Queen Albums

Hi, I'm new to these boards.
I want to eventually get all Queen studio albums, but I keep hearing about Hollywood Records here in the states editing songs on them.
Anyone have any suggestions on if i should get imports and if there are any good websites that i can buy them from?
Thanks

Good timing, dude. The new japanese releases have nice new layouts and 2001 remasters. Good timing if you're a new fan.

Peace,
Adam.

Ebay

The Hollywood versions with no reported problems (other than some very bad bonus tracks) are:

Queen
Queen II
A Night At The Opera
A Day At The Races
Jazz
Flash Gordon
Hot Space
The Works
Innuendo
Made In Heaven

Sheer Heart Attack & News of the World had mastering errors which were corrected, so after 12 years if you buy a new copy, they should be fine.

The Game has a mastering error which hasn't been reported to be fixed.. avoid it.

A Kind Of Magic has the whole actual album, but replaces two original bonus tracks with one new one.

The Miracle apparently still has the edited "I Want It All".

I suggest http://amazon.co.uk for imports. They've been good to me so far.

Also, if you need the first 8 albums, you can get them all for roughly $40 brand new, 24 bit remasters in miniature album sleeves and a nice velvet covered box with booklet called "Crown Jewels". Disney (Hollywood's parent company) is selling them on closeout right now at Ebay for $35. They do not include any bonus tracks, but only a few of those were worthwhile anyway and it's a heck of a savings.. about $5 per album.

As Adam said - wait 2 months and import the 2001 remasters in cardsleeves from Japan.

Deacon Fan, there are mastering probs on albums like Queen2 with markers, i.e. where one track finishes and another begins.
I suggest staying clear of the hollywood record versions. The best in the world are the japanese remasters. 2nd would be the UK versions and third goes to HR.

Peace,
Adam.

I've built my collection out of Hollywood Records, and it's all fine (aside from a scratch I accidentally made on SHA the first time I listened). Also, The Miracle does not still have the single edit of I Want It All.

Some of you guys assume everyone to be rich or something. I was just answering the question about Hollywood since it was mentioned. And I don't consider track markers to be a mastering error. On crossfades, it doesn't really matter as they were meant to be heard continously.

The prize for worst track markings goes to the U.K. first editions, with things like the end of 'You Take My Breath Away' at the beginning of 'Long Away' and the same with Good Company & Bo Rhap, but those weren't crossfades so there's no excuse. ;)

The 2001 Japanese remasters sell for $35 each on average when purchased in the states. That may not be an option for everyone.

i would be rich if i had won last nite's mega millions LOL

"Also, The Miracle does not still have the single edit of I Want It All."

Indeed it doesn't have the 'single edit'. Instead, Hollywood's version has a unique edit which removes part of the first chorus.. instead of hearing the chorus lines 2 times, with guitar coming in the 2nd time, we only hear it once (with the guitar, so they edited right to the 2nd time). This makes the song run approx 4:32 instead of the usual 4:40.

There is also a rather cool edit on 'Rocks' which uses the a cappella intro edited onto the album version, and also runs about 4:31. This version is extra-cool since I was doing this edit myself for years before 'Rocks' came out. Great minds think alike :)

Anyway, tonight I went and bought "The Miracle" along with the Wembley DVD, and the edit is still there. But at least I have my beloved 12" mix of Scandal on CD once again.

What was the mastering error on The Game?

lol, Deacon Fan. I got Wembley with my Miracle CD too!

Deacon Fan, whether you like it or not, the track markers are mastering errors. Those are added at the mastering stage.

"The prize for worst track markings goes to the U.K. first editions"

Those, which are no longer available. So, why bring them up? Search for Record Collector and check out the problems they list on all the Queen releases. HR versions feature prominently...

"The 2001 Japanese remasters sell for $35 each on average when purchased in the states. That may not be an option for everyone."

Yikes, where did you get that price??

Peace,
Adam.

hehe.. good prices on both too, 14.99 & 17.99.

The error on The Game is the intro of 'Crazy Little Thing'.. it sounds like the tape starts at the wrong speed, kinda slurred. Not a *major* error, some probably wouldn't notice, but it's not right.

There's also a guy who claims that 'Save Me' is missing a piece of the guitar solo, but I don't recall noticing that myself..

http://www.queenzone.com/resources/articles/files/24732992000.htm

"The second painful error is on ‘Save Me’, after the line ‘Each night I cry, I still believe the lie, I love you till I die’
comes Brian’s guitar break, in fact it falls directly in the word Die, but very noticeable a slice of that solo has been erased, and I found detracting, that kind of mistakes, may never happen during remastering."

Adam, I was just noting that there have been problems with many editions of the discs, not just Hollywood. And I was going by what cduniverse.com charges for the 2001s.. and also I see that Amazon.com has 'The Game' at 39.99 for the upcoming release (it says Feb. 16, 2004)

I'm assuming MattJC is in America or Canada since he mentioned Hollywood's releases. Perhaps you guys in the U.K. can get the Japanese versions a little cheaper?

Welcome to the list, Matt!
I've been a Queen collector for the past thirty-odd years and have to say I still love the vinyl because it was the first thing I had (along with 8 tracks and cassettes) until CDs were manufactured. I've got them too, and the SACDs, HDCDs, 24 karat gold CDs and now DVD-A. I love the Japanese remastered versions that were released two years ago (and I'm still adding them to my collection one by one). You should check out Ebay and the boxed set called Crown Jewels that Deals At Disney is offering again.
Now that the paper-sleeves Toshiba remasters are coming out (the second set to be released on my birthday, haha!) -- watch out, my house is getting a second mortgage! (LOL)