It would seem there would be no better time than the present to launch an Archives album/box set or whatever. Their popularity is holding well, but we all know how the cyclical nature of the music industry goes.
I can only hope there's something like this on the cards for Queen's upcoming 50th anniversary, as that would be the perfect opportunity to release such an archival package...
Greg Brooks ('keeper' of the Queen archives) said that an anthology box set was discussed, but abandoned. QPL are instead unloading the Queen vault out the course of years and years and years. I just hope we are all still around by the time they release the interesting stuff. And this is assuming that there is a lot of unreleased interesting stuff. It is quite possible that not many alternate takes, jams, or even unheard songs recorded by Queen still exist in a releasable quality. Especially things from the 70s. Yes, they have surprised us with the odd long lost track recently, but there is nothing ing to suggest that Greg Brooks is keeping guard over a quantity of unheard material comparable to, say, Prince or the Smashing Pumpkins. Also, a big box might have been the right format for fans of Freddie or Roger's soslo work, but QPL may consider that other release vehicles could be more profitable for unheard Queen material. They are very popular in streaming services right now - even more so than the blessed Beatles. Would Spotify kids go for long lost Queen tracks? Who knows.
To be honest for me these days, I would mainly want any high quality concerts on bluray, ala the Rainbow Concert.... If they do put together a Killers set, I sure hope there is a bluray, even if it isn't all from the same show.
At the very least, we know that each of Queen's 1980s albums had plenty of outtakes, and many of these have found their way online. While most are jam-based, fragmentary or lacking final vocals, there's still more than enough to make any theoretical expanded reissues of The Miracle and Innuendo far more interesting than what ended up on those "bonus EPs" in 2011. Sadly, it's been left to a few dedicated fans to compile all this, with a large portion of what circulates recorded at conventions, where such tracks were once played on a regular basis by none other than Greg Brooks. On top of any potential studio material, what about further concerts, even partial ones that may be in the vaults?
I'd rather have higher quality live versions of some of the more rarely performed songs. The Montreal 81 Live and Wembley 86 Live are just wonderful to watch and any more of those would be great as well. How wonderful would it be to get that St. Paul Mustapha cleaned up and released. I was at that concert but hadn't heard the album so when he launched into that song it was such a revelation for me. It immediately dawned on me that he had eastern roots, and second I was a bit shocked at a song that was reminiscent of a Muslim call to prayer in the U.S.at that time. Keep in mind this was the height of the Iranian Hostage Crisis. I was probably at or near the stage on the piano side for the song and it only took a minute or two to realize it was pretty tongue in cheek. I'll admit that the Freddie version of All Dead All Dead was wonderful to hear, I just don't imagine there are many of those around though. Peter Hince has stated that there is material with David Bowie that hasn't been released and I would love that also. Okay, I admit it: I want it all and I want it now.
100%. Im crossing my fingers that we get something unique and expansive with The Game anniversary in 2020. I will NOT be holding my breath.
Sadly for Greg Brooks there are a lot of reel to reel tapes being shared among Queen collectors. These tapes (mostly 70's) material contains amazing rough mixes from famous songs and are very interesting. Collectors started doing this since an anthology boxset will probably happen when hell freezes over. With that in mind we started our own group with enough interesting material, audio and video wise.
Crazy Little Thing was announced on the radio as being by Freddie Mercury and Queen, rather than just Queen?!! I guess that shows the power of the Bo Rap film.
It was certainly the first time I've heard Queen referred to this way on the radio. For the record it was #3 on the countdown, Prince, Let's Go Crazy was #1.
Ensueno We start with a beautiful melancholy piano. Caballe starts us of with a very controlled and sweet vocal, then Freddie joins in. To some degree, Freddie seems to be singing in a lower pitch than normal, it seems as if to balance out the operatic styling of the music. Again, not really my cup of tea, but this is very well done.
The Golden Boy I like the intro to this, a nice sense of drama, and a well executed classical styling that works well. Freddie comes in really well, and it works , but it is very wordy, and seems somewhat to struggle a little due to the wordiness, of the opening section. It seems like a mini opera in itself here, with the way the two vocalists, and the choir tell the story. We bounce into a somewhat pop/soul kind of groove, and that in itself works out quite interestingly. Again this is actually very well done, but just not in more kit bag.
