WIWS Banner

The Second Disc

Expanded and Remastered Music News

  • Home
  • News
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Features
    • Release Round-Up
    • Giveaways!
    • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Classic Rock
    • Rock
    • Pop
    • Jazz
    • Popular Standards/Vocal
    • R&B/Soul
    • Country
    • Folk
    • Cast Recordings
    • Soundtracks
    • Everything Else
      • Classical/Opera
      • Disco/Dance
      • Funk
      • Gospel
      • Rap/Hip-Hop
  • Release Calendar
    • Coming Soon
    • Now Available
  • About
  • Second Disc Records
    • Full Catalog
  • Contact

/ News

Made In Heaven: Freddie Mercury's Solo Works Celebrated on "Never Boring" Box Set

September 5, 2019 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COM

The title of Hollywood Records/Mercury Records' upcoming box set dedicated to Freddie Mercury's solo works certainly has an apt title: Never Boring. The late Queen frontman used his solo recordings to explore the realms of pop, rock, and even opera as a singer and songwriter. Due on October 11 from Hollywood in the U.S. and Mercury in the rest of the world, the 3CD/BD/DVD Never Boring has been compiled and produced by longtime Queen collaborators and Bohemian Rhapsody soundtrack co-producers Justin Shirley-Smith, Kris Fredriksson, and Joshua J. Macrae. "I had a lot of ideas bursting to get out," Mercury once said, "and there were a lot of musical territories I wanted to explore which I really couldn't do within Queen. I wanted to cover such things as reggae rhythms and I did a couple of tracks with an orchestra."

"Taken from the very best original source material available," as the press release promises, Never Boring contains three CDs with 32 tracks; a Blu-ray and DVD featuring 13 promo videos and an interview; a 120-page 10"x10" hardback book filled with photos, as well as thoughts and quotes from Freddie Mercury himself, and an introduction from the Academy Award-winning star of Bohemian Rhapsody, Rami Malek. The package includes a double-sided poster containing an image of Mercury and an original work from synesthetic artist Jack Coulter inspired by the song "Mr. Bad Guy."

The three CDs include a new 12-track compilation of many of Mercury's finest solo performances also entitled Never Boring; a newly mixed 11-track special edition of Mr. Bad Guy, and the nine-track 2012 special edition of Barcelona featuring full orchestra. (The rarities and instrumental discs from the 2012 box are not reprised here.) The compilation has the CD premiere of Dave Clark's "Time Waits for No One" and the little-known "Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow," both of which have gained popularity in digital iterations including the latter's new, animated video by Beth David and Esteban Bravo. The audio on Never Boring and Mr. Bad Guy has been derived and remixed from the original multi-track tapes to "[take] advantage of the time, resources and technology that Mercury may not have originally had available to him in the 1980s. All offer ultimate quality, first generation vocals showing off Freddie's incredible vocal range," according to the press release.

BUY NOW FROM AMAZON.COM

The Blu-ray and DVD of Mercury's promotional videos and his stage performances with Montserrat Caballé include eight that have been painstakingly reassembled from the original 35mm film rushes to give them "the best-ever visual and sound quality" per the label. This process involved the restoration team revisiting the original rushes to find those that exactly matched the final videos, and then recreating the special effects. Some of the videos required substantial restoration, with artists manually restoring damaged or missing frames.

The bonus videos include the first performance of "Barcelona" by Freddie and Montserrat Caballé in front of a live audience at the Ku Klub (now Privilege Ibiza) in May 1987; the extended version of "The Great Pretender," which includes backstage footage of Mercury's "backing singers" (the singers being Roger Taylor, Peter Straker and Freddie in drag); and an interview with Freddie and Dave Clark about his musical Time.

For those seeking only one part of the box set, each of the three audio discs will also be individually on CD, vinyl, and on digital and streaming services. Never Boring is due on October 11 from Hollywood Records/Mercury Records. You'll find the track listing and pre-order links below!

Freddie Mercury, Never Boring (Hollywood/Mercury, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1: Never Boring

  1. 'The Great Pretender'
  2. 'I Was Born To Love You'
  3. 'Barcelona'
  4. 'In My Defence'
  5. 'Love Kills'
  6. 'How Can I Go On' (Single Version)
  7. 'Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow'
  8. 'Living On My Own' (Radio Mix)
  9. 'The Golden Boy' (Single Edit)
  10. 'Time Waits For No One'
  11. 'She Blows Hot And Cold'
  12. 'Made In Heaven'

CD 2: Mr. Bad Guy: Special Edition

  1. 'Let's Turn It On'
  2. 'Made In Heaven'
  3. 'I Was Born To Love You'
  4. 'Foolin' Around'
  5. 'Your Kind Of Lover'
  6. 'Mr. Bad Guy'
  7. 'Man Made Paradise'
  8. 'There Must Be More To Life Than This'
  9. 'Living On My Own'
  10. 'My Love Is Dangerous'
  11. 'Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow'

CD 3: Barcelona: Special Edition (2012)

