Queen are streaming previously unreleased alternate versions of “We Will Rock You” and “We Are The Champions” from the upcoming November 17 release of a 40th anniversary box set edition of their 1977 album classic “News Of The World.”
Both versions are included on a disc billed as the “Raw Sessions”, which presents recently unearthed out-takes and rarities from the band's archives.
The alternate take on “We Will Rock You” features a radically different approach to the guitar solo, plus the band’s original studio banter recorded immediately prior to the master take - which reveals that the much-speculated noise at the beginning of the record is actually an echo of guitarist Brian May’s count-in to the song.
The unreleased “We Are The Champions” delivers many unfamiliar instrumental elements, including guitar parts and two more choruses while presenting – for the first time – the worldwide hit in its originally recorded length. Fans will hear the song’s originally-recorded ending in its entirety versus the familiar, edited original album version that is known for its unresolved cliff-hanger closing.
The 40th anniversary reissue presents Bob Ludwig’s 2011 remaster of the album alongside two discs of bonus tracks, a DVD of a new one-hour documentary, and a pure analogue re-cut of the original vinyl LP direct from the unmastered analogue master mix tapes.
View the full track listing for the 40th anniversary box set here.
The group’s best-selling studio record, “News Of The World” peaked at No. 3 on the US Billboard 200 on its way to worldwide sales of 6 million copies, including 4 million in the States alone.
Queen and Adam Lambert have been performing tracks from the 1977 album on their 2017 world tour, which will resume when a fall European run opens in Prague, Czech Republic on November 1.
See also:
VIDEO: Queen preview News Of The World 40th anniversary box set
Queen to release News Of The World 40th anniversary box set
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