Queen
Toronto, ON, Canada
Maple Leaf Gardens
December 3, 1978


About the recording:
AUD > ? > Cassette > WAV (GoldWave speed correction, edits) > FLAC level 8


This is an upgrade of the Toronto audience tape. It's still a generation or two away from the master, but the EQ is more balanced, and it is the most complete version of the tape available. The best previous versions had no less than 15 cuts between songs. All of those cuts are absent here, and there is more tape at the beginning of the show than before.

There are still cuts in Spread Your Wings and Keep Yourself Alive (for tape flips, both at their respective 45-minute marks), and the cut in Somebody To Love was probably a security duck. The tape wheel turning can be heard in the left channel for the few minutes surrounding the first tape flip.

The first portion of the show was taped on a 90 minute tape, but this copy was dubbed onto 60 minute tapes. Fortunately they left plenty of overlap, so I seamlessly patched up the cuts in Get Down Make Love and during Freddie's speech before It's Late. Interestingly enough, these are the same cuts that were on older versions of the recording, but they were not so generous with the overlap, resulting in missing music.

All credit to "A Word In Your Ear" for the original tape.


Setlist:
Disc 1:

1. intro
2. We Will Rock You (fast)
3. Let Me Entertain You
4. Somebody To Love [cut]
5. If You Can't Beat Them
6. Death On Two Legs
7. Killer Queen
8. Bicycle Race
9. I'm In Love With My Car
10. Get Down, Make Love
11. You're My Best Friend
12. Now I'm Here
13. Spread Your Wings [cut]
14. Spread Your wings (continues)
15. Dreamers ball
16. Love of my life

Disc 2:

1. '39
2. It's Late
3. Brighton Rock
4. Fat Bottomed Girls
5. Keep Yourself Alive [cut]
6. Bohemian Rhapsody
7. Tie Your Mother Down
8. Sheer Heart Attack
9. We Will Rock You
10. We Are The Champions
11. God Save The Queen



I often read great introductions to uploads of all kinds of artists but sadly enough: not often about my favourite band Queen.
I regret that because - in my book - Queen is one of the greatest live rock bands ever.
They had it all: the brilliant music, the musicianship, the charisma of Freddie Mercury (the ultimate frontman and performer),
the right attitude (at any given performance they wanted to give the audience their very best), they knew how to put a fantastic setlist together, etc.
Freddie Mercury was indeed very camp and a showman but he was also very professional, always giving his all and I truly admire that about him.
I regret people seem to forget that from time to time.

Now, what's special about this show? Well, it's a seventies show and sadly enough: there aren't hundreds of recordings of Queen - let alone GREAT quality recordings like this one - of Queen circulating.
That's a pity, since it are of course exactly this kind of recordings that illustrate why Queen is what I claim them to be: one of the best in their leaugue.

Here you can hear them during the Jazz-tour of 1978 and I've always loved this particular show (personally I prefer it over the Montreal recording from 2 days earlier).
An A- rating is imo the correct rating in terms of sound-quality; this of course means you can hear perfectly well what's going on and there's lots to enjoy.
There's of course FM's stage banter (see hereafter for the text of www.queenlive.Ca) and also the great atmosphere throughout the show..
Here are the notes from the WONDERFUL Queenwebsite www.queenlive.ca:

"This is the first of two nights at the Gardens in Toronto.

The band are in a very relaxed mood, as they were a couple days before in Montreal. Freddie is in a bit better voice, too. After a subtle applause following Let Me Entertain You, Freddie says, "You should've seen the audience in Montreal. They'll teach you a thing or two." Boos ensue, as there is a (usually mock) dichotomy between many things Ontario and Quebec, which he may not be aware of. He continues, "Forget the security. This is your night!"

Brian, after If You Can't Beat Them: "Thanks a lot, good people of Toronto. We haven't seen you for some time. How are you feeling? You always have some winter for us, thank you. OK, we're going to take you back some time, a few years ago, to something called A Night At The Opera." The mere mention of Queen's breakthrough record results in a great cheer from the audience. "This is a rude little song called Death On Two Legs."

Brian, before Dreamers Ball: "We'd like to say thank you for coming out in such large numbers and filling this place. We appreciate it, thank you." Freddie then urges the audience on. "We'd like you to start up a beat. Come on, any beat. Preferably this one. Yeah, come on, take all your clothes off!" His delivery of the song is a very gutsy one.

Brian, before Love Of My Life: "Thank you. A little experiment there. We're gonna bring a jazz band next time. We used to say we we're gonna bring an orchestra; we'll bring a jazz band." Freddie adds, "And a couple of strippers," to much applause. "You're into that kind of thing. Yeah, you're a smutty audience, I can tell. This is one big sleaze pit, I can tell! One track mind. That's the way I like it." He then introduces the next song: "OK, we're gonna reduce this next number right to the depths. This is a song that... it comes from A Night At The Opera, or something like that. And this is a duet called Love Of My Life."

Brian: "We enjoy doing those things for a change. Glad you enjoy it too. OK, we're gonna change the mood a little again. We would like to welcome back the rest of the group. The rhythm section featuring Mr. Roger Meadows Taylor on drums." Freddie: "Take a bow, you old tart!"

Freddie, after '39: "We really have a lot of fun doing those acoustic numbers. It's nice to get away from the real heavy rock and roll for a change. It's nice to know that an audience can take it, too. I think it's time we did something from the News Of The World album right now. This is a song called It's Late."

This Brighton Rock jam is stronger than the last one played in Montreal. There's a highlight about 12 minutes in when the band seamlessly change the tempo and the key at the same time with great results. Either this is extrasensory perception at work (not entirely impossible when a band has been playing together for many years), or perhaps they rehearsed this one during soundcheck after the somewhat lackluster jam two nights before.

Freddie, before Fat Bottomed Girls: "This is dedicated to all you people with great big ginormous fat asses."

Brian is horribly out of tune during his We Will Rock You solo (a broken guitar string, most likely). His entrance into We Are The Champions isn't his most graceful either, as he was probably upset at himself for not having delivered the iconic guitar solo from Rock You effectively. He always wanted to give the best possible show to any particular audience."


Enjoy and keep it lossless!