With the release of the 40th Anniversary set of News of the World being released, I was wondering if anyone else has done like I have and created their ultimate version of the album. I did a combination of using single versions of some songs, using intros and/or outros of some songs and mixing them with another version and even doing a little editing to fly in different parts of one version to put over another version.
For anyone who would like to listen to my mix, please PM me and I'll send a link. I will not be publishing the link on the forum, since the material is made from officially released product. I will go through and discuss the edits/choices I made in a few days.
I will share that in a day or two. I'm working on it right now with all the edits I made. As far as the track listing, it is the same 11 songs in the same order as the original album.
To Kuijpy, even though this might qualify as a fan mix, since all of the material I used for this project is made up from officially released Queen product, which is a no no on the forum, I'm erring on the side of caution and not sharing the link publicly. Queen's management has been pretty cool with this site over the years with sharing bootlegs and fan mixes. So, I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize that.
OK. I wrote up the tracklist along with the choices and edits I made:
1) We Will Rock You - standard album version followed by the explosion/reading and then the fast version of the track from the BBC Session. You have to have the classic "Stamp Stamp Clap" version. But I thought it would be cool to have the fast version too. And where better to put it then teaming it with the classic album mix?
2) We Are the Champions - standard album version up until the middle of the third time through the chorus where it switches to the mix from the 40th Anniversary Raw Sessions disc.
3) Sheer Heart Attack - opening and closing from the Raw Sessions disc from the 40th Anniversary disc with the standard album track in the middle. Some limiting was done on the ending from the Raw Sessions disc to make the music sound closer to the standard album mix.
4) All Dead All Dead - the opening with Freddie singing the “Memories” section before it drifts to the standard album version for the main song. I love Freddie's opening, but overall think Queen made the right choice with having Brian on lead vocals on the standard album mix.
5) Spread Your Wings - starts with the little piano piece that is played at the beginning of the song on the Raw Sessions disc. This then shifts to the BBC Session edition.
6) Fight From the Inside - count in opening from the Raw Sessions disc before it goes to the standard album version.
7) Get Down, Make Love - starts with the stardard version of the song. Then it shifts to the Raw Sessions version for the jam session, which I love. It then shifts back to the standard version for the “Make Love” section, which the song didn’t feel right to me without, to the end of the track.
8) Sleeping on the Sidewalk - standard album verion
9) Who Needs You? - standard album version with an edit made by me to center Freddie’s voice while keeping the rest of the stereo field intact. While I would have loved to use the acoustic mix from the Raw Sessions CD, I didn’t like the sections where the lyrics weren’t complete yet. But when I tried to fly in the vocals from the standard album, I found I wasn’t able to just extract them, making the mix sound a mess. If only I had access to the multitasks for this song. J
10) It’s Late - Starts off with the standard studio version. Goes to the Raw sessions version on “If I could let you stay.” Then for the bridge (“I’ve been so low”) since I didn’t like the way Freddie was singing that section on the alternate mix, I used a filter to mute his vocals on that version while going to the same section on the standard mix and making the vocals acapella. I then did a mix paste of the two so you have the standard vocals over the alternate instrumental. Then during the final chorus, since Freddie misses “So let the” before picking up with “fire take our bodies this night” on the alternate mix, I again took “So let the” from the standard mix, made it acapella and inserted it into the alternate mix. Finally, I muted Freddie’s voice at the very end of the alternate mix as he starts talking before the final chord fades.
11) My Melancholy Blues - a lot more simple compared to “It’s Late.” It starts with the introduction from the standard album version. And then at the appropriate point, it shifts to the BBC Session version.
Again, if you'd like to hear the mix, please PM me for the link. And with or without listening to it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on these choices. And what would you make to make your ultimate mix of the album for you?