Review
by Collectors
music
reviews
Queen’s Killers tour in 1979 is one of their heaviest periods.
Their aesthetic was firmly rooted in an arena rock medium with an emphasis
upon a massive and aggressive sound. The tour lasted almost thirty
shows with their first stop in Yugoslavia. Killers ended
with three shows at the Pavillion in Paris, France. Bonsoir
Paris contains the second night, February 28th which has the
best sound quality of the three nights and is one of the best
sounding tapes of the tour.
Unfortunately Gypsy Eye did a poor job
remastering the tape for this release. It runs noticeably too slow
and really drags, and the lower frequencies are all but eliminated.
It’s very top heavy and screechy in the higher frequencies and is not
enjoyable. Except for a small cut in “Keep Yourself Alive” this
is complete.
The show is very energetic as it begins with the fast ”We
Will Rock You” and “Let Me Entertain You.” Brian May
greets the audience in French before they start “Somebody To
Love.” Freddie asks if the audience ”do you have
your bicycle bells?”
This is in reference to the “royal family,” a group
of faithful British fans who followed the band around Europe and who
brought with them bicycle bells. “Maybe we’ll use them
later” he quips before introducing “If You Can’t Beat Them.”
This tune alternated with “Fat Bottom Girls” on this tour.
It was strange they made this decision since “Fat Bottom Girls”
was a single from the album.
“It feels like a good good night tonight, I can
tell” Freddie says before the medley. Gypsy Eye list it as one
piece, but it contains “Death On Two Legs,” “Killer Queen,”
“Bicycle Race,” “I’m In Love With My Car,” and “Get Down Make
Love.” The Queen medley began several years before as a way of
playing several newer songs in the show but by this time, except for
“Bicycle Race,” it is comprised of only older songs.
“Now I’m Here” is pushed to ten minutes with
Freddie’s vocal games, trying to get the entire venue to sing along
shouting: “Chantez, tout le monde!” The acoustic set is
three songs long and after “Dreamer’s Ball” Freddie speaks to
someone in the fan-club saying: “You must be from the worst part
of England. I can tell. They make the best kind of people!”
“It’s Late” and “Brighton Rock” form the
heaviest part of the song. Not only are they the longest pieces in
the set, they are the most dramatic and require the most attention.
“It’s Late” sounds horrible with the speed problems on this tape,
but “Brighton Rock” sounds devastating. A little snippet by the
beginning found its way onto Live Killers, and Taylor’s tympani
solo coupled with May’s guitar sounds impressive.
The show ends with “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
During the second encore “Sheer Heart Attack” May breaks a
string. Gypsy Eye really missed a good opportunity with this
title. What could have been the definitive silver title for the Killers
tour is instead a mess. It opens the opportunity for another label
to either correct this or produce another document from this great
tour. |
