gabby
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Post by gabby on Oct 17, 2012 17:23:37 GMT -5
My Melancholy Blues
Wow! Jazz or Blues? Beautiful song and lovely vocals from Freddie. The vibe of this song somewhat reminds me of Shirley Bassey's What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life.
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talon
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Post by talon on Oct 17, 2012 17:45:40 GMT -5
Spot on! It's a nice Jazzy blues song in my view. It's not typical blues (despite the title) but it is a rarely explored genre for the band and is very emotional.
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talon
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Post by talon on Oct 18, 2012 7:09:41 GMT -5
Feelings, FeelingsWritten by: Brian May Musicians: Freddie Mercury - lead vocals Brian May - guitars John Deacon - bass guitar Roger Taylor - drums - This is Take #10 of the song and the one that was officially released as a bonus track on the Island Deluxe 2011 remastering of News Of The World- Obviously as a demo it is incomplete, especially in the lyric department but the energy is amazing as a fast paced rocker. - Although this recording is from 1977 era, it has origins in 1970-1971...but obviously Brian hasn't gotten very far on it in 7 years  UNRELEASED VERSIONS: TAKE #9- This was leaked long before Take #10 was released. It is one take earlier obviously and less developed with even less lyrics. Take #10 is definitely superior. FEELINGS- Ok this is the most difficult. This one is VERY musically different but there are some lyrical similarities...so I didn't know if I should have this have it's own entry or put it under this one as a possibly VERY early version of this track. It is possible that this is a recording from 1970-1971 when Brian first started writing the track but this and tomorrow's track Silver Salmon have started a real battle between Queen scholars on when these recordings took place either during sessions for the first album or in 1977. The arguments for 1970-73 were that tomorrow's track has Tim Staffell as a co-writer so why would the band still be recording anything he did by 1977. However the other side of the argument lies in Roger's drum sound which was completely different by 1977 and the drum sound matches up with this one and supposedly the leaked demo was found on the same tape as Feelings, Feelings which was confirmed to have been recorded in 1977. Finally, who knows, but perhaps that's why these songs were never released and perhaps it was just testing equipment with songs they liked to jam on or what not. PERSONAL NOTES: - I LOVE take #10 and wish they had developed it a bit further! I think it would have fit in QUITE well on News Of The World A very energetic and in your face Freddie! Next up - one more bonus track demo, the aforementioned Silver Salmon
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Oct 18, 2012 17:05:05 GMT -5
Feelings, Feelings
If this was written in the early Queen era, the sound seemed to fit the Queen's rock side. Wonder why they chose not to release it then. As far as cover, this song seems to be in RT's or PR's alley.
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talon
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Post by talon on Oct 19, 2012 6:56:11 GMT -5
I don't know specifically why this wasn't finished. They did tend to work on a ton of ideas and then finish the ones they thought best fit the album. RT on this would be interesting for sure! :D
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talon
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Post by talon on Oct 19, 2012 6:57:09 GMT -5
Silver Salmon
Written by: Tim Staffell
- As per the previous post the question is when was this recorded. Having been written by Tim Staffell, it would make sense that this was perhaps initially attempted by Smile and then Queen tried it during the sessions for the first two albums, BUT the instrumentation sounds more like 1977ish. The quote in the beginning has Freddie saying, "He doesn't know it"...Could he have been talking about John Deacon who arrived much later than the other three? I don't know. I do know that people whose opinions I respect believe it was in 1977 and I have been convinced as well. Which is why it is here instead of during the first album sessions.
- As to the song itself, I have no idea what the lyrics mean at all...but the music is very heavy and driving.
UNRELEASED VERSION
SHORTER TAKE
- NOT essential. It's not that different so not really worth hunting down but I'm a completist!
PERSONAL NOTES:
- The lyrics are ridiculous, but the track itself was worthy of exploring. I hope this does get a proper release one day on a box of rarities and maybe they got further on down the line!
Next up - 1977 studio bits continue with collaborations and other sessions. Only Brian seemed to go outside the band to collaborate this year. It will be two posts. The first will contain two songs that Brian worked on with one of his absolute idols, Lonnie Donnegan. Brian LOVED this guy, so was thrilled to work on two tracks on his 1977 album and he got to work with Elton John as well! Diggin My Potatoes and I'm Just A Rolling Stone!
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Oct 19, 2012 17:05:12 GMT -5
Next up - 1977 studio bits continue with collaborations and other sessions. Only Brian seemed to go outside the band to collaborate this year. It will be two posts. The first will contain two songs that Brian worked on with one of his absolute idols, Lonnie Donnegan. Brian LOVED this guy, so was thrilled to work on two tracks on his 1977 album and he got to work with Elton John as well! Brian got to work with Elton before? Can't wait to hear about this! |
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talon
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Post by talon on Oct 19, 2012 20:06:59 GMT -5
Indeed...Brian, Elton and Lonnie together...later on you'll hear ROger and John work with him too...Freddie actually joined Elton at a concert once...but it wasn't filmed or recorded :(
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talon
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Post by talon on Oct 20, 2012 6:28:10 GMT -5
Part 1 of 2 of 1977 Collaborations! Today we deal with the two tracks that Brian worked on with one of his big idols, Lonnie Donegan. A quick background on Lonnie. He grew up in England and played in many jazzy/big band type bands but really became known for being the King of Skiffle (which is basically using a lot of homemade instruments to rock out). He is known for being one of the primary influences on The Beatles and then beyond that on Brian. In 1977, a year after Donegan suffered a heart attack, he was putting together a comeback album and invited several who had cited his influence. Rory Gallagher, Ringo Starr, Elton John, and Brian were excited to take part! Diggin' My PotatoesWritten by: Leadbelly Musicians: Lonnie Donegan - vocals/guitar Brian May - guitar Elton John - piano PERSONAL NOTES: - I remember this song quite well because Brian talks about it all the time. Whenever he mentions Lonnie Donegan he mentions how music used to be quiet and then Lonnie came along and started screamin' "Diggin' My Potatoes!" - It features a great fuzzy guitar sound from Brian and is pure energy! I'm Just A Rolling StoneWritten by: Jim Currie Musicians: Lonnie Donegan - vocals/guitar Brian May - guitar/vocals Elton John - piano PERSONAL NOTES: - This was unreleased at the time and didn't surface until a re-release of the album in 2007. It's a very droning song, slow and bluesy. I like Brian's backing vocals on it as they add a timbre to the song that makes it work and the interplay with Elton is interesting as well. Brian has a nice bluesy solo at the end as well.  Next up? Part 2 as Brian gets to get his heavy metal on! A jam with little known rock band Quartz entitled Circles...with some help from Ozzy! |
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gabby
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Post by gabby on Oct 20, 2012 16:35:15 GMT -5
I'm Just A Rolling StonePERSONAL NOTES: - This was unreleased at the time and didn't surface until a re-release of the album in 2007. It's a very droning song, slow and bluesy. I like Brian's backing vocals on it as they add a timbre to the song that makes it work and the interplay with Elton is interesting as well. Brian has a nice bluesy solo at the end as well. I'm glad you pointed that out...Brian's backing vocals. His voice really complements the melody lines of Lonnie's lead. I guess I'm not surprised since Queen (as a group), each of them was naturally adept at 'hearing' harmony lines over and around the music... or used to doing it within their group and music they create.
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