| Michael Allred 23.07.2006 15:32 |
from link [quote]The press release about the fabulous Freddie releases coming soon... The Very Best of Freddie Mercury Solo. 2 CD Set - 60th Anniversary Special Edition For Release September 4, 2006 While Freddie Mercury dedicated the major part of his creative energies to the all-consuming project that was Queen, such was his appetite for music that not all of it could be fulfilled within the parameters of Queen. At these times Freddie ventured off into the uncharted new world of solo projects. This special edition, released September 4, 2006 to celebrate his 60th anniversary, The Very Best of Freddie Mercury Solo, which includes a bonus CD of rare or unheard tracks, highlights those periods when Freddie channelled his inexhaustible love of music into new musical encounters, some intensely personal projects, others providing the excitement of collaborations with writers and performers who fired his imagination. While most people would think Freddie’s solo career began in 1984 with his Mr. Bad Guy album, it in fact began much earlier - back in 1973, with his cover versions of the Beach Boys’ I Can Hear Music and Goffin-King’s Goin’ Back, released as the A and B sides of his first solo single, released under the name of Larry Lurex. Since the single disappeared without trace, it is not surprising few are aware of this inauspicious start to his solo career. Both are included here. A number of tracks here come from the official first solo album, Mr. Bad Guy, recorded in 1983/84 in Munich during a period when Freddie was heavily into the club scene in the city. Freddie’s love of the dance music he was surrounded by at the time shows through in tracks such as Love Kills, I Was Born To Love You and Living On My Own (which, remixed in 1994, gave Freddie a posthumous No.1 hit, an Ivor Novello award, and the only No.1 of his solo career). Freddie’s love of theatre, and great admiration for his first pop idol, Cliff Richard, accounts for the track Time, the title song of Dave Clark’s successful West End musical in which Cliff starred (the show, coincidentally, played at the Dominion Theatre, now the home to Queen’s own smash hit musical, We Will Rock You). One of the most musically fulfilling periods of Freddie’s life was his musical love affair with Spanish opera diva, Montserrat Caballe. From this unlikely, but magical union, came the tracks Barcelona, which Freddie wrote for Montserrat’s home city and which became the theme for the Olympics, and the high drama of Guide Me Home, and How Can I Go On. Although Freddie only ever released one true solo album - the Barcelona album excepted - there are reports that he had plans, and, indeed, had started work on a ‘covers’ album. This is widely considered to be the origin of one of his most popular singles, his version of The Platters’ classic The Great Pretender, released first by Freddie in 1987 (when it reached No.4) and subsequently reissued in 1993. While CD1, with a few exceptions, features mostly versions as originally recorded, the second CD of the set is a feast of rarities and new and unheard remixes. Over half of the tracks featured are 2006 mixes. In recognition of Freddie’s own passion for new musical adventures and his love of the club music scene, for this release a number of Freddie’s own best loved tracks were handed over to some of today’s most highly regarded up and coming international remixers: Pixel82, The Glimmers, George Demure, Sunshine People, Rank 1, Star Rider, No More Brothers and The Egg, all given an open brief to take Freddie’s original and rework it in their own unique and unpredictable sound and style. On a more retrospective level, a vocal and piano version of Your Kind of Lover and Freddie’s a cappella delivery of Let’s Turn It On, were selected to give an informal insight into Freddie at work and underline the fact that as well as a unique writer, Freddie |
| Walter B. 23.07.2006 16:11 |
link |
| freddie lives 28817 23.07.2006 16:41 |
Shame they couldn't have gotton rid of Thierry Lang's Guide Me Home, and replaced it with a remastered copy of the CBS extended promo of Living On My Own that was talked about on here a week or so back. Wouldn't do to let people have a copy of something they don't have, would it? And as for those modern remixes.... Not interested. |
| PieterMC 23.07.2006 17:19 |
freddie lives wrote: And as for those modern remixes.... Not interested.But just think of what a great way to celebrate the best of Freddie's music. Who needs the orginal versions when we can have shitty remixes. |
| TheGame 23.07.2006 17:19 |
Well done QP, another great and wonderful release!!! ( get the irony...) |
| Penetration_Guru 23.07.2006 17:29 |
I don't object to the odd remix here and there, but a whole disc seems disproportionate, even allowing for the fact that a couple of them are original. How much of this music is actually as Freddie ever heard it? And Thierry Lang? Don't fucking get me started... |
