evilbaby

We have heard plenty about the Queen box set(s) and what may or may not be in them (not to mention when they might be released.) However I'd like to talk about some material that might be considered for inclusion in the box sets that *SHOULD* be released as separate albums.

1) A B-sides album

A most obvious choice. The majority of these tracks are no longer available as their respective singles have long since been out of print ("A Human Body" has never been available on CD period!) yet are still well known to most Queen fans and are rare enough for the casual music listener to consider them "new". True, some of these B-sides were available via the Hollywood Records re-issues but those are US only releases.

A B-sides album can effectively compile all such tracks on 1
convenient CD with re-mastered sound, lyrics and perhaps some interesting liner notes on their origins, why they were left off the albums, etc. Let's look at what a Queen B-sides album would contain;

1) Mad the Swine
2) See What A Fool I've Been
3) I Go Crazy
4) A Human Body
5) Soul Brother
6) Lost Opportunity
7) Stealin'
8) Hijack My Heart
9) Hang On In There
10) My Life Has Been Saved (original)
11) A Dozen Red Roses For My Darling
12) Stone Cold Crazy (live)
13) My Melancholy Blues (live)
14) Rock In Rio Blues
15) Blurred Vision

and as a "bonus" track;
16) Chinese Torture

16 songs, from rare/unavailable to previously unreleased on CD all in one package. A worldwide release that will finally allow fans to own these great songs.

B-sides albums have been put out by many major bands such as Oasis, The Smashing Pumpkins, REM, etc and all have sold very well. Queen's would be no different.

Again, such a CD release could be marketed to Queen fans as a highly sought after compilation and to casual folks as "new" Queen tracks they've never heard before. I see this CD selling very well in Europe.

Now onto a second album, namely a complete collection of Queen's BBC recordings. Fans have been teased with such a release before (the "Let Me Live" single announced such an album was forthcoming but it never happened) and have only had the '73 sessions made officially available to them. A proper 2 CD set covering *everything* from '73 to '77 would be essential stuff as a lot of those songs have scarcely been heard since the original radio broadcasts.

As with a B-sides album, several well known acts have released BBC recordings such as Led Zeppelin to great acclaim. Most of these tracks, marketed as "previously unreleased", would quash the bootleg market for them and sell quite nicely for the band.

The complete BBC recordings;

Disc 1;
1) My Fairy King
2) Keep Yourself Alive
3) Doin Alright
4) Liar
5) See What A Fool I've Been
6) Liar
7) Son and Daughter
8) Keep Yourself Alive
9) Ogre Battle
10) Great King Rat
11) Modern Times Rock n' Roll
12) Son and Daughter
13) Modern Times Rock n' Roll
14) March of the Black Queen
15) Nevermore
16) White Queen

Disc 2;
1) Now I'm Here
2) Stone Cold Crazy
3) Flick of the Wrist
4) Tenement Funster
5) Spread Your Wings
6) It's Late
7) My Melancholy Blues
8) We Will Rock You (slow)
9) We Will Rock You (fast) -the spoken word break between the two WWRY's should be included, it's very cool!-

These 2 albums could almost sell themselves (it's not like trying to market 20 year old demos to a mainstream audience.) Fans would have a field day, finally having these songs, digitally re-mastered on official albums and of course, would make Queen and their record label a good deal of money.

Including these tracks on any box set would seem to be a wasted opportunity in my book. Fans will still line up for those sets but if there's material that could be sold on it's own (like B-sides and the BBC tracks), why not go for it?

Also, releasing these songs on their own would also make the eventual box sets cheaper.

Of course I have other ideas for Queen CD's. Please keep in mind that I'm not suggesting these from merely a fan's point of view. I'm also thinking of what Queen material would make for commercially viable product (as I'm sure that's the first thing any record company will think about.)

A third suggestion would be a remixes album. Once again, such a release is a tried and true formula as these kinds of albums hit the charts in a big way (especially in America with many of them going platinum here.) There are a couple of ways to go about this.

