As the centerpiece of their 40th Anniversary celebration, Queen’s entire 15-album studio catalogue is being reissued in a series of new two-CD deluxe editions, the first 5 of which have just been released.
So, you can get “Queen,” “Queen II,” “Sheer Heart Attack,” “A Day At The Races,” and “A Night At The Opera” all newly mastered by the legendary producer Bob Ludwig with state of the art technology bringing these early albums closer than ever to the magic of the vinyl originals! Audio buffs around the world are raving at the job Bob’s done. Even Brian May, himself, is quoted as saying, “It’s as though a veil has been lifted!”
But here’s the even better part. The second CD in each package is loaded with really cool rarities, never-before-heard bonus tracks, and very magical live performances.
Sometimes record companies just put this stuff out to sell because they can, and sometimes the reissues we see are not well thought out or thought out at all, I’m afraid.
Not so here—THIS STUFF IS AWESOME! The live things bring Freddie’s heart directly in contact with yours when you here it, and Brian and the rest of the band’s musicianship is over the freakin’ moon!
Then there are things like the long lost retake of “Keep Yourself Alive.” Rerecorded with the idea to use this take as the single, alas it got shelved and was never used. Take it from me kids, IT’S BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL! And those are big words. But wait ‘till you hear how the vocals are so much more present, and also the drums—in fact, the whole track has got an extra power punch to it.
And then there are the original band demos! These “demos” are so good they’re better than some bands’ real finished albums! Hard to believe it took Queen so long to be signed by a record label.
Anyway you get the idea, this stuff is, indeed, worth spending your money on (read Rolling Stone’s 4 star review for more raves). These CDs will truly bring you hours of pleasure (they have for me!).
If you’re lucky you can win these, plus a collector’s sampler culled from all this material, or the limited edition box set (containing all 5 reissue packages plus a great band poster all in a cool custom slipcase) by entering our contest here at Classics Du Jour.
If you are even luckier, you can win a light blue, Brian May Special electric guitar that he signed for us to give to you!! This is the model that stems from his original guitar that he crafted with his father in 1963 and used on all early Queen recordings. It is a unique instrument with a unique sound. I’m not saying here that if you win it you will sound exactly like Brian May when you play it. For that, you will need 20 fingers instead of 10 and a mind that continually visualizes layers of classical arrangements continually dancing in your head. But with this axe, you’ll have a real head start!
If I were you I’d stop reading this dribble and go enter right away!! In fact, I’ll stop writing now so you can do just that!
Thanks for hanging out with me on these pages. Next time I’ll tell you about the 1,000 Aerosmith balsa model airplanes that my friend Ron Simms and I flew off the roof of the Columbia Records building on the Sunset Strip! Imagine driving down Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood and suddenly being attacked by hundreds of small airplanes! Wow, what a scene that was!
Talk to you guys soon.
Until then, keep Rockin’!
Rap~