| rocks. 23.07.2006 17:33 |
AHH! WHAT is with the SIX versions of Love Kills!! |
| luthorn 23.07.2006 23:17 |
I would have to: a. get drunk b. high on drugs c. go severly mad ... to buy this album |
| Jjeroen 24.07.2006 04:30 |
Ah, yes... a bonus disc with "RARITIES"! Fuck that ...and I see that, despite Brian's denial, it's going to get that CRAP sleeve afterall...!? |
| Ayreon 24.07.2006 05:14 |
Some of the best rarities, for which we fans bought the FM box years ago, are now planned on this release? What a rip off! |
| Wilki Amieva 24.07.2006 08:43 |
jeroen wrote: ...and I see that, despite Brian's denial, it's going to get that CRAP sleeve afterall...!?Again, Brian was not denying that sleeve, but one from a Russian bootleg of the same name that some online stores were displaying instead. link |
| Serry... 24.07.2006 09:28 |
Wilki Amieva wrote: Again, Brian was not denying that sleeve, but one from a Russian bootleg of the same name that some online stores were displaying instead. linkCorrect title of that release is "Freddie Mercury. The Very Best". It contains 18 tracks (2 Queen's). But - first of all - it's not Russian, but Bulgarian release (it was released in the first half of 90s) and cover was copied from "Remixes" album. Therefore Brian should complain about Parlophone, not about pirates, IMHO... |
| Deacon Fan 24.07.2006 12:22 |
Well, regardless of what cover Brian may or may not have been in denial about, today he has issued a statement claiming he and Roger have "NOTHING whatever to do" with Freddie's solo releases, due to something with his estate. link Hmm. So he's received enough negative feedback to disown it? I really think he's passing the buck there. Remember him stating how "WE" are planning things to honor Freddie's birthday? How he bragged about hearing the songs being remastered with Justin Shirley Smith? This doesn't sound like zero involvement to me. Freddie's estate may have final approval (as it should be) but I'm certain Queen Productions are who handles the planning and production of these things. |
| cmsdrums 24.07.2006 13:19 |
Hi Mikahl I had the same thought as you that Brian seems to be distancing himself after seeing some of the negative feedback. Reading his comments again however it seems that Brian actually says that it is the promotion and "handling" of the solo stuff which he and Roger have no say over. It seems that he has at least some kind of involvement in the mixing as he was present during Justin's recent mixing sessions, but probably isn't allowed to dictate as to what is released and in what form. As Jim Beach is a trustee of Freddie's estate, it's a shame that he doesn't (or can't) privately ask Brian what he thinks would be worthy of release, and then present it to Mary Austin etc.. as his own idea. Now that Brian has raised it, I'd kill to know what clauses are in the estate papers - eg are none of Queen allowed to have anything to do with Freddie's solo material, and if so was this Freddie's decision, or one made by the trustees afterwards??? |
| Jjeroen 24.07.2006 13:39 |
cmsdrums wrote: Hi Mikahl I had the same thought as you that Brian seems to be distancing himself after seeing some of the negative feedback. Reading his comments again however it seems that Brian actually says that it is the promotion and "handling" of the solo stuff which he and Roger have no say over. It seems that he has at least some kind of involvement in the mixing as he was present during Justin's recent mixing sessions, but probably isn't allowed to dictate as to what is released and in what form. As Jim Beach is a trustee of Freddie's estate, it's a shame that he doesn't (or can't) privately ask Brian what he thinks would be worthy of release, and then present it to Mary Austin etc.. as his own idea. Now that Brian has raised it, I'd kill to know what clauses are in the estate papers - eg are none of Queen allowed to have anything to do with Freddie's solo material, and if so was this Freddie's decision, or one made by the trustees afterwards???It must be made back then. Remember, for instance, that Freddie had a different business for all his solo-stuff as well as a different recordcompany. |
| Adam Baboolal 24.07.2006 13:39 |
Well, remember as I have said time and time again, Brian and Roger also had to get permission for Robbie's cover version of WATC from Freddie's Estate. Note one... Note two is from the WATC frog track. Brian posted an ironic view saying how wonderful it was and it was a masterpiece. Hint Hint... And once again, people somehow linked Brian with it and started thinking he was involved in the rights somehow. Unfortunately, people on here forget the rights thing often. Why? I don't know. But they do. And they're usually quick to point the finger. It never fails to annoy me, I can tell you that much. Peace, Adam. |
| Maz 24.07.2006 14:30 |
