4. Son And Daughter (Queen - Live In New York: 5/7/1974)

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end at some point when you upload shows from well-received tour legs. To date, this is the last of the available recordings from the Queen II Tour and it’s a shame since this era has so much potential (just like the 1973 shows). Early Queen shows are full of raw energy, passion, and a burning desire to conquer the world. With so few recordings available from 1973 and early 1974, there are many questions to be answered and a large amount of “what ifs” along the way. For the final upload of the Queen II Tour shows, the first of six shows from New York’s Uris Theatre will be represented on this channel. The quality isn’t amazing by any means, but it is a decent enough listen and the recording is nearly complete (“Son And Daughter” has a cut). While this show is an improvement over the Waterbury one in areas, this New York show still contains some sloppiness throughout. On the flip-side of things, there is some fantastic playing by Brian throughout this show (usually off-setting a less-than-stellar moment that happens earlier on) and Roger is in his usual creative and manic form. Freddie sounds pretty strong throughout the gig, but there are more signs of fatigue throughout the performances (comparing to earlier shows) and he struggles a bit more on the upper register. While his vocal strength is somewhat impacted at this show, Freddie does pull off some gutsy moments from time to time and sings the material effectively. Now, time to go through the performances! “Father To Son” features the early lyrics in the second verse and Freddie doesn’t sing falsetto after Brian’s second solo. On the subject of Brian, it’s a mixed bag for him as he plays extremely aggressively and passionately on this version - but the solos feature some loose and sloppy playing (which isn’t helped by the delay). Roger is the MVP of the performance as his drumming sounds fantastic and his fills are full of vitality. “Ogre Battle” isn’t the strongest performance from the tour as Freddie has some intonation issues in spots and struggles a bit during the more demanding parts of the song (namely, the choruses). To make up for this, Brian and Roger step up their games and play a more musically sound version of the song compared to the previous performance from Waterbury. “Son And Daughter” has some vocal instability from Freddie, but he still sings pretty well and Brian sounds especially gutsy on this version with some fantastically creative playing throughout. “Liar” has a couple of sloppy John moments, but the main bulk of the performance more than makes up for it with some amazing musicianship throughout. While Freddie sings the song competently, this version is all about Brian and Roger as they play with intense passion during the solo section and the raw energy is on full display (despite the less-than-stellar recording quality). Even John steps up his game during his solo section and really goes all-out with his playing. “Keep Yourself Alive” has energy from everybody on stage and Freddie sings the song with great enthusiasm. “Modern Times Rock ’N’ Roll” has Freddie botching the lyrics in the first verse, but the energy by Roger and Brian make up for it. “Big Spender” is a strong version with good vocals by Freddie and spirited drumming by Roger. Lastly, the “Jailhouse Rock Medley” ends the show with great energy and Freddie pushes his voice to great effect. ENJOY!!!