Stealin' Some Queen Songs...And Turnin' 'Em Into A Pretty Cool Album...

If you remember where we left things with Queen and ... Just Another Miracle, the auto-assignment seemed simple: gather up the outtakes and b-sides from the The Miracle era, sequence them et voilà...an album that never was to go with  the alt Miracle and wrap up the OBG work on that boxset. Which is what I did in assembling a first version of the album. But, as it so happens, something happened then that gave the whole project a whole different direction. My assembled album was missing something. On a Cd of outtakes I had this demo version of "Stealin'", a version I have always preferred to the finished one that made it out as a b-side. The finished "Stealin'" has all the hallmarks of The Miracle-era Queen: It sounds hyperprocessed, with glossy keyboard additions that don't seem to add anything, instead choking whatever spontaneity the track once had. Compare that to the demo version, with its overddubbed vocals of Freddie playfully ("So do I"), and funnily answering himself ("So do I!"). That track, while a fully finished demo/run through, is all spontaneity. So I set out to find it, to add that second version as a 'Reprise' version at the end, a trick some of you are now very familiar with when I can't make the hard choice between two versions of a song. 

But to my surprise I found the uncut, eleven minute+ tape of that run through version of "Stealin'", instead of the four and a half minute excerpt of the main song part that I had. Color me intrigued. Turns out that they were doing extended riffs with instruments dropping in and out ad Mercury improvising lyrics. I really liked the loose nature of what was essentially a jam session, with Roger Taylor especially relishing to bash away on the skins (check out his drum rols towards the end of "Stealin' Part III). So, instead of simply having a second version of "Stelin'" I scratched that idea and rebuilt the album entirely around the various parts of "Stealin'". 

The whole eleven minute plus mix was too long and had too many slow spots with the band waiting around to see what to do next. The two most song-like parts were thus turned into "Heart Keeper (Stealin' Part II)" and "Money ("Stealin' Part III)".  Interestingly, during two of the 'waiting parts' Brin May played some Blues licks which I edited together for the (very short) "Stealin' Blues". The album was then sequenced around these four song parts, with "Stealin'" obviously the album opener and "Money (Stealin' Part III)" as the album closer wth Part II showing up towards the middle. Brian May's ballad "You Know You Belong To me" (a solo demo brought to the Miracle sessions) was a logical side A closer, while "Hang On In There", a b-side that could (and probably should) have replaced some of the weaker songs on The Miracle made for a great side b opener. .

There is no way to ignore the somewhat fragmentary nature of this album. A number of songs are rather short, either by design as b-side or demo or because I had to edit what was worth keeping out of longer, but messier songs. I had to do some editing to "I Guess We're Falling Out", because this was clearlly a run through rather than a fully finished take, and Freddie yelled out some instructions before the jam session at the end. Now, I love that little jam session - coming after one of the most classic sounding Queen numbers - but wanted to keep it as a finished studio track as possible, so anything that soundedlike not being part of the song had to go.  I also amused myself by following up Brian's "Water (another solo demo) with Freddie's "No Water", which is the improvised second part of the "A New Life Is Born" intro to "Beakthrough" featured on the original album. Anyway, think of the sequence of short songs in a variety of styles after the opening trio as a tribute to Sheer Heart Attack, which was more or less like that. 

Of the outtakes "Face It Alone" was chosen as the single to promote the The Miracle box set, so it has a much more polished sound (and possibly some autotune?) than the others, but that's the nature of the beast. Roger Taylor gets, like Brian May, two compositions and lead vocals, which sounds about right for a Queen album: Both were used as b-sides. Synth rocker "Hijack My Heart" (with some heavy shredding by Brian) is an interesting diversion, while "Dog With A Bone", with shared lead vocals by Freddie, is one of his slightly knuckleheaded rockers. The b-side "My Life Has Been Saved", co-written by Freddie and John, was later reworked for Made in Heaven. 

Anyway, that's a lot of info on the why and how of an alt album. Suffice it to say that I think this is a really nice companion piece to ...Just Another Miracle, and I hope you'll agree. Now go and steal some really good Queen music...

Not just another Queen album...it's just another Miracle...

