DEFINITIVE ESSEN 1980

 2 CD

Label: Wardour 354
Country: Japan
Released: July 2019
Recorded: Live at Grugahalle, Essen, Germany on November 29th, 1980.
Sound: Excellent audience recording.
Comments:  I don't have the cd, but I will guess this is the best recording of this concert on bootleg so far. Wardour label use to make proper bootlegs, using the known recording in the production.
Roots: Audience tape.
Time: 54:45 / 45:51

Front cover
  CD ONE
 1. Intro: Thunder & Lighting  (tape)
 2. Jailhouse Rock
 3. We Will Rock You  (fast)
 4. Let Me Entertain You
 5. Play The Game
 6. Mustapha
 7. Death On Two Legs
 8. Killer Queen
 9. I'm In Love With My Car
 10. Get Down, Make Love
 11. Need Your Loving Tonight
 12. Save Me
 13. Now I'm Here
 14. Dragon Attack
 15. Now I'm Here  (reprise)
 16. Love Of My Life

  CD TWO
 1. Keep Yourself Alive
 2. Tympani Solo
 3. Guitar Solo
 4. Battle Theme
 5. The Hero
 6. Brighton Rock  (reprise)
 7. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
 8. Bohemian Rhapsody
 9. Tie Your Mother Down
 10. Another One Bites The Dust
 11. Sheer Heart Attack
 12. We Will Rock You
 13. We Are The Champions
 14. God Save The Queen




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Back cover


REVIEW FROM INTERNET.

The Essen performances where intense quality competition has been taking place, even at "THE GAME TOUR", which has reached its peak. The best live album to update the highest peak is appeared in the permanent preservation press 2CD.
Such an Essen performance was held on "November 29, 1980". “THE GAME TOUR” has had many great performances and recordings that are appropriate for the heyday of Hero QUEEN, but this Essen performance is unique.
The two great recordings have been upgraded to compete for the highest quality. One of them is a high-quality recording (assuming "TAPE A" here) while lacking in "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Sheer Heart Attack". The other one has recorded all the songs of the show, but the sound was now a long recording (also "TAPE B"). For a while, although it was sound "A> B", it is the reverse of the new master of "B" that became popular in "BATTLE IN ESSEN (Uxbridge 467)" even in our shop. Not only the length but also the sound side, the live album over "A" reigned on the throne.

The highest peak of "A" that recaptures the throne of such "BATTLE IN ESSEN" is this work. I was a low gene master who was released recently, and it is a hot topic among all the manias in the world, saying, "Koryaya!". In fact, the sound is just the best. "BATTLE IN ESSEN" was a clear sound called "the top class in Europe in 80's", but this work is also full of direct feeling and the beauty of the sound is even. Although "BATTLE IN ESSEN" had beautiful high-pitched growth, it had a sharp acuity that could have been a kink, and the midrange was also reversed. On the other hand, this work has plenty of response in the mids and heavy's. Not only the treble but also the bass line is sharp on the vive level, and the total balance is also well balanced. Together with a core without a sense of distance, it sounds great like a little FM soundboard.

It is truly a new master who is also a enthusiast, but this work aimed at the ultimate in mastering further. First of all, the "longest". As mentioned above, "A" also has the drawback of missing "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Sheer Heart Attack". So, in this work, these two songs and the tape change part etc. are complemented by the "BATTLE IN ESSEN" master. Not only the sound side but also the length side is finished to the live album which renews the longest. You can feel the strong direct feeling of "A" from the distance suddenly appearing in the two complemented songs (you may be surprised at the clearness of "BATTLE IN ESSEN" at the same time). And sound. The pitch of the original sound, which was significantly higher, was precisely adjusted, and the sound of the original sound was polished to the maximum extent.

Literally, it is an Essen performance that is covered with the highest peak update sound, but if the show itself is useless no matter how good the sound, then this weekend falls. But this is another great performance. First of all, let's confirm the show position from the prime "THE GAME TOUR" panoramic view.

● 1980
   "June 30" THE GAME "release"
    June 30-July 14: North America # 1 (14 performances)
    August 5-September 30: North America # 2 (35 performances)
    November 23-December 6: Europe a (9 performances) ★ ★ Coco ★
    "December 8" FLASH GORDON "sale"
    December 8-18: Europe b (eight performances)
   ● 1981
 ・ February 12-19: Japan (6 performances)
 ・ February 28-March 21: Latin America # 1 (7 performances)
 ・ September 25th-October 18th: Latin America # 2 (6 performances)
    "October 26" GREATEST HITS "sale"
 ・ November 24th + 25th: Montreal (2 shows) Professionally filmed & recorded. Released officially on DVD & records.

This is QUEEN in 1980/1981. The European leg was set at the end of 1980, and "FLASH GORDON" was released in the meantime. This work was a concert that was the 5th performance of "Europe a" just before that. Generally, "FLASH GORDON" has an image that falls by several steps compared to the blockbuster of "THE GAME" and "GREATEST HITS", but in this work, not only the soundtrack but also the movie itself will be released soon.
I don't know the result, it's full of mood. What's more, it's about two months since the North American Tour, and you're in good shape, and it's the fifth performance since your restart. Far from being tired of the tour, it was a great time for the engine just to get into full drive.

The show that flows out from this work is as if it proves such a position. Freddie sings loudly from the early stages, saying good things to the strong throats and raising tension further from the middle. The voice that is growing smoothly even when you talk about "Now I'm Here" etc., and the audience who returns it wonderfully becomes a big excitement. The band is also overheated to be drawn to such a mood, and Brian is spinning the phrase smoothly without any time. Such good-feelings continue until the end, but the one that stumbles is "Tie Your Mother Down". In the area of ​​the most rust, Brian cuts the strings and the guitar turns off. Although I switch to a spare guitar and return to the performance, I put the slide bar on the strap and hand it over to Lodi, and the subsequent performance also becomes a mysterious feeling of the rhythm main.

The story goes back and forth, but one more interesting thing is “The Hero”. Actually, this day was the world premiere, but the vocal line is quite different from the original. Was Roger a chorus or just a play experiment? Anyway, I can enjoy a very interesting version with direct sound.

The Essen performances where the two recordings competed at the top and reached "THE GAME TOUR" 's best. Such a new excavation master is a two-disc live album that achieves the longest and highest peak by making full use of another famous recording. The scene of Essen where the full-fledged wind is received over the whole body and the overflowing passion bursts. Please enjoy it with perpetual preservation Press 2CD.