike starts doing those fast piano runs but where is the improv? Did they fall asleep again? I mean, just compare this to Tokorozawa which was also the end of a world tour. Brian does start going off a bit more after a while but I’m pretty sure I’ve heard every single lick before but better. Sigh. Freddie sings some quite soulful phrasings during the outro.
Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting) (10/10) - Okay, this remains in the set for this show so at least they’re going to pop off here, I’m sure of it! “Okay, this song was written by a well-known poofter. I’m sure you know what he’s called”, Freddie says before launching into this solid rocker. We once again go straight into the original song’s finale and YES THAT IS THE TYPE OF JAMMING I WANNA HEAR! After the first row of choruses (where Freddie added some adlibs after each “Saturday”) the band go through a tight and fun jam which suddenly goes slower but did you really thing we end off this soon? NO! Brian plays a few bluesy licks and back we go into a very heavy jam which includes all five musicians having fun. The band again do a fake outro but Freddie picks up the chorus melody again and with a few really beautiful guitar licks, Freddie yells “ONE MORE TIME!” and the band go into the absolute BEST jam of this performance! It’s absolutely FANTASTIC for all members and gets topped off with another row of choruses where Roger adds the adlibs this time.
Bohemian Rhapsody (6.5/10) - Freddie sounds quite husky from the start. The first verse sees him hit a very strained (and overshot) A4 and an AWFUL growled out straight G4 phrasing. He then nails “Mama Ooh” and struggles his way through the rest of the verse, reverting to more growling to help his voice survive this song. The second verse has a crack on “aching ALL the time”, an unstable “GOT to goooo” and a slightly better G4 phrasing. “Mama Ooh” is again nailed and Freddie survives the rest of the song. OH LORD BRIAN! He plays a GORGEOUS lick at the start of the solo and plays one of the most soulful BoRhap solos ever. The rock section sounds very powerful in all regards. Well, until Freddie has to sustain the Ab4 from where everything goes to shambles, including a cracked “CAN’T do this” and Brian playing a bum note. The transition is rather clean and the outro sounds pretty awesome with Freddie giving his all and Brian playing some clean licks.
Radio Ga Ga (6/10) - I am not ready for the end of the main set… The first verse gets off to a solid start with Freddie sounding quite strong and confident. He then cracks on “you GAVE them all” (???) and for some reason attempts the first A4 which results in a hilariously bad verse ending, filled with cracks and unstable moments. The first pre-chorus is conservative and has a crack on “fin-EST hour”, one of the two attempted high notes. The first chorus is surprisingly stable. The second verse has more of that rough singing by Freddie, as well as a voice crack on “let’s HOPE you never”, crack on “on you we de-PEND”, tired on “when we get tired”. The second pre-chorus sees Freddie nailing the final line somehow. The second chorus is again solid but Freddie sounds absolutely done for tonally which culminates in a very shaky sustain on “loves YOUUU”. The breakdown is tight with a solid guitar solo by Brian. The final pre-chorus sees Freddie nailing all A4s with absolutely NO hesitation or any sign of weakness, I don’t get this! The final chorus is stable as well.
I Want to Break Free (7/10) - Am I ready for this? We’ll see. The opening guitar solo is strong. The first verse sees Freddie singing everything instead of relying on the audience. He attempts the first few high notes of the BIG line, slightly cracking and giving up on the second half of the line. That could’ve gone much worse! The second verse also sees Freddie sing everything and for some reason he completely messes up the timing on “this time I know it’s for real” while getting most high notes somehow. He again mistimes “god knows I’ve fallen in love” and has to speedrun through it as a result. Brian plays a few bum notes during the bridge which Freddie sings conservatively. Brian plays a quite bouncy and fun spirited solo with an EPIC run at the end. The final verse is sung conservatively and includes more awesome licks by Brian.
Jailhouse Rock / Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On (11/10) - The last ever performance of this Elvis classic starts off with a very fast verse that Freddie can barely keep up with the lyrics! The second verse is also great although Freddie mumbles through the words which fuels my theory that he was just drunk here. The first jam is great with some fantastic riffing by Brian LIKE HOLY COW you are GOING CRAZY THIS IS AWESOME! Fantastic jam there, boys! Freddie sings a good third verse. The second jam sounds just as great, especially once we hit the key change section where the Brian goes the hell off once again. Freddie leads the band into the ending bit where they keep jamming with Spike doing really fun stuff on the keys as well. Freddie suddenly burls into a few lines of ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’ which is a great touch for this last performance. The jam suddenly goes VERY FAST YES THIS IS LIKE THE 70S BAND AGAIN YOOOOO. Instead of ending, they keep on going for more and more and more. “Thank you for being such a beautiful audience, we love ya!”, Freddie says, interrupting his adlibbing before letting the band jam on for a bit and ending off the song.
