Made In Heaven (Remastered Deluxe Edition) Queen

• 1 It's A Beautiful Day 02:33
• 2 Made In Heaven 05:25
• 3 Let Me Live 04:46
• 4 Mother Love 04:46
• 5 My Life Has Been Saved 03:15
• 6 I Was Born To Love You 04:50
• 7 Heaven For Everyone 05:36
• 8 Too Much Love Will Kill You 04:20
• 9 You Don't Fool Me 05:25
• 10 A Winter's Tale 03:52
• 11 It's A Beautiful Day (Reprise) 03:01
• 12 Yeah 00:04
• 13 Untitled 22:33
• 14 Heaven For Everyone (Edit) 04:44
• 15 It's A Beautiful Day (B-Side Version) 03:58
• 16 My Life Has Been Saved (1989 B-Side Version) 03:16
• 17 I Was Born To Love You (Vocals & Piano Version) 02:55
• 18 Rock In Rio Blues (Live / B-Side) 04:33
• 19 A Winter's Tale (Cosy Fireside Mix) 03:47
• Total Runtime 01:33:39

Info for Made In Heaven (Remastered Deluxe Edition)

Queen's 15th studio album was also, tragically, their last with Freddie.

Following his death in November 1991, John, Roger and Brian spent the next four years working sporadically on a new project with the vocal recordings left behind by Freddie. It was a difficult and enormously challenging process on many levels, unprecedented in terms of personal anguish, but when Made In Heaven emerged it quickly established itself as one of Queen's finest and most accomplished pieces of work.

Made In Heaven was recorded at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland and was produced by Queen. It was co-produced and engineered by David Richards, Justin Shirley-Smith and Joshua J. Macrae. The album title dates back to a track on Freddie's first solo album in 1985, which the band had reworked for this project.

Despite being told by his doctors in 1989 that he might not be around long enough to finish The Miracle, Freddie did finish it, and indeed he completed the next project too, Innuendo, in 1991. His health and physical condition were severely compromised throughout the sessions, but through innumerable difficulties, he remained focused and determined to record more and more vocals until he could record no more. It was his wish that wherever possible, and particularly in terms of work, that things carry on as normal. The first half of 1991 saw an unusual period of recording like no other in the band's career, governed largely by Freddie and his failing health.

Brian: “By the time we were recording these tracks we'd had the discussions and knew that we were totally on borrowed time. So our plan was to just make full use of Freddie as much as possible. We basically lived in the studio for a while and he would call and say, 'I can come in for a few hours today'. Our plan was just to make as much use of him as we could. He said, 'Get me to sing anything. Write me anything and I will sing it. I will give it my ALL. I will leave you as much material as I possibly can'.”

Roger: “Freddie knew his time was limited and he really wanted to work and to keep going. He felt that that was the best way to keep his spirits up, and he wanted to leave as much as possible. We certainly agreed, so we backed him up right to the hilt.

“With The Miracle he wasn't that well, but he wasn't that ill. And that was more of an effort, a bit of a long album to make. But for 'Innuendo', he really wasn't very well. I think there are some extraordinary performances on that one. I find it a very strong album all the way through. It's quite emotional.”

No-one knew when or even if Freddie would return for more recordings, or which session would be his last. The entire recording process was, to borrow from a Freddie song title, very much in the lap of the gods.

Brian: “A lot of it was really, strangely enough, quite joyous. It sounds odd to say that, and people are going to hate me for saying it, but I know Freddie had some very good times in those last periods. It was tough, but there was a lot of joy during the final recordings. Freddie did not let it become downbeat. He was always 'Up' if he was in the recording studio, always full of ideas, enthusiasm and great passion.”

Roger: “I think the last thing that he wanted was to draw attention to any kind of weakness or frailty - which was all too obvious anyway. He didn't want any kind of pity or anything like that, and he was incredibly brave about the whole thing.”

Brian: “I never saw him let it all get on top of him, never ever. He would always just get on with things. And we had some very funny times. We were very focused and very together as a group. I think we all realised how precious those moments possibly were going to be.”

Sadly, the inevitable time came when Freddie could work no more. He had recorded his final sessions and never attended the studio again. The last recordings of Freddie were in the can, for the rest of Queen to work their collective magic upon when they felt able to. Now, with strict instructions from Freddie, it was up to John, Brian and Roger to complete the songs and album without their beloved colleague.

In addition to brand new material, the Made In Heaven album also features tracks from Freddie's solo career, but in radically revised fashion; re-worked, but with all the familiar distinctive Queen trademarks and production techniques evident from beginning to end.

The album cover concept by Queen and Richard Gray features the even more larger than life Freddie statue (sculpted by Irena Sedlecka) overlooking Lake Geneva in Switzerland, in a sumptuous sunrise setting - the place at which Freddie had written and recorded his last songs, and which had so inspired and influenced him. The gatefold sleeve reveals a similar view but this time taken at sunset.

The statue is now a permanent fixture by the lake, with Freddie standing proud, purveyor of a spectacular landscape, and the many people that come to visit him there. The effigy is every bit as imposing as Freddie was on stage and has become a great tourist attraction. Queen's inimitable front man stands tall, overseeing the view he himself enjoyed so much and indeed captured in the lyrics of one of his final songs, A Winter's Tale; swans floating by, sea-gulls flying over, a silky moon up in the sky, mountains zoomin' higher, quiet and peaceful, tranquil and blissful, a kind of magic in the air, a truly magnificent view, a breathtaking scene, an extraordinary place!

Made In Heaven was released on November 6th, 1995 and was promoted as 'The breathtaking final album'. Most significantly of all, John, Brian, and Roger concluded the sleeve credits with, 'Dedicated to the immortal spirit of Freddie Mercury'.

