Review
by Collectors
music
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Queen’s Boston performance on January 30, 1976 is one of
the many recordings to surface from the Dan Lampinski collection of tapes.
His recordings all sound very nice capturing an amazing amount of detail
and this tape is no exception. The sound quality is excellent throughout
presenting a broad range of frequencies and the recording is virtually
complete with no musical cuts. This is the second night in Boston and the
band sound very tight with Freddie’s vocals very strong and a nice
balance between the instruments.
The band was touring A Night At The Opera, released in
November 1975, but only feature a small sampling of material from it at
this point. Although the LP debuted at #1 in the UK and #4 in the US,
tracks like “I’m In Love With My Car”, “You’re My Best
Friend”, “39 “, and “Love Of My Life” weren’t yet included but
would all become an important part of the set in later tours.
Instead the weight of the new material rests on “Bohemian Rhapsody”
played at three different intervals in the set. The taped opera section
was used as the intro leading the band into the rock segment and would
appear two more times during the medley. “Ogre Battle” is very
aggressive with an impressive vocal performance and is followed by the
second of the new tracks, “Sweet Lady”. “White Queen” is
introduced as “a number to listen to very carefully”. This track was
always better live and May’s cascading solos drenched in echo really add
to the effectiveness. Unfortunately May will struggle with his tuning
throughout the rest of the night starting in “Flick Of The Wrist”.
The main medley of the show now focuses around “Bohemian Rhapsody”
in one of my favorite arrangements including “The March Of The Black
Queen”. The segues flow very smoothly and end on a high note with
“Bring Back That Leroy Brown”. “Brighton Rock” gives way to Brian
May’s guitar solo where there is some confusion coming out before “Son
And Daughter” but they recover very quickly. Freddie hints at “Death
On Two Legs” during the vocal workout in “The Prophet’s Song”.
Following “Stone Cold Crazy”, Freddie says “it’s now request
time”. Shouts of “Liar” from the crowd prompt him to say “we are
gonna do that, but what else?” and instead play “Doing All Right”.
Even after a great response to “Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon”
Mercury says “you’ll get used to that one”, perhaps feeling insecure
about the obscure ditty. May gets extra funky in “Keep Yourself Alive”
which also has an extended Roger Taylor drum break. Following “Seven
Seas Of Rhye”, the audience finally get their request with “Liar”.
“Now I’m Here” which had opened all shows since its release is now
employed as the first encore. The second encore starts with “Big
Spender” segued with the “Rock And Roll Medley”. The medley includes
“Jailhouse Rock”, “Shake, Rattle And Roll”, “Stupid Cupid”,
“Be Bop A Lula”, and returns to “Jailhouse Rock” for the finish.
This show was first released by Wardour as A Night At Boston
in July 2009. While Wardour’s version sounds excellent as well,
Godfather sounds a bit punchier with a slightly crisper high end. It comes
packaged in a tri-fold cardboard sleeve and is one of the more attractive
Queen packages produced by the label. But given the sound quality alone,
even the most casual of Queen collectors will need this one. |