1) Have fans vote for their favorite Queen remixes on both the internet and through the fan club. Put the most popular on 1 compilation.

2) Farm out Queen songs to today's biggest
and most popular DJ's and producers to create brand *new* remixes (look at Vanguard's "Flash" mix that's been a dance club hit recently.)

3) Combine both above options for a CD.

Let's look at a possible Queen remixes album could contain (the tracks I'm including are the ones most often referred to as favs by the fans.)

1) Seven Seas Of Rhye (Freddy Bastone mix)
2) Stone Cold Crazy (Trent Reznor mix)
3) Tie Your Mother Down (Trent Reznor mix)
4) Another One Bites the Dust (Wycleff Jean mix) -Hey, it was a bg hit in the UK so somebody must've bought it!-
5) Under Pressure (Mike Spencer mix)
6) You Don't Fool Me (Dancing Divaz Club Mix) 7) Flash (Vanguard mix)
8) We Will Rock You (Rick Rubin mix)
and the rest could be the new mixes. I'd recommend (for the most variety) people like The Chemical Brothers, The Dust Brothers, Rob Zombie, William Orbit to work their magic.

Finally, I'd like to suggest a tribute album, a *proper* tribute album. Over the years fans have been subjected to some of the WORST junk imaginable. Stuff like "Dragon Attack" or "Tie Your Mix Down" are just *awful*. I'm talking about a 'real' tribute album with name acts. We all know there are bands and singers who love Queen's music and, if asked, would gladly record a version of their own.

Perhaps getting a mix of Queen's contemporary artists with today's top acts would be the best way to sell it to as wide an audience as possible.

Foo Fighters, Elton John, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Blur, Radiohead would all be excellent choices and all have made their liking of Queen well known.

Spiderbite

My vote goes to the B-sides album. I have never been a big fan of Queen's live albums. Tribute albums are usually crap no matter who or how big the artist is doing the "tribute." I truly hated the Freddy Mercury tribute concert and it had some pretty big names. Remixes are also music that I really never listen to as I would just rather hear the original stuff. The Wyclef Jean version of Another One Bites the Dust is on the Greatest Hits III album. (by the way...it sucks)

You definitely listed a couple of tracks that I would really like to hear on your B-sides list that I have never heard of before.

I have 2 bootleg cds that are both excellent and have some great stuff on them. They are called "The Ultimate Queen Back Catalogue" Volume 1 and 2. I bought them around 7 to 8 years ago. They have a lot of rare stuff and many things that you did not mention that would be nice if officially released.

The Volume One tracks are:
1. Doing Alright
2. Blag
3. April Lady
4. Polar Bear
5. Earth
6. Step on Me (tracks 1-6 all done by Smile)
7. I Can Hear Music
8. Goin' Back (tracks 7&8 are by Larry Lurex)
9. Mad The Swine
10. See What a Fool I've Been
11. Misfire (instrumental demo)
12. A Human Body
13. Soul Brother
14. I Go Crazy
15. Thank God It's Christmas
16. Man on the Prowl (extended version)
17. Keep Passing the Open Windows (extended version)
18. One Vision (extended version)
19. Blurred Vision

Volume 2 consists of:
1. Back Chat
2. Staying Power
3. Man on the Prowl
4.Keep Passing the Open Windows
5. I Want to Break Free
6. Machines (or Back To Humans)
(Tracks 1-6 are the 12" versions)
7. A Dozen Red Roses for My Darling
8. Friends Will Be Friends
9. Pain is So Close to Pleasure
(Tracks 8-9 are the 12" versions)
10. Stealin
11. Breakthru (12" version)
12. We Will Rock You (Rick Rubin Mix)
13. Ruined Instrumental
14. We Are the Champions (Rick Rubin Mix)
15. Big Beat A Capella
16. Zulu Scratch A Capella

If they released an official B-sides set though, I would definitely buy it! I would even enjoy hearing some demos, partial songs, etc. like The Beatles Anthology sets.