We Will Rock You (7/10) - Tonight’s intro is a bit more on the standard side again which doesn’t mean it’s bad, Brian just stays on the same few chords for the entire time. Freddie sings all three verses with G4s and hits an E3 in both the first two verses. Brian’s solo is quite good.
We Are the Champions (7.5/10) - The first verse is pretty good and Freddie nails a strong Bb4 drop phrasing during the first pre-chorus. The first chorus has the same A4 to G4 phrasing as the last few shows and Freddie dodges “NO time”. He then cracks during his sustain. The second verse includes a few fantastic licks but Fred hitting a piano note early. “NOOOO pleasure cruise” is embellished strongly, the second pre-chorus dropped after the A4. The second chorus sees BRIAN PULL OUT THE LIVE AID LICK FROM THE LAST CHORUS?! Freddie sustains an A4 WHAT?! WHY ARE THEY ALWAYS POPPING OFF SO RANDOMLY AT THIS SHOW?! Freddie dodges “NO time”. The final chorus has a really great G4 sustain by Freddie as well as the embellished “TIIIIIILL the end”.
God Save the Queen - “Domo arigato! Sayonara! Thank you very much, Japan!” - The final words Freddie would ever say to a Japanese audience.
Highlights: Impromptu, Hammer to Fall, Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting), Jailhouse Rock
Lowlights: Tie Your Mother Down
Average Rating: 7.30/10
Queen used the most modern and impressive lights in the world!
I agree up to this tour! Must confess, I'm not a big fan of the 'Magic' tour one as it's only point was to be as big as possible, just a bit too much imo
12:17 - 12:52 I love that intro.!!. 20:25 very well done Freddie! 25:52 hold it like this! 34:56 In this Ay-Oh Freddie's voice is very soft and then with such power that the vibrations are noticeable.
ONE OF THE BEST INTERPRETATIONS OF
We Are The Champions: 1:44:36 BRILLIANT!. 1:45:45 It's spectacular! 1:46:39 Epic!
I think calling this version one of the best interpretations of the song is a bit of an overstatement. Freddie's straining badly on the first timestamp (and he's done that phrasing a lot, usually better than here) and the second timestamp isn't unusually for this time as well. The sustain on the second timestamp is great though, I'll give you that
27:16 C3 :0
28:56 G#6
45:24 Freddie orders. 1:21:54 POWER!. 1:22:44 Phenomenal version.
This is the last queen concert in japan with freddie mercury i will thank you leon for uploading it
It is indeed
27:16 What is this note?. In this Impromptu Freddie achieves a vocal range that few can do!
C3 bro
This is finale of the Works Japan Tour '85
Sh*t, that's so sad 😢
Thanks so much.
Domo Arigato.
I like the Ay-oh here 35:39
Me too
How many songs dies Here 😢
@@edmundournus9923 If you think that’s many you should check out Tokorozawa
10!
❤
Shoot me, but I like the way he handles singing this version of BoRhap a lot. Already a cleaner tone than September 1984 even though it's still in a pretty limited vocal range.
The end of their last tour in Japan, unfortunately not a very good send-off :(
"It started off so well, they say we made a perfect show…"
Awesome video
Can you please plsssss start posting also footages and videos?
There are other channels doing that, often with great upgrades and touches :)
16:01 great fake, entering killer queen one minute later lol
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What’s the best version of save me?
In my personal opinion it's San Diego, 5th July 1980 but many prefer the Crazy tour ones as well
1st Newcastle '79, but really all the Crazy tour shows we have shine in their own ways. San Diego and Oakland '80 are also up there. San Diego, like Leon already mentioned, is also my personal favorite.
Glasgow 79’s probably the best; Newcastle 12/3, Liverpool, San Diego 80 & Oakland 80 are also in the top 5 versions
*VIENNA!!!* *5/12/1982!!!*
THIS IS THE BEST!!!.
Queen, Save Me *Live* *VIENNA* *5/12/1982!!!*
Freddie's voice here is something incredible!:
*VIENNA!!!* *5/12/1982!!!*
THIS IS THE BEST!!!.
Queen, Save Me *Live* *VIENNA* *5/12/1982!!!*
Are you gonna upload the first concert in rio?
Funny timing, I just uploaded a silent version for my review! You can find it on my community tab or by looking through the Works Tour playlist!
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