Final batch bonus EP tracklist

Been a Queen fan since 1977 - I was seven and I was given Queen II for my birthday :) Hooked ever since.
Collected EVERYTHING media wise.
Waited a long time for these re-issues.
Very disappointed!

Arnaldo "Ogre-" Silveira wrote:

Hi, Bob and all. As for Rio, it's not really an overdub, but Freddie's vocal is turned down almost to zero in HTF when his voice cracked, if I recall correctly, at the end of the " it's starting to fall" line. I remember recording the sound from TV on the original broadcast and noting that the official release had that litlle "fix" on his voice, whithout affecting the instrumental. Not sure exactly what that means, but I thought I might mention it to you.

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Ah, so they just brought his vocal down in the mix.  Very good to know - thanks!

pma wrote: Haven't bought the first batch of remasters, I did, however, listen to the sound quality on selected titles to see if they were worth it. Queen still sounds like shit in terms of sound quality of titles, when compared to 70s contemporaries. Why did they end up producing such muffled recordings? For example, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Hotel California sound like they were recorded yesterday, whereas most 70s Queen sounds like they were recorded yesterday at the back alley of block of flats by one microphone and the drums were cardboard boxes.

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I've got three words for you: Roy Thomas Baker

That's a bit harsh! Queen sound great. The only real sonic clanger that they did was the production on the final 3 albums. Dated terribly.

So, GT, all these releases are for the casual fan then?
OK, then what is planned in the great Queen "40th Anniversary" celebrations for the dedicated fan...?

If EMI hadn't of collapsed and Queen been forced to move record companies, then would we have even got remasters?

You can sugar coat this slop all you like and crap on about Queen having a solid business plan, blah, blah, blah.
If Queen (Brian and Roger) really cared about leaving a legacy then surely they'd be better served by spending their time in looking after the sonic quality of releases. The simple fact is, they've once again missed the mark on most of the remasters and not created definitive versions (as far as sonics go).

A 40th anniversary release, surely, should be about taking care of a back catalogue, and presenting it in the best possible way to fans. If fans love the release and spread the word, then a casual fan who is looking to get more serious will surely be motivated to gravitate to the more fan oriented premium releases. I don't get your 1% of the buying public spiel. The 99% of the buying public would not be tempted to buy studio albums based on an EP of B sides (priced at a premium). 
Sure, the new label need product to sell, I have no problem with that, but don't pretend we've got a bunch of wonderful releases to celebrate 40 years, because all we've got is an outdated, backward looking organisation looking to maximise profits for the least amount of effort.

What's Brian got in the bank? 100 million quid maybe? Money shouldn't be his motivator (and he goes to great lengths from time to time to tell us so on his soapbox). So how about taking a little pride and care in the studio records and live performances that made him that 100 million and spend some serious time employing serious people to prepare quality releases.

Maybe they could release a box set celebrating 20 years of greatness and 20 years of ineptitude. The pre 1992 stuff can have all the classic Queen material and the 1992 to 2011 stuff can have all the horrible, butchered mess featuring 112 different hits compilations and 98 different boy bands singing We Will Rock You. Oh, and a season pass to the Musical could be included.

Very well said, smilebrian!

smilebrian wrote:

What's Brian got in the bank? 100 million quid maybe? Money shouldn't be his motivator (and he goes to great lengths from time to time to tell us so on his soapbox). So how about taking a little pride and care in the studio records and live performances that made him that 100 million and spend some serious time employing serious people to prepare quality releases.

Balls! Money may or may not be the motivator for May, Taylor and Deacon, but it sure as hell is the motivator for Universal. It's a new company for Queen and the band has to make money for them (which they have with the reissues), before they can start releasing stuff that doesn't make that much money, such as the anthology. I would imagine that the profit margin on the reissues is about five times as much as the profit margin on a box set.

We'll see the anthology, be patient. But it might just happen that we'd wish we hadn't seen it...

V.

I dream of the best bonus inclusions just as you all do, but as someone who bought the Singles Collections, i'm actually ok with the fact that modern official releases of Blurred Vision, Dozen Red Roses For My Darling, and My Life Has Been Saved '89 aren't duplicated on the re-issues. 

so much bitching about what Queen re-re-re-re-releases.... they do a little exclusivity and everyone's up in arms...

I remember reading the thread on here about the Singles Collection Volume 4 last year and GT came on and said something remarkably similar to what he's saying now.  ''These releases are meant for the average man on the street, they are not meant for the fans'' etc etc etc.