Guide Me Home This song starts very beautifully, and Freddie strangely sounds a little like Brian on his first vocal line. This track has a certain gentle atmosphere, that although still with the operatic styling in the vocals, isn't to overwrought and continues to have a sweetness. There is certainly a dramatic dynamic, but I think that the sparse arrangement helps to make it more endearing. Although it isn't something I would listen to every day, this is by far my favourite track on here so far. I think it manages to delivery a emotive dramatic vocal without being too OTT
How Can I Go On This track sounds more like a typical Freddie ballad, and for me is all the better for it. I really like the vocal, with Freddie being fully committed and the melodic movement having enough to give this some interest. Caballe comes in about a third of the way in which gives the non operatic fan a chance to get into the song, before we move into that territory. This songs works quite well, but I would be lying if I said the first part wasn't my favourite section. This is a track I could see Queen redoing with just a Freddie vocal. I hate to bring it up so early, but I get the impression, with no real knowledge of the when's and how's. that at this stage Freddie was aware of his situation, and, someone may have mentioned this, but this seems almost like a bucket list type album, and Freddie is doing something he really wants to, while he still can. I totally give him kudos for that. It may not be my thing, but it certainly passionate and well done.
I hadn't listened to this song in a long while and the lyrics are those of a very vulnerable person. "I stand dethroned, I'm naked and I bleed" "I try to hide myself so far from the crowd, Is anybody there to comfort me." The Barcelona album was started in January of 1987 and took 18 months to complete. The carefully worded history is that Freddie was diagnosed with AIDS in April of 1987, Several people, including Mary, who aren't under the thumb of the "Machine" have stated he knew of his HIV status by 1985. One of the crew talked about how he pulled out of the Magic tour in early 1986 and was heavily lobbied to change his mind. In 1985-6 the medical consensus was that only 60% or so of those infected would develop AIDS. (We now know untreated it's likely 100%, but may take decades for about 0.5%). I suspect your Bucket List observation is spot on.
Exercises In Free Love This starts very gently, with a very pretty and melancholy tone, and Caballe's voice here suits beautifully. The orchestral arrangements on here are really good. They have been arranged in such a way as to really draw attention to the song. There is a nice balance and the use of dynamics isn't too OTT, the songs breathe and it works very well from that perspective.
Overture Piccante Again we start here with a really good orchestral arrangement. The vocals actually sound like they are in reverse on here, but they are effective. For the most part in the first half of the track they are effect vocals more than anything else having a chordal quality rather than any defined lyric as such. Just over half way there is a nice oriental feel about the music. Then we burst into this gospel style section, that is really cool ... Although this track is reaching, it is very interesting. Then we get some piano that is part barroom New Orleans jazz, and part classical... Unusual, but interesting.
Just stumbled upon this thread. Is there a band with a better catalog? Not a loser in the bunch. Obviously some are much worse than others and there was an obvious shift to trying to appease their commercial sensibilities in the 1980's but there were some gems in that decade as well.
How Can Go On (featuring David Garrett) To tie up loose ends, here is a version of this song with violinist David Garrett. It is a nice variation, and a bonus track on some copies of this cd.
