News Of The World 40th Anniversary Box Set - ITS OFFICIAL!

Does anyone know the mail address of Jim Beach (or his office in QPL) ?

SYW and It's Late are awesome, but, good as it is, you can tell why they only played SOTS once (?) live, as it doesn't really suit Fred's voice. Love Who Needs You too! My one niggle is the fade out on My Melancholy Blues. Why did they have to do that when you can hear it comes to a natural end? Bloody annoying!

They played SOTS at least twice as what's on the release is a compilation of two shows.

The recording quality of this SOTS tape sounds rough to me but I love this roughness. Genuinely I love such raw materials.
Furthermore it thrilled me as the four delivered a much bluesier looser version of the song.
The quality of sound doesn't matter if they play well. Release the whole concert, please!

By the way, what NOTW song did they play after SOTS?

Freddie sings SOTS much better than Brian did. Suddenly, it's a decent song.

Well, that's sort of a given. Brian's got a great voice, but Frederick was way better.

It sort of reminds me of Eagles and the 'Victim of Love' debate.

Really, "Frederick" had a better voice than Brian?
Thank Jesus ("Yeshua ben Yosef haNotzri" for those who prefer legal names) your educated guesses are free, otherwise I'd ask for my money back.

[QUOTE] [b]aristide1 wrote:[/b]

Really, "Frederick" had a better voice than Brian?[/QUOTE]

Yes, there's a reason why Frederick was the lead singer of the band, rather than Brian.

[QUOTE] [b]aristide1 wrote:[/b]

Thank Jesus ("Yeshua ben Yosef haNotzri" for those who prefer legal names) your educated guesses are free[/QUOTE]

He's not the one to thank for that. Neither is his zoophilic mum.

[QUOTE] [b]aristide1 wrote:[/b]

... ben Yosef haNotzri[/QUOTE]

Yosef wasn't his dad. According to the (absurd and idiotic) legend, his dad was a pigeon. He was, therefore, Yeshua ben Yoná. I've no idea if the pigeon was actually from Nazareth, though, so I'll just leave it at 'pigeon' or 'dove.'

[QUOTE] [b]aristide1 wrote:[/b]

otherwise I'd ask for my money back.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, but you wouldn't get it. If you were so stupid to give me (or anyone else) money to tell you that Lord Teeth was a better singer than the Doctor, you'd deserve not to have it back, ever.

[QUOTE] [b]MercurialFreddie wrote:[/b]

Does anyone know the mail address of Jim Beach (or his office in QPL) ?[/QUOTE]

Jim can’t get to his pc to respond to emails....it’s buried underneath a pile of £50 notes

The live Sleeping On The Sidewalk is awesome. Freddie sounds amazing.

There is a bit in the documentary which begs the question: why do they have to meddle with the audio ? In the segment when we see Freddie singing the intro to My Melancholy Blues (BBC version) right before he stops singing, the last words sung "So, come(?), me" sound like they were taken from different takes of the song... Listen closely and then you will even hear the cuts between these words..

As has been said before, if it's the sound quality that's preventing them from releasing those recordings then they make a huge mistake!
It's exactly that kind of recordings many fans and enthusiasts want to hear. Even if the recording is not perfect; it's still very very good. All instruments can be heard and a mindblowing performance can be enjoyed!

I'd be more than willing to pay to have full Queen shows in that mono soundboard quality. It's still perfectly good sound. Just keep it raw and complete - and I'll buy 'em!

Is SOTS two versions stuck together? Very slight change half way through?

Not a criticism. Just an observation.

I've listened through the "Raw Sessions". Some initial thoughts:

* Freddie has probably never sung better and more creatively than right here. He could do anything with the voice in this studio shape. He is all over the place experimenting with the vocal lines and ad libs. He goes from absolutely soaring in It's Late, to to a breathy, soft, playful delivery on "Who Needs You".

* The studio banter before and after songs, while interesting and sometimes amusing, feels a bit pasted in and sometimes enters before the song has even concluded. I feel like this will get annoying when you've listened to a track a few times.

* I wish they'd stop using melodyne on Freddie, and so extensively at that. It's absolutely unnecessary; he is already held in the highest regard as a signer by almost anyone, and it's frankly a bit disrespectful doing that to a dead guys vocals and selling them as raw and genuine. Imagine other legends being auto-tuned posthumously like that - Elvis, Bowie, Lennon? Unthinkable!

The mixes are nice in general, though the sounds is a touch brick-walled in the heavier tracks.

Best tracks: Sleeping On The Sidewalk (Live), It's Late. GDML and Spread Your Wings are really good too.