There Can Be Only One...And A Half, Finally!

Just as the quickening never really arrives (or is retroactively written out) in the Highlander films, it never really seems to be over here on One Buck Records. Or so it seems! Really, this little addendum project came together after I had finished my reworked 'lost' Queen soundtrack for Highlander. Specifically I realized that the version of "Who Wants To Live Forever" is the classic version featuring both Brian May and Freddie Mercury on lead vocals, but in the film the version is sng by Freddie Mercury alone. So I looked to find that version, and in searching Highlander-related Queen content I came upon a couple of goodies which will now form this bonus EP to the Highlander soundtrack.  

We start off with an alternate, early version of "Princes Of The Universe" which starts in a familiar way but becomes quite different in its second part, once Brian May cuts across proceedings with a trademark guitar line. The song is also still without the "born to be kings..." countermelody that would be added later. Then we have the beautiful piano-led version (played by Brian May himself) of "Who Wants To Live Forever", entitled "Forever" and at the time attached as a bonus track on the CD editions of the A Kind Of Magic album. The song that would close out side a of this EP is a real curious find, the first demo of what would become "A Kind Of Magic". At this rudimentary stage the lyrics don't make references to the word magic, instead Freddie sings about "One Vision". Which would promptly push Queen to form two songs from this demo cut in August 1985. One would retain the melody and most of the lyrics and become "A Kind Of Magic", but the band would then make a whole new song around the phrase "One Vision", their only single release of 1985 in November. That song finally ended up on the Iron Eagle soundtrack.  

Side b opens with an unused track tracked early (together with the alternate version of "Princes Of The Universe") called "Battle Scene", which hints at the idea that Queen were originally supposed to do more score music for the film instead of the heavy reliance of Michael Kamen's orchestral score in the final film. Then comes the aforementioned Freddie only-version of  "Who Wants To Live Forever". Honestly, its' an interesting find, but I still like the version with May's lead vocals better. There's a fragility in it that Mercury can't deliver, and I like how May's sweet vocals do the first verse and then Freddie's more showy vocals suitably come in once the song gets darker and more dramatic, matching the intensity of Mercury's vocals musically. And then we end with an a capella edit of "A Kind Of Magic", just in case anyone has forgotten what a great singer Freddie Mercury was!

So, Highlander bonus round, Queen bonus round, and of course as things are prone to do with one thing leading to another, this is not the last time Queen will appear on this blog. But for now, once more back to the mid-80s, and a kind of Queen magic...