The Miracle Studio album by Queen Released 22 May 1989 Recorded January 1988 – January 1989 Studio Olympic Studios and Townhouse Studios, London, England, and Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland Genre Rock Length 41:22 Label Parlophone, Capitol Producer Queen, David Richards The Miracle is the thirteenth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 22 May 1989 by Capitol Recordsin the US, it is the band's first studio album to be released by Parlophone Records in the UK. The album was recorded as the band recovered from Brian May's marital problems and Freddie Mercury's AIDS diagnosis in 1987 (which was known to the band, though not publicised at the time). Recording started in January 1988 and lasted for an entire year. The album was originally going to be called The Invisible Men, but three weeks before the release, according to Roger Taylor, they decided to change the name to The Miracle. It was also the last Queen album with a band photo on the front cover. The album reached number one in the UK, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, and number 24 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The Miracle is estimated to have sold 5 million copies in total, indicating that despite slower American sales, the album sold well around the world, even without a supporting tour. AllMusic would name The Miracleas Queen's best album of the 1980s, along with The Game.[1] It would prove to be the band's penultimate album to be recorded with Freddie Mercury, as he died in November 1991, nine months after their next album, Innuendo, was released. Queen Freddie Mercury – lead vocals (all tracks), backing vocals (all but 5), keyboards (1–3, 6, 7, 9, 10), drum machine (1) Brian May – electric guitar (all tracks), backing vocals (1, 3, 4, 6, 10), keyboards (8, 10), acoustic guitar (4), co-lead vocals (4) Roger Taylor – drums (all but 9), backing vocals (1, 3–6, 10), percussion (2, 8, 10), drum machine (1, 7, 9), keyboards (5, 6), electric guitar (5), lead vocals (5) John Deacon – bass (all tracks), electric guitar (1, 5, 7, 9), keyboards (7, 9) Additional personnel David Richards – keyboards (4–6), sampler (8), engineering Assistant engineers – Andrew Bradfield, John Brough, Angelique Cooper, Claude Frider, Andy Mason, Justin Shirley-Smith Mastered by Kevin Metcalf and Gordon Vickary Computer programming by Brian Zellis Album sleeve design by Richard Gray Original photography by Simon Fowler Side one 1. "Party" Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon Mercury with May 2:24 2. "Khashoggi's Ship" Mercury, May, Deacon, Roger Taylor 2:47 3. "The Miracle" Mercury, Deacon 5:02 4. "I Want It All" May Mercury with May 4:41 5. "The Invisible Man" Taylor Mercury with Taylor 3:55 Side two 1. "Breakthru" Mercury, Taylor 4:07 2. "Rain Must Fall" Mercury, Deacon 4:20 3. "Scandal" May 4:42 4. "My Baby Does Me" Mercury, Deacon 3:22 5. "Was It All Worth It" Mercury 5:45 ------------------------------------------------------- Back in the day when I first heard this album, I Want It All was the big lead single and introduced in such a way as to suggest that Queen was back, and they are rocking harder than ever. There was a big deal made about the album cover due to it being so technically amazing for the times. All those things are true to some degree, but at the time the album was a disappointment ... again to a degree. The album was very different, but the expectation, based on the buzz, was for something more classic seventies, and that isn't really what we have here at all, although there are shadows and reflections of those earlier times. I certainly didn't hate the album, but it wasn't quite what the buzz was suggesting it was, With the benefit of hindsight and time to adjust one's mental approach to the album, this album is bloody great. I really do like it, and it is sad it has spent less time on the player than it is worthy of doing. Although I don't really see it as a return to the seventies, there are some minor similarities, but they are the similarities the resonate through the Queen catalog. Grand arrangements, writing that is reaching for the next level, performances that say "here we are, and we are really good at this". This album was released in 1989, and I hear a band that is using all the modern (of the day) production techniques, instrument sounds and reaching into the nineties. I don't know if the album ever crossed over to a nineties crowd, but it has the sonic ability to do so. There are a couple of tracks that aren't necessarily A1 Queen classic, but there are some songs that certainly deserve to be, even if they aren't recognised as such. The singles came with quite elaborate video's but we were still well and truly knee deep in the video era, and that was the way to get high rotation. Even average songs would get good rotation if they had a great video, and these were really good songs with really good videos... so several did get some good rotation. These days I consider this album as a minor classic, and quite remarkable for a band like this, after this amount of time. It is still breaking ground, it is still solid, and these guys are still writing together and working well as a team. Queen managed to stay in the fight with each other pretty much the whole of their existence, which is rare in the music world, being riddled with egos and drugs. Anyway, I reckon this is a great album, with a couple of slightly weaker moments, but the highs, are high and the consistency is quite remarkable. What do you guys think of this album? What was your reaction in 89? What is your feeling now? How has your opinion changed (if it did)? Give us the ins and outs of your feelings towards this album, and we'll start into it tomorrow. Cheers Mark
The last listenable Queen album. Side one is okay, side two filled with fillers. My opinion has not changed today.
I found the opening two tracks to be disappointing, but after that it's pretty great. Scandal is great and should have been a bigger hit (good video as well), and Was it All Worth It is something of a lost classic.
I actually booked a day off work so that I could be outside my local record shop at 9 in the morning. Instantly takes me back to that summers day in 1989. Played the CD constantly and still really like the album. Everyone I worked with loved it and I certainly don't remember the album being a disappointment at all. Used to love those days of waiting for a new Queen album or single to appear.
I remember there being a big poster of the album cover in the window of my local Woolworths. I thought it looked... amazing. (I don't think it looks amazing anymore).