Adam Baboolal wrote: Well, remember as I have said time and time again, Brian and Roger also had to get permission for Robbie's cover version of WATC from Freddie's Estate. Note one...Why? Brian has said on several occasions that as long as no lyrics are changed and proper royalties are paid, then anyone can cover a song without permission from rights holders. That's what he often says when some new and abysmal cover version comes out. He's even offered up his story of God (The Dream is Over) from Live at Brixton Academy as evidence. If anything, I suspect Brian was wanting the polite "ok" since he didn't have to worry about a legal "ok." |
| rocks. 24.07.2006 16:33 |
That soapbox comment thing perplexes me, I cant tell if it means him not having to do with the remixes or the overall tracklist. AH! |
| Adam Baboolal 24.07.2006 17:15 |
Hmm... it depends I suppose. The difficulty is that Freddie isn't around and it isn't a polite thumbs up to the idea. Usually, you get a response from the artist in question and find out if it's cool or not that way. But in the case of Freddie's stuff, I wonder how it works. It's obviously not in the hands of the record company! And I'm not 100% sure on what the "estate" represents. Does anyone know for sure? Peace, Adam. |
| Benn 25.07.2006 07:55 |
Once again - another collection of rare and obscure material featuring a member of Queen. I reckon sales will push - ooh, what......30 units worldwide? It's laughable actually, isn;t it - you have to feel sorry for the people making the decisions at QPL who actually believe that this is an attractive product offering. |
| Winter Land Man 25.07.2006 08:27 |
IS THIS GOING TO BE RELEASED IN THE USA AS WELL?? Anyone have a clue? |
| Winter Land Man 25.07.2006 10:03 |
Benn wrote: Once again - another collection of rare and obscure material featuring a member of Queen. I reckon sales will push - ooh, what......30 units worldwide? It's laughable actually, isn;t it - you have to feel sorry for the people making the decisions at QPL who actually believe that this is an attractive product offering.Well Mr. Bad Guy just isn't made anymore, and there are some people who want official products and COLLECT everything Queen or having to do with Queen, including all those compilations. |
| Benn 25.07.2006 10:54 |
Messenger...... It's still available as a part of the FM Solo Collection box set. Re Brian's comments...... Brian WILL NOT have any input in the release of Friddie's solo material - just because he said that he was there listening to some of the mixing that was going on, does not mean that he's telling anyone what to do or how to handle it. Freddie was VERY prescious about his solo material and wanted that kept as distant from the other members of Queen as possible and he will have stipulated that it remain just so after his death. What the merits of that are considering what was done to Jim, Phoebe et al, I have no idea, but, one look at the tracklisting will show you just what the future holds. I would imagine that the success of the Living On My Own single re-release is a catalyst for the appearance of all these re-mixes - presumably Parlophone will issue a single at the same time and attempt to cash in again with a shitty dance mix.........it's all so predictable. |
| Jjeroen 25.07.2006 11:00 |
Benn wrote: Messenger...... It's still available as a part of the FM Solo Collection box set. Re Brian's comments...... Brian WILL NOT have any input in the release of Friddie's solo material - just because he said that he was there listening to some of the mixing that was going on, does not mean that he's telling anyone what to do or how to handle it. Freddie was VERY prescious about his solo material and wanted that kept as distant from the other members of Queen as possible and he will have stipulated that it remain just so after his death. What the merits of that are considering what was done to Jim, Phoebe et al, I have no idea, but, one look at the tracklisting will show you just what the future holds. I would imagine that the success of the Living On My Own single re-release is a catalyst for the appearance of all these re-mixes - presumably Parlophone will issue a single at the same time and attempt to cash in again with a shitty dance mix.........it's all so predictable.Yes, as we now all know, a Love Kills remix single will be released simultaniously. |
| Lester Burnham 25.07.2006 11:13 |
Completely unrelated, but I've emailed you, jeroen. Back on topic... uh... hm. |
| Jjeroen 25.07.2006 12:25 |
You got a reply Lester! ;-) |
| Michael Allred 25.07.2006 15:28 |
Benn wrote: Once again - another collection of rare and obscure material featuring a member of Queen. I reckon sales will push - ooh, what......30 units worldwide? It's laughable actually, isn;t it - you have to feel sorry for the people making the decisions at QPL who actually believe that this is an attractive product offering.I'm willing to bet the CD will debut somewhere in the UK top 20, same goes for any single (probably a dance remix of "Love Kills.") |
| YourValentine 26.07.2006 05:35 |
