BOOTLEG RACE

 2 CD 

Label: Tarantura TCDQ-5-1,2
Country: Japan
Released: January 2011 The first Queen bootleg this year.
Recorded: Live at Budokan Dai Hall, Tokyo, Japan Saturday April 14th 1979
Sound: Excellent audience recording
Comments:  A new tape source from this show. Previously released show, but from other tape sources. This new one comes from Mr. Peach own recording. Released with carton fold-out color cover, as usual from this nice Tarantura label. The sale price is US$ 110,- from dealers in Japan. Prices can various from dealer to dealer, but all in all this Tarantura releasing use to be a bit expensive. 
As far as I can see, it looks like the disc's contains the full show.
If You Can't Beat Them is mislabeled as Fat Bottomed Girls on the artwork.
Roots: New tape from Mr. Peach collection. By the way, I have NO bearing who Mr. Peach is, so please don't ask.
Time:   

 
Front cover 1st. edition

 
Disc 1
 01. Opening
 02. We Will Rock You  (fast version)
 03. Let Me Entertain You
 04. Somebody To Love
 05. If You Can't Beat Them  ('Fat Bottomed Girls' is listed on cover)
 06. Death On Two Legs
 07. Killer Queen
 08. Bicycle Race
 09. I'm In Love With My Car
 10. Get Down Make Love
 11. You're My Best Friend
 12. Now I'm Here
 13. Don't Stop Me Now
 14. Spread Your Wings
 15. Dreamer's Ball
 16. Love Of My Life
 17. '39 Disc
Disc 2
 01. It's Late
 02. Brighton Rock
 03. Guitar Solo
 04. Drum Solo
 05. Guitar Solo
 06. Brighton Rock
 07. Keep Yourself Alive
 08. Bohemian Rhapsody
 09. Tie Your Mother Down
 10. Sheer Heart Attack
 11. We Will Rock You
 12. We Are The Champions
 13. God Save The Queen
 14. Announcement




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Back cover
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   Review by Collectors music reviews

Queen began their longest tour of Japan on April 13th in the Budokan in Tokyo.  And while the open night doesn’t have a tape source and remains shrouded in mystery, the second night has several tapes in circulation.  One of the sources, which is good but muffled and thin sounding, was released on Pride And Joy (Wardour-047) several year ago. 

Bootleg Race on Tarantura debuts the Mr. Peach recording for the show.  Like other Peach tapes, it is very close to the stage and picks up the charisma and force of the band at this time.  Queen sounds too loud for the recorder since the tape has slight distortion.  It’s not too serious an issue, however, and is still better than Wardour.

Queen’s aesthetic changed throughout their career depending upon their whims and movements in pop music.  The Killers era is the logical extension and summation of the seventies.  A certain brutality surrounds their music, but also nods to their theatric and comical side too.
Freddie’s voice would deteriorate throughout these two weeks (reaching a nadir on April 25th), but is not too bad this night and is able to keep up with the rest of the band

The opening sounds much too loud for the recorder to handle as they come onto stage for the fast arrangement of “We Will Rock You” which, after a curt greeting, is followed by “Let Me Entertain You,” a mindless rocker followed by a self-conscious parody of arena rock.  

After ”Somebody To Love” Freddie introduces the next song as a song “from a new album called Jazz.  Ah, you recognize it” after there is some cheering.  “Much better than last night.”  The John Deacon composition is alternated in the set with “Fat Bottom Girls” throughout the tour, and this is assumed to be the first performance in Japan.   

Freddie introduces “Death On Two Legs” saying, “we call him motherfucker.  What does motherfucker mean in Japanese?  Well, you get the gist of it…”  The medley has a similar structure to the News Of The World medley except that ”Good Old Fashioned Loverboy” is dropped in favor of ”Bicycle Race” and “Millionaire Waltz” is dropped altogether.  It is a shame the single from Jazz is truncated in the set, but they do manage to include bits of all of the song’s sections in the ninety seconds it’s played.  Included also are the bicycle bells. 
“Don’t Stop Me Now” and “Spread Your Wings” are their two massive piano driven numbers, and is followed by the three song acoustic interlude ending with “‘39.”

After that much fun, they return to arena rock starting with the playlet “It’s Late.”  It’s such a melodramatic number that Freddie’s enthusiasm becomes infectious, sucking the listener in. 

While introducing “Brighton Rock” Freddie makes fun at the band’s expense by introducing them as “the backing combo.”  May’s solo is brilliant, but is actually quite overshadowed by Taylor’s Götterdamerung tympani interlude.  It’s so loud it seems to shake the rafters of the Budokan, and the audience’s reaction boarders on the hysterical.  Taylor has another, more conventional drum solo in the following song “Keep Yourself Alive.” 

Freddie’s voice seems to weaken as the show progresses, forcing him to reinterpret the melody to “Bohemian Rhapsody.”  During the final encore set, the audience sing along to “We Are The Champions” and, at the very end, the second closes to Mr. Peach serenade the band with their bicycle bells.  It’s a true spontaneous show of support for the band and a great way to end the show. 

Tarantura package Bootleg Race in a gatefold sleeve, utilizing the tour poster on the front cover and photos from the Killer tour in the inside.  Since Freddie’s voice is quite alright in this show and given the sound quality, this is perhaps the best show to obtain for this era.