4. Father To Son (Queen - Live In Bradford: 11/6/1974)

With the concerts being uploading with better copies, better knowledge, and having a better set of ears, I am having more fun doing this compared to any other era that I’ve uploaded shows in. With an extremely solid community of fans, the Queen live recordings are getting the respect they deserve and discussions about them are more fun than ever. This copy of the Bradford show from the Sheer Heart Attack Tour sounds better than older copies as “Kieran” has fixed the speed issues that plagued previous copies. This is a strange show as it contains some genuinely brilliant musicianship moments and performances, but is ruined by sloppy playing in places, poor vocal intonation, inconsistent harmonies, and things not seeming to gel from a musical chemistry perspective during some performances early on. Similarly to Sheffield, this show sounds like it’s full of technical/monitor issues as loud feedback appears from time to time and some of the band’s misfires might be due to not being able to hear themselves properly. Freddie sounds pretty strong at this show, but his forced vocal style puts noticeable strain on his voice as he sounds uneasy in his upper range and vocal instabilities happen throughout. Now… time to get through these performances… “Now I’m Here” is a cataclysmic performance in places as the band get out of sync after Brian’s guitar solo along with Freddie struggling with intonation and vocal stability throughout the performance. “Ogre Battle” shows some early wear on Freddie’s voice as his upper register sounds forced and strained during the chorus sections (leading to not singing notes on top and dodging some of the original melodies in the second chorus). The rest of the band sound quite strong on the performance which make up for the lackadaisical start on “Now I’m Here.” “Father To Son” has some really sloppy musicianship early on with John hitting a bum note in the first verse and the overall band chemistry not seeming to be completely there. As the song progresses, things do gel back together with Brian’s guitar work sounding strong and Freddie giving a decent (albeit forced) vocal performance. “White Queen” is fraught with feedback issues early on, but the band stay focused and deliver one of the best performances of the night with Brian’s guitar work standing out. Despite Freddie’s not cooperating in a few places, he still pulls off a convincing vocal performance with nice phrasing being used in the outroduction section. “Flick Of The Wrist” is a nice and aggressive version with the band chemistry being strong (Brian’s solo sounds especially great) and Freddie’s darker vocal style fitting in nicely with the nature of the lyrical content. “In The Lap Of The Gods” is a mixed bag with Freddie hitting many clunkers on the piano and Roger struggling with his high screams. In contrast, Brian’s solo sounds much better than Sheffield’s with some fluid and emotive playing being emitted from the Red Special. “Killer Queen” has odd drop phrasing from Freddie which sounds out of place, but he nails “recommended at the price” and Brian’s solo sounds nice. “The March Of The Black Queen” is pretty strong with Freddie sounding confident with his vocal delivery and Roger’s drum work containing a ton of enthusiastic energy. Concluding this section, “Bring Back That Leroy Brown” isn’t the tightest performance musically, but is still respectable overall. “Son And Daughter” is full of issues as the vocal harmonies are badly off and while Brian’s full of energy with his playing, not all of it is executed cleanly which leads to some really jarring and dissonant-sounding moments which overshadow the general performance. “Keep Yourself Alive” makes up for the previous performance as Roger’s drumming is ferocious and Brian adds some nice touches to his playing. “Seven Seas Of Rhye” has Freddie sounding strong with his belts and the musicianship sounds fantastic as the band seem to have found another surge of adrenaline. “Stone Cold Crazy” is a fast and furious version with Brian’s solos sounding fiery. “Liar” is full of lively musical moments from Brian and Roger as they spice up the beginning sections. While Freddie sounds pretty tired in spots, he still gives a decent effort on the vocals with the dynamics still being intact. Brian’s solo section sounds great but is more restrained compared to others from this tour leg. “In The Lap Of The Gods…Revisited” is one of the better versions from this tour leg as Freddie doesn’t strain and struggle with the vocals as much as earlier versions. In addition, his phrasing choices aren’t as awkward-sounding. “Big Spender” features Freddie’s voice going off in unplanned directions on his A4 belt. “Modern Times Rock ’N’ Roll” highlights the musical prowess of Brian and Roger as they tear up the song with vigor. Finally, “Jailhouse Rock” ends this roller coaster of a show with some great singing, creative playing, and generally having a fun atmosphere throughout. ENJOY!!!