Queen Discussion Thread

[talon]

Let Me Entertain You

Written by: Freddie Mercury

Musicians:

Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, piano, outro voices
Brian May - guitars, outro voices
John Deacon - bass guitar, outro voices
Roger Taylor - drums, outro voices
studio and road crew - outro voices

Hey, it's a sellout

Hey, let me welcome you ladies and gentlemen
I would like to say hello
Are you ready for some entertainment?
Are you ready for a show?
Gonna rock you gonna roll you
Get you dancing in the aisles
Jazz you razzmatazz you
With a little bit of style
C'mon let me entertain you let me entertain you
Let me entertain you let me entertain you

I've come here to sell you my body
I can show you some good merchandise
I'll pull you and I'll pill you
I'll Cruela-de-ville you
And to thrill you I'll use any device

We'll give you crazy performance
We'll give you grounds for divorce
We'll give you piece de resistance
And a tour de force of course

We found the right location
Got a lot of pretty lights
The sound and amplification listen
Hey if you need a fix if you want a high
Stickells see to that
With Electra and EMI
We'll show you where it's at
So c'mon
Let me entertain you let me entertain you
Let me entertain you let me entertain you

Just take a look at the menu
We give you rock a la carte
We'll breakfast at Tiffany's
We'll sing to you in Japanese
We're only here to entertain you

If you want to see some action
You get nothing but the best
The S and M attraction
We've got the pleasure chest
Chicago down to New Orleans
We get you on the line
If you dig the New York scene
We'll have a son of a bitch of a time
C'mon
Let me entertain let me entertain
Let me entertain you tonight

Hey where's my backstage pass
That was great
What an outrageous costume
Hey that Brian May is out of sight man
Not many not many
I've always wanted to be a groupie

- The song is a natural to lead off an album - not sure why it didn't. A great rock and roller that just translated perfectly to a live performance.

- Played live throughout the Montreal concerts in 1981.

- The last verse there is a lot of voices talking over each other. Funny. That Brian May is out of sight man!

OFFICIALLY RELEASED LIVE VERSIONS:

LIVE KILLERS VERSION

- AUDIO only.

ROCK MONTREAL VERSION

- Great version from the band that was really at their live peak during this timeframe.

UNRELEASED LIVE PERFORMANCES:

LIVE IN PARIS - 1979]

- Another great gig from the Live Killers timeframe!

PERSONAL NOTES;
- Freddie at his entertaining best...he did anything to entertain the audience...

Next up the band gets a hand from Mother Nature on one of Brian's rockingest (and that's saying something) tunes...Dead On Time[/u]

[gabby]

Let Me Entertain You

I agree with you that this should have been used to lead off the album.

The reason I thought this was a cover :D when I first saw it in my DVR's '81 Montreal (don't know much about Queen when I recorded it) was there was a broadway song/show with the same title and Robbie Williams also had a single released also with the same title.

_____________________________________________________
ETA: OT

Oct 29, 2012 6:49:05 GMT -5 talon said:

I'd also like to send a special shout out to those working in emergency services over the next few days. They might need a little extra luck. As a 911 calltaker/police/fire/ems dispatcher I'll be okay in my bunker but I wish my brothers and sisters on the road safety.

You probably got a record-breaking volume of calls. If in case the power shuts down, do they have a separate generator to power up your operations?

[talon]

Oct 29, 2012 17:03:48 GMT -5 gabby said:

Let Me Entertain You

I agree with you that this should have been used to lead off the album.

The reason I thought this was a cover :D when I first saw it in my DVR's '81 Montreal (don't know much about Queen when I recorded it) was there was a broadway song/show with the same title and Robbie Williams also had a single released also with the same title.

Gotcha! I actually knew about RW...I'm a fan of him And he makes an appearance in our anthology a bit later A bit of a Queen fanatic is Robbie :D

You probably got a record-breaking volume of calls. If in case the power shuts down, do they have a separate generator to power up your operations?

Actually we've had worse as far as calls go. People seemed to stay inside and upstate NY wasn't hit nearly as bad. But yes we have separate generator(s!) to keep us up and going. We are a fairly large township and cover a lot of ground!

[talon]

Dead On Time

Written by: Brian May

Musicians:

Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals
Brian May - guitars, backing vocals
John Deacon - bass guitar
Roger Taylor - drums, backing vocals

Fool always jumping never happy where you land
Fool got my bus'ness make your living where you can
Hurry down the highway
Hurry down the road
Hurry past the people staring
Hurry hurry hurry hurry

Leave on time leave on time
Never got your ticket but you leave on time
Leave on time leave on time
Gonna get your ticket but you leave on time
Leave on time leave on time
Put it in your pocket but you never can tell

Leave on time leave on time
Shake that rattle gotta leave on time
Leave on time leave on time
Fight your battle but you leave on time
Leave on time leave on time
Never got a minute no you never got a minute
No you never never got oh no matter

Fool got no business hanging round and telling lies
Fool you got no reasons but you got no compromise
Stamping on the ceiling hammering on the walls
Gotta get out gotta get out gotta get
Oh you know I'm going crazy

Leave on time leave on time
Gotta get ahead but you leave on time
Leave on time leave on time
Gotta head on ahead but you leave on time
Leave on time leave on time
You're running in the red but you never can tell

Honey honey where's my money where's my money
Wanna get away wanna get away
Leave you leave you leave you

Leave on time leave on time
Gotta get rich gonna leave on time
Leave on time leave on time
But you can't take it with you when you leave on time

Leave on time leave on time
Got to keep yourself alive gotta leave on time
Gotta leave on time leave on time
Dead on time
'You're Dead'

- Issued as a B-Side, but not as a single and never played live unfortunately.

- A real rocker that challenged Freddie with it's pure speed.

