QueenZone discussion #1324349

YourValentine wrote:I cannot imagine the Pablo Picasso estate commissioning a painter to repaint Picasso's work because colours and canvasses are so much better these days and Picasso could not afford such good material.

YourValentine wrote:I am not against this project per se, I am certainly against the way it is sold to the public.

Pim Derks wrote: Let's wait for the new Queen-album, "Mr. Bad Guy" to be released. Freddie would've wanted it that way.

cmsdrums wrote: Very good point about the 'Freddie-less' instrumental album - on a previous thread I compared it to one of those 'royal philharmonic plays the music of...' albums. Basically it's a bit pointless. Do the sleeve notes say if Mike Moran's original piano parts have been retained on the new version, or have they re-recorded those for no reason at all?

pittrek wrote: How can somebody have it already ? Amazon is not fair :-(

brians wig wrote: I expect Mr Bad guy will be released by Island records next (they'll want to capitalise on re-releases as expected), but in what form? ..

pittrek wrote:

Pim Derks wrote: Let's wait for the new Queen-album, "Mr. Bad Guy" to be released. Freddie would've wanted it that way.

Actually Brian's guitar and Roger's drumming would help the songs from the album :-)

dowens wrote: I just can't understand why people seem to get so upset at the Queen versions of Freddie's solo stuff on MIH. You never know, Freddie could have given them free range on whatever before he died.  

dowens wrote:I just can't understand why people seem to get so upset at the Queen versions of Freddie's solo stuff on MIH.

dowens wrote:You never know, Freddie could have given them free range on whatever before he died.

dowens wrote:It would be great to get an in-depth interview about the process of making MIH.

dowens wrote:I'd rather here more Queen versions of Freddie's songs rather that the "flavor of the month" artist performing with Brian and Roger.

scovel001 wrote: I've just listened to this on Spotify, all I can say is 'wow' this album sounds exceptional. Even on my lowly Macbook Pro. I never had the original, however, my friend did & I remember thinking how dated the synths made things sound. This one is a belter, very impressed indeed.

dowens wrote: Emotionally manipulative and dishonest?! You seem to get too emotional about this. Did you personally know Freddie?! I think Brian and Roger did. Sorry, I don't get the "lose 0-5 than be 0-5". There simply is nothing wrong with Queen making versions of Freddie's songs, there is nothing dishonest about it. They are superior versions to the originals, IMO.

rhyeking wrote: I won't bore you all with a song by song analysis. It sounds great overall to me. Is it perfect? No, but neither was the original. Both are pretty damn good. You *will* hear the differences. You may not like them, especially if you're used to and love the original. Or you might think they improve upon the what was recorded in '87/'88. Even if it's not Freddie performing the music himself, he did co-write it. I think calling the instrumental disc "Freddie-less" can be somewhat obtuse. If I understand the intent correctly, this project was intended to expand the vision of the album, to complete the idea of the classical model it was partly built on. I would argue that in this case, unlike symphonic cover albums of Queen songs, the instrumental disc is more in line with a modern transcription like of Mozart (and no, I'm not comparing Freddie to Mozart, I'm comparing classical music practices, which do relate to the Barcelona album, since it started as an operatic project of sorts). When I listen to a piano transcription of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, which Mozart did not pen himself, I still hear the music Mozart created. The same goes for these instrumentals tracks. I would suggest that you're missing out if you choose to dismiss the instrumental disc. It's a new and different way to hear Freddie's music and you may find much beauty in it. And that goes for the entire Special Edition. It's something different, another way to experience the album. It doesn't negate the original and you don't have to pick one over the other.

dowens wrote: Just be because you end something in minor doesn't make you dishonest.   It's clear you dislike the final album, so we can just agree to disagree. But manipulative and dishonest? Can't see that.

Sheer Brass Neck wrote: I'm not a theorist but minor brings tension and drama that a major chord doesn't (why CLTCL is more "upbeat" than WWTLF.)

tomchristie22 wrote: Really? I would've thought CLTCL is more upbeat than WWTLF because WWTLF is a slow, melancholic organ-driven dirge, while Crazy Little Thing is a light (musically and lyrically) rockabilly song. But I guess it really is more to do with a single chord difference, huh. ;) RhyeKing's point is very valid - they only ever set out to be re-doing the two Freddie tracks as Queen versions, not recreating Freddie's versions as they believed he would have preferred them.

saj ditta wrote: i got my disc 4disc barcelona today i gotta say dvd was appalling why wasnt it on bluray?.

