| Sebastian 09.10.2012 17:21 |
link A visitor of my l8 website sent me this link some time ago, and I think that's a fantastic work with loads of 'new' info. It's also got many mistakes (not even nearly as many as my now defunct website, though) but it's still interesting and quite amazing. Some of the highlights: * According to Mike Moran, all Queen members were on the Barcelona album, even if they weren't credited. I wonder what Brian did... * The story of Queen's involvement with Arif Mardin is told more in-depth. * Barcelona was neither written for the Olympics nor commissioned by Montserrat about her birthplace. * Freddie *was* indeed UP's main producer. * Great to learn how EIFL originated. |
| The Real Wizard 09.10.2012 21:18 |
Very cool ! You actually managed to read all that? Well done if you did. And what's EIFL? |
| Gregsynth 09.10.2012 21:32 |
The Real Wizard wrote: Very cool ! You actually managed to read all that? Well done if you did. And what's EIFL?Exercises In Free Love! |
| Ozz 09.10.2012 23:02 |
putting aside the song interpretations and all the coverage to freddie's sexual life, the document has an interesting insight to the recording of bohemian rhapsody, hot space, barcelona, innuendo and MIH. in recent documentaries we have seen Jim Beach taking all the credit for the barcelona reunion (being asked by freddie to do so). However here i can see again the version i heard at the time, that, after the "informe semanal" interview where Freddie mentions Montserrat, the producer Pino Saglioco makes the link between them. The theory that Barcelona was never "asked" as the Olympic Theme, makes a lot of sense after the lyrics analysis and the mike moran word. Here, they again put John Deacon in the Hot Space Wagon with Freddie, Mack probably supports this theory. I would love to hear the real demo of You Don't Fool me, and to see the great work of David Richards from that demo to the final version (as this document describes) |
| tomchristie22 10.10.2012 00:59 |
I'll probably read this at some point. Looks interesting. |
| Fmarton 10.10.2012 02:01 |
Now this looks interesting. I will surely read it. Thanks for the link |
| shannaschaffer 10.10.2012 14:29 |
Wow - thanks! There goes my productivity for the rest of the week... |
| Mr.QueenFan 10.10.2012 17:42 |
This is great stuff Sebastian, thanks a lot for sharing, and thanks to the author for this wonderfull research work. I'm reading the Barcelona section first- i couldn't resit it- and i'm simply fascinated by it. It answers all my questions i had about the original recording, the Synths, the role of Mike Moran in the project, why Freddie didn't want an orchestra and other brilliant stuff. Especially because i was allways mesmerized about how perfect those synths sounded in that album. Mike Moran explains how he did it. Genius! |
| pma 11.10.2012 02:58 |
Thanks, the thesis contains great information, I also began by reading the Barcelona section. Although in some parts (like counter-arguing Laura Jackson's claims) there is stuff that, well, for example my MA-instructor would not have wanted to see in an academic piece. I never knew Mary Austin was raised by two deaf parents, and was of a less privileged background? Any truth to this? |
| Mr.QueenFan 11.10.2012 09:19 |
pma wrote: I never knew Mary Austin was raised by two deaf parents, and was of a less privileged background? Any truth to this?I've read it in the past about the deaf parents, so i assume it's the truth unless someone knows better. |
| Julie Nash 11.10.2012 17:50 |
I read most of this and think it is very well written. I really like the detail of MIH. In response to Sebastian, what are all the mistakes you find? I don't spot ANY in terms of the writing style, and Promane seems vigilant to source his references, almost excessively at times. I wonder what he would say about Lambert now. |
| Sebastian 11.10.2012 20:09 |
Some of the mistakes, which may come from Mack rather than Barry, are: * Claiming HS sessions began in Montreux. * Claiming HS uses MIDI technology (MIDI was announced several months *after* HS was released, and began being avaialbe over a year afterwards). * On the equipment list, it mentions synthesisers that didn't exist in 1981-1982. There are others, very small ones anyway, such as saying that the main part of KQ is on a jangle piano (it isn't - the jangle piano's an overdub, not a/the main part), and odds and sods here and there but, then again, they're neither nearly as many as the amount of mistakes my website used to have, nor are they big or very relevant ones. |
| thomasquinn 32989 12.10.2012 03:08 |
@Seb: Just a thought: as a super-wealthy, extremely famous band, wouldn't it be likely for Queen to have access to synthesizers before they hit the general market? I mean, can you think of better advertising for your new product than saying "as used by Queen"? |
