Queen I Box Set - Post-Release Discussion

Isn't the convention version from Trident ? The box set's is De Lane Lea.

He says Queen Bitch - a Bowie reference, as Hunky Dory was new and fresh on their minds.

There are already pages of responses, but I have to chime in about the sessions disc. It is an incredible historical document, the likes of which some of us have been dreaming of hearing for decades.

The outtakes heard on the News of the World and The Miracle box sets produced many gems, but Queen I is on a whole other level of revelation - not only musically, but the insight we get into their working environment and interpersonal dynamics. I have never smiled and laughed so much during an hour of music.

Brian May's acoustic on Doing All Right and and Great King Rat - just wow. Guitarists are so often rated on their lead playing, but this is some mighty solid rhythm playing here. It really cannot be overstated what a great guitar player he is.

It is absolutely delightful to hear Freddie playing with the melodies and words, even singing the guitar parts soon to be added to Great King Rat. We already know how massively talented and creative this man was, but this is a bird's eye view into what was a very private process. You can hear his excitement at finally being in the studio with May and Taylor after a couple years of knowing them.

Hearing many of these songs without the overdubs really hammers home how profound the Zeppelin and Sabbath influences are on Queen at this point. The one major outlier here is My Fairy King, where there's a whole other thing going on - the piano is such a huge part of what would set them apart from most. To hear them piecing together its bed tracks is an incredible trip. I've heard this song hundreds of times, and I still had trouble following it without the vocal. So for Taylor and Deacon to be learning the parts of this pretty irregular piece and under the pressure of having to nail them, it is mighty impressive that they get as close as they do. Piecing it together from various takes is nothing to be ashamed of. True pros.

And while the outtake of The Night Comes Down was a joy to hear, it makes me that much more curious to hear any of the rejected takes done at Trident.

Before the one outtake of Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll, Mercury says May's guitar "sounds like thunder." These guys are young (in their mid-20s) and surprising each other in the early stages of their relationship. And it's so great to hear the rhythm guitar part under the solo - almost bluesy.

The dynamics in Freddie's vocal in Son and Daughter stood out to me. This is something that was lost when he sang some of these songs live, where it's just pure chest voice. Some of that femininity that made him so unique is lost, but of course he knew his voice and what worked in each situation.

At one point you can hear a bit of frustration in Freddie between takes. He was unhappy with the take, and the engineer offers to do another. He says he needs a break. For those of us who aren't musicians - recording is bloody hard. And to think this wasn't nearly as complex as the albums to come !

"I'm singing the third verse, I'm not singing the second" - bloody hilarious. The greatest guide vocal outtake ever ?

There's a moment where the tubes in a Vox AC30 are going awry, and Mercury quips, "his guitar is like a firecracker!" They soon swap out amps, and it's back to work. This otherwise mundane moment was included on the box set no doubt because it's yet another insight into the workings of the mind of one Freddie Bulsara.

The test run of See What a Fool I've Been at De Lane Lea has a super slow tempo, leaving Brian that much more room to let it rip. He switches to the out of phase pickup setting - he already knows his homemade guitar intimately well so early into his recording career. And right as the tape begins rolling (which is ultimately the second earliest studio recording of the band, predated only by the test run of Great King Rat maybe an hour earlier, thanks to us now being able to see the tape box), Freddie apologizes to the engineer and producer for Brian needing to tune his guitar. This is how every band begins - not being in charge.

On that note, a quick thought on the Imperial College recording from a couple years earlier. The scene is one that literally every band will experience some variation of in its nascent stages - they're performing for 20 people, finishing with cover tunes, and the singer points out that he and the guitarist are sharing a microphone.

How privileged we are to hear them at the beginning of their quest of world domination. And unlike 99.999% of bands, this one actually succeeded.

