| Localboy80 22.11.2005 04:56 |
I really need to get it off my chest, so sincere apologies if this bothers anybody! I am so frustrated as a Queen fan right now. I bought the 30th anniversary of 'A Night At The Opera' yesterday and it left me feeling empty. Don't get me wrong, the presentation of the CD is good, with a nice booklet with lovely pictures that comes with it. As for the sound, no complaints on that front either, it is excellent. The thing is, considering this is Queen's biggest album (personally, not quite my favourite album) and it is their 30th anniversary, it is such a let down! I sat there with my girlfriend last night, who I am really getting into Queen more and more each day and was quite embarrassed when 'Seaside Rendezvous' and 'Good Company' came on. I just thought, 'What the hell is this shit?!' My girlfriend even said, 'What has this got to do with Queen?' The cutting and pasting did not synch to well either. I mean, apart from it not synching well, why on earth did they have footage of 'Return Of The Champions'? As much as I am all for the tour and thoroughly enjoyed the concerts I went to see, surely there is enough vintage footage of '39' to not include this? It just did not suit a 1975 Queen album! Also (and yes, I know I am being a little fickle here but hey, I expect things better than this), I thought later footage of 'Love Of My Life' was inappropriate, as I think again, there is more vintage footage of the song to show and what with this being the 70's era, the image of 80's Queen/Freddie performing the song, did not fit with the studio version and the whole 70's theme. Overall, the presentation is good, the sound is excellent but as for anything else, for a die hard Queen fan, this really is a mediocre piece for the collection. Why on earth didn't they do, I don't know, maybe 'A Night At The Opera' box-set? Include the original album, completely digitally remastered. Keep the DVD-a with different images and commentary but also include a CD of different takes of each song, demos, outtakes etc.. And then maybe a final CD of live versions of each song. There is so much more they could have done, to make this release one truly to get excited over. Again, once too often, Queen Productions have let us fans down again, in my honest, humble opinion!!! This comes from one dissatisfied Queen fan, who once again, is left hungry for more! |
| Lemmy 22.11.2005 06:53 |
I know how you feel. I've been a fan for quite some time now and this ANATO release is really a filler. It seems Brian and ROger were more into the Queen + project than 'living in the past' - as Brian said. But then, going out just he and Roger and calling it Queen +, is kind of living in the past, or living thanks to the past... anyway... horses for courses... I felt that this release was gonna be crap, so I did the best I could and ignored it. And I'm glad I did, because now QP will have to come up with a damn good product for me to put my hand in my pocket again. I just thik of all these young fans who have dug deep into their pockets and who will regret this buy in a couple of years... |
| Rune 22.11.2005 09:05 |
I have to agree with Lemmy. Brian & Roger are so into Q+PR. And maybe - just maybe - they forget what made those guys so big. A man called Freddie Mercury. Maybe they don't realize that you and I, the fans, still love the old Queen more than this new "Queen". Queen was with Freddie, and we want good, high-rated material from Queen with Freddie. I just think espacially Brian has a problem with that. Sad Sad Sad |
| Sharon G. 22.11.2005 11:12 |
You are so correct Rune. |
| Sebastian 22.11.2005 12:28 |
You can always mail Brian those comments |
| deleted user 22.11.2005 13:02 |
you should all just be bloody thankful they decided to do a 30th anniversary edition! for all tehy care they could of released nothing# so stop bein so bloody ungrateful and be happy for actually having something rather than nohting at all! christ you lot do nowt but complain about things when they are released and complain if they arent released, jesus man get a grip and be fukin thankful for once! |
| Penetration_Guru 22.11.2005 13:12 |
for what? Some photos? If EMI had gone with thir original plan and just re-released the CD, we'd have had one thread about EMI exploiting the catalogue. As it is it's as Wiley very intewlligently pointed out - neither a mass-market product nor a genuine collector's edition, which will see it bought only by completists and stepfords... |
| Sebastian 22.11.2005 13:17 |
Of course it's outright impossible to leave everybody happy. But there are certain levels. I remember how I complained about the documentary about Dark Side Of The Moon because, among others: - It didn't include many technical info (forms, chords, equipment) except for some comments on the VCS3 and about Rick's use of jazzy dissonances - No interviews to Clare or Dick - No audio or video excerpts from the Dark pre-tour (I mean when they performed those tracks live before recording them, and how did they evolve), they could have easily gotten some via die-hards and bootleggers - Some reconstruction "clips" are cut-n-paste from Pompeii Now, how would that be if DSoTM documentary had included Pulse extracts, no Alan Parsons interviews, nonsense so-called videos, and absurd attempts to re-write history? Having said that, do I consider this release to be pants? No. Do I think it could have been a hell of a lot better? Absolutely. Have QP got enough sources inside to have made it way better? Of course. Have QP got enough sources outside to have done it a thousand percent better? Yes. The making of Dark Side Of The Moon is one of the best DVDs out there. Queen had enough both inside and outside to be at the same level, but they've completely lost it. Compare the videos: Best Friend is beautiful, original, well filmed, well mixed, well directed. The few I've seen from DOTL and the others is beyond