attn: teh b0lly - queen - news of the world 40 year anniversary edition
 

not sure if anyone is familiar with the way Queen Productions has been whoring out the back catalogue for ages - rereleasing the same shit over and over in different forms for ridiculous prices, all the while sitting on a shit heap of to this day unreleased stuff. Compared to this TSP has been pretty lavish!

Just the last few years though, a few interesting things are finally being released: the On Air release, finally officially bundling all the BBC sessions in good quality (never mind the 6cd version of it btw, 3 of those cd's are only interviews) and now the news of the world box set. it has exactly one disc in it which is worth your while but it really does seem worth it for that only. It's alternative versions of every song on the album.

only three songs have been made public but I'm pretty excited about them/

All Dead All Dead with Freddie on lead vocals:


the full version of we are the champions (the original release is an edit)



we will rock you:

I don't have anything to add beyond that this has always been one of my all-time favorite album covers.

https://cps-static.rovicorp.com/3/JP...er=allrovi.com

thanks for the thought joeri! i'll check out the tracks when i have some time and decent speakers

funny that you mention this. it's actually quite fascinating to me how Roger Taylor, and even more so Brian May, seem to absolutely revel in the dinosaur glory of being a talking head on VH1 "Behind The Music" specials, conducting what is practically the same interview over and over and over again since like 1988, and talking about songs they worked on 40-50 years ago (and that were mostly written by a dead guy who was subsequently replaced by a complete joke of a reality tv contestant).

i mean Brian May at least is a sharp dude (don't know about Roger "I'm In Love With My Car" Taylor), he's got a clear mind, you'd expect him to challenge that shit just a biiit more. but they seem to be perfectly content being Those Guys. in that regard, i have tremendous respect for Corgan for refusing to be The 1979 Guy and trying again and again, even after almost two decades of putting out horrifying new material and receiving scalding reviews.

i'd known this cover since i was a kid but obviously wasn't able to see the nuance in it, so i was like 'ok i guess'. but now your appreciation for it made me look at it differently somehow and now i can really appreciate it.

yeah. Brian May is more than just sharp, he's extremely intelligent. this guy got his PhD in astronomy when he was well in his 60's. apart from being one of the best guitarists maybe ever and becoming a Dr. just because he wanted to, he's an activist for animal welfare and I massively respect his political viewpoints.

and then he goes on tour with fucking Adam Lambert and they play shows like a nostalgia act, he completely sold his soul when it comes to being a musician. queen productions doesn't consist solely of May and Taylor and I'm not even sure if their role in the decision making is big at all, but still they're the public face of it at the least. they basically keep on re-releasing their back catalogue for ridiculous prices because apparently the fans keep on buying what everyone has already had for decades. a box set of 15 studio albums on colored vinyl for 500 euros? sure! another ballad compilation with one new song on it for 100 euro's? bring it on. live at the rainbow 2LP for 40 euros?

or let's release Greatest Hits for the 8000th time but now on double lp!

that shit is so ridiculous it makes me mad. all the other dinosaurs acts (Beatles, Pink Floyd, Led Zep) sell stuff for high prices too but at least it brings new stuff to the table.

in the end they still win. apparently people buy that shit.

http://d2752rta4dscqv.cloudfront.net...223ff30063.jpg


The Vault Experience is $2000 and is also a meet and greet with him (ewww). But I hear for $10 grand, Gene will deliver it to your house personally and scratch your balls. Just know that however bad Queen gets with this type of stuff, Kiss will outdo them at every turn.

lololo

that's absolutely preposterous

Yep, Queen Productions being fucking douches again. Saw the doc (BBC showed it a week ago), pretty good stuff., but taking the piss for the price. Torrent the alt. Disc for sure.

I mean - one lip, 2 cds and a DVD fOR $190USD vs. Metallica’s MOP reissue being 10 discs for $140 USD.

say, you're not The Fonz on QZ are you? Be honest

Whatever gave you that far-fetched notion?

And you are...?

In other words, yes.

hah!

joerijoerijoeri, but I don't post much. it's a bit dull, doncha think?

now listening to disc 2!

cool so far, though I wonder how often I will revisit this.

i fucking hate how they announce there's going to be 2 cd's of previously unearthed early takes and outtakes whereas everything on the third disc was previously officially released in the last few years. cheap sales tactics.

the announcements of Queen Forever were worse though.

spread your wings is really nice. not very different, just a strong early take with an intro and a longer outro.

no one care.

Have you heard Star Catcher by Old Silver Key?

it's not on this particular reissue, is it?

I care enough to ‘find’ the 2nd CD only. If I can be bothered.

Yup. There’s something special about queen fans. Enjoying all the posts on how the new Queen film with Mr Robot bloke is literally the worst, most inaccurate thing ever. Freddie never laced his shoes right-over-left! He was strictly a left-over-right guy!

i'm dumb so i forgot about this thread.

finally listened to those tracks on decent speakers!
while i can't really say they're truly worth the price of admission, considering that that price of basically 400 euros (AN ASBOLUTE STEAL!), they're so fucking cool to listen to. makes you realize just how much these songs that have been etched and imprinted on our collective psyche could have gone slightly (very) different ways.

i don't really know the original version of the first track, though it's a cool listen nonetheless (i plan on listening to the original too, i'll do it on sunday). We Are The Champions and We Will Rock You are awesome listens though, and feel like a rare glimpse into how the band worked. plus i think i like Brian May's guitar interlude on the alt version of We Will Rock You better. it's more punk that way. more noisy and positively galling. (edit: funny, galling is censored? wtf)

man i wish freddie didn't die. couldn't it have been phil collins or something? :/

I've never really been onboard with the derision TSP's reissues were hit with, meanwhile Queen and Pink Floyd will just sit there shitting out their catalogue over and over and over again. I feel like every fucking year there's a new LP of The Wall in stores. Same thing's started happening with Bowie.