It became an instant favourite with the fans and gave Queen their most successful studio album to date. It immediately went to No.1 in the UK, as well as Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Holland, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and Spain. It achieved multiple Platinum sales status all around the world and would eventually sell in excess of 20 million copies.

Queen

Digitally remastered

Queen
Queen formed in 1971 and in 1973 signed their first recording contract for EMI. That year they released their first album, QUEEN. The same year saw their first major UK tour, and in 1974 they released QUEEN II as well as making their first UK headlining tour. They made their first US tour, and in November released SHEER HEART ATTACK which was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

1975 saw their new release, A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, and – significantly – the single Bohemian Rhapsody. At 5’ 55” it should have been too long for successful radio play but it became one of the greatest singles of all time, staying at No. 1 in the UK chart for nine weeks. The video, directed by Bruce Gowers, is credited with being the first genuine promotional video. The song has regularly featured in all major pop polls and was recently named again as the best single of all time. The success of A NIGHT AT THE OPERA was equally stunning, giving the band their first platinum album.

In 1976 they toured the US and Japan and by spring all four albums resided in the UK Top Twenty. Later that year they released A DAY AT THE RACES, and gave a free concert in Hyde Park to an estimated crowd of 200,000 fans. The album was a huge success, advance orders alone amounting to over 500,000. The following year saw two major US tours, the band’s sixth album, NEWS OF THE WORLD and the legendary double A side single, WE WILL ROCK YOU and WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS.

1978’s JAZZ, included another huge hit single in Bicycle Race and Queen toured the US and Canada. They spent much of 1979 touring in Europe and Japan, as well as releasing their first live album, LIVE KILLERS. They were also approached to write the score for a forthcoming feature film, FLASH GORDON. Before that they released THE GAME in 1980 which went five times platinum in Canada alone! Another One Bites The Dust became the band’s biggest selling American single. Later that year the soundtrack for FLASH GORDON was released and by the end of the year Queen had sold over 45,000,000 albums worldwide.

In 1981 they toured the Far East and were the first band to make a stadium tour of South America. They played to 131,000 people in Sao Paolo, the largest paying audience for any band anywhere in the world. GREATEST HITS, GREATEST FLIX and GREATEST PIX were released simultaneously later in the year and Greatest Hits has rarely been out of the UK album charts since. Greatest Flix was the first collection of promo-videos released commercially by any band. Next year saw the release of the band’s twelfth album, HOT SPACE whilst they were in the middle of a European tour.

1984 saw THE WORKS and the single Radio Ga Ga became a worldwide hit, reaching No. 1 in 19 countries. Another huge hit was I Want To Break Free, featuring one of their most famous videos, all dressed in drag. In 1985 they were the headlining act at Rock in Rio, the biggest festival to be held anywhere in the world. They again made history that year with the show-stealing performance at Live Aid from Wembley Stadium, which proved to be a turning point for the band, One Vision being the first post Live Aid release.

1986 saw their 14th album, A KIND OF MAGIC, which was the soundtrack to the Russel Mulcahy film, Highlander. The title track became another worldwide smash and the album entered the UK charts at No. 1; later in the year the 2nd live album, LIVE MAGIC, went into the charts at No. 3. Between 1988 and 1991 Queen released three more albums, THE MIRACLE in 1989 and in 1991 INNUENDO and GREATEST HITS TWO. All three entered the UK charts at No. 1, as did the single Innuendo.

On 23rd November 1991 Freddie Mercury announced to the world that he had AIDS and the next day he died peacefully at his home, surrounded by family and friends. He remains the most high profile loss from the disease in the entertainment world and the news shocked fans throughout the world. As a tribute Bohemian Rhapsody /These Are The Days Of Our Lives was released as a double A-sided single to raise funds for the Terence Higgins Trust. It entered the UK chart at No. 1, where it stayed for five weeks, raising over £1,000,000 for the charity and Queen became the first band to have the same single top the uK charts twice. In December of that year Queen had 10 albums in the UK Top 100. In 1992 Freddie was awarded posthumously the BRIT’s “Outstanding Contribution to British Music” and Days Of Our Lives won Best Single. On 20th April many of the world’s top stars joined Brian, Roger and John on stage at Wembley for an emotional tribute to Freddie.

In 1995 the tracks that Queen had begun in 1991 were completed by Brian, Roger and John and the long-awaited MADE IN HEAVEN was released worldwide. It was the end of an era. Since then the phenomenon of Queen has remained, however, with continuing sales for their recorded output on CD and video. A ballet of their music by famous French choreographer Maurice Bejart was premiered at the National Theatre in Paris in 1997 and in May 2002 the hit musical We Will Rock You opened to sell-out audiences in London’s West End and continues to play to packed houses and standing ovations every night. Queen’s first DVD Greatest Video Hits Vol.1 was released at the end of October 2002, and yet another piece of Queen product entered the UK charts at number 1. October 2002 also saw Queen receive their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Los Angeles, joining The Beatles as only one of a handful of non-US bands to receive the much coveted honour. Last year, 2004 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Walk of Fame, and in the UK were voted by the public into the first UK Music Hall of Fame.

Queen’s musical has since opened in Australia, Spain, Las Vegas,USA, Russia, Germany and is scheduled to open in Japan this May.

Brian and Roger continue to be ambassadors for Nelson Mandela’s 46664 HIV/AIDS awareness campaign and this month, March, played a second benefit concert for 46664 in Fancourt, South Africa.

Brian and Roger took Queen back onto the touring circuit for the first time since 1986 in 2005 and 2008, joined by former Free/Bad Company singer, songwriter and musicial Paul Rodgers playing concerts across the UK and throughout Europe. (Source: www.queenonline.com)

This album contains no booklet.