crap. The reason? The public. Back in 1975 when they edited Bo Rhap's video they "had to" make it brilliant because if they didn't, they could be risking their financtial estability (and one of them was a family man) as well as their (cheesy as it may sound) dream of still being proffessional musicians. They had a small fan-base yet so if they made a hash it was dangerous. In those days the band, the engineer, the producer and the crew spent painstaking hours during two days only mixing Bo Rhap. They were well up to be extremely meticulous in every note, every glithc of the piano, every "extra" breathing on each one of the twenty-something harmonies of certain line, each track and its EQ, panning, reverb, effects (or lack of them), the position of the mic in each instrument, achieving a bloody superb performance in each one of the instruments and vocals, spreading the bass in three-channels and mixing them and God knows what else just to leave the audience happy with one minute seven seconds of good music (in the case of Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon). Nowadays it seems like they merely spend half an hour in putting random pics and on the background the song and then they claim "we made a new video". What a shame... |
| kohuept 22.11.2005 13:45 |
Are there any comments on the commentary from those who have heard it? |
| Lemmy 22.11.2005 15:50 |
<font color=green>taylorgaga wrote: you should all just be bloody thankful they decided to do a 30th anniversary edition! for all tehy care they could of released nothing# so stop bein so bloody ungrateful and be happy for actually having something rather than nohting at all! christ you lot do nowt but complain about things when they are released and complain if they arent released, jesus man get a grip and be fukin thankful for once!Thankful? Well you are young, I suppose... Thankful for what? Trying to conn fans into buying some product just because the name Queen is on it? Sad, sad, sad... Sorry, Taylorgaga, I don't agree with you. I didn't need this release to remember Freddie's anniversary or Boh Rhap... |
| latina 22.11.2005 17:26 |
In my opinion all those annyversary editions and digitally remaster stuff is crap, bullshit or whatever. With CD/DVD I'll never achieve that feeling of picking up the vinyl, breathing away the dust on it, putting it on the record player and hearing that crackie sound, while lying down, closing the eyes and smelling the 70s ...turning over the record ...and doing the same again... |
| CapitalQ 22.11.2005 18:23 |
I don't see any mention of the 5.1 mix in this topic...How is it? I was thinking of buying the 30th Anniversary Edition just for the 5.1. |
| teleman 22.11.2005 23:47 |
fantasma wrote: In my opinion all those annyversary editions and digitally remaster stuff is crap, bullshit or whatever. With CD/DVD I'll never achieve that feeling of picking up the vinyl, breathing away the dust on it, putting it on the record player and hearing that crackie sound, while lying down, closing the eyes and smelling the 70s ...turning over the record ...and doing the same again...Someone who thinks like me. Feeling old now. LOL |
| john bodega 23.11.2005 00:41 |
<font color=green>taylorgaga wrote: you should all just be bloody thankful they decided to do a 30th anniversary edition! for all tehy care they could of released nothing# so stop bein so bloody ungrateful and be happy for actually having something rather than nohting at all! christ you lot do nowt but complain about things when they are released and complain if they arent released, jesus man get a grip and be fukin thankful for once!I beg to differ. You should *not* be thankful if you think it's a substandard product. Why the fuck should anyone who forks over valuable money for something that's not as good as it could be, just smile and say 'well at least I got something!'. With that line of thinking, they could just keep their original album and have done with it. This is *Queen* we are talking about, the best... a bad release from Queen is a slap in the face, so I dunno - don't be surprised if they feel shitty. |
| Lemmy 23.11.2005 04:49 |
teleman wrote:aaahh... the vinyl... I still have my lot.fantasma wrote: In my opinion all those annyversary editions and digitally remaster stuff is crap, bullshit or whatever. With CD/DVD I'll never achieve that feeling of picking up the vinyl, breathing away the dust on it, putting it on the record player and hearing that crackie sound, while lying down, closing the eyes and smelling the 70s ...turning over the record ...and doing the same again...Someone who thinks like me. Feeling old now. LOL The covers were something to look at and the sound was less stale. |
| latina 23.11.2005 07:00 |
Yeah, that's the word...stale. I don't know if it can be proofed scientifically but i'm almost convinced that the analog recorded vinyl catches, accumulates and transmits somehow the climate and atmosphere of the recording locality. The sound from a CD always sounds to me as if it is coming down direct from outer space. So cold. |
| Localboy80 23.11.2005 08:47 |
I appreciate your opinion taylorgaga but you are way off the mark when you say all we do is complain. Queen being as big as they, really do not get the coverage they deserve. I mean, it is only now things have started to be release. My mere point, was that considering this was Queen's milestone album and it is celebrating it's 30th anniversary, then it is a let down. You may be happy with a remastered version with any old thing thrown in but like nearly everybody has said, thyere is so much they could and should have done. Yes, it is great that items are being released but this is more disappointing than having nothing at all. Brian said in the notes that he does not think this version of "A Night At The Opera" will ever be bettered. All I can say to that, is that I am even wondering if Brian actually wrote the notes! |