A Few Things Explained - in reference to the recent Dutch Queen Day

[QUOTE] [b]Doga wrote:[/b]


This On Air with the BBC tracks is perfect...
[/QUOTE]


Except it isn't, if you believe Greg's previously published article that March of the Black Queen had some vocal ad libs and was remixed, yet it isn't on this set.

I will also reserve judgement on "perfect" until I hear the mix and edits that are on 'On Air' too.

[QUOTE] [b]YourValentine wrote:[/b]

I would not hold my breath for GB to return to this thread and answer questions. After all, he did open it to promote the 3D book and his live book which was not an issue on the Dutch Queendag. It's just a part of the game.

Look at what GB says about the "On Air" release: it has the six BBC sessions plus "some other surprises". Since there has been the press release in the mean time, we already know about the "surprises" and can wonder if GB really thinks there is a surprise fans should be happy about or if he is having a private joke about the nature of this surprise. Either way I can only recommend to stop hoping for the band to change their ways. It's obvious that the remaining two members have no interest in the roots and artistic history of their own music and no interest in their most loyal fans, so we should reconsider this loyalty and maybe follow the example and give up our expectations. If the only incitement for the band is money and how they can market more of the same. we should care more about our money and not waste it on this second class crap.

[/QUOTE]


GB: YourValentine... I would suggest that you wait until you have QUEEN ON AIR in your hands, and in your CD player or on your turntable (however you choose to listen to it) and only THEN make up your mind on the content - you can offer an informed opinion then. It's surely better than the largely fruitless speculation you're involved in here.

If you were going out for a Chinese meal this coming Saturday night, would you come to QZ in the meantime, five days in advance, and guess as to the quality of the chicken you haven't tasted yet? That would surely be a non-sensical thing to do, and yet you're doing the same with the Queen product you have yet to purchase.

You may find the sweet'n'sour chicken contains ingredients you did not expect and that it tastes better than you expected when you were guessing how it would taste!

To Vali, who wrote...

For the very first time in my life I won´t be buying a Queen release like a blind zombie just for the sake of keeping my collection complete.


GB: Quite right. Why would you? Why would anyone buy ANYTHING "like a blind zombie just for the sake of keeping my collection complete" ?

[QUOTE] [b]soxtalon wrote:[/b]

Perhaps people are being respectful because he has been respectful in this thread? [/QUOTE]


GB: Yes soxtalon, exactly. Thank you for pointing out this to the people to whom obvious things seem not to occur.
In the past I have been rude or impolite or disrespectful only to people who were rude or impolite or disrespectful to me. And I stand by that.

[QUOTE] [b]Benn Kempster wrote:[/b]

The more civil the approach to Greg, the likelier he is to return. Although he does come across as a delicate little flower at times, its hardly surprising he's here so infrequently. I've been as guilty as anyone in the past at hauling him over coals, but, surely, even GB can't be responsible for the continual level of incompetence? Only the band and Jim Beach can be at fault here and have their decision-making questioned.[/QUOTE]


GB: Hi Benn K. Some your points intrigued me...

BK: The more civil the approach to Greg, the likelier he is to return....

GB: Yes this is generally true. But sometimes it's a simple question of being bored. Sometimes the tone and 'vibe' on QZ is so similar in so many threads - almost every other thread I read; the same tired predictable moaning or slagging someone off, that I find it too tedious to endure for more than a day or two at a time. It genuinely staggers me how so many of you put up with it over a sustained period. I feel like I need to rush out of the building for fresh air.

Yes, I'm more likely to respond to respectful people than to ignorant or rude persons that already have their opinion fixed about me before they even ask their question or make any point - which would be tedious for anyone, surely, not just me. I cannot be bothered with such people, no more than they can with me. That shouldn't be a surprise.

BK: Although he does come across as a delicate little flower at times, its hardly surprising he's here so infrequently....

GB: I can be sensitive sometimes, over-sensitive too, like most people. I generally have more shit aimed at me on QZ than most other people do, and that is predictable because generally there are a lot of resentful or envious or jealous or bitter (call it what you like) people out there that have no, or very little, voice at home or in their place of work, so come to this forum to vent at someone else... invariably me, if I'm around.

