link
He also mentions how he'd like 'extra features' and possibly 'extra discs' with the releases.. so I wonder what extra material he has in mind? Stuff that will otherwise be on the box sets?
Oh, and he fails to really answer the question of whether the card sleeves will be copy controlled. Personally I wouldn't think so.. since the audio material is supposed to be the same as the 2001 masters (I'm assuming those don't have it)
As I have always thought for the past three years...we shall see!
I truly think this gives a glimmer of hope that the boxset will finally see the light of day within the year!
Brian states
"I would much rather be giving MORE on our CD's, like extra features, or even an extra disc, or some nice informative or artistically enjoyable packaging"
Is there any evidence of this at all in Queen's catalog? I can only think of the Hollywood Records releases which have new art and one or two remixes which, unfortunately, were not even done by band members. The "new" Live at Wembley cd has some extra tracks too.
In the good old days of vinyl, Queen rarely released a B-side that was not on an album already. The 12 inch remixes hardly count as they were released solely to boost a single's chart position, and they were all shite anyway - no new lyrics or guitar, only some not-very-well-edited instrumental add ons.
Perhaps he's only talking about Queen's DVD releases which, to be fair, are good value for money.
"The 12 inch remixes hardly count as they were released solely to boost a single's chart position, and they were all shite anyway - no new lyrics or guitar, only some not-very-well-edited instrumental add ons."
To the contrary, "Staying Power" has guitar in the 12" mix which isn't on the original. "I Want To Break Free" is a completely new song.. wouldn't have been a hit without the 12", which came before the single btw.. it's edited from the 12".
"Hammer to Fall" (Headbangers Mix) has loads of extra guitar.. though ironically it wasn't mixed well, as the sound of the backing tracks completely changes when that section is edited in.
There are numerous more very worthy 12" mixes.. "Scandal" frankly kicks ass as a 12" compared to the original.
I'm not saying there aren't problems with them. I'm the first to bitch about poor edits :) But your statement was rather broad and dismissive of all.
And no, he clearly says 'CDs', by your own quote even. Hollywood's crap remixes are one thing, but they did release a number of original extra tracks:
-Mad The Swine
-Keep Yourself Alive (Long lost version)
-See What A Fool I've Been
-I Go Crazy
-Radio Ga Ga 12"
-I Want To Break Free 12"
-One Vision (Extended Vision)
-Scandal 12"
Plus, on other releases:
-Soul Brother
-Thank God It's Christmas (with proper intro, original or not)
-Rock In Rio Blues
Of those, I only consider these as proper B-sides:
-Mad The Swine
-Keep Yourself Alive (Long lost version)
-See What A Fool I've Been
-I Go Crazy
-Soul Brother
-Rock In Rio Blues
Thank God It's Christmas was a single in its own right and therefore not an "extra". You have a point about some of the 12 inches - I didn't know there was a 12" Staying Power in fact. Scandal, we'll have to disagree on. The 7" is really good and the 12" sounds to me like an "add-on" with no new stuff (although to be honest I haven't listened to some of this stuff for 5 years or more so I could be talking bollocks.) As for Brian's "cd" comment, I was sober when I wrote that and I'm drunk now :) but if Brian was confused/misleading it would hardly be the first time he's written something when he actually meant something else. (Many people on this forum suffer from that too incidentally.) Overall though, I think it's still a fair point that Queen hardly overburdened us with "extras" on their cd and single releases. 6 or 7 genuine B-sides out of
40+ singles is hardly fan-pleasing. Take Oasis, for example, or Pearl Jam: lots of extras there - quality issues aside :)
Holly, personally I appreciated Hollywood releasing TGIC on CD. I believe the only other CD versions were the 3" singles sets until '99 when GHIII came out, plus I think it sounds better with a real intro at the beginning :)
And I think you should give the Scandal 12" another listen if possible.. it's got a lot heavier drums, totally different mix.. and not too much of the digital effects which make Invisible Man and Breakthru a bit annoying in their 12" mixes.
Fenderek, I think you're right. The guitar at least seems to go on a bit longer than it does in the original. That's not one of my faves, only because the weird vocal effects on Freddie saying 'Pain' 'Pleasure' make me laugh.. almost as much as thinking I hear 'grapefruit' at the beginning of the 12" Breakthru' :)
As to the copy control Brian has it completely right. Why should people spend their money on a product that was deliberately made less playable? However, he does not have to "fight" to keep copy control away from Queen CDs (Live At Wembley has it), a simple phone call to Jim Beach will do. If artists refuse to have their CDs copy controlled the record company has to respect that.
You seriously believe that YV? I doubt any company would like to lift the copy control from their cds because the artist asked them to. You see what I'm getting at?
But the Queen camp do respond well to band requests, so maybe it'll happen.
Peace,
Adam.
Has anyone thought about that nice 12" remix CD in the Box Of Tricks? My favourite track is Breakthru -- it always make the room shake when the bass is turned up on the drum parts. Really, all of the tracks on the CD are excellent, though Bo Rhap and Show Must Go On are not 12" remixes, they're the original songs (first and last track respectively). Good sound on this CD!