One thing inevitably leads to another. That is true for some parts of your life, while others are completely random, but it's very true for this lil' music blog. When I investigated what Highlander material was officially issued by Queen when working on what became the Highlander bonus EP, I stumbled upon the The Miracle box set that Queen had issued last year. As some reviewers have remarked, The Miracle is a curious album to get the box set treatment: It's nobody's favorite Queen album, and it's nowhere near their best, either. It probably ends up in the back third, okay-ish but for fans section of their discography. 

But for every argument why this album didn't scream out for a box set treatment, there are arguments, why it exists. For one thing: wealth of material. Having burned through tours and albums at a frenetic pace throughout the early 80s (that's why the 'Live Aid as a panacea to a possibe separation' as well as the 'live rebirth' arcs were some of the many hard to swallow untruths of the ridiculous Bohemian Rhapsody biopic, there were less than two months between Queen wrapping up their The Works tour and Live Aid!) the group was completely knackered at the end of their Live Magic tour towards the end of 1986. For the first time in a long time, the band was going to take some time off. And instead of scrounging songs together because it was time to do another album, they would just reconvene when they had enough songs to feel well about beginning sessions for a new album. 

When they convened in early 1988, they had material, but they also had something else: knowledge of Freddie Mercury's health issues. While he didn't quite call his HIV-illness by its name, the band members understoodd the gravity of the situation. One indirect outcome was a novelty in Queen history: Instead of fighting for representation, royalties and 'getting their stuff in', all songs on the upcoming albums would be credited to all members of the group, no matter who wrote them. No more infighting over that shit, which had often led to the worst situations in the band, notably during the run-up to Hot Space (which was the real period where the band members were at each others' throats over everything). Anyway, with every member having been occupied with solo and side projects, when they got together for what was to become The Miracle, they were fully reloaded and cut -according to rumors - almost tirty songs, of which ten ended up on the album, and another five as bonus tracks or b-sides. Which means that there are still a dozen or so compositions from the era that were unaccounted for, but heavily bootlegged.   

With the box set, a bit of this material got an official release, together with a disc that runs through a number of early versions of the The Miracle songs, ranging from demos to first or unadultarated takes. These form the basis of today's One Buck Record of the day, ...Just Another Miracle. 

On the box set, these versions were presented as if you were hanging out in the studio with chatter, count in's, false starts, little doodles before and after the tracks etc. That's a fine way for fans to fully emerge themselves into the work of their heroes, but it's a terrible way to listen to this material as an actual album. So I got rid of all of that, making it sound as much like a real, finished album as possible. There were two vocal flubs, where Freddie Mercury either missed or messed up his vocals, so I edited these errors out. What you're left with is, I think, the most listenable version of the work-in-progress presentation of the Miracle songs. 

"Party" and "Kashoggi's Ship", the twin pieces opening The Miracle are here in their original version, rocking much harder and sounding less processed than the album versions. They were admittedly a slightly weird way to open an album, but I always liked these. Like the album as a whole, "Party" and Kashoggi's Ship" drown in electronics on the album, with especially the drums and keyboars sounding programmed to the gills. "The Miracle", a Freddie Mercury-John Deacon co-write is presented here as a demo with 'John's original ending'. To be fair, his jaunty synth coda at the end doesn't work at all, other than a curiosity, and it's no wonder they reworked that, but all that doesn't make it less interesting to hear. 

The original version of "I Want It All" is again much tougher sounding than the version they published. It originally started with some seconds of an impromptu jam/boogie section that didn't go anywhere, so I edited this to start of the song proper and edited arund Mercury originally fucking up his first lines. "The Invisible Man" is the demo version with most of the lead vocals done by writer Roger Taylor. Otherwise, the song is pretty much in place already, the punchy percussion and no key changes further giving away that this is Taylor's baby. 

