From the start, Queen pushed the limits of studio technology to accommodate their exquisite overdubs and intricate harmonies; but perhaps even more impressive was their ability to recreate that onstage without backing tapes or additional musicians, as demonstrated by video of an iconic November 1974 performance at London’s Rainbow Theatre.
Released as the band’s second UK single in February 1974, it was boosted to No. 10 by their first TV appearance as an eleventh-hour substitute for David Bowie on Top Of The Pops.
Even in those formative years, Queen were experimental and ambitious studio musicians, employing swirls of vocal harmony and multitracked instrumentation to create epic textured soundscapes.
Translating that to the stage took an entirely different skill-set; from Freddie Mercury playing one-handed piano while holding the microphone, to Roger Taylor effortlessly hitting the high harmony that some fans assumed was studio trickery on “Queen II”, this is indisputably the sound of a band at the top of their game.
“When I listen to Queen Live At The Rainbow now, I find it extraordinary,” says Taylor of the boxset released in 2014. “I’d forgotten how heavy we were…”
Get your copy of Queen’s “Greatest Hits” here.
See also:
Queen revisit 1982 performance of Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Queen evolve Another One Bites The Dust on The Greatest Live
Queen's Brian May revisits 1983 Star Fleet Project sessions
Queen’s Brian May introduces Star Fleet Project band lineup
Search Queen at hennemusic
