Queen - BBC2 Documentary & Re-releases

[Si Hunt]

(a) Me (b) Studio albums only, maybe do live stuff at the end and let's exclude the Paul Rogers album then I don't have to listen to it

Si.

[Rob McCow]

I'll be there! If we want to do it

Just the studio albums, I agree that would be best. And we'll see if we make it as far as Sheer Heart Attack!

[Dino]

Doing a Queen Time Team and leaving out the Paul Rodgers one would be the closest I'd get to Stewie's Scooby Doo yoghurt with Scrappy's eyes scratched out!

[Si Hunt]

We'll begin on Monday with "Queen" shall we, and kick off discussion of a new album every subsequent Monday. That way I can listen to them through each week and comment as I go.

Si.

[Rob McCow]

Starting on Monday with "Queen" it is then!

We'll need a bigger thread....

[Si Hunt]

It'll be the first time I've ever heard that album.

Si.

[SiHart]

Blimey! Even I've heard that one. Admittedly only last year, but i have heard it.

I'm tempted to join in. Not being a huge fan, my comments may or may not be enlightening!

[Si Hunt]

It's actually quite obscure because they only really took off with the third album. That said, I've heard "Seven Seas" and "Keep Yourself Alive" and also "Liar" and "Doin' Fine" so probably most of it!

Si.

[SiHart]

True! It is rather different to other Queen albums, but in a good way i think... But I'm getting ahead of myself here!

[Dino]

And yet the first album's also got "The Night Comes Down" which will be my "Overlooked Queen Classic of The Week" feature for the thread. Seriously, how great is that track? It's sort of the sound of Queen to come and, oh I'll wait for the actual thread to discuss it! And guess which PS person I listened to both their first albums with when I got them on tape from "Woolworths"? (I think it was that...) Step forward Dave Tudor!

[Si Hunt]

Undaunted...

Queen to replace Sonisphere with two London gigs

Adam Lambert to front band at two July shows at Hammersmith Apollo

http://www.gigwise.com/news/72153/Qu...wo-London-gigs

[MacNimon]

Next week sounds good to me! Studio albums only to begin with? Suits me, I prefer their studio albums to their live ones anyway (to listen to, oddly enough although I never get fed up watching the dvds!)

This may seem like a strange question, but do we count in the Greatest Hits albums as well? I know they are simply repackaged hits which we will have already covered, but the first one in particular has always seemed like a 'real' album in its own right to me, the way it was played to death in my house the year of its release. It just feels like such an important part of Queens back catalogue in a way that the second volume a decade later simply doesn't (for me!)

I agree, that first album tends to be overlooked for some reason, doesn't it? It's not as if it's a bad album...but again, we'll come to that next week.

Just for the record, here's a list of the official Queen album releases in order (including Live and Hits albums) up to the last recording featuring John Deacon in the line-up (but minus Freddie of course) in 1997.

Queen (1973)
Queen 2 (1974)
Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
A Night At The Opera (1975)
A Day At The Races (1976)
News Of The World (1977)
Jazz (1978)
Live Killers (1979)
The Game (1980)
Flash Gordon (1980)
Greatest Hits (1981)
Hot Space (1982)
The Works (1984)
A Kind Of Magic (1986)
Live Magic (1987)
The Miracle (1989)
Innuendo (1991)
Greatest Hits 2 (1991)
Made In Heaven (1995)
Queen Rocks (1997)

Also...

Greatest Hits 3 (1999) (Queen +)
The Cosmos Rocks (2008) (Queen + Paul Rodgers)


Of course there have been other live releases such as Wembley 1986, Live at The Bowl 1982, Live In Montreal, etc and other compilations which I haven't mentioned but they are mostly just retreads of the same old stuff.

[Rob McCow]

I think it's Flash Gordon, The Game and Innuendo that I haven't bought the new editions of. I'm guessing Live Killers can come out too - plus:

Queen 2 (1974)

I think you'll find that's 'Queen II'. [/pedant]

[MacNimon]

I think you'll find that's 'Queen II'. [/pedant]

[Rob McCow]

Queen with Adam Lambert
hmv Apollo / Wed 11 & Thu 12 July 2012

Just two weeks after the shock cancellation of Sonisphere 2012 where they were due to headline with singer Adam Lambert, rock band Queen has announced they are to go ahead with a UK concert appearance this summer after all. The band today announced that the highly anticipated pairing of Queen and Lambert will instead take place at the hmv Hammersmith Apollo over two nights, the 11 and 12 July. Said Brian May "Somehow this feels right - The Apollo is a big part of our history, and its atmosphere is second to none. It's the perfect place to acknowledge our faithful fans, and will be a fitting return to our roots!".

