If you were a teenager when Queen released its debut album, prepare to be blown away again (at a price)

By Steve Newton

On their 1978 debut album, Outlandos d’Amour, the Police had a song called “Born in the ’50s” that I could totally relate to.

I was born in the Year of Our Lord, 1957, and I thank my lucky stars for that, ’cause it meant that I would spend my teenage years in the ’70s, when rock music was at its best.

For example, being born in ’57 meant that I was only 16 when Queen released its self-titled debut album in September of ’73, and–for me at least–that was the perfect age to be introduced to the thrilling hard-rock sound of this new group from Britain.

I don’t recall the main reason why I purchased the Queen LP when it first hit the shelves at Kelly’s Stereo Mart in Chilliwack. The album-cover art was pretty cool, I suppose, depicting a frontman (Freddie Mercury) in a grainy purple spotlight holding a microphone stand over his head, the band’s majestic-looking logo shown above.

Maybe I was persuaded by the curious song titles displayed on the back cover, like “Great King Rat” and “My Fairy King”. I was also a sucker for any songs that promised rock and roll, hence the attraction of “Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll”.

Quite possibly I’d read a rave review in my rock magazine of choice at the time, Circus.

Whatever the reason for buying Queen, I’ll never forget the buzz I got when I played the record on the console stereo in my parents’ living room. “What in the f*** is that?!” was basically my reaction to first hearing the unusual but amazing guitar sound on the album’s opening track, “Keep Yourself Alive”.

Then at the 24-second mark the drum and bass kicked in, and by the time Mercury showed up with his sensational vocals I was like: “Well, here’s my new favourite band.”

Anybody else who was seriously blown away by Queen’s debut back in ’73 should know that today Universal Music Canada announced the upcoming release of a remixed, remastered, and expanded boxed-set edition of the album. The six-CD, one-LP set contains 63 tracks with 43 brand new mixes, demos, rare live tracks, previously unheard recordings from Queen’s first ever concert, and a 108-page book.

“This is not just a remaster,” writes Brian May in the sleeve notes, “this is a brand new 2024 rebuild of the entire Queen debut album. 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.”

I for one thought the Queen album sounded freakin’ fantastic on vinyl back in 1973, but those highfalutin audiophiles with fancier tastes–and $200 U.S. to blow–can score the new and improved version on October 25, or preorder here.

Here’s the complete track listing for the boxed set:

CD1: Queen I – 2024 Mix
1 Keep Yourself Alive
2 Doing All Right
3 Great King Rat
4 Mad The Swine
5 My Fairy King
6 Liar
7 The Night Comes Down
8 Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll
9 Son And Daughter
10 Jesus
11 Seven Seas Of Rhye…

CD2: De Lane Lea Demos – 2024 Mix
1 Keep Yourself Alive
2 The Night Comes Down
3 Great King Rat
4 Jesus
5 Liar

CD3: Queen I Sessions

1 Keep Yourself Alive (Trident Take 13 – Unused Master)
2 Doing All Right (Trident Take 1 – with Guide Vocal)
3 Great King Rat (De Lane Lea Take 1 – with Guide Vocal)
4 Mad The Swine (Trident Take 3 – with Guide Vocal)
5 My Fairy King (Trident Backing Track In Development)
6 Liar (Trident Take 1 – Unused Master)
7 The Night Comes Down (De Lane Lea Takes 1 & 2 – with Guide Vocal)
8 Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll (Trident Takes 8 & 9)
9 Son And Daughter (Trident Takes 1 & 2 – with Guide Vocal)
10 Jesus (De Lane Lea Take 2 – with Guide Vocal)
11 Seven Seas Of Rhye… (Trident Take 3)
12 See What A Fool I’ve Been (De Lane Lea Test Session)

CD4: Queen I Backing Tracks
1 Keep Yourself Alive
2 Doing All Right
3 Great King Rat
4 Mad The Swine
5 My Fairy King
6 Liar
7 The Night Comes Down
8 Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll
9 Son And Daughter
10 Jesus
11 Seven Seas Of Rhye…

CD5: Queen I At The BBC
1 My Fairy King (BBC Session 1, February 1973)
2 Keep Yourself Alive (BBC Session 1, February 1973)
3 Doing All Right (BBC Session 1, February 1973)
4 Liar (BBC Session 1, February 1973)
5 Keep Yourself Alive (BBC Session 2, July 1973)
6 Liar (BBC Session 2, July 1973)
7 Son And Daughter (BBC Session 2, July 1973)
8 Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll (BBC Session 3, December 1973)
9 Great King Rat (BBC Session 3, December 1973
10 Son And Daughter (BBC Session 3, December 1973
11 Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll (BBC Session 4, April 1974)

CD6: Queen I Live
1 Son And Daughter (Live at the Rainbow – March 1974)
2 Guitar Solo (Live at the Rainbow – March 1974)
3 Son And Daughter (Reprise) (Live at the Rainbow – March 1974)
4 Great King Rat (Live at the Rainbow – March 1974)
5 Keep Yourself Alive (Live at the Rainbow – March 1974)
6 Drum Solo (Live at the Rainbow – March 1974)
7 Keep Yourself Alive (Reprise) (Live at the Rainbow – March 1974)
8 Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll (Live at the Rainbow – March 1974)
9 Liar (Live at the Rainbow – March 1974)
10 Hangman (Live in San Diego – March 1976)
11 Doing All Right (Live in San Diego – March 1976)
12 Jesus (Live at Imperial College – August 1970)
13 I’m A Man (Live at Imperial College – August 1970)

LP: Queen I – 2024 Mix

Side One
1 Keep Yourself Alive
2 Doing All Right
3 Great King Rat
4 Mad The Swine
5 My Fairy King

Side Two
1 Liar
2 The Night Comes Down
3 Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll
4 Son And Daughter
5 Jesus
6 Seven Seas Of Rhye…

To hear the full audio of my interview with Queen guitarist Brian May subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on over 500 of my uncut, one-on-one conversations with the legends of rock since 1982.