That's not an issue for me like it might have been a decade ago because I have a thick skin. I've said before: I give as good as I get. No more, no less. I don't take it seriously. It's only a Queen chat forum, it's not a life or death situation. It's not a problem if people want to blame me for everything put out in the name of Queen that they perceive as wrong or bad. As long as the people close to me know the real score; my family, friends, work colleagues, that's all that concerns me. And they do.

BK: I've been as guilty as anyone in the past at hauling him over coals...

GB: I never mind constructive comment from you or anyone, Benn. People are entitled to their opinion of course, as am I. I occasionally take exception when certain morons on QZ come at me with their clearly biassed views and with their opinions already made up, regardless of what I reply... so what's the point in me offering a reply in that scenario? No point. So invariably I don't bother. Would you? And then they get even more shitty and resentful and wonder why I bugger off.

Of course I bugger off from here a lot. That is the sensible thing to do. More of you should do so. This is generally not a happy or uplifting place to be. I would liken it sometimes to a dental surgery, in that you might learn something useful or necessary if you can stick around long enough, but generally you'd rather be some place else - where the sun is shining and the conversation stirs you, lifts your spirits - rather than smashes your spirit under foot.

There really are some negative people on QZ and I find their collective vibe oppressive from time to time - or just plain draining. I'd rather be out walking my dog. I don't get why you guys stay down here in the dark for so long. You need to get to a brighter place.

I'm always up for a constructive exchange of views, but only if people appreciate that, unlike them, I cannot talk about everything I'd like to. I have to be discrete and be guarded in what I can impart. Why should that be so hard for so many QZ-ers to fathom?

[QUOTE] [b]cmsdrums wrote:[/b]

[QUOTE] [b]Doga wrote:[/b]


This On Air with the BBC tracks is perfect...
[/QUOTE]


Except it isn't, if you believe Greg's previously published article that March of the Black Queen had some vocal ad libs and was remixed, yet it isn't on this set.

I will also reserve judgement on "perfect" until I hear the mix and edits that are on 'On Air' too.

[/QUOTE]



GB: Black Queen is absent from QOA because it was the standard familiar album version broadcast on air, NOT a newly recorded BBC session alternative. I was wrong to say that it was different... it just sounded different on the knackered old cassette version I had back in the late 80s which was the recording I wrote about... and which ran slightly too slow and offered a rather strange take of Black Queen which did NOT sound much like the Q2 cut... but it was.

If there WAS a BBC session version, of course we would have featured it on Queen On Air.

[QUOTE] [b]YourValentine wrote:[/b]

It's obvious that the remaining two members have no interest in the roots and artistic history of their own music and no interest in their most loyal fans, so we should reconsider this loyalty and maybe follow the example and give up our expectations.

[/QUOTE]


GB: This is precisely what I was taking about elsewhere in this thread. You've been saying things like this for years and years, YourValentine, and yet here you still are, still saying it, and no doubt you'll still be saying the same things again in the future, and still you'll be here, with no plans to change anything. When will you make the change you so frequently endorse, I wonder. Sounds to me like such a break would be beneficial to your heavy and disillusioned soul.

[QUOTE] [b]GB: Queen Archivist wrote:[/b]

GB: Black Queen is absent from QOA because it was the standard familiar album version broadcast on air, NOT a newly recorded BBC session alternative. I was wrong to say that it was different... it just sounded different on the knackered old cassette version I had back in the late 80s which was the recording I wrote about... and which ran slightly too slow and offered a rather strange take of Black Queen which did NOT sound much like the Q2 cut... but it was.

If there WAS a BBC session version, of course we would have featured it on Queen On Air.
[/QUOTE]

Thank you very much for clearing that one up. There's nothing wrong with having made an honest mistake years ago (we've all been guilty of that) and nothing wrong with changing your stance once you've had access to better sources.

Greg: do you understand that many long-time fans feel, at the very least, mocked by the *fact* that over the past years, the kinds of live-releases fans were asking for were dismissed as not interesting to a general public, only to be faced with a box-set for Queen On Air that is interesting only to the most devoted fans, being 50% interview material?