On sale Weds 18 - 9am.

Anyone still up for - the horror?!?! We might have to sell a few things to afford to go...

[Rob McCow]

Uh-oh - Time Team time tomorrow!

[MacNimon]

Queen (1973)



1. Keep Yourself Alive
2. Doing Alright
3. Great King Rat
4. My Fairy King
5. Liar
6. The Night Comes Down
7. Modern Times Rock'n'Roll
8. Son And Daughter
9. Jesus
10. Seven Seas Of Rhye...

I see that this has been remastered and re-released in a 2-disc format with (apparently) better sound quality. I haven't heard it yet, but that may cancel out one of my main criticisms of this album, the fact that it has always sounded a bit 'flat' at times when compared to later releases.

My review (coming later) is based on the original edition I've owned on lp then cd for the past 30+ years...

[Dino]

A number of duets recorded by Queen frontman Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson are to be released for the first time later this year.

The Times reports that around three tracks the pair recorded in 1983 will be made available to fans with Queen guitarist Brian May quoted as saying there will be, "something for folks to hear" in two months time. Mercury and Jackson worked together 30 years ago in California but failed to release anything substantial as they could not secure time to record further tracks.

Revealing some tension between Jackson and Mercury, Jim 'Miami' Beach, a lawyer who became Queen's manager, said that the pair fell out when Jackson brought a llama into the studio: "Mercury rang me and said: 'Miami, dear, can you get over here? You've got to get me out of here, I'm recording with a llama.'"

Meanwhile, actor Sacha Baron Cohen recently pulled out of the lead role in the forthcoming Freddie Mercury biopic. The Borat star has been attached to star as Mercury since September 2010, but new reports suggest that he's now pulled out of the project because he and Queen, who have script and director approval, can't agree on the type of movie they want to make.

Meanwhile, Michael Jackson's mother Katherine recently gave a tearful speech while testifying in her multi-million dollar lawsuit against concert promoters AEG Live, who she believes are guilty of causing the death of Jackson in 2009.

http://www.nme.com/news/michael-jackson/71708

[Rob McCow]

Jackson and Mercury?

They'd have made a fortune releasing these 10 or 20 years ago. Now I'm not so sure. Unless they stitch it together with Daft Punk filling in the tunes.

[Si Hunt]

They sound tantalising but they really are nothing special. They do "State of Shock" which I think either The Jacksons or Mick Jagger got later, but it's really just them scatting and the song isn't a huge winner. Then there's the Queen song "There Must Be More To Life Than This" where you've got MJ singing and Freddie playing piano. So only technically a duet as it could be anyone playing, though it is a nice song. And I forget what the other one is.

This isn't half as exciting as it sounds like it might be, though.

Si.

[Dino]

Although "I'm recording with a llama" was worth a chuckle!
Can't see this being only 3 tracks, so we might get the song from Made In Heaven that was recorded with Rod Stewart.
And if we're really lucky... outtakes from "The Cosmos Rocks" with Paul Rogers!
Mmm... yeah...

[Si Hunt]

There's just not a whole lot of Freddie archive stuff out there, I don't think. He was too busy having fun maybe to record loads of stuff that wasn't used! Maybe that's why the Queen Rarities Box Set mentioned in the Freddie Mercury Solo Set about 20 years ago never appeared?

Si.

[Dino]

Unless they stitch it together with Daft Punk filling in the tunes.

Close! They've gone for William Orbit.
Well at least it isn't w.I.Iam or however he's spelt! (Well it's not him... yet)

[Rob McCow]

An idea too obvious!

My advice would be to keep Brian and Roger away from anything Queen related these days... which is probably a bit harsh but I consider it fair as a response to The Cosmos Rocks.

[Si Hunt]

May and Taylor have the worst judgement and taste in the whole of popular music. Since 1995, they have crushed from one ill-advised project to the next, slowly destroying Queen's legacy. From the duet with Five and the awful dance remixes to the Paul Rogers era, it's all been awful! They literally won't say "no" to anything. So I don't trust them on this either!

Si.