Greg Brooks - Is his archiving work now done?

I do think there is a sense that they are holding a lot of stuff back, let's not forget this ballad collection was good to go 12 months ago, I believe the powers that be in the record company wanted a new track or two to make it more saleable ! The tour of course delayed things, and we've ended up with a hash job !

[QUOTE] [b]MercurialFreddie wrote:[/b]
Also it has been said by Greg that if they'd release finished tracks which are collecting dust in their archives than we would get two full CDs of "new" tracks and also couple of bonus tracks. If we were to assume that it's true then releasing all of this isn't reasonable from the Universal point of view ($$$). So either they will really release album full of unheard songs or we will get from time to time compilation with "new" songs. [/QUOTE]

Huh? Did he really say that? I find it hard to believe they have two albums worth of unreleased tracks when they had to scrape to get MIH and then the abomination I call Queen Whatever

They didn't had to scrape. It was Freddie's will that MiH should be released 4 years after he's gone (that's why it took considerable amount of time). EMI also was not easy on them. They wasn't satisfied with presented product and insisted that at least one track should be up-tempo, that's why we got I Was Born To Love You "reworked" on that album. What's more, MiH is a concept album so only those demos could be finished which were fitting context-wise.

As to the Queen Forever, Brian talked about "couple of tracks", not a full album. Of course I forgot about that and expected full REAL studio album. What is more we don't know how Universal's staff reacted to the final product, it could be that they put some pressure on, add this to MJ Estate's attitude and of the "couple of tracks" you are left with one MJ track, one unreleased and one with completely new backing track.
BTW they should have added original demos to the second disc so we would see with what they got to start and how much work has been put into the tracks.

[QUOTE] [b]fofum wrote:[/b]

Reworking old material is one thing... but reworking old classics... Are you insane??? That's a terrible idea. The thought of Roger and Brian going wild without Freddie and John's input is terrifying.
Mad The Swine? Maybe... Perhaps a psychedelic reboot for the modern age. Hangman? Definitely. I Want To Break Free? Don't be ridiculous. It's a standard, and best left well alone.[/QUOTE]


i checked the previews of the songs on itunes and are any of them reworked...they didn't sound like to me, so i'm wondering what they (brian and roger) were referring to.

[QUOTE] [b]fofum wrote:[/b]

Reworking old material is one thing... but reworking old classics... Are you insane??? That's a terrible idea. The thought of Roger and Brian going wild without Freddie and John's input is terrifying.
Mad The Swine? Maybe... Perhaps a psychedelic reboot for the modern age. Hangman? Definitely. I Want To Break Free? Don't be ridiculous. It's a standard, and best left well alone.[/QUOTE]


i checked the previews of the songs on itunes and are any of them reworked...they didn't sound like to me, so i'm wondering what they (brian and roger) were referring to.

Some b sides, like blurred vision and a dozen red roses... is not on the bonus EP, and not all the extendeds version is at the 12´ collection

The b sides are available on the 2011 remasters, and the 12" collection came out with the original Rainbow box set, so so I'm not sure they'll be huge demand for that??




Some b sides, like blurred vision and a dozen red roses... is not on the bonus EP, and not all the extendeds version is at the 12´ collection

Everyone on this forum continually moans about what they would like to see on the releases and what isn't. Hey, everyone is entitled to their opinion. That's cool, and believe me, Brian and Rog ARE dedicated to bringing out new releases to the fans that are worthwhile. Worthwhile in more ways than one, yes financially it has to make sense, because to package these releases takes money, and if Queen Productions cannot cover costs and make a profit, what is the point, because they can't continue. So it's important for them to grab new fans and spread the music of Queen to new audiences as well as satisfying the fans that got them there in the first place. It is such a fine line, and yes, of all the vaulted material available, Brian and Roger have the last say about their music. That is actually quite a rare thing these days, usually labels own the music and the artist gets a percentage of anything released. Queen were clever enough to ensure this did not happen, but when you begin mixing labels and ownership rights, ie the MJ tracks. That is when legal rubbish can take over in the end of owned material. Because believe it or not, Brian and Roger don't own any Freddie Mercury music. That right goes to Jim Beach, who will let the remainder of Queen get what they want in that respect. But to the releases, one thing to remember, a deluxe set was in the works as far back as 2000 for the Queen material. A version of that still remains, but the more released now, the less released at later dates. Queen were clever in 2004 onwards as they made the decision to split the 'Anthology' up as sell it off for spare parts. Meaning it did't cost more than it would have selling/creating it in album size chunks for people to buy, or even one giant box set. The Singles Collection, The Remastered Albums, The Remastered Original Vinyl's, The Various Live releases on both CD and DVD, the various books and compilation releases ( Deep Cuts, Forever, Bonus Ep's and Greatest Hits Remastered). Again the more they put out now, the smaller the sets get for the material everyone craves after on these forums. These types of forums crawl with people so desperate to get that material that some even remaster low quality demos and create fan made mixes. Which is great and keeps the spirit alive, but only on these forums. So in the public eye, it's the product releases themselves that do the same for everyone else. Think of it like this, for every decent release, there needs to be 2 rehashes to keep awareness, and the Brand name Queen alive in the minds of people. Basically preparing everyone for the decent releases. plus it gives others time to get playing and releasing new material as well..ie Lambert, Ellis, Orbit, Williams and all the others of the past they have worked with. Just a thought.

[QUOTE] [b]pestgrid wrote:[/b]

Worthwhile in more ways than one, yes financially it has to make sense, because to package these releases takes money, and if Queen Productions cannot cover costs and make a profit, what is the point, because they can't continue. ./QUOTE]

Well I think only hardcore fans are going to purchase relatively obscure material and demos etc, so make them available as a download only. Hell, charge a little extra if they need to stay in business. How much can that cost? They did it with those crappy bootlegs.

and still do....

One would assume the archiving will continue until Brian and Roger have said they wish it to stop... Whilst it may well be slower now then before, I would imagine they still find things from time to time that should be brought to B&R's attention.