Tag: Brighton Rock

Queen – ‘Command Performance: Live at the Hammersmith Odeon – Christmastime 1975’ – Bootleg Review

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I love me a good bootleg and I found with this one. It is from Queen and it is called ‘Command Performance: Live at the Hammersmith Odean at Christmastime 1975’. In fact, it was recorded on December 24, 1975. The bootleg came out some time in 1976 and I love the simplicity of it all. A green sheet with a photocopy of the band and setlist in black. Nothing fancy about it at all. Nothing on the back cover and the labels on the vinyl were white and someone had typed ‘Side One’ or ‘Side Two’ depending on the side. No expense was spared…LOL!!

And like all bootlegs, there are mistakes. The opening track is listed as “Now I’m Sure”…and I’m sure that is wrong. It should be “Now I’m Here”. If that wasn’t enough, Roger Taylor is now spelling his name differently as Rodger Taylor. That “d” makes a difference. The other thing, this isn’t the full show. It is a single LP so several songs and medley were cut, but what you get here is still rather amazing. It is the best of the best.

What was special about this show is it was broadcast live on the BBC and it was the first time the band had ever done that. With that being said, the sound quality on this is exceptional (with minor exceptions). This is one of the cleanest sounding bootlegs I have ever owned. However, what makes this bootleg obsolete now is that the band actually did release this show officially on November 20, 2015. It was called ‘A Night at the Odeon – Hammersmith 1975’.

That didn’t matter to me, as I love bootlegs and still wanted it as it was a cherished piece in the bootleg world back in the 70’s. Plus, nothing beats the simplicity of the whole set. This was so prized because several songs on this set were later dropped from the setlist and did not appear on any official live release back in the day. In the grand scheme of things, yes, I can get the official release, but this to me is more authentic and more special. Now, let’s get to the music.

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My Sunday Song – “Hanging High ‘N’ Dry (Live)” by Brighton Rock

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For My Sunday Song #378, we are on the 8th song choice from Deke. This time around we have a live song from Brighton Rock called “Hangin’ High ‘N’ Dry”. This might be the first live song we’ve done here on My Sunday Song so this is a change of pace for me. The song is off the band’s live album called ‘A Room For Five Live’ which was released July 23, 2002. This Canadian band only had 3 albums and the last one was 1991. This was the first release from the band in over a decade. The original song can be found on their 1988 album ‘Take a Deep Breath”.

The song was written by lead singer Gerry McGhee, lead guitarist Greg Fraser and keyboardist Johnny Rogers. The song is about standing by your lover, but they moved up and on leaving you in the dust. You are waiting for them to say something, but they no longer care. They’ve moved on leaving you high & dry. It is sad really. But I am sure that it has happened to everyone.

The live song is a keyboard heavy song at the opening and then Gerry comes in on the first verse. His vocals are a little rough and gritty in an almost Tom Keifer kind of way, but not as high pitched. The guitar work by Fraser is great as he has nice riffs thrown in and a solo that plays perfectly for the tone of the song and not all showboaty. The rhythm section lays down a nice groove as the song is a cross between a ballad and a rocker as there is a little punch to it, but there is still a tenderness and sadness to it as well. Not a bad track.

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Queen – ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ (1974) – Album Review (The Studio Album Series)

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The band set out on tour after ‘Queen II’ and that is when disaster struck. Brian May was diagnosed with Hepatitis and the band had to cancel the rest of the tour. With no more tour, they started to rehearse and prep for the next album. Luckily May got better and joined his lads when they went in to Trident Studio in July of 1974 to start recording the album. However, May got sick again. This time with a stomach ulcer and he missed some of the recording process. Thankfully for us all, he recovered and came back and finished his part of the album. The album was finally finished in October of that year and released a short time later on November 8, 1974. I guess back then you could get an album out a month after you finished it. Nowadays, you need a minimum of 3 months or more before the album will come out.

The band finally saw some major success both in the UK and around the World. In the UK, the album went platinum and sold over 300,000 copies going to #2 on the charts. In the US, the album went Gold and sold over 500,000 copies going all the way to #12. They released two singles off the album (although they could’ve released more in my book) and saw one go to #2 in the UK and the other to #11. Queen was starting to find its groove. With this album, I think that is true. They stepped away from the more progressive rock sounds and the fantasy themes from the first two album and honestly, I am glad they did. This saw them branch out more and turn out a more complete rock album. Of course, they still experimented with their sound and tried new things, they just weren’t as far out in left field as before. As you can see below, no line-up changes as it is still Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon as it should be.

I am sorry to say I get a little verbose with the first three songs. I did a My Sunday Song on each of those and I liked what I wrote so I used a lot of those post. I promise to not ramble on for the songs after that otherwise we will be here for hours reading and me writing. Enough ranting, let us get to the songs…

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My Sunday Song – “Brighton Rock” by Queen

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For My Sunday Song #226, we are going to discuss the opening track to ‘Sheer Heart Attack’, “Brighton Rock” by Queen. The song was not a single and being the first song on the album, I guess you couldn’t call it a deep cut as it isn’t very deep on the album. But there is something in this song that makes it so incredible and we will get to that piece in a minute.

The song was written by Brian May and the vocals were done by Freddie and Brian. Brian wrote the song during the Queen II sessions, but they didn’t feel like it fit that album so they worked it some more and it actually kicks off this album. The song is about 2 “Mod” kids in love, Jenny and Jimmy, who travel off to Brighton on Holiday. I don’t think the holiday goes great as Jenny is afraid she will get in trouble. There is more, but the story isn’t the best part of the song as it is really secondary. It isn’t even Freddie’s singing that is best part even though his vocals are always stellar.

What is incredible about this song is simply, Brian May. The guitar solo is probably one of the best he has ever done, hands down. It is the centerpiece of the song. There is an entire interlude in the song that is only Brian and that guitar. His use of delay for the harmony that sets the song apart. Brian was tinkering extensively with an Echoplex (a tape delay machine) to get the effects he wanted. The song contains one normal guitar sound and then one with the delayed effect and it must be heard to believe as I don’t know how to describe it in words. It is true audio experience.

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