Sorry, GT.  Can you not see that you have answered your own questions about why the fans on these boards are moaning so much?!

They are moaning because it seems as though Queen Productions has no intention of releasing something that IS aimed at the real fans.  We have every right to feel frustrated that every time something 'new' comes out it turns out to be yet another product aimed at everyone except the hard-core fans.  

How about a good-will gesture, GT?  How about giving us some indication of if/when QP intends to issue a product with the really serious fans in mind?  A box-set, an archival release, a live CD/DVD that isn't from the 1980's?  Something - anything - along those lines.

How about it, eh?  Then, GT, you might find that the fans don't moan nearly so much.

Just a thought.

I don't like it that these re-releases don't have tons of new unreleased recordings. What I DO think however is that it's a shame that all the ofifical stuff like b-sides and 12" mixes havent' been included. Imagine some of the following:

The Works:

Radio Ga Ga (Extended Version)
Radio Ga Ga (Instrumental)
I Go Crazy
I Want To Break Free (Single Remix)
I Want To Break Free (Extended Version)
Machines (Instrumental Remix)
It's A Hard Life (Extended Remix)
Hammer To Fall (Single Edit)
Hammer To Fall (Headbangers)
Keep Passing... (Extended)
Man On The Prowl (Extended)
Thank God It's Christmas

A Kind of Magic:

One Vision (Single Edit)
One Vision (Extended Vision)
Blurred Vision
A Kind of Magic (Extended Version)
A Dozen Red Roses For My Darling
Friends Will Be Friends (Extended)
Who Wants To Live Forever (Single Edit)
Forever
Pain Is So Close To Pleasure (Single Remix)
Pain Is So Close To Pleasure (Extended Version)

and The Miracle had the original "Another Miracle" album:

I Want It All (Single Version)
Hang On In There
Breakthru (12" Version)
Stealin'
The Invisible Man (12" Version)
Hijack My Heart
Scandal (12" Version)
My Life Has Been Saved
Chinese Torture

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Now, that would be worthy bonusdiscs IMO (ofcourse 5+ demo's tacked on would be even bettere). All officially released stuff, but IMO it would be awesome to have a COMPLETE package of every album period recoridng officially released. I think it's a disgrace stuff like Blurred Vision and A Dozen... is not being included in what are probably the definitive remasters for the forthcoming 10-15 years.

Isn't the instrumental Machines a glaring omission on The Works bonus disc?

Hey, it's Queen Productions - what do you expect?

Good tracklists Pim - imagine that thinking on the earlier stuff to. Here's my rant from the other thread - since writing I have compiled these discs for all albums featuring stand alone versions, cuts from The Eye and stuff like the other Live Killer tracks used as b-sides etc (like they stuck LK's LOML on Night at the Opera) and they are stunning discs. Yes, it's all available, but on a different label, and the main defense was that these issues are to get stuff out on Island.

