Frank
Politician
Posts: 754 
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Post by Frank on Aug 4, 2022 20:28:50 GMT
In the recent news article regarding Brian May's upcoming performance in Armenia, it mentioned that Brian had recorded a version of Is This The World We Created with Monserrat Caballé. I instantly searched for it on Apple Music and found it. I don't for the life of me remember ever hearing about this until now. This one totally got by me! Do we know how this got started? I imagine Monserrat wanted to pay tribute to her departed friend, and asked for Brian to assist with the accompaniment. Details if you have them, please.
The arrangement is nice, but I can't quite work out what guitar Brian is using...is it the Red Special? Monserrat sounds beautiful as always, though I can't say it fits with the song...but hey, that's no fault on her. She's magnificent anyway.
The rest of the album is good too. For those interested, it's called The Island of Christianity: Armenia & Artsakh. It appears to be a posthumous release (2021). As we all know, she passed away in 2018. Absolutely beautiful album and it'd be very accessible to even those that aren't into classical/opera. A good melody is a good melody. A good harmony is a good harmony. Genre shouldn't matter.
Note: If the moderators feel this topic should be moved elsewhere, I'll understand. I don't consider it a Brian May solo project, and I didn't want it to get lost in a section not specifically designated to Queen discussions, which is why I posted it in general discussion.
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Post by badboybez on Aug 4, 2022 20:36:41 GMT
Nice find
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Lord Fickle
Global Moderator 
Posts: 20,922
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Post by Lord Fickle on Aug 4, 2022 20:40:33 GMT
Very nice. 👍
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Golden Salmon
Wordles & Heardles 
Politician
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Post by Golden Salmon on Aug 4, 2022 21:19:52 GMT
Never heard this before!
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Post by 2sharppencils on Aug 4, 2022 22:38:03 GMT
Me too! I followed the link in the article - I don't recall hearing about this before - I agree the version doesn't quite sound right somehow
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Post by angusscrimm on Aug 4, 2022 22:48:09 GMT
Some of it sounds lovely, some of it just doesn't seem right. A strange, beautiful, wonderful and weird find!
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vh
Ploughman
Posts: 272
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Post by vh on Aug 5, 2022 1:21:12 GMT
[quote author=" Frank" source="/post/55990/thread" timestamp=", but I can't quite work out what guitar Brian is using...is it the Red Special? . [/quote] Pretty sure it’s a Gibson Chet Atkins. Brian used one to record the original song on The Works, also on The Works tour and Magic tour. It featured on the Rock N’Roll medley on that tour. |
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Frank
Politician
Posts: 754
Likes: 681
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Post by Frank on Aug 5, 2022 1:42:32 GMT
[quote author=" Frank" source="/post/55990/thread" timestamp=", but I can't quite work out what guitar Brian is using...is it the Red Special? . Pretty sure it’s a Gibson Chet Atkins. Brian used one to record the original song on The Works, also on The Works tour and Magic tour. It featured on the Rock N’Roll medley on that tour.[/quote] This makes sense, thank you!! |
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Post by katydyd5 on Aug 5, 2022 11:39:57 GMT
What a find, Frank! I have to say honestly that I don't like it. Montserrat's voice sounds weak to me, but that could be because she's not singing in full power. I'm not a big fan of her voice anyway, though I consider the Barcelona CD a masterpiece. In my opinion this was not the best song choice for her.
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Post by dragonkiller on Aug 5, 2022 11:52:56 GMT
Nice find Frank!
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Frank
Politician
Posts: 754
Likes: 681
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Post by Frank on Aug 5, 2022 12:09:38 GMT
I was afraid I'd be the only one who never heard it before. So glad I shared it!
I wonder why there was no mention of the collaboration between Brian and Monserrat. Granted, I don't read Brian's Soapbox everyday, but it seems not even he mentioned the project and the moment it's announced the album's been out for a while already. And the announcement was just a side comment. Surely this should have been celebrated at the time. I mean, Monserrat pays homage to Freddie...it's pretty cool, right?
And although I agree the final recording is a bit off (her vocal), it's really touching to hear her sing another song penned by Freddie (yes, and Brian). It's very sweet and moving.
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Lord Fickle
Global Moderator
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Post by Lord Fickle on Aug 5, 2022 13:10:57 GMT
Having listened to this again, I didn't want to be the only one to say that Montserrat sounded a bit 'off'. It doesn't sound like this is a comfortable or natural key for her, but it does show what a great singer Freddie was to have handled it perfectly.
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jo
Satyr
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Post by jo on Aug 5, 2022 13:48:55 GMT
For an opera singer her voice is very thin sounding which admittedly could be a recording issue. I noticed that at the 2:15 mark they overdubbed her voice (mechanically), so I'd guess this was a one and done recording.
It's a lovely idea but I can see why this was never promoted, it's not really very good.
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Golden Salmon
Wordles & Heardles
Politician
Posts: 827
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Post by Golden Salmon on Aug 5, 2022 14:45:44 GMT
It's not a great version. It's actually kinda weird, as if nostalgia got to both of them and decided to invest their time to make this awkward homage.
Still, it's kind of sweet how they thought about Freddie when doing this.
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ncc1701q
Tatterdemalion
Posts: 45
Likes: 25
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Post by ncc1701q on Aug 6, 2022 19:01:35 GMT
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Post by wijnand on Aug 8, 2022 11:17:35 GMT
Thanks, just ordered one! |
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Post by Maxi Dries on Aug 8, 2022 23:25:58 GMT
Nice find!!!!!
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ncc1701q
Tatterdemalion
Posts: 45
Likes: 25
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Post by ncc1701q on Sept 16, 2022 10:13:15 GMT
Well, I did order it on August 6th and never received anything but the confirmation mail. Mailed them four times, called (no answer). Just opened a dispute on Paypal and got a refund within minutes. So, not quite the find I hoped it would be  |
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Post by wijnand on Sept 19, 2022 11:34:04 GMT
Will do the same... :-(
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baka
Tatterdemalion
Posts: 6
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Post by baka on Jan 10, 2023 3:11:54 GMT
increible la version
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