Imagine narrowing down your favorite band to just one song. We couldn't do it! But some very fastidious Japanese fans of Queen did - and their choices are forming a new compilation due this month.
For Greatest Hits In Japan, Queen and Universal Music opened a vote in the country where just one track from the iconic British rock group could be selected for a compilation timed to the upcoming Japanese tour by Queen + Adam Lambert. Nearly 20,000 votes were collated, and the top 12 tracks made the cut. This makes for a playlist of big hits ("Bohemian Rhapsody," "Radio Ga Ga"), cuts that have only become more popular with time ("Somebody To Love," "Don't Stop Me Now"), deep cuts ("The March Of The Black Queen," "'39") and, of course, A Day At The Races' closer "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)," with choruses entirely in Japanese. (The list of votes is extremely interesting: shout out to the 87 voters of "The Fairy-Feller's Master Stroke"!)
The set will be physically available exclusively in Japan, with a CD/DVD deluxe edition adding the official music videos for (or, where none exist, a live performance of) each song.The artwork will feature "splendid traditional Japanese designs and patterns," as well as photos of frontman Freddie Mercury's Japanese garden. As an added treat, 700 of the voters' names will be randomly selected for inclusion in the booklet, with five of those fans already selected to receive a surprise autograph from guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor.
The collection will be made available as a digital album worldwide, so no need to make your own playlist! It's all available January 15 - check out the track list below!
Greatest Hits In Japan (Universal UICY-79059 (JP), 2020)
CD
- Somebody To Love
- Don't Stop Me Now
- Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)
- Spread Your Wings
- Killer Queen
- The Show Must Go On
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- '39
- The March Of The Black Queen
- Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy
- Keep Yourself Alive
- Radio Ga Ga
DVD
- Somebody To Love (promo video)
- Don't Stop Me Now (promo video)
- Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together) (Live @ Seibu Stadium, Tokyo - 11/3/1982)
- Spread Your Wings (promo video)
- Killer Queen (Top Of The Pops - 1974)
- The Show Must Go On (promo video)
- Bohemian Rhapsody (promo video)
- '39 (promo video)
- The March Of The Black Queen (Live @ Hammersmith Odeon, London - 12/24/1975)
- Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy (Top Of The Pops - 6/14/1977)
- Keep Yourself Alive (promo video)
- Radio Ga Ga (promo video)
Tracks 1, 3 and 10 from A Day At The Races (EMI, 1976)
Track 2 from Jazz (EMI, 1978)
Track 4 from News Of The World (EMI, 1977)
Track 5 from Sheer Heart Attack (EMI, 1974)
Track 6 from Innuendo (Parlophone, 1991)
Tracks 7-8 from A Night At The Opera (EMI, 1975)
Track 9 from Queen II (EMI, 1974)
Track 11 from Queen (EMI, 1973)
Track 12 from The Works (EMI, 1984)
GARETH TAYLOR says
Pointless...open up the archives