Queen’s 1973 debut album, Queen I, showcased the band’s ambition and diverse musical influences, hinting at the legendary career that would follow. Now, in 2024, the band has released a newly reworked version of this iconic album as part of an elaborate six-CD, one-LP deluxe box set, featuring alternative takes, live recordings, demos, and enhanced guitar parts.
“Every instrument has been re-examined from the bottom up,” Brian May told MOJO. He explained that the original guitar recordings were “very dry,” a flaw they have now addressed. May recalled his father’s comments about the recordings: “There’s no ambience, Brian. I don’t feel like I’m in the room with you playing next to me.”
At the time of the original recording, the band felt constrained and reluctant to assert their vision, fearing it might jeopardize their opportunities. May noted that producer Roy Thomas Baker did commendable work under challenging circumstances, often caught between the aspirations of the “young hopefuls” and a management company, Trident Audio Productions, which viewed them as just another product.
While May emphasized that he doesn’t believe the original version was bad, he acknowledged it fell short of their dreams. He revealed that both Freddie Mercury and John Deacon were dissatisfied with certain aspects, feeling they faced an integral part of their history that seemed unfixable.
The reworked version retains the essence of the original while enhancing its qualities. As May highlights, it brings out the magic even more.
“All the performances are exactly as they originally appeared in 1973, but every instrument has been revisited to produce the ‘live’ ambient sounds we would have liked to use originally,” he shared on his official website. “The result is ‘Queen’ as it would have sounded with today’s knowledge and technology – a first.”
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