- The thunder at the end of the song is a real thunder clap! Brian placed a recorder outside the studio during a storm which is why there is a credit in the album - "Thunderbolt courtesy of God".

QUOTES:

- Interviewer: Was it hard to build up the solo speed in 'Dead On Time'?
"I don't think so. That was something I was quite pleased with, but really nobody else was. It's something which nobody ever mentions very much. Fat Botttomed Girls, I thought was okay, but fairly banal. I thought people would be much more interested in 'Dead On Time', but it didn't really get that much airplay. The explosions at the end are a real thunderstorm which occurred when we were in the south of France. We put a tape recorder outside." - Brian May - Off the Record - 1982

There are no live or alternative versions of this track.

PERSONAL NOTES:
- Well Brian, I appreciated it quite a bit! I thought it at least deserved a live showing although I'm sure it would have been a bitch to try to pull off live. So I can give them a pass.

Next up: John gets nostalgic and syrupy sweet! In Only Seven Days

[gabby]

Dead On Time

I get out of breath just listening to Freddie's super fast vocalization. Yeah, not only is this song NOT too easy to perform live but you really have to make sure you get the lyrics right :D

Some of BM's riffs remind me of KYA...
Fantastic rock song and that "real" thunder clap was brilliant.

I assumed nobody attempted to cover this ever?

[talon]

Indeed! Good spotting. In fact I too have noticed a similarity almost as if this were a bit of speeded up version :D

There has been no real attempt to cover this although it was mentioned at the time when Guns N Roses did their cover album, The Spaghetti Incident. They decided against it as it didn't fit the mood of the other covers supposedly...

[talon]

In Only Seven Days

Written by: John Deacon

Musicians:

Freddie Mercury - lead vocals, piano
Brian May - guitars
John Deacon - bass guitar, acoustic guitar
Roger Taylor - drums

Monday the start of my holiday
Freedom for just one week
Feels good to get away oooh

Tuesday I saw her down on the beach
I stood and watched a while
And she looked and smiled at me

Wednesday I didn't see her
I hoped that she'd be back tomorrow
And then on Thursday
My luck had changed
She stood there all alone
I went and asked her name
I never thought that this could happen to me
In only seven days
It would take a hundred or more
For memories to fade

I wish Friday would last for ever
I held her close to me
I couldn't bear to leave her there

Saturday just twenty four hours
Oh no I'm going back home on Sunday

Oooh so sad alone

- Such a sad depressing song, sung so sweetly by Mr. Mercury.

- Never performed live unfortunately.

- Issued as a B-Side to a couple different singles.

PERSONAL NOTES:

- A very different song for a rock and roll band. Very sentimental and probably a bit too sugary syrupy for some but Freddie's voice can make anything sound good.

Next up: Brian going jazzy! The New Orleans slow shuffle, Dreamers Ball

[gabby]

In Only Seven Days

Love the melody and love Freddie's delivery.

Why does this remind me of Spread Your Wings? Maybe melody-wise .... otherwise, the message is completely different. SYW is pulling yourself together and do something about your life while IOSD is a melancholic, sad song.

[talon]

Interesting point there. And what makes it more interesting to me is how the initial piano is counterintuitive to the moods you've accurately described. Spread Your Wings opening is sad and mournful but it is a song of hope and breaking free from shackles while In Only Seven Days opens with a kind of happy piano riff but quickly you realize how depressing it is!

[talon]

Dreamers Ball

Written by: Brian May

Musicians:

Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals
Brian May - acoustic and electric guitars, backing vocals
John Deacon - bass guitar
Roger Taylor - drums

Oh I used to be your baby
Used to be your pride and joy
You used to take me dancing
Just like any other boy
But now you've found another partner
And left me like a broken toy

Oh it's someone else you're taking
Someone else you're playing to
Honey though I'm aching
Know just what I have to do
If I can't have you when I'm waking
I'll go to sleep and dream I'm with you

Oh take me take me take me
To the dreamer's ball
I'll be right on time and I'll dress so fine
You're gonna love me when you see me
I won't have to worry
Take me take me
Promise not to wake me 'till it's morning
It's all been true

What you say about that hey honey?
You gonna take me to that dreamer's ball?
I'd like that
Right on down forty-second street
Way down down town dreamer's town

Oh take me take me take me
I'm your plaything now
You make my life worthwhile with the slightest smile
Or destroy me with a barely perceptible whisper
Gently take me remember I'll be dreaming of my baby
At the dreamer's ball

Take me hold me
Remember what you told me
You'd meet me at the dreamer's ball
I'll meet you at the dreamer's ball

- A wonderfully playful New Orleans slow jazz number. Hints of A Night Of The Opera with some great Red Special jazz instrumentations!

- Played live through 1979 during the acoustic section.

- Supposedly as you'll see in a moment, Roger was NOT a fan of the song!

QUOTES:

- “Hated it on disc and hated it live, so there. I actually have a tape of Roger and Brian trying to record this in the studio, and shall we say that tempers flared” – Crystal Taylor (Roger’s assistant)

ALTERNATIVE RELEASED VERSIONS

EARLY ACOUSTIC TAKE

- ESSENTIAL listening.
- From the 2011 Deluxe Remaster of Jazz...I wish the Bonus EPs featured more tracks like this.
- Acoustic, much closer to the live version, featuring a very subdued vocals.

OFFICIALLY RELEASED LIVE VERSION:

LIVE KILLERS VERSION

- Audio only
- Great live version.

UNOFFICIALLY RELEASED LIVE VERSION:

LIVE IN PARIS 1979

- Much more playful with video!

PERSONAL NOTES:
- I love this song. It's so different from what they usually do and I would loved to have seen a sequel down the line. Very sultry. Great vocals/Great Brian.

Next up is Roger's first contribution....Fun It