It may be a little bit late for the 50th anniversary edition of QUEEN‘s debut album, yet what will see the light of day on October 25th to celebrate the band’s eponymous platter is worth paying attention to. If not for the foursome’s eventual magnificence, the record itself would barely stand the test of time, the quartet’s meandering between progressive rock extravaganza and heaviness hardly sounding impressive now, but all the elements that made the foursome awesome were there from the start. This is the point the forthcoming box set focuses on.
Retitled “Queen I” and getting the Roman numeral appended to Freddie Mercury-designed band logo, the six-CD and LP collection contains the album in a new stereo mix – and that’s the first for a QUEEN record – with the previously excised “Mad The Swine” taking its place in the running order. Of course, there are hardback book, poster and four photo prints – only none of it can make up for the exclusion of the platter’s classic mix. Other than that, brilliant.
I
LP / CD 1 – 2024 Remix:
1. Keep Yourself Alive
2. Doing All Right
3. Great King Rat
4. Mad The Swine
5. My Fairy King
6. Liar
7. The Night Comes Down
8. Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll
9. Son And Daughter
10. Jesus
11. Seven Seas Of Rhye…
CD 2 – De Lane Lea Demos – 2024 Mix:
1. Keep Yourself Alive
2. The Night Comes Down
3. Great King Rat
4. Jesus
5. Liar
CD 3 – Sessions:
1. Keep Yourself Alive (Trident take 13 – unused master)
2. Doing All Right (Trident take 1 – with guide vocal)
3. Great King Rat (De Lane Lea take 1 – with guide vocal)
4. Mad The Swine (Trident take 3 – with guide vocal)
5. My Fairy King (Trident backing track in development)
6. Liar (Trident take 1 – unused master)
7. The Night Comes Down (De Lane Lea takes 1 & 2 – with guide vocal)
8. Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll (Trident takes 8 & 9)
9. Son And Daughter (Trident takes 1 & 2 – with guide vocal)
10. Jesus (De Lane Lea take 2 – with guide vocal)
11. Seven Seas Of Rhye… (Trident take 3)
12. See What A Fool I’ve Been (De Lane Lea test session)
CD 4 – Instrumental And Backing Tracks:
1-11 – as on CD 1
I
CD 5 – BBC Sessions:
February 1973:
1. My Fairy King
2. Keep Yourself Alive
3. Doing All Right
4. Liar
July 1973:
5. Keep Yourself Alive
6. Liar
7. Son And Daughter
December 1973:
8. Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll
9. Great King Rat
10. Son And Daughter
April 1974:
11. Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll
CD 6 – Live:
London, “The Rainbow” – March 1974:
1. Son And Daughter
2. Guitar Solo
3. Son And Daughter (Reprise)
4. Great King Rat
5. Keep Yourself Alive
6. Drum Solo
7. Keep Yourself Alive (Reprise)
8. Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll
9. Liar
San Diego – March 1976:
10. Hangman
11. Doing All Right
London, Imperial College – August 1970:
12. Jesus
13. I’m A Man
