What the title of this post says: a dig back into the archives for this recording of The Viper and His Famous Orchestra from the Highdive in Champaign, IL in the year 2000.

(click here to download the mp3)

The song is by Queen and I’m pretty certain that May, Mercury et. al. must have had the Viper in mind when they were writing it for their Night at the Opera album. A Night at the Opera is actually a pretty Viper-friendly album all around, with Brian May even playing a ukulele for the George-Formby-styled “Good Company.” I remember “Seaside Rendezvous” being me and my sisters’ favorite song on the record as kids, and dancing around and playing it over and over (along with “Bohemian Rhapsody,” of course) when one of our babysitters would bring it over.

The Viper and His Famous Orchestra recording above is from the same show at which the bulk of our Song for All Seasons material was recorded. “Seaside Rendezvous” didn’t make the cut, and I remember it sounding a lot rougher when we were choosing what songs we wanted to include on that EP. But if you can overlook the lack of mastering the mix, I think the performance has worn pretty well with age. There’s a LOT of arranging going on here, with a LOT for a bar band near the end of an evening to remember.

But remember it we do, and that’s a jollification, as a matter of fact.