Thanks, Justin.. the 1981 Montreal version of this is also fantastic... Brian on keys, singing harmony, with his guitar in his LAP the whole time.. then.. what a smooth transition.. Freddie on keys and Brian on an incredible solo... (his song, of course).. appreciate your listen...
This is another Queen favorite of mine. Brian initially said he wrote this for a friend who was going through a bad divorce but after Freddie's death Brian admitted that he had actually written it for Freddie.
Yes, got an 'epic', thank you! Yes, multi-talented group of guys. I am happy that you enjoyed this beautiful song. Thanks for the reaction. Have a good day!
My first big, international rock show was with Queen, with Freddie Mercury in March 1981, here in Brazil, in the same place where I also watched RUSH: Morumbi Stadium, in the city of São Paulo. It was The Game Tour and I remember being very moved by the song Save Me, live. A great Queen anthem that still brings back beautiful memories for me. An excellent and revolutionary band. ✨🌟 🇧🇷
Gorgeous song, especially live! Brian said, “I wrote Save Me to cut a long story short - I wrote it about a friend, someone who was going through a bad time, and I imagined myself in their shoes, kind of telling the story. Someone whose relationship is totally F’d up and how sad that person was”. 😢
it IS humorous to me too when Freddie walks right over to Brian (now on guitar) and it's like - HEY, get back on YOUR mark! Brian's expression! He looks a bit startled, but scurries over to the correct spot.
I'm impressed that you added"really" to your judgement of "nice", lol. The band's ability to switch places quickly and continue seamlessly is worth a mention. Happy that you enjoyed this one, and loved your reaction.
I got this album, The Game, when I was 11 (1982) and played it roughly 9,000 times. This song along with Sail Away Sweet Sister and Rock It (Prime Jive) got most replays.
I'm glad to see you enjoying these live versions. I remember you not being so enthusiastic about the studio version. Of course, there are more intrincate aspects in the studio, such as overdubs and vocal harmonies, but although in all live musical performances there are sometimes slight mistakes (Brian's solo or the crack in Freddie's voice at the end), the energy and feeling of the live show are unmatched.
This probably is the first time this was performed live, maybe? Save Me would come out on The Game album in early 1980, it is my favorite song on this record. Brian was sitting at the piano with his "Red Special" across his lap waiting for the break when he gets up and starts playing guitar. A better version is from their "Rocks Montreal 1981" show.
I'm glad to see you enjoying these live versions. I remember you not being so enthusiastic about the studio version. Of course, there are more intrincate aspects in the studio, such as overdubs and vocal harmonies, but although in all live musical performances there are sometimes slight mistakes (Brian's solo or the crack in Freddie's voice at the end), the energy and feeling of the live show are unmatched.
this is a great song that works better as a live along with dragon attack , now i am here , tie your mother down etc. i think brian was having some trouble doing the solo here , if you look at some earlier recordings of concerts from this tour , you will find that this happens often , he perfected the solo by the game tour and played flawlessly onwards . a more popular version of this song is played at montreal which is epic as well actually , anything from the montreal concert is epic i hope you check out the whole concert someday
Great reaction Justin. You called it Grand and I think you hit the nail on the head !!Difficult to choose top 5-10 favorite Queen songs but right up there is Don’t Stop Me Now so I’m looking forward to that … voted many times as the happiest song ever written and if you haven’t seen the cult classic movie ‘Shaun of the Dead’ you should just google the famous bar scene😂 Thank you 🌷
This is one of my favourite solos ever (first one), and there is even a better (more complete) version of it at Live in Montreal. Shame it isn't on the album. Simple, but amazing choice of notes. Very sweet and emotional.
Freddie not giving us his piano playing magic is a loss….but that’s how the Queen Royalty survived … they each got to do what they wanted to even if Freddie’s unmatched superiority was sacrificed for a few bars.
So glad you switched to live reactions Justin :) I have a feeling it would have been more negative than positive. And I believe rightfully so. I do think you would love 'Innuendo' given Mercury's health and it not showing one bit, on the contrary, showcasing some of his best vocals.
This show is my fave now I’m here. Not sure of your source but make sure you pick up the 7ish min video. Idk why some break it up into 2 vids. You didn’t notice Brian’s guitar laying across his lap!
I think this song works really well live when the instruments all get some space away from the density of studio production. It sounds like Brian hadn't quite worked out the solo yet, but I would rather have a slightly dodgy live take than a studio facsimile. Queen added a keyboard player in later years to fill-in for Freddie in some places, but it didn't quite feel the same.
Quality tune in all its guises not withstanding Brian messing up the lead break in this version. It’s live it happens, Some tracks translate from studio to stage better than others , this one is perfect in that regard. IMO. Great writing makes it , as you mentioned.
