Queen’s second album, originally released in March 1974, is getting remixed, remastered and expanded to five CDs in March.
The 5CD/2LP Queen II Collector’s Edition box set features a 2026 mix of the album and will be available on March 27th. Brian May and Roger Taylor serve as executive producers for the set, which includes previously unheard outtakes and demos, live tracks and radio sessions from the era.
Arguably the heaviest Queen album, Queen II was originally released in 1974 and widely heralded as their first true masterpiece. With Brian May and Roger Taylor as executive producers, the album has been stunningly mixed by the team of Justin Shirley-Smith, Joshua J Macrae and Kris Fredriksson.
“Queen II” was the single biggest leap we ever made,” said May in a press release announcing the box. “That’s when we really started making music the way we wanted to, rather than the way we were being pushed into recording it.”
“With “Queen II”, I couldn’t believe how much work we put into it,” noted Taylor. “I think we felt we were evolving our own sound. We were pioneering this sort of multitracking thing. It gave you a tremendous palette, massive choral effects with just three of us singing.”
In addition to the new mix of the original album, the upcoming reissue will include discs featuring session tracks, BBC recordings and live performances.
The new Queen II: Collector’s Edition features a newly mixed and remastered version of the original album. It also features a disc of previously unreleased album sessions, including multiple takes and demo versions of album tracks “The Loser in the End” and “The March of the Black Queen.”
Backing tracks for the LP’s songs are also included on a disc. Another CD features Queen’s appearances on BBC radio programs in 1973 and 1974, when they performed songs from “Queen II”, including “Nevermore,” “White Queen (As It Began),” and others.
The fifth and final disc includes live tracks of several album songs, recorded at the Rainbow and Hammersmith Odeon in March 1974 and December 1975.
The Fat Angel Sings 