Jealousy Kick Drum - Mistake on 2011 Remaster?!?

I never liked SW, TBH. Although I did watch the third one (of the prequel trilogy) and liked the whole climax(es?).

I call bullshit.  Brian, in describing the difficulty of working with Bowie on Under Pressure, said that he wanted a different, heavier sound, and Bowie was adamant that the sound that ended up being on UP was what the wanted.  Brian was so pissed he said that he didn't go the final mix, which was the first time he'd ever not been there for a final mix.  As Jealousy preceded UP...

Have you got any source for that?

AFAIK, Brian was absent in MANY of the mixes, as the person who mixed the song was the author. Hence, Brian would've missed all or most of mixing processes on Roger's, John's and Freddie's songs.

I think it was in MOJO, Seb.  Here is something from another site, with Brian talking about it.

"This is a very long story. He was quite difficult to work with, because it was the meeting of two different methods of working. It was stimulating, but at the same time, almost impossible to resolve. We're very pigheaded and set in our ways and Mr. Bowie is too. In fact, he's probably as pigheaded as the four of us put together. I think it was a worthwhile thing to do. But after 'Under Pressure' was done, there were continual disagreements about how it should be put out or if it should even be put out at all. David wanted to redo the entire thing. I had given up by that time because it had gone a long way from what I would have liked to see. But there is still a lot of good stuff in the song. There was a compromise; Freddie, David and Mack actually sat down and produced a mix – under a lot of strain. Roger was also along to keep the peace to some extent, because he and David are friends."

And where exactly is the bit where Brian's saying he was present at all of the pre-UP mixes?

I "think" it was in MOJO, I'm pretty good at remembering what I read, but I can't give it a definitive source at the moment as I have neither the time nor inclination to.  However, to the best of my pretty good memory, Brian absolutely said that it was the first final mix he ever didn't attend.  Having said that, he didn't clarify it that meant for his songs or all songs.  You are correct in stating that the author got final mix approval, but I doubt it was approval without input form the others.  Maybe with UP, he was credited as a co-writer with the others and felt that he'd step away for the first time from a song he had a writing credit on.  When I have time I'll look for the interview.

I remember, for instance, that he was absent from the We Are the Champions mix. He heard it afterwards, and asked for his guitar bits to be re-recorded.

brians wig wrote:

I still stand by theory that someone cocked up and incorrectly used the re-instated mix when delivering the album to island for processing to CD and the error was only spotted AFTER thousands of CDs had been manufactured.
This would explain why the second batch release date was put back a few weeks to the end of June as it was easier and cheaper to reprint the booklets.
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wouldn't duplicating cds (certainly these days, anyway) be cheaper than reprinting multi-page, stapled, four-color printed booklets?  I honestly don't know... just tossing out the thought.  Your theory would make perfect sense, though, to consider that like DSMN, it was an alternate version created to be a bonus track for Jazz deluxe.

what i don't understand is how did they discover these multitrack omissions on 2 tracks from Jazz, and nothing from any of the other albums thus far (other than a couple of new backing track and a cappella mixes).  was it just a footnoted discovery by Greg Brooks  over the past years of tape transfers and they chose to share them for these re-issues?

The overall RANDOMness of the bonus tracks is baffling... though i personally am pleased and thankful to have some of the inclusions they've chosen.

With the bonus tracks I see very little difference between this kick drum thing and the mixes of The Hero (revisited), DSMN, I'm In Love With My Car (g/v mix), all the instrumental mixes etc - they are 'fake' bonus tracks created especially for the reissues rather than contempory mixes (say, like GOFLB TOTP version is). While interesting to hear, they shouldn't make up the bulk of the bonus material. They should be hidden on discs AFTER all the other previously released edits & non album tracks etc, AFTER the unreleased performances, AFTER the live material.

Just received the 2nd box here in the States today. The inclusion of the bass drum on Jealousy was completely distracting (not effective, to my taste), and worse, IMO, violates the "remaster" vs. "remix" rule. I find that new passage to be clumsy, in a way, with the extra punch that seems flat as it finishes, whereas the old cymbals-only mix flowed gracefully.  But why?  I gotta side with the Wig on this one... the inclusion was probably an error on these remasters that may have been discovered too late to retract (can't celebrate the 40 anniversary in year 41, after all).  To my mind, it's quite probable that RTB originally mixed it out deliberately, either of his own choice (or perhaps at Freddie's bidding?). I'm reminded of Coming Soon missing some little bit that was reportedly originally mixed in rather ad-hoc (and therefore not present on the master mix tapes? or some such thing...).  So things done at the last minute wouldn't surprise me a bit.  I gotta think these beats landed in the remastered Jealous as a small oversight, with the various parties being relatively unfamiliar with the obscure nuances of this "deep" track. The mention in the notes seems an attempt to repackage the error as an intentional fix. But it could also be taken as sarcastic, if it's truly an oversight, as I suspect. I could be wrong, of course.

I have to say I think the concept of QP not caring about the product is rediculas, of course they care but mistakes happen to everyone, it's very possible Roger didnt play the beat in the first place, so it wasnt there to restore and the decision was made to leave it as played...
As for not being at the final mixes, these things go on forever and is no surprise that once the main mix was done final tweaks are left for the writer of the song and the engineer, if you remember John mixed Your My Best Friend and spent hours eqing Rogers drums (according to the opera dvd voice over) which to me at least sounded like it was done without Roger being present at the time. None of which is unusal for any band as these things go on for weeks and it's impossible for everyone to always be there if you have lots of commitments from record labels and promo folk.
Missing the kick off in the first place is amazing, but these things can happen particularly when in those days you are not looking at a screen it's just a desk with level meters. Sure the band will ge the final mix to listen to but where there was time to check it before it went to press we will never know, and even if they did it's very possible roger didnt notice the missing kick either until much later.

This is a strange one. I mean, it sounds like a mistake. As a musician, I don't see any reason why he would leave the kick out at that moment, makes no sense. On the other hand, if the kick drum has been 'restored', then it was on a track on it's own, meaning they could have easily copied a kick and inserted it into the song at the right moment digitally. So perhaps it was intentional, who knows. Either way, the track sounds better with it in if you ask me, I'm glad they did it.

As has been already discussed, the bass drum at 2:46 "I should live or die" is obviously new. That 'dah dah dah dah' piano chord is in the quiet passage after every chorus and now the bass drum is 'reinstated' just at the last one. This on close listening is a remix in my mind, the bass drum probably always existed on the multitrack and was either muted or not played for this part to create dynamics. ('Spread Your Wings' is similar to this after the choruses also). The drums, bass and piano seem to be recorded together, as there is a live feel to them. If the bass drum didn't exist and was added, then this is a scandal!!! It does sound great I must admit but I'd hate to think it is a software patch and not Mr Taylor in '78! This is one of Mercury's finest ballads and a superb song too. Another thing I noticed is the vocals of the 'How, how, how (Oh my jealousy)' part. They seem much more life-like and separated than before! I have a strong hunch that it was remixed, but then again with today's technology and proper EQ-ing maybe the master always sounded like this (except the 'reinstated' bass drum) but until now digital wasn't good enough to get the most out of it! Overall this 2011 version is less harsh, more detailed and full-sounding.