I’ve been trying to wallop a stinking cold into submission with whisky for a couple of hours so I may regret this, but here goes…

Having watched a lot of people completely losing their shit in video reactions to Queen’s Somebody to Love (Live in Montreal, 1981), I have to say that this is the one. Perhaps even people who claim not to like Queen might be impressed by this. Why?

1. This is a tight band absolutely on top of its game, no help from backline vocals or mysterious backing tapes, just piano, guitar, bass and drums topped off by Freddie Mercury’s absolutely on-top-of-it vocals. Not a note out of place, massive (but loose) stage presence. Check out the way he slides back in in the last bars of Brian May’s guitar solo, and the way he plays the audience. 2. Brian May’s guitar solo. 3. Backing vocals. I always assumed, having watched lots of official videos back in the day, that the backing vocals weren’t reproducible on stage, but it turns out that they are. 4. Roger Taylor – thunderous drums, which add so much depth to the overall sound (and I’m a sucker for a drummer who … Continue reading Best live performances on YouTube?