About the permission of Freddie's Estate Freddie's friend and author David Evans explained the provisions of Freddie Mercury's last will in his book "The Real Life - The Truth Behind The Legend": Although Mary Austin inherited half of Freddie's assets and his family inherited the other half, they have no say in any business decisions. The "successor" of Freddie in any Queen and solo business decisions is Jim Beach as the executor of the will who has the full power of discretion. David Evans says that this way any "outsiders" were excluded from Queen business decisions and this was apparently exactly what Freddie wanted. The band does not need to ask Freddie's family, they decide together with their own manager Jim Beach. I have no idea if EMI needs permission to release all these remixes, that depends probably on the artist's contract. Mr. Bad Guy was not an EMI product in the frist place, they must have bought the rights for the box already. |
| Benn 26.07.2006 12:12 |
Your Valentine. That relates ONLY to Queen material and NOT to Freddie's solo work. It may be that he had the same arrangement whereby Beach makes the final decisions, but I would imagine that Kashmira is involved too along with "probably" Mary and David Richards...... |
| Serry... 26.07.2006 12:29 |
Bosses in Mercury Songs are Jim Beach, John Libson and Amin Saleh (I guess he's Bulsara's family lawyer/attorney). Mary Austin is a company secretary. |
| cmsdrums 28.07.2006 08:05 |
Play.com now have the full tracklisting for the DVD - as I'd previously said it's basically The Unbtold Story and The Solo Video Collection with a bit of director's commentary thrown in. At least we get a feature on the Freddie statue in Montreux link |
| kohuept 28.07.2006 15:05 |
I'm ignorant to the topic so forgive me if the question is rediculous, but... If Queen are not allowed to have anything to do with Freddie's stuff, how did Made in Heaven get made? |
| radio_what's_new 30.07.2006 21:30 |
It's frustrating for a long time queen fan to see this kind of garbage being released... I feel ashamed for it...(look at that stupid design and those stupid tracks) Dance remix releases will only ruin Freddie's reputation as a great vocalist.. I am glad that Brian May also rejects this stupid project, and I think we must do the same by not buying the cd's and dvd's... Altough not complete, The 10 cd and 2 dvd Solo box was a really good thing, they should have left it from there... |
| BrianM 30.07.2006 22:24 |
whatever happened to releasing dvds or cds with actual rare footage and material. There are so many Freddie/Queen things that can be released on cd and dvd....i guess we'll never see them out:( |
| Benn 31.07.2006 07:19 |
Ha ha! Ha ha! More existing material released under a different name - you can't fault QPL for their uncanny ability to flog a dead horse, can you? |
| thomasquinn 32989 31.07.2006 08:00 |
The only good thing I can say about this is that "I Can Hear Music" AND "Goin' Back" are now finally going to be available to those who can't afford the 'big' Freddie Solo Collection... |
| Bohardy 31.07.2006 19:37 |
There is ONE genuinely unreleased song on this double CD, aside from the shitty 2006 remixes. The 'Mr Bad Guy - Bad Circulation Mix' is actually an unreleased early version from Fred rather than a remix. It features altered lyrics, and is not the same as the other early version on the box-set. "Bad circulation" replaces the "bad communication" line in the song as I understand it. But aside from that, this is a disappointing release, especially as some of the new remixes are truly awful from what I've heard (which isn't a surprise). |
| Penetration_Guru 01.08.2006 13:35 |
Bohardy, are you sure about that? It sounds like a windup..."circulation" wouldn't fit the metre of the line. |
| Bohardy 02.08.2006 08:24 |
Yep. Well, as sure as I can be without actually having heard it myself, which means that I 100% trust the source of the info. 'Circulation' only has to be very slightly tweaked in order to scan like 'communication' does. |
| Jjeroen 02.08.2006 10:47 |
Penetration_Guru wrote: Bohardy, are you sure about that? It sounds like a windup..."circulation" wouldn't fit the metre of the line.I will tell you after the weekend! (As I will get a sneak preview! ;-) |
| Bohardy 02.08.2006 13:36 |
I don't do wind-ups (apart from the "rivers of blood" thing...). |
| ern2150 03.08.2006 00:09 |
Bohardy wrote: Yep. Well, as sure as I can be without actually having heard it myself, which means that I 100% trust the source of the info.As far as you trust official websites, yeah: link Honestly, I do wonder why some people like to play so coy. |
| cmsdrums 03.08.2006 08:33 |
I'm probably being really pedantic, but the lyric page they have put up shows "Original Lyrics" - as these are the 'Mr Bad Guy' album ones, surely this should read something like "Final Album Version Lyrics", as the 'original'(ie first) ones are actually one of the two others?!!! |
| Bohardy 03.08.2006 20:12 |