Don't get me wrong - I'm very happy with the 2cd with the, apparently complete, BBC Sessions, it's something I've been waiting for literally for years. I was also VERY happy with the Rainbow set, and I bought the big box to show my enthousiasm for these kinds of releases. But I cannot comprehend why a 6cd deluxe edition of the BBC sessions is supplemented with one disc with *butchered* concert recordings (come on Greg, snippets from THREE concerts on one disc?) and THREE discs with interviews. Are interviews interesting? Absolutely. Are any but the most devoted fans going to listen to them more than a few times? Absolutely not.

You complain about a lot of the comments you get on QZ. I get that, and you're not wrong. But you (or the people you answer to, I don't know what you do and do not communicate) are also ignoring valuable input from not just fans, but some of the most knowledgeable and competent Queen-fans in the world. We have people on this site who have done much documentary work and research into many aspects of Queen's history, people who work wonders on restoring bootleg recordings and much more. You (meaning everyone at Queen Productions, not just you personally) could benefit greatly from what we have to offer, but you choose not to, and instead lump everyone on the "moaning-trolls" pile.

Moreover, QueenZone offers you a very good look at your fan-base. The heavily-moderated QOL does not give you as honest an insight into what moves your potential customers. You might not always like what you see, but it is unwise to ignore unwelcome truths. Please, in the future, use the fan-base to your advantage. Find out what kind of additional material would make them buy deluxe box-sets of releases that would, in their basic form, appeal to a general public.

Many other great bands are currently outperforming Queen with the quality of their releases. Archival materials of all kinds are in vogue now. Were the Freddie-box released today, it would be a hot item, but 3 discs of interviews are not. But now you are at risk of missing out on this wave of popularity for these kinds of releases. It is unlikely to last forever.

Seeing as you've returned Greg, any chance you could address my Rainbow query? If you do, I promise that I'll stop spamming it in every thread in which you post ;)

[QUOTE] [b]GinjaNinja wrote:[/b]

Thanks for taking the time to answer some queries Greg, are you allowed to say why Big Spender/Bama Lama Bama Loo from the March Rainbow show weren't included on the release? Are there rights issues with the latter, as I notice it is one of the Golders Green tracks which also won't be on "On Air"?

If you're able to suggest it at any point, a Crazy Tour box with a Hammersmith DVD & Newcastle on CD would pretty much be my dream release…[/QUOTE]

If I was Queen Archivist I would give you load of moaning wingers fuck all. Throw you a few scraps now and then and watch you all combust.

[QUOTE] [b]mooghead wrote:[/b]

If I was Queen Archivist I would give you load of moaning whingers fuck all. Throw you a few scraps now and then and watch you all combust.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE] [b]GB: Queen Archivist wrote:[/b]

[QUOTE] [b]cmsdrums wrote:[/b]

[QUOTE] [b]Doga wrote:[/b]


This On Air with the BBC tracks is perfect...
[/QUOTE]


Except it isn't, if you believe Greg's previously published article that March of the Black Queen had some vocal ad libs and was remixed, yet it isn't on this set.

I will also reserve judgement on "perfect" until I hear the mix and edits that are on 'On Air' too.

[/QUOTE]



GB: Black Queen is absent from QOA because it was the standard familiar album version broadcast on air, NOT a newly recorded BBC session alternative. I was wrong to say that it was different... it just sounded different on the knackered old cassette version I had back in the late 80s which was the recording I wrote about... and which ran slightly too slow and offered a rather strange take of Black Queen which did NOT sound much like the Q2 cut... but it was.

If there WAS a BBC session version, of course we would have featured it on Queen On Air.
[/QUOTE]


Thanks Greg - good to finally 'put this one to bed'.

thx a lot Greg! question answered!

[QUOTE] [b]GB: Queen Archivist wrote:[/b]

GB: Black Queen is absent from QOA because it was the standard familiar album version broadcast on air, NOT a newly recorded BBC session alternative. I was wrong to say that it was different... it just sounded different on the knackered old cassette version I had back in the late 80s which was the recording I wrote about... and which ran slightly too slow and offered a rather strange take of Black Queen which did NOT sound much like the Q2 cut... but it was.

[/QUOTE]


Now THIS is the sort of information we'd like to hear from QPL.