Lets start with Batch 3. Having thought about it now, the reason
this 3rd batch is so insulting is that it would have taken NOTHING for
them to do this in far tidier way. Was there really a massive boardroom
fight about adding, say, 'Scandal' 12" and MLHBS '89 to The Miracle
bonus disc? Yes, we have those tracks already, but that would make a far
more handsome release. And that feeling of untidiness stretches back
through the whole campaign. I'm really not bothered about the
missing demos etc we know exist - indeed I've been really pleased with
things like 'Feelings Feelings' coming out (no one expected that) and
there is some FANTASTIC stuff on these and the earlier releases but the
overall vibe is that it's shoddy and incomplete. Alarm bells started
ringing when they left the intro of 'Seven Seas Of Rhye' on the fade out
of ITLOTG '86. Stuff like that makes me think no care has been taken.
Fair enough QP have been in a bit of a bind - for instance the Jealousy
'Bass Drumgate' was probably done with the best intentions but where
does it stop? Why are we left guessing at the motives behind inclusion
and non-inclusion? With the wealth of previously material that ~hasn't~
been included (incredible when you consider GT saying that Island want
to get it all on their catalogue) why waste space with stuff like new
instrumentals etc? I'd have even been happy for the more complete
tracks from The Eye to be added to the respective albums (I'm listening
to some of that now - how good / interesting do 'Fight From The
Inside', 'More Of That Jazz' or 'Was It All Worth It' sound?) I think
we're better off compiling our own versions of these bonus discs and
then torrenting them for others. Not here, obviously. I'd like to see
that go to court and a Queen fan judge totally seeing our point of view.
'We've taken it upon our selves to protect Queen's legacy as they
obviously couldn't careless M'lud'. See, it isn't about what we
have or what they deem suitable for release, it's beyond that. It's that
the catalogue is now scrappy for future generations. I mean - even
things like the track markings on segued tracks is the same as on the
old CDs! EVERYONE knows about these errors and after 20 odd years it
hasn't been sorted out. Like I said, I'm not fussed about
absense of genuine unreleased stuff - that's not really relevant as we
have been given great stuff on these releases and that is a different
set of motives that oversees inclusion of them. Although the cynic in me
is pleased that a loop of 'PROPERTY OF QUEEN PRODUCTIONS' isn't
blarring out over every morsel we're given. In fact, one motive might be
that those certain people know that if they give us these demos and
rough takes they've ben playing on the circuit for years they won't make
a mint playing them at conventions. But i digress. A much better
way to do these would have been a case of simply compiling ALL
previously issued existing variations of album session stuff onto the
discs - even those Japanese Karaoke instrumentals, non album B sides,
12" mixes, single versions, material from The Eye. Yes we all have it a
dozen times but it would MAKE SENSE. Only then should the unreleased and
live stuff been considered in addition. Boy oh boy those would've been
handsome sets. Other bands do it - and naturally some albums have more
material than others but at least the philosophy is constant through the
whole set. That said, I'm in two minds about them releasing the
audio for tracks we know there is video for - IE the Montreal &
Wembly tracks. While it has been great adding these to the catalogue,
why cheapen them by removing the visuals? Surely with the bonus video
material these would have been ideal candidates to use in that, freeing
up space on the bonus discs for more
'audio' material. A much
tidier way to do it. I've come to terms with using chronologially
incorrect live tracks on albums - messy as it is - but I think it can be
justified by virtue of commercialism and simply that there is not more
early live stuff to hand. And that is assuming that they are not
trailers for upcoming new live releases. No, that would be silly!
Another issue that worries me - how clumsy is it that they've added BBC
material to other releases, but I assume that Queen At The Beeb will
not be released. They missed a real good opportunity there putting out
an expanded BBC album. It would be the final straw (there has been a lot
of those recently) if they DID put out At The Beeb but added the
leftover tracks to it leaving these already issued ones orphaned on the
bonus EPs. I can imagine the response would be 'we didn't want to rip
off the fans' - but you've just left yourself with a messy catalogue
that does absolutely nothing for the ages! I'm STUNNED that the BBC WWRY
wasn't on NOTW, having been given away with The Sun as it was. So it's
out there already! A complete At The Beeb would be commercial if
that's their problem - the TOTP GOFLB would obviously be on there -
repetition of tracks is inevitable, but hey, this is CLASSIC material
that has formed the blueprint of how bands should be after. It's
quite easy to compile a 'what should've been' list following the rules
set out up there. Try it. It's fun. Sadly, you get the feeling if that
sense of commitment and joy was shown by who ever was in charge of these
2011 reissues we'd be having a very different discussion piece.

At first I was disappointed with the Bonus stuff, but I'm actually happy to have the B-sides, etc. with each album in CD format. I'm cool with it.  I also find it interesting that there are 6-7 tracks on almost every bonus E.P.  I'm bummed that "Hang On In There" and "Chinese Torture," along with the 12" Invisible Man is on the Bonus E.P. of "The Miracle," since that was included on the CD versions already.  Not very much bonus there.  But, I'll be happy with the other B-sides.  I do wish "A Dozen Red Roses for My Darling" was included.  Still haven't heard that track.  :(  Not sure why "Friends Will Be Friends Will Be Friends" is included, but not "A Kind of A King of Magic."  Weird.

These releases, as was stated earlier, is not an anthology.  For some reason, I think that an anthology is coming...but maybe that's wishful thinking!

Ive said elsewhere but while I'm not keen on batch 3, but taken as a whole, the bonus material is an awesome anthology. That's how I listen to it all - removed from the albums, just in order. It's nice and I'm looking forward to adding these tracks to that.

My problem is that if they are holding stuff back for a proper boxset (IE the other 12" mixes, ADRRFMD for example) it cheapens these stand alone discs. Sure it would've been better to compile all the attendant album extra stuff on the discs before adding the demos etc.

And yet, a total bummer about The Miracle - should''ve at least had CT and HOIT on the main disc like the original CD and made room for the missing stuff on the bonus EP. silly sausages.