One more thing: I love the intro to My Fairy King on the sessions disk that they couldn’t get right. Since this is labeled “Trident Backing Track in Development” this is obviously early in that song’s recording. I love the way this song starts on the album, but it’s fascinating to hear this ultimately unused opening. And John’s voice makes an appearance between all the attempts at getting it right!

Hello all,

I too am a fan of many decades. This is the nearest that its been to getting a “new” Queen album for such a long time.

Don’t know if anyone’s noticed yet, but we get to find out the source for Freddie’s “are we running “ from Track 13 on Made In Heaven. When I heard it, and then realizing that it’s from the sessions for the first version of Seven Seas Of Rhye, from the very first album, sent a shiver down my spine, to quote another song.

It links the beginning to the end, or in this case, the end to the beginning.

We’re still finding out stuff about our favourite band after so many years. Brilliant stuff indeed!

After having only heard things once, I have to go over things with a fine-toothed comb eventually... but my initial reaction is to be much more satisfied than I thought I would be! The pitch correction is definitely there and definitely superfluous, but it wasn't as heavy-handed as I had feared it would be. Maybe next time they'll just skip it altogether! One can hope. It's such a bizarre choice to pitch-correct takes that are supplied to illustrate artifacts of the creative process that are supposed to be imperfect anyways.

The banter is so wonderful. I wonder how much was as-is and how much was cobbled together from different takes/sources. I'd love to have that job! There's a cordial feeling in their banter... I'd be interested to compare it to banter from a Hot Space session. Hearing a young Brian noodle around in the studio left me awestruck – he's so good, even at such a young age.

Hearing the acoustic start to Doin All Right brought a tear to my eye. And as Jesus was a rarely listened-to track for me, after listening to several different versions, I have a new appreciation for it – especially the harmony structure. I agree with whoever it was who said the mythical status of Hangman has been blown out of proportion – it's that classic lost media phenomenon where the lostness of something is the most special thing about it. It's a fine song, but not a revelation. Must've been annoying to be asked about that a million times!

Imperial College stuff was so interesting, although I was all geared up for a Spencer Davis Group jam rather than a Bo Diddly blues number.

I googled some iTunes Charts for the album. It’s currently at 16 in the UK and maybe was up to 10 at one point. 68 in the US. 19 in the worldwide chart. So I guess it may well beat its original chart position in the UK when the official chart is released.

I have now ordered the two disc version after "Lord Fickle's" glowing recommendation ,I couldn't find it on Amazon ,so I ordered it from "Queen Online." By the time they add Tax ,VAT & Shipping , I am sure it can be found a lot cheaper elsewhere. It's my Birthday next week so if I get some cash injection it's going to be a toss up between the full box set or some of the Japanese Live CD's that they have in stock at the moment.

Fuck, how good is Liar (Trident Take 1)!!!! Yes, Freddie! Glad you kept that one!

Well, I listened to the 2024 mix of the 1973 album last night. Powerful, fresh. Sometimes it seemed like some instruments were recorded this year. In some songs, it was like something was missing and it wasn't the bass guitar. It was like the instruments were removed in the middle, which created a void.
I don't care about autotune at all. I like the new mix. It brought elasticity, juiciness to the sound, which was so lacking in the original and numerous remasters.

My post got moved, but anyway. I have to also say the new mixes are pretty terrible. The bass has been removed almost completely, the drums are actually too bright and Freddie's voice is raised so high that it drowns out everything else (except for the drums). Some of the mixes have "glitches" and sloppy editing that makes me think it was a rush job. 

Anyway below I posted an "updated" mix of My Fairy King that I made using AI separation plus the new 2024 mix. Listen to that compared to the meatless recording on the boxset and tell me you can't hear a difference.

queenchat.boards.net/thread/5529/queen-alternate-mixes-youtube-links?page=1&scrollTo=116149

I’m loving the atmos mix.. but for sure can use a bit of work done on them since a few of the instruments are buried in this mix. Listening to the stems has been really nice! Lots of things I never noticed or was added!