A deluge of concert footage and personal memories evoke what a great live band Queen was. Much of what has been released in recent years has focused on the live shows from the 1980s, when Queen had become more of an international phenomenon, transcending their hard, progressive roots of the early days. Thankfully, someone finally remembered what an incredibly vibrant, edgy, and gloriously bombastic band Queen was before they became champions of the world, and had the good sense to piece together Live At The Rainbow ’74.
At this time of its November 1974 recording, Queen was in the midst of a major transition — moving from their hard rock, progressive style to a more song-oriented approach that would garner heavy radio airplay and bigger record sales. On Live At The Rainbow ’74, however, this is hardly the case as the hard edge of their sound, given an extra push by the flash and execution of their stage show, are firing on all cylinders. “Now I’m Here,” one of seven the band pulled from the then-new Sheer Heart Attack, would become one of the band’s most powerful opener for years to come.
Much of the show is filled with tracks from the band’s epic Queen II, long singled out as being the band’s most progressive and regal album — radically different from latter day albums like Jazz and The Game, which would go on to redefine Queen as a more mainstream band. “Ogre Battle” is a go-for-the-throat riff, typical of other early Queen rockers while “Father To Son” and “White Queen (As It Began)” are more drawn-out, meticulously arranged and fluffed up to underscore Freddie Mercury’s regal-sized aspirations. This is especially brought to the fore when Brain May and Mercury brilliantly align the guitar and piano in a momentous build that would become one of Queen’s greatest musical trademarks.
Both May and drummer Roger Taylor, who continue to bear the Queen torch to this day, get in their chops a-plenty on the allotted solo spots. This only adds to the band’s fire power when they, along with precision bassist John Deacon, let loose on shakers like “Keep Yourself Alive” and “Stone Cold Crazy.” At the end of “Jailhouse Rock,” Taylor kicks and shoves his drum kit off its pedestal, perhaps in one last act of rock and roll defiance before he and the rest of the Queen would change course a year later with A Night At The Opera. Live At The Rainbow ’74 reminds of us of how kick-ass Queen was as a rock and roll band.
~ Shawn Perry