| Ozz 12.10.2012 06:45 |
Not really with these dates MIDI : 1983 Akai S1000 : 1988 Kurzweil K250: 1984 |
| thomasquinn 32989 12.10.2012 09:30 |
The Akai seems impossible without question, I agree. A Kurzweil K250 would be very unlikely, as it appears the first prototypes (for Stevie Wonder) weren't available until 1983. With MIDI, I think it's a little more difficult. This probably wasn't available to Queen, but theoretically, they could have used it from 1981 onward, as that's the year the major companies started developing their lines of MIDI devices. This would presuppose Queen had access to very early experimental models, and I don't think it's very likely, but I don't feel sure enough to rule it out offhand. The fact that it is mentioned alongside clearly inaccurate items does plead against its credibility. |
| Sebastian 12.10.2012 13:37 |
thomasquinn 32989 wrote: @Seb: Just a thought: as a super-wealthy, extremely famous band, wouldn't it be likely for Queen to have access to synthesizers before they hit the general market? I mean, can you think of better advertising for your new product than saying "as used by Queen"?Access to synthesisers before they hit the market - yes. Access to time machines: no. |
| Holly2003 12.10.2012 14:50 |
Sebastian wrote:Brian is a rocket scientist though.thomasquinn 32989 wrote: @Seb: Just a thought: as a super-wealthy, extremely famous band, wouldn't it be likely for Queen to have access to synthesizers before they hit the general market? I mean, can you think of better advertising for your new product than saying "as used by Queen"?Access to synthesisers before they hit the market - yes. Access to time machines: no. Besides, see attached file. It's already been done. |
| Ozz 12.10.2012 22:28 |
Seb, what's the link to your website.. ? i had bookmarked sebastian.queenconcerts.com but i dont see it,. |
| thomasquinn 32989 13.10.2012 03:30 |
Sebastian wrote:See my above post - I don't think it's likely, but you can't rule out MIDI offhand. It did exist when Hot Space was being recorded, it just wasn't commercially implemented yet.thomasquinn 32989 wrote: @Seb: Just a thought: as a super-wealthy, extremely famous band, wouldn't it be likely for Queen to have access to synthesizers before they hit the general market? I mean, can you think of better advertising for your new product than saying "as used by Queen"?Access to synthesisers before they hit the market - yes. Access to time machines: no. |
| Sebastian 13.10.2012 10:50 |
Re:thomasquinn 32989: Of course I cannot absolutely and categorically 100% rule it out as I wasn't there to see if they used MIDI or not, but both logic and, as you say, the other inaccuracies on the book on that department, strongly imply that they used MIDI from The Works onwards, not from Hot Space onwards. Re:Ozz: I don't have a website anymore. I shut it down in January (or was it February?). |
| kosimodo 13.10.2012 12:48 |
not that i missed it..but..now i miss it... |
| Mr.QueenFan 13.10.2012 21:02 |
The forum doesn't let me reply to a specific post right now, so i'm going to adress some points that i find interesting: 1) It's very interesting the discussion about the "technological devices" used to created create "Hot space". What i find most interesting is the fact that the list on pages 134,135 was provided by Mack himself through mail. This is the kind of list that Mack probably has for All the albums he has ever produced. It's not something that he has to try to remember- i think! He probably just went to his personal files, found the list, email it. I see Mack as this very disciplined German producer, so i wonder what have gonne wrong with his notes. 2) Sebastian, do you plan on geting your site back? The research that went into it was tremendous, and i loved the idea of having Queen describing their songs by little snipets of interviews atached to each song- when applicable. 3) There's one thing in the Barcelona section of this Thesis that is making me think: On Page 142 there's "...From September 1986 to March 1987, Mercury worked on a solo project with Mike Moran at the Townhouse Studios..." and then on Page 147 "...Following the festivities, Mercury and Moran reconvened at the Townhouse Studios to continue working on what was set to become Mercury's second solo album, although during this time, Caballe called persistently..." I've read that after the Magic tour Freddie went to japan, probably some vacations, but if this is accurate, it's almost 6 months working on a solo project. And this is what i don't understand: What solo project was that?- the covers album? - It seems that the "Barcelona" project only started to get shape around March/April 1987. Six months to produce two songs - "The Great Pretender" and "Exercices in Free Love" is not what i'm expecting from Freddie in a 6 month period. I remember reading in the Box-set text - it's been a while!- that in 1984/5 Fredie got to a point when he wanted to write a song per day. He could be very efficient in the studio! This is why i'm a little curious about this so called project that never happened, or was shelved. Anyone has some insight over this matter? |