Ern, I don't do coy either. I've no idea how you found that link, as unless I'm being blind it doesn't exist anywhere on the site. Nobody else seems to have found it, and to me it appears to be from an upublished part of the website. How did you find it? But at least you've confirmed what I said, and what I understood to be the case, so for that I thank you. |
| ern2150 03.08.2006 21:07 |
Bohardy, I jumped to a conclusion and I apologize. Because of our crappy internet at work, if I find a flash website, I usually "download" it before viewing it so it doesn't go all choppy on me. When looking at my download directory, I found the file. I assumed you had done the same and were simply playing coy by not letting people know the URL. If you found this out through other means, then I guess you have to protect your sources :) |
| Deacon Fan 03.08.2006 21:28 |
If you keep clicking stars on the site, you'll find stuff.. it's not exactly rocket science :-P I assume you guys know about the remixes sampler? link From that I learned the one listed there as simply 'Mr. Bad Guy' is the 'Freddie Mercury Album' remix, which is significantly different to the 'Great Pretender' remix album version. Different stuff during the intro and a fade-out ending for one thing, and that version wasn't on the big Freddie box either. And it's a good one :) BTW: WTF is Mrs. Hendersons? |
| Maz 04.08.2006 02:26 |
Bohardy wrote: I don't do wind-ups (apart from the "rivers of blood" thing...).And I'll never forget that, Bo-bastar-dy. |
| Bohardy 04.08.2006 05:43 |
No worries Ern. Though I still can't find how you get to the Mrs Henderson's section. All I get when clicking on the stars are images. Which exact star in which section brings up this 'secret' section of the website then? Mikahl: Mrs Henderson's is/was the name of the club that was used for Fred's 39th birthday party, where the Living On My Own video was filmed. Zeni: You didn't fall for that, did you? You've just gone down a peg or two in my estimation of you... |
| Deacon Fan 04.08.2006 06:23 |
Ahh, I knew Mrs. Henderson's rang a distant bell somewhere but now I feel embarrassed for not remembering that :-P Thanks for clearing it up. As for finding the right star(s).. it looks like they've changed things since yesterday. When I checked late last night, most of the stars did nothing and then a few would bring up either photo albums, the sampler in a new window, or that .pdf file. Now all I can get them to do is bring up photo albums, each one being the same within each category. I can't even remember now whether it was the 'Lover of Life' or the 'Singer of Songs' part which had the right star links, but I believe it was 'Singer of Songs'. As of now.. they're gone. The sampler has full-length high quality versions of those tracks, so perhaps someone complained and had it delinked ;) Note that the tracklisting for CD 1 just has clips of less than a minute long when you click them. |
| such_a_jollification 04.08.2006 09:53 |
The 'hidden' extras are still there (or at least they are for me) and can be found thus: For the alternative lyrics PDF go to the "Singer Of Songs" part of the site, click on "Links" and then click on the star farthest to the right of the line underneath "Official Brian May Website". For the "Mrs. Henderson's" tracks again go to the "Singer Of Songs" part of the site, again click on "Links" and then click on the star directly to the left of the star you clicked for the alternative lyrics. Hope I've explained that clearly enough. Apologies in advance if I haven't. |
| ern2150 04.08.2006 10:09 |
Quite odd. Here's the "sampler" tracklist, () is the site's comments, [] are JSS' Ultimate notes where the site didn't have any. If anyone has corrections, lemme know. 01.Let's Turn It On [1993 Jeff Lord-Alge 3:44 Remix - Parlophone CDPCSD 124] 02.She Blows Hot & Cold (B-Side Extended Version) 03.My Love Is Dangerous (Jeff Lord-Alge Mix) 04.Living On My Own (Club Mix) 05.Love Kills (Wolf Euro Version) 06.Living On My Own (Roger S Mix) 07.Mr Bad Guy [1993 Brian Malouf 3:54 Remix - Parlophone CDPCSD 124] 08.Love Kills (Extended Version) 09.Your Kind Of Lover [1993 Steve Brown 3:57 Remix - Parlophone CDPCSD 124] 10.Let's Turn It On (Extended Version) 11.Living On My Own (Underground Solutions Mix) 12.Love Kills (Rock Mix) 13.Living On My Own (No More Brothers Extended Mix) 14.Stop All The Fighting (B-Side Extended Version) Which doesn't match either CD1 or CD2 (see earlier in the thread), nor does it match any previous release. What's really cool is that these are full songs -- I'm guessing they'll be cut down to 1 minute versions later. What would be awesome is if they decide to start making the SOLO Boxset tracks available as downloads (iTunes would be ideal, but 7digital would even be cool for now...) |
| Maz 04.08.2006 12:55 |
Bohardy wrote: Zeni: You didn't fall for that, did you? You've just gone down a peg or two in my estimation of you...Um...of course not. Never. Ever. |
