Queen I Box Set Announced - Pre-Release Discussion Only

I think the argument here is that they've fiddled with things they didn't need to fiddle with, and to some ears, have actually made the vocal sound worse. Personally, I find it very difficult to discern any of this pitch correction, so I'll just be enjoying the revamped overall sound, rather than trying to pick out anomalies. It's not as if they've made Freddie sound like Cher singing Believe.

Just to be clear, I'm glad we're going to hear the stuff they're putting out. Initially, I also thought it was going to be fantastic, with the track listing and all. Now Brian's statement that this is how they always wanted the album to sound are to me a rehash of his "Freddie would have loved it" quote.

I know I moan and groan a lot, but I am beyond frustrated. We're finally beginning to get the mythical box sets we've been wating for for years and it suddenly appears as if they had been waiting for new technology to appear which they could gladly use to dehumanize the organic sound of an actual person singing (even if it's not to the same extent as in Cher's case). Don't get me wrong, I have no issue with the idea of a remix. We've known the original mixes for years and it's not that they are suddenly going to become unavailable, so this might have been actually refreshing. (For all I know, it still might be in some part, at least judging by the snippets in the 'unboxing' video.)

I understand that resorting to pitch correction may have been motivated by a genuine desire to releasing a perfect product. It's therefore likely that if it weren't for that technology, we would not be getting anything. But the "perfect product" argument is double edged. If the decision makers responsible are the quality control freaks they seem to be, why do they not ensure some quality control over the process of making improvements? Any person working in a professional studio should be able to detect the pitch-correction effect and say at some point "Guys, let's stop before we overdo it" or better "Let's try something else". Of course, it's always possible that the way TNCD sounds was intentional, but that atrocious AI video makes me think that it's more likely that there are some VIPs within the Queen camp who tend to get carried away with new inventions and nobody around has the guts to tell them to stop. This reminds me of how the 30th anniversary of Nirvana's "In Utero" was "celebrated" last year with a box set containing a bunch of live recordings. The original multitracks were unavailable, so individual instrument and vocal tracks were separated using some shitty AI to create quasi-multitracks ready for mixing even though superior algorithms were already available. The result is spinkled with nasty AI artifacts throughout, with instrument parts occasionally completely indiscernible. Are we ready for this kind of treatment? I mean they're walking a fine line here.

That being said, I would still love to buy the full set, but the pricing is killing me. If I were to preorder at the official site, it would cost me more than one tenth of my monthly salary and with a mortgage and a family I can't afford that. So unless there's a nice discount at some point on Amazon or elsewhere, I'm afraid I'll stick to the double CD version.

OK. I'll shut up now. Those of you who don't care, which is perfectly all right, I hope you'll enjoy every minute of the new mix. For my part, I'll particularly cherish the Queen I Sessions CD (amazing tracklist!), even though I'll never know the extent to which the recordings have been "reimagined". 

I might be in the minority here, but I'm not bothered with any autotune or pitch correction. I'm embracing this new 2024 mix as exactly that - a new mix and a new experience. I still have all my other releases to fall back on if I determine I don't like the new mix.

Please remind me, was the box set of the Miracle Album on autotune? I don't remember such squirts about this . And then press release new box set and single and ….. All 20 pages about autotune. Guys, old fashioned sound of Queen album from 1973 still there.

I imagine a situation where Brian or Roger or someone who did the remastering sits incognito on the forum and reads our complaints and tears their hair out and caviar won't go down their throats. They suddenly realized that we don't like autotune and quit their favorite jobs at once

FYI, it is now up on Amazon in the US for $175.

I agree. People always seem to fall in to two camps based on their aural sensibilities. Those who immediately hear pitch correction like a piercing dog whistle ruining the music and those that don’t notice it or don’t care. There is never a third group that state “I really disliked Freddie’s vocal on the Night Comes Down. I’m so glad Queen Productions have finally given me a more enjoyable listening experience.”

"Face It Alone" has obvious pitch correction to the point I can't listen to it. I don't remember any noticeable changes in the remaining songs, although I haven't listened to them in a while. It got me thinking: maybe they only use pitch correction on those songs that they release as singles. 

re: pitch correction/autotune etc:

a little perspective folks:
1] we're hearing stuff we may never have heard. at all. ever. let's embrace it.
2] if you don't like the corrections on the new mixes, then go and buy an earlier mix. simple.

sure, there's plenty of extremely valid QPL things we can moan about, quality of a mix/sound etc, but to be able to hear old Freddie tunes (with vocal tweaks hear and there) versus NOT hearing them at all is a no-brainer folks.

moaning like f*ck about stuff is pointless in this respect. you choice is hear it as issued in 2024, or don't.

I am in the same position as this. I have read the posts on here and cannot believe some of the things posted. I am just happy to have a new release of some unreleased material,  and would not hear any slight autotune, unless it was pointed out. 
I am still waiting for JD vocal guide for BoRap, people would still complain "IF" it happened.😁

I can't even hear that! 🤣🤣 I think the new DP album is pretty good, aside from it's hideously loud mastering.

I was referring to Now What?! and Infinite

This positive outlook explains why you love Hot Space so much.

yes, but again: if it hadn't been "doctored" at all, then we'd have never heard it at all.
context is everything. you can't have one without the other - it's not our decision.

folk need to make up their minds: either you want to hear stuff (with some tweaks) - or you want to hear NOTHING - other than Greatest Hits reissues.