I decided to add the song intro of the album's version of "Breakthru" to this original take, taken from an abandoned Mercury demo called "When Love Breaks Up", even if this version misses the line linking both bits. But well, the song just felt 'wrong' without it. Again, a minor edit to get rid of a Freddie comment in the song. The first part of the song sounds very familiar, but the second part is quite different. They hadn't yet worked out the breakdown around the two and a half minute mark, where Mercury's sharp "...now!" is missing. So it has a little bit of empty space in the middle, filled - as you would imagine -  with some Mercury ad libbing. Freddie is also clearly adlibbing and having fun towards the end of the song, proclaiming "You know something...if this song would stop right now, this would really be a breakthru, Brian. I mean, if I would drop dead, that would really be a breakthru, honey!".      

Not much to say about the demo version of the minor "Rain Must Fall", other than I edited out another Mercury vocal flub when he missed his cue. The song isn't much to write home about, and considering that they had much better material in the can, one wonders why this was included. The same is true for "My Baby Does Me" (here still entitled "My Baby Loves Me"), which I never had much use for. Sorry, John Deacon, but your two groove-based Miracle contributions are...not great. When listening to The Miracle my attention always waned towards the end of the album due to the stretch of "Rain", "Scandal" and "My Baby" which I always found a little boring. The victim of circumstances: The album closer "Was It All Worth It?", tucked away at the end after the album's least convincing song sequence. I had forgotten that this is a genuinely great Queen song, and definitely an underrated deep cut of theirs. 

"Was It All Worth It?" was, in light of Freddie's diagnosis, their first stab at 'a last Queen song' "What is there left for me to do in this life? Did I achieve what I set in my sights?" start Mercury's musings on his and his band's rock'n'roll career. It's also a god damn killer with some patented May riffage and high-powered rock'n'roll that revives both the original album and this alt from its three quarter slumber. 

These alternate versions don't make The Miracle miraculously a great album - the essence of the songs stays the same. But the rough mixes and original versions bring a toughness and more natural sound to a number of their songs, while the not-yet-finished bits in "The Miracle" or "Breakthru" are an interesting look at how they would figure out what worked about the songs - and what didn't. Still, a number of quality songs that could have made The Miracle a stronger album stayed in the shadows or entirely on the sidelines. But don't worry, the One Buck Guy is on the case. Be ready for another stab at The Miracle-era Queen in a couple of weeks with an all-new alternate album with stuff you haven't heard before! But, that is a story and listen for another day, while for now you can pass the time with ...Just Another Miracle. 

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... 

There Can Be Only One...Queen Soundtrack to Highlander!

Queen was one of my first favorite bands, together with The Beach Boys, for pretty much the same reasons: Massive choruses that couldn't be denied with words simple enough that you could sing along, even when English wasn't your first language. Queen also fell out of my music rotation completely at times for that reason. The choruses are massive, but so is everything else, except, you know, subtlety. So, getting older discoverering more subtle musical expression, I often left Queen behind, but never for good. Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. 

Our latest One Buck Records came together as a byproduct from my work on my musical tribute to David Lynch, In Dreams I Walk With You - A Musical Journey Through Lynch Land. Being in the mood for some film music I picked up the soundtrack for Highlander - and that got things going. Soundtrack to Highlander you say, but there never was an official soundtrack to that film, I hear you say. And you're right, there never was. All soundtracks are unofficial grey market (at best) releases, often combining Mark Kamen's orchestral score with the handful of Queen's song that graced the soundtrack, not aways with the greatest flow. But despite such a promise in the end title credits, there never was a soundtrack album proper. Instead Queen reworked the songs and then put the tracks on 1986's A Kind Of Magic. 

That cartoon cover is goofy as hell...and captures every Queen member absolutely perfectly

I can not swear it, but I'd imagine that A Kind Of Magic was among the first ten albums that were mine. For better or worse, a building block of my music collection. It's also entirely possible that I asked for the album which I presume was a birthday gift, because I had seen Highlander. Seeing that movie when you are a kid is a trip - I remember watching it, secretly, in the dark, and being completely baffled by it. This was probably one of the first nights home alone - which meant having the TV for myself. My parents weren't much of genre film watchers. My dad was a fan of Westerns, so I inherited that love from watching Westerns with him, but anything fantasy, sci-fi or (gasp!) horror was usually off the table. (So obviously I secretly developed a love for those genres, especially the last two). I profited from having the TV for myself by watching Highlander, but not having much background in fantasy and its tropes, the constant cross-cutting between eras and admittedly bumpy narrative left me impressed, but confused. There was, however, one aspect to the film that imediately caught my attention: the music from Queen. 

