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Reviews by Collectors
music reviews
The Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 represents one of the
most extreme case of social engineering and genocide in the twentieth
century. The communist rule initiated a program by which all were
forced to work in labor camps for twelve hours a day and the wholesale
execution of professionals, intellectuals, and non-ethnic Cambodians.
During this time the extent of genocide in the killing fields was
hard to know since they forbid outside intervention. Vietnam
captured Phnom Penh on January 7th, 1979, the Khmer Rouge were forced out
of power and it is estimated between 1.4 million and
2.2 million were killed over the four years.
It is in this context that Secretary General of the
U.N. Kurt Waldheim asked Paul McCartney for a concert to raise funds.
He agreed and three shows were scheduled at the end of Wings’ Back
To The Egg tour. Queen were touring the UK on the Crazy
tour which was a payback tour for ignoring their homeland on the Jazz
tour, and also for their number two single “Crazy Little Thing
Called Love.” Queen were scheduled to play six shows at the end of
the tour in London, each in a different venue: Lyceum Ballroom,
Rainbow Theatre, Purley Tiffany’s, Tottenham Mayfair, Lewisham Odeon,
and Alexandra Palace (seven months before it caught fire).
The band agreed to tack one more show onto the schedule
for the event, playing in the Hammersmith Odeon on Boxing Day. They
were the only act to play on a bill alone and did not participate in the
Rochestra ending with McCartney on December 29th. Each of the
four shows were both filmed and professionally recorded. The
film Concert For Kampuchea released in August 1980 with two
Queen tracks, “Now I’m Here” and “Crazy Little Thing Called
Love.” In April an LP was released Concerts for the
People of Kampuchea which has only one Queen song, “Now I’m
Here.” More footage was used for the German TV special but
unfortunately the entire show hasn’t surfaced from these sources and have
been out of print for twenty-five years.
Crazy Tour In London was released on LP in
1980. This is missing ”Keep Yourself Alive,” the guitar
solo, and the “Brighton Rock” reprise. “Silent Night,”
played during the guitar solo, is placed at the beginning of the
show. This show can also be found on the vinyl Crazy Duck
in 1984 which utilizes the television soundtrack. In 1999 Crazy
Tour In London was pressed onto silver disc from a vinyl copy and was
released complete with cardboard sleeve duplicating the original artwork. Since
it was copied from vinyl, this has the same defects as the original
vinyl. Complete Kampuchea Concert was released by Gypsy Eye
in 2000. They use the same audience recording but a copy that sounds
closer to the master tape. It is much more cleaner and all of the
songs are in their proper sequence. There are small cuts after ”Save
Me” and ”Brighton Rock” (at least), but there are no cuts in
the music and this is virtually the complete show.
Given the level of playing, Freddie’s impeccable
voice, and the meaning behind the show, Queen’s final concert of the
70’s stands as not only the greatest of their career but among the best
ever. Whatever doubts the band may have had after Jazz were
dispelled by the success of the latest single “Crazy Little Thing Called
Love,” and this confidence would be carried into their next
album The Game. To have such a sublime performance in
an excellent sounding tape is a tremendous blessing to collectors.
The set list is based upon the previous tour. The tape
picks up with the opening electronic tone rising in pitch and with
the thunder cracks the band hits the stage with a the cover tune
“Jailhouse Rock,” their old encore which was added to the opening
salvo after the first week. “How are you rock and rollers?
Are you having a good Christmas? You feel crazy? Okay let’s
do some more” Freddie greets the audience before “Let Me Entertain
You.” This is a song destined to be a great opener but curiously
was only played in the second in it’s short life span.
After “Somebody To Love” Freddie prattles on
saying, “I know this feels like a Cecil B. DeMille production of
the Ten Commandments tonight but don’t worry about the
cameramen. Right now we’d like to do a song…my god it’s quiet in
here. Is it always like this at Hammersmith? Are you supposed
to be a sophisticated crowd?” The audience responds and cheers
loudly before going into “If You Can’t Beat Them.” The early
medley was changed from the previous tour. “Mustapha” made
small cameos but on the Crazy tour is sung complete for the first time and
“Bicycle Race” is dropped, never to appear live again.
“For those of you who don’t know, this night brings
us to the end of the tour. I don’t care. We’re gonna be
here all the time, don’t worry about it” Freddie says before their
latest single “Save Me.” Two songs, “Don’t Stop Me Now”
and “Spread Your Wings” make their last live appearance and the latter
is among the best versions ever of the song. Brian May speaks about
the point of the show afterwards saying, “As you may know this is a
special night for charity for the people of Kampuchea.” The
acoustic set is limited to only two songs. “Keep Yourself Alive”
is expanded to include not only a drum solo, but May’s guitar solo
including “Silent Night” for the Christmas season. They don’t
return to the song but instead end with the closing verse of “Brighton
Rock” in a nice surprise.
“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” was their hit
single and is received so ecstatically that the audience continue singing
the chorus even after the song is over. The band play along and
accompany the singing mob before moving right into “Bohemian
Rhapsody.” “Sheer Heart Attack” is the first encore and the
audience applaud loudly when Freddie throws over the amplifier stack and
the show ends with “We Will Rock You” (sung from the shoulders of
Superman) and “We Are The Champions.” Complete Kampuchea
Concert is one of the most important releases on the Gypsy Eye label
since it is the only silver release of this great show in the proper
sequence. It is a show that contains a sizzling performance in a
excellent recording and is highly recommended.
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