Ozz wrote: Now that i listened the album: The Good: - La Japonaise sounds much better because of the mix and the koto - The Fallen Priest, sounds better and stronger - Exercises in free love, much richer sounds The Bad: - Barcelona sounds bland and boring - How Can i go on. The violin sounds like a cheap addittion. in some moments like a cat howl - The Golden Boy. Awful mix of rufus drums (Loud). Lack of feeling in the playing too The Ugly: - I feel they killed all the former energy of Overture Piccante - Guide me home ending.. they just chopped it. Fuck that!

Sheer Brass Neck wrote: I'm going to channel Sebastian here :) "You don't -have- a point about Made in Heaven." I do. I think the album is manipulative. That's my point. You don't think so. So I guess based on your logic you don't have a point either so why are we debating this? "Looking at an elegiac piece of music and complaining about it being morbid is like complaining about all of the dairy in an ice cream cone." Excellent point, and not being sarcastic. If we can accept that elegiac can be defined as verse composed in memory of the dead, let's look at MIH song by song. IABD? Written in 1980, not about death or dying, could be about a beautiful day. In the context of the album, it's an unfinished first song. Why wasn't it finished? Freddie too ill to complete it a la Mother Love? Or it sets a tone of a man coming to terms with death and dying. Your interpretation, my interpretation, whatever. That's how I see it. Next is MIH? Written in 1986, not about death or dying. LML? Written early 80s, not about death or dying. ML? Written around the time of Freddie's death or early that year, so an honest look at what he was facing. Apart from the scmaltzy end. MLHBS? Written by John Deacon, years before that, so not Freddie's thoughts. They stripped the life out of the B-side version, as it had energy and was optimistic, not so on this plodding rework. I think I have a point ;) which of course you will disagree with :) "The issue here is that you think it shouldn't have been made at all - good for you, but that isn't a reflection on the album (or its makers) at all. It's squarely a reflection on you, and it's your loss." I thought Innuendo was perfect as a goodbye album. In North America we didn't know what his status was until the picture of him leaving the doctor came out in August. To me, that was a poignant, honest album, and there's more emotion in Bijou than the entire MIH album. That's just me though.

YourValentine wrote: "Any memorial song that has the word "heaven" in it is always going to be embarrassing" I remember a journalist writing that MIH was called MIH because they could not call it "Made In A Computer"

YourValentine wrote: "Any memorial song that has the word "heaven" in it is always going to be embarrassing" I remember a journalist writing that MIH was called MIH because they could not call it "Made In A Computer"

thomasquinn 32989 wrote: Another thing that's very important in classical music is *not to mess with the basic arrangement unless there's a pretty damn good reason for doing so*. When re-arranging a score for a different group (in this case, re-arranging synths for an orchestra), the key is to keep it as close to the original as possible. If you don't, you're not arranging - you're creating a new piece of music. I feel the arranger for this release should have been more modest. From what I've heard so far, this album goes waaaaay beyond the original score. I hope someday, someone will do this right.

Zebonka12 wrote: Making music as a bereaved person is an act that's rather steeped in catharsis and really do think there's every possibility that the album is more about Brian and Roger (and John) putting out their feelings, using what was available, as opposed to them trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes.

thomasquinn 32989 wrote: I never really minded Made In Heaven at all, because the songs on it were, mostly, completely transformed from the Freddie originals into something new. With the Barcelona-thing, I get the impression of something gone wrong halfway between something new and the original freshened up by replaced synth parts. It could easily have been done like the original (only with a full orchestra in place of synths) but it would have taken a great deal more time and thus money.

Doga wrote: I love the new version, they put a lot of effort in it. Some thing of the 80' really sucks, and the use of synthetizers is one of these. I imagine Barcelona was made with keyboards because is the way they did the things at the time,but now is much better.

pittrek wrote:

Pim Derks wrote: Let's wait for the new Queen-album, "Mr. Bad Guy" to be released. Freddie would've wanted it that way.

Actually Brian's guitar and Roger's drumming would help the songs from the album :-)

Doga wrote: I love the new version, they put a lot of effort in it. Some thing of the 80' really sucks, and the use of synthetizers is one of these. I imagine Barcelona was made with keyboards because is the way they did the things at the time,but now is much better.

cmsdrums wrote: So basically Jim Beach is talking shit then in the promo film for this release, where he says that Freddie couldn't be bothered to use an orchestra