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.

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

12. Freddie Mercury & Dave Clark “Time” Interview
13. ‘The Great Pretender’ (Extended Version)
14. ‘Barcelona’ (Ku Klub performance, Ibiza)