Queen I Box Set - Post-Release Discussion

Alright, after listening several times and jotting down random notes and thoughts, here's where I've landed on Queen I. Sorry in advance for the short novel...

The entire album is noticeably brighter; richer mid-tones and mid-trebles. This creates a somewhat cooler (tone, not attitude) sound, though fuller. The indescribable warm 'hum' of the original release is replaced with a crisp, sharper, modern sound. Drums are louder, bulkier and brighter throughout. This is more successful in some songs than others (e.g. "Jesus" and "Great King Rat" are great, "Liar" (strangely, and sadly as it was always a favorite, and I really don't know about the bongos in that breakdown!) and "The Night Comes Down" not so much).

Sounds across the board, especially voices, are more distinct. There's more space between everything, allowing for instruments and vocals to shine and breathe more evenly. This makes hearing small details easier; and my musical scientist brain absolutely loves it. Moments jump out that were previously buried (the tom rolls in "Jesus", many background vocals in "My Fairy King"). However, this also diminishes some previously impactful crescendos, solos, etc. ("Great King Rat" feels busier throughout, though it's as energetic as ever). Compression has reduced some dynamic expression; a symptom of the loudness wars that permeates the music business. Though only to some degree, as there are still some impressive crescendos, piano to forte ("My Fairy King").

Perhaps the biggest overall loss is John's bass. It's there, but its presence is diminished; more of a supporting player rather than a leading low-end character. Picking out his brilliance among the fray is more difficult, and as a fan of his ever-lyrical playing, I'm disappointed.

Fortunately, the use of pitch correction is less obvious than initially feared; and "The Night Comes Down" is still the worst offender in that regard. For the most part, save a small handful of moments, nothing else is blatantly obvious to my analytical ears. I definitely know it's there, as previously slightly-off leading notes by Freddie are suddenly perfectly in tune; changing the character and expression. But the processing is fairly smooth. Most people who don't know the original cuts very well likely won't notice.

The obvious echo on Freddie's lead vocals in some tracks was used with a heavy hand. I understand it was used for dramatic effect, and no one is a bigger fan of echoes and heavy reverb more than me. But within the context of these songs, where it's used consistently through a number rather than just a bridge or chorus...the more I listen, the more the echo is shouting at me. I don't know if I'm a fan. It's distracting at times and takes me out of the moment.

All criticism aside, the obvious attention to detail, careful distinction placed between sounds, the focus on frequency optimization, rounder and fuller sounds, and the amplified harmony vocals have probably raised my album ranking for Queen's debut. I've always loved it (I adore Queen's '70s catalogue); the fantastical topics and whispers of spirituality, the unpredictable arrangements and innovation. It's imaginative and ambitious, a fabulous debut. You can hear their creative hunger and the brilliance in the songwriting is already there. The inclusion of "Mad The Swine" is a major highlight. It sits comfortably in the album tracklist and sounds wonderful.

I still have yet to totally dive into the BBC recordings and some of the live performances. But I'm more than happy to have the collection! It's invigorated my love for Queen's kickoff, and only made me love them as a band all the more.

Curious to read more about what others think and your opinions that differ from mine!

Like congas in Liar and the fuzz in KYA was there but hidden, the remix revealed it.

Ofcourse is just my hearing, someone else might said that it wasn't.

For instance I thought that, in MFK at 1:44 there was not guitar in original mix, only in BBC version (which was a different mix). However a member here told me that, it was always in the original - buried.

For sure the Cathedral effect was removed from the Jesus at the end if the song. I assume,it was done for dramatic -artistic reasons.

The stem are kind of a sum up from multitracks.
Maybe in another channel there is.

Why have they not released the Atmos mix on physical media?

I have zero interest in vinyl but would be all over that disc like a rash (note: I do not like paying for files in formats like mp3 and flac etc as they are 1 and 0s, not tangible things in my eyes).

I'm forced into buying expensive black frisbees but cannot own a physical copy of the highest quality release of Q1. Not happy.


On a side note:

- Q1 is now like early Metallica, no base guitar sound in sight.

- Hangman feels like it could have been a Metallica or another speed metal band track and feels like it is closely related to Stone Cold Crazy in the way it is performed here and the subject of its lyrics. Maybe there were both written around the same time. 

How are some people not hearing the bass? I have played my original Queen CD...The 2011 re-mix and the latest Queen 1 straight after each other, all on the same bass and treble settings and the bass is there.
Even more so on the new release as everything is more clearer, especially the drums and bass at least to my ears.

The recording we have is 100% from 1977.

Indeed - the stems may not have all the effects that were added to the final mix in 1972/73.

Early Metallica? As in "Cliff Burton era Metallica"? I always found their early bass very "in your face", and it's even a lead instrument at some point in every album before Cliff died. "And Justice for All" is the only "early" Metallica album I suppose we can all agree to call bassless.

Thanks for your kind words! I'm been addicted to the sessions, and I'll certainly weigh in.

I won't hide it, I like the 2024 mix, but sometimes my ears understand that the mix removed the roughness of 1973 and partially added new ones and this mix. I began to notice autotune, but it's not such a big problem. Maybe it couldn't have been done otherwise.

It took a long time (first postal delays, then a rush at work), but I've finally had the opportunity to listen to the 2CD (the full box was a little above my budget). I listened to the 1991 HR version of Queen first, then the new 2024 mix the day after. For both, I used the same good closed-back studio headphones, which have a pretty neutral response and are clear and accurate across the spectrum, connected to my audio interface. I wrote down my impressions as I listened, which follow below. A few general points first:
- except for GKR, I disagree that there is too little bass on the record. I do think the bass was sometimes mixed in an unfortunate way, boosting and cutting it in the wrong frequency bands. On the whole, though, I think the bass sounds pretty good - it makes me wonder whether people are listening through equipment with bad reproduction of the lows, or whether the unfortunate tendency to extremely boomy, bassy mixes of the last 25 years has conditioned people to desire just that.
- there were quite a few spots with clicks, pops and other bits of noise in the 1991 HR mix. None of that in the new mix, they seem to have fixed all of them.
- the pitch correction on the vocals is a little annoying in a couple of places - but all in all, we're talking about a minute's worth over the course of the whole album. The whole "Freddie sounds like a soulless android" seems more than a little hyperbolic (and hysterical) to me - it reminds me of the kinds of responses to synthesizers and digital compressors people had decades ago, when they were newly introduced.
- There are some choices in the 2024 mix that I'm not too thrilled about, but on the whole, this is a wonderful improvement. I'm not getting rid of the 'old' version any time soon, though!

Anyway, here are my first thoughts:

1 Keep Yourself Alive

Fantastic stereo image. Bass drum slightly too boomy for me, but drums fantastically cleared up. Vocals good, but I do find that there is, indeed, some noticeable pitch correction that I really don't think did much good, and did clear harm. The instrument separation is great, bass sounds good to me.

2 Doing All Right

Ok, the piano is pretty bad. This is regrettable. The guitars are fantastic, and the vocals are pretty good. I thought the autotuning less noticeable here, but I might've been distracted by the piano...

3 Great King Rat

The vocals sit in the mix much better than originally! And those drums sound fresh and great. I love the wide stereo field, and the depth and layers of instruments and voices shine like never before. I would have liked the bass guitar to have gotten a little more of the low end from the drums. The pitch correction on the vocals is IMHO vaguely audible, but not a great nuisance - still unnecessary, though. The ending is nice.

4 Mad The Swine

Ok. Wow. This is an improvement. Pretty much across the board, except for John's bass - it's not that his bass is too low in the mix, I just think he's present in the wrong frequency bands.


5 My Fairy King

I'm honestly not sure about this one. It's really different to the original mix, IMHO, and I think it does a good job in showing everything that's going on, but I'm not entirely sure if I think it comes together as a whole as beautifully as the original mix. The vocals and some of the guitars seem a little too heavy for me. The piano sounds great to me, though - very unlike Doing All Right.

6 Liar

Ok. Wow again. We never got to hear how great Roger's drums are on this before. I never really got the enormous love for Liar that I encountered when I discovered Queen, about 25 years ago. I get it now. The stereo field is great. A couple of slightly unpleasant vocal pitch corrections, but on the whole Freddie shines. The guitars are delightful and clear. But the drums are the star of the show now.

7 The Night Comes Down

As beautiful as the intro is, I think some of the guitars on this song are a little harsh. The vocals sound great to me, except for a few moments around the middle when there's some unpleasant pitch correction again.

8 Modern Times Rock 'n Roll

Roger really got short-changed in the original mix, didn't he? A touch more bass guitar, and this song is perfect. None of the harshness of TNCD on the guitars this time around!

9 Son And Daughter

This was a pretty gritty song to begin with. It's grittier now. The vocals are good, the guitars are good, the drums are good, the bass is ok, but again seems a little understated.

10 Jesus

This is really not my favorite Queen song. The lyrics are...awkward, the cheap modulation is worse, and I could go on. But whatever I think of the song - it has never sounded better. And it has especially never sounded bigger. Particularly the second half. Good grief, there is so much there in the mix that never really got through before. The ending is tight. Maybe too tight.

11 Seven Seas Of Rhye

This, too, has never sounded better. But to me, it could sound better still - it's the one track on the whole album where I don't really like the drums. Too crunched up.

@dimitris Good questions!

Also, what is the final word on this new remix in the context of the loudness war ? Is the compression truly bad ?

A couple of thoughts that haven't been discussed yet...

1) After KYA Take 13 I think I hear Freddie saying ”Deary me!” If I remember correctly, this was a working title or one of the alternative titles they considered for the album. English isn't my first language, but I think this expression suits to Freddie. It sounds very Brittish, and somehow ”upper-class” to my non-native ears. So, my question to all you Brits: Was this a common phrase in the UK at the time? Or was this just something Freddie band liked to use, and that's why they thought it would make a good title? Also, are there any connotations with this expression? And could it have worked as a title at the time?

2) The stroy has always been that they tried to re-record ”The Night Comes Down” at Trident but were unhappy with the results, and that's why we have the De Lane Lea version on the album. It's such a shame the sessions disc didn't include a version form Trident sessions. It would have been interesting to hear if the song had been developed further, and how those sessions sounded.