When re-checking the film, specifically the Queen sequences (I was tempted to rewatch the movie, but remembered that I was kind of disenchanted during my last rewatch, and the sequences I did rewatch looking for the Queen soundtrack did look cheesy as hell) I realized that the music plays a relatively minor part in the movie, much smaller than I remembered. "Who Wants To Live Forever" plays out for a good bit, but title song "Princes Of The Universe" and "Gimme The Prize" are merely getting a  minute or so of screentime, "One Year Of Love" runs as background music in a bar scene and "A Kind Of Magic runs over the end titles. Ironically it's the one song not germane to the Highlander soundtrack that might be the most prominent behind "Forever" in the film itself. Being short of another rocker for the scene where the weird special forces guy stalks the immortals (a scene that left me completely baffled, again), Queen repurposed the last single from The Works, "Hammer To Fall". 

Find the odd man out

That song isn't on the One Buck album of the day, but all other mentioned are of course. Now, you can't fault Queen for not bringing out a Highlander soundtrack album, especially after their legendary gig at Live Aid raised their public profile considerably: instead of bringing out a soundtrack to a film few people finally saw they reused almost all Highlander tracks for a new studio album.  That album is, as one can imagine, not a very coherent listen, but more of a dog's breakfast, the highlights of which were for me always were the title track and the the 'mini Highlander album ' that is the original vinyl side b. And of course they had the right instinct in reworking "A Kind Of MAgic", the song that sounds the most different in its original Highlander version. Smelling a hit, they made the song faster and snappier (literally!), adding the finger snaps and backing vocals that really made the song work and the Highlander version, consequently, to look like a first draft.

So, Highlander - Motion Picture Soundtrack imagines what an album that Queen brought out in 1986 as a soundtrack would and could have sounded like. One issue of course was that the band didn't quite have enough music for an album. Not counting "Hammer To Fall", which I also decided not to use, they had six songs from the Highlander score. Variations of "Princes" and "Forever", titled "Kurgan's Theme" and "Heather's Theme", respectively, fill up the album, as does a variation on the Taylor-penned synth & percussion track that's the sort-of theme music for Kurgan drives like a madman through New York ("Wild Ride"). A variation of that track, outfitted with (ill-fitting love) lyrics for A Kind of Magic as "Don't Lose Your Head" was brought out as a b-side under the equally odd title "A Dozen Red Roses For My Darling". I fused that instrumental, here titled "City Streets", with the snatch of "(Theme From) New York, New York", as it plays in the movie. Said snatch was never officially released by the group and was taken directly from the movie. 

"Gimme The Prize", one of the heaviest songs the band ever recorded (and a track roundly despised by Deacon and Mercury for its heavy metal leanings) loses the cartoonish movie dialogue and sound effects of the Magic version, an ultra-curious choice considering the album wasn't marketed as a soundtrack. I imagine it was to fill out the spaces in a relatively simple, melodically barren song, but they overdid it. The uncluttered version here is a lot clearer than the muddled Magic counterpart. 

Still, even with those track additions, the album would run short. So, in an uncharacteristic display of magnanimousness, Queen cede a track to score composer Michael Kamen, with whom they had collaborated on the orchestration for "Who Wants To Live Forever". They are asking him to produce a sort of 'medley' of score highlights, which Kamen promptly does in creating the "Highlander Suite". In real life, it was of course ol' OGB who did the deed. Soundtracks, especially various artist type collection, would often throw a bone to the score composers by including a track or two, so there would at least be some representation and royalties coming their way. So, Queen decide here to do the same, ending the soundtrack in a suitably dramatic and operatic fahion, which one imagines Freddie Mercury especially would have appreciated.  

So, do like me and dive in the past, somewhat fittingly considering the movie concerned, and get back to some very solid work of Queen from the mid-80's. Nostalgia probably has a good part in my appreciation, but some of these songs still work like gangbusters today. Here they were, born to be kings, the were the princes of the universe...