  1. 'Barcelona'
  2. 'La Japonaise'
  3. 'The Fallen Priest'
  4. 'Ensueño'
  5. 'The Golden Boy'
  6. 'Guide Me Home'
  7. 'How Can I Go On'
  8. 'Exercises In Free Love'
  9. 'Overture Piccante'

Blu-ray and DVD: Never Boring

  1. 'Made In Heaven'
  2. 'The Great Pretender'
  3. 'Living On My Own'
  4. 'Barcelona'
  5. 'I Was Born To Love You'
  6. 'Time Waits For No One'
  7. 'In My Defence'
  8. 'Living On My Own' (Radio Mix)
  9. 'The Golden Boy' (La Nit performance, Barcelona)
  10. 'How Can I Go On' (La Nit performance, Barcelona)
  11. 'Barcelona' (La Nit performance, Barcelona)

Bonus Videos

  1. Freddie Mercury & Dave Clark "Time" Interview
  2. 'The Great Pretender' (Extended Version)
  3. 'Barcelona' (Ku Klub performance, Ibiza)

Categories: News Formats: Blu-Ray, Box Sets, CD, DVD Genre: Classic Rock Tags: Freddie Mercury, Queen

Avatar photo

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

Connect With Joe: FacebookTwitter

You Might Also Like

  • Thriller 40 realRelease Round-Up: Week of November 18
  • Queen The Miracle CoverI Want It All: Queen's "The Miracle" Gets Super-Sized in Upcoming Box Set
  • Brian May Back to the LightBrian May Goes 'Back to the Light' with Expansion of Solo Debut
  • Queen A Night at the Opera VMPBohemian Rhapsodies: A Closer Look at Vinyl Me Please's Reissues of Queen's "A Night at the Opera" and Al Green's "Call Me"

Comments

  1. AlexKx says

    September 10, 2019 at 12:04 am

    Are the five songs on "Never Boring" first disc the same versions found on "Mr. Bad Guy" 2019 Special Edition?!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Upcoming Releases

  • Crazy Horse All Roads Lead Home
    All Roads Lead Home
    Crazy Horse
    March 31, 2023
  • The Who With Orchestra Live at Wembley
    The Who with Orchestra Live at Wembley
    The Who
    March 31, 2023
  • The Birth of Bop
    The Birth of Bop: The Savoy 10-Inch LP Collection
    Various Artists
    March 31, 2023
See Full Calendar

Connect

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,572 other subscribers

Popular

  • Rush Signals 40th
    Chemistry: Rush Revisits "Signals" For 40th Anniversary posted on March 22, 2023 | under News
  • Rick Springfield Springfield
    Call the Fire Brigade: Iconoclassic Premieres Rick Springfield's Lost 1974 Album "Springfield" in Expanded Edition posted on March 20, 2023 | under News
  • Talking Heads Stop Making Sense Deluxe 2LP
    What a Day That Was: Talking Heads' 'Stop Making Sense' Expanded for Vinyl, Film Reissue posted on March 17, 2023 | under News

Comments

  • small faces here come the nice2
    Return To Itchycoo Park: Small Faces' "Here Come The Nice" Deluxe Box Set Arrives In January [UPDATED 12/3] 84 comments | by Joe Marchese | posted on December 3, 2013 | under News
  • the beatles u s albums box2
    British Invasion! The Beatles Unveil "The U.S. Albums" Box Set in January 69 comments | by Joe Marchese | posted on December 12, 2013 | under News
  • Rolling Stones in Mono
    Out of Their Heads: Stones Plan Mono Box Set 47 comments | by Mike Duquette | posted on August 10, 2016 | under News

Music Resources

  • Addicted to Vinyl
  • Crap from the Past
  • Discogs
  • Film Score Monthly
  • IMWAN Forum – From the Vaults
  • MusicTAP
  • Musoscribe
  • Pause & Play
  • Popblerd
  • Popdose
  • Record Racks
  • Slicing Up Eyeballs
  • Steve Hoffman Music Forums
  • Ultimate Classic Rock
  • Vintage Vinyl News
  • Viva La Mainstream
  • Wolfgang's Vault

Labels of Note

  • Ace Records
  • Analog Spark
  • Bear Family
  • BGO Records
  • Big Break Records
  • Blixa Sounds
  • Cherry Red Label Group
  • Craft Recordings
  • Demon Music Group
  • Friday Music
  • Funky Town Grooves
  • Iconoclassic Records
  • Intervention Records
  • Intrada
  • Kritzerland
  • La La Land Records
  • Legacy Recordings
  • Light in the Attic
  • Masterworks Broadway
  • Now Sounds
  • Omnivore Recordings
  • Real Gone Music
  • Resonance Records
  • Rhino Entertainment
  • Rock Candy Records
  • SoulMusic Records
  • Sunset Blvd. Records
  • Supermegabot
  • Varese Sarabande
  • Vinyl Me, Please
  • Wounded Bird
Copyright © 2023 The Second Disc. All rights reserved. · Site by Metaglyphics

The Second Disc is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy