I think it is about time this got shared. This is the audience recording on MacBeth, and is about 17 minutes long. link
As I am sure most of us know Brian was asked to record some music for a theatre production of MacBeth. Both this recording and an studio recording exsist, but the studio recording is mega rare and has never surfaced.
If anyone has the studio version and wants to trade then please email me at jam_monkey@hotmail.com. I have some very rare tracks to swap.
Wow, looks like an interesting gift here, for everyone keen to discover Brian's most non-Queenish work.
Many thanks for sharing that ! I guess the studio version is not really out among common traders. An elitist thing I guess ;o)
By the way, just a question here. I guess all you have to share is the mp3. But do you think you can have the possibility to trace a lossless version of that one ? Can you ask the people who sent you that one ? I think it could be nice to have this as lossless, now it is "out". Anyone else ?
Many thanks for that splendid gift, will listen carefully !
Regards,
Olivier,
Belgium.
Didn't the studio version surface at one point? I've got 5,5 minutes which doesn't sound like an audience recording, and 26 minutes which are an audience recording.
I think we need to be wary of any recordings pretending to be the Macbeth audience recording, as there are some fakes out there.
According to John Stuart someone made some effort to 're-create' the Macbeth tracks from the audience recording, and this is the track that has surfaced. I have about 20 minutes of this stuff, but John checked it out and said it was fake.
thanks for your explanation.
Wow, so this Macbeth thing seems to need a lot of attention. It is something rare, Brian venturing in something quite new, at a turn of his life. A very interesting moment I guess, even if it won't be tomorrow's next hit on MTV. In fact, that is exactly what makes it really precious !
Such a shame someone tried to fool everyone else, I wasn't aware of that.
To those who don't know (as it was not explained here, and some newbies cruise down Queenzone from time to time), Brian May had a hard time as the last 10 years of next century went. Around 1990 he had to make do with an ill Freddie (pressure of studio work with a lot of time lost I guess, no live work since 1986, and therefore the future of queen and his own future became quite unsure). He lost his father, which could be understood as something like a hero for him (remember he helped him building his unique guitar, the Red Special, for example). And to complete the picture, his first marriage went to an end, as he met Anita Dobson, a situation he seemed to find quite hard to live (I guess he is a man with principles and morality, and everything went the wrong way). Anita Dobson, a famous actress, was due to play a role in McBeth, and Brian was asked to write the music for it.
Let's see that as a great challenge for a Rock'N'Roll guitarist, and it proved to be really different from Queen work. Just hear that document and you'll know what I mean. Something rich that showed a new face of Brian May's work and talent. Queen was already used to face challenges, but, even if it wasn't done to top the charts, I'm sure that gave Brian more self-confidence (he is not the most self-confident on earth !), and that could have meant something concerning his approach to music and composing afterwards. Just a thought here.
So, to complete the thread, is someone willing to :
- share the (complete) studio version ?
- share his opinions about the Macbeth thing if he attended it ?
- share the audience version as lossless ?
Thanks a lot for this great share. Will compare with my old mp3 (and will get rid of it if it is a fake !).
Regards,
Olivier,
Belgium.
Whoever has the studio version isn't giving it up I am afraid. Certain tracks are in the hands of a very few collectors, and they seem to be very shy about them. There are several things I have tried to track down, but no joy.
But then, maybe I am as guilty as the rest...
Hello all
It's amazing that many things can sit on our hard drives & we think that no one will ever want to ever hear them, however please don't get too exited as here are only 3 tracks from (What I remember them being) the studio takes. I have also uploaded the live versions of two of them in order they can be compared easily, I must say that they sound different live.
Also, they are in MP3 (I know sorry !) but better than having nothing I am sure.
I cannot remember for the life of me, where I got these from but in anycase enjoy & would somebody please with a better ear than mine, confirm they are the genuine article ?
Cheers : Jon
Those samples sound like the ones I had. We really need John to confirm more details about this fake version, as I really can't remember alot about it.
Jon Home wrote:
I cannot remember for the life of me, where I got these from but in anycase enjoy & would somebody please with a better ear than mine, confirm they are the genuine article.
I have identical sounding tracks, only the names are sligthly different.
If my memory serves me right;-)
These were shared by John Stuart, so they should be genuine.
Per
Macbeth was good change of direction for Brian. Just goes to show how diverse he is in his writing of music. Just hope somebody managed to get hold of/ recorded the music to Anita's stage show of TWO SISTERS & is willing to share.
Hey folks;
I'm listening right now.
Can anybody explain on which date and venue this recording was mate?
It must be a theatre performance right? None of the performances I saw in a theatre had ever included so much music like this one. Amazing!
Thanks for sharing
regards
W.