| Sebastian 13.10.2012 23:25 |
There's absolutely NOTHING to support the claim that Mack kept a list like that for every album he produced. Being German has nothing to do with that ... a lot of Irish producers would do that, a lot of Italian producers would do it too, a lot of Romanian producers would have better memory, or worse, or roughly the same... a lot of what Mack has said in interviews is true, but not all of it as he's, human (Germans are humans, you see) and, as human, he can misremember. Same for Roy (English) and David (English). |
| Mr.QueenFan 14.10.2012 15:47 |
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| Mr.QueenFan 14.10.2012 15:47 |
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| Mr.QueenFan 14.10.2012 15:54 |
Sebastian, If you want to stick with the questions in hand and be serious about it, everybody will benefit, and it makes for great forum discussions. If you wanna continue with the tone of your replies, that's fine with me too, just don't expect nothing good coming out of it. The condescenting tone of your reply wasn't necessary. |
| Sebastian 15.10.2012 00:45 |
OK, I'll rephrase it then: * A lot of what Mack has said is true, but not all of it. He's human and, as such, can make mistakes, * There's absolutely nothing to imply he kept notes of the equipment used for every album he produced. * If he did, those notes were incomplete as, for HS, he didn't mention acoustic guitars or organ, both of which were used, not to mention several devices that hadn't been invented yet. My theory: Mack misremembered some of the items (which may have been used on Queen-related projects, only a bit later, e.g. The Works, Mr Bad Guy, Strange Frontier), which makes sense considering it's been over two and a half decades (myself, I wouldn't remember *everything* about my job ten years ago). Conclusion: those lists are excellent, but they're not perfect. Take them as a very strong guideline, not as the gospel truth. |
| winterspelt 16.10.2012 00:17 |
Very interesting, I just read the Barcelona part and its very interesting. Whoever is this guy, did an amazing job! |
| plumrach 18.10.2012 07:26 |
I have not read all of it yet but what i have is very interesting |
| Sebastian 11.08.2013 18:13 |
Bmpd. |
| Fireplace 11.08.2013 18:37 |
Sebastian wrote: * According to Mike Moran, all Queen members were on the Barcelona album, even if they weren't credited. I wonder what Brian did... .I've been told that Brian controlled the badger population in and around the studio. He did a fine job, because as far as I can tell no badgers made it on to the recording. |
| Sebastian 11.08.2013 19:20 |
Badgers were Freddie's favourite mustelidae. |
| Sebastian 25.08.2013 11:14 |
Further mistakes: on page 136, the author lists Edinburgh as being in England. |
| brENsKi 25.08.2013 11:26 |
it fucking well is ^^^ lol - expecting a flaming from ThistleBoy he-he |
| Sebastian 17.07.2015 09:03 |
Bumped. |
| hobbit in Rhye 18.07.2015 01:06 |
A 328 pages long PhD thesis about Queen?! Plus, 328 pages purely about Queen, not like Peter Hince's book where there were some of his personal flirtings that we honestly don't care about at all. Might be the first PhD thesis that I would fully read from head to toe. The info that "all Queen members were on the Barcelona album" is interesting. I'll get back here after I finish the book. |
| people on streets 20.07.2015 15:18 |
The Real Wizard wrote: You actually managed to read all that? Well done if you did.its only 328 pages. |
| The Real Wizard 23.07.2015 19:17 |
people on streets wrote:... which is a hell of a lot, by internet standards.The Real Wizard wrote: You actually managed to read all that? Well done if you did.its only 328 pages. |
| matt z 23.07.2015 22:49 |
Good to see this up on the forum queue again. Problem is the original file seems to have been taken down. Any chance of a repost? It's gotta be pretty small if it's pdf |
| Sebastian 24.07.2015 01:28 |
link |
| matt z 24.07.2015 18:58 |
Thanks Mr Sebastian. .. however I still get the message that it does not exist. I don't believe it could be an issue with my browser. Hmm. I'll just Google the damn thing repeatedly it must exist somewhere |
| Mr.QueenFan 24.07.2015 19:10 |
matt z wrote: Thanks Mr Sebastian. .. however I still get the message that it does not exist. I don't believe it could be an issue with my browser. Hmm. I'll just Google the damn thing repeatedly it must exist somewhereTry this: link You have to scroll down the page and hit the download button. I hope this helps. |