Bohemian Rhapsody (20th Century Fox) Review

Shane Thomas — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 07:43:07 +0000

A decade in the making.

Bohemian Rhapsody the biopic film is championed by Roger Taylor (Drummer, Queen) and Brian May (Guitarist, Queen) that heralds the start up of the band, formerly known as Smile and the killer Queen himself, Freddy Mercury’s inception, influence, fame and iconic talent, covering events up to their show stopping performance of Live Aid in June 1985.

From just a bunch of Uni students that cobbled together songs and did covers, when the lead singer of Smile left the band Roger and Brian needed to find a replacement. Freddy (played by Raimi Malek) pretty much positioned himself in to the lead with a car park, one song rehearsal.

It wasn’t long until Smile, became Queen and Freddy (as we all know and love him) changed to his stage name (and also legally), from his birth name Farrokh Bulsara, having been a refugee from Zanzibar.

Strict parents, especially a traditional father who worked as a book keeper at London’s Heathrow airport, Farrokh worked as a baggage handler at the Terminal and submersed himself in to his love of music in any spare time that he had.

It was during the time of joining Smile that Farrokh met someone that would change his life and no matter what, always be at his side, from relationship to a friend that no one else in his life could compare to, Mary Austin.

It was while on tour with the band now called Queen and by this stage John Deacon, another University student had joined on bass, that Farrokh, now legally called Freddy Mercury, began to realise and struggle with (initially) his bi-sexuality.

The film is a mostly accurate portrayal with two members of the band being Executive Producers and long time band manager; Jim Beach also being on the Production team. Thee are some noticeable timeline shifts, such as when Freddy was diagnosed with AIDs (it was 1987 – two years after Live Aid).

Titled after Queen’s experimental yet signature song Bohemian Rhapsody (aka ‘Freddy’s thing’) which their record producer, Ray Foster (Mike Meyers) refused to have aired, (deemed it was too long for radio) and when eventually released was slammed by music critics globally at the time. As we all know and was predicted by the first radio DJ at the time to play the song; Kenny Everette – it has become a rock anthem that has never and will never be matched. Ever.

The film is a total gloves off raw look in to the trials through the 1980’s as fame and influence from different avenues including the then Manager of Mercury; Paul Prenter shaped Freddy’s existence and eventual death of AIDS on the 24th of November 1991.

20th Century Fox really know how to take out a year with a bang. Last year’s finale was The Greatest Showman – this year; Bohemian Rhapsody.

We all know the songs, know the band and love Freddy.

Fan of Queen or not, there’s no denying they rocked us through the ‘70s and 80s. Doing what they did how they wanted to do it. Sometimes experimental, always a bit risque and never the same as any other rock band. Interacting with the mass sized audiences making them feel the rock and be a part of it. Stadium after stadium, album after album.

Let Queen rock you one more time in Bohemian Rhapsody. The best film this year and totally worth the ten year wait.

The post Bohemian Rhapsody (20th Century Fox) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Bohemian Rhapsody OST to Release

Shane Thomas — Sat, 08 Sep 2018 04:46:21 +0000

For the first time ever, audio tracks from Queen’s legendary performance at Live Aid are being released as part of the soundtrack album to “Bohemian Rhapsody”, 20th Century Fox and Regency Enterprises’ forthcoming feature film celebrating the band, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury. Recorded at the historic Wembley concert in July 1985, these Live Aid songs are among the rare gems and unheard versions from the band’s rich catalogue.

Alongside the show-stopping Live Aid performances of Bohemian Rhapsody, Radio Ga Ga, Hammer To Fall and We Are The Champions, the album features other rare live tracks spanning Queen’s entire career, new versions of old favourites, and a choice selection of the band’s finest studio recordings. Among them are some of Queen’s biggest hits, including eleven all-time anthems that reached Number One around the world. The track listing is being announced on 5th of September 2018, which would have been Freddie’s 72nd birthday.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” is scheduled to have its World Premiere in the UK on 23rd of October 2018 before opening across the world in early November 2018. Australian theatre release date is November 1st 2018. It stars Rami Malek as Freddie, Gwilym Lee as Brian May, Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor, Joe Mazzello as John Deacon, and Lucy Boynton as Freddie’s lifelong companion Mary Austin. The soundtrack, featuring all-original Queen recordings and vocals, is released on CD and digital formats on 19th of October 2018.

Queen’s cinematic music has proved irresistible to filmmakers over the years, featuring in numerous big screen epics. Their 1986 album “A Kind of Magic” was based on six songs composed for the swashbuckling time-travel adventure “Highlander” including such band classics as A Kind of Magic and Who Wants To Live Forever. But “Bohemian Rhapsody” will be only the band’s second ever full original soundtrack album release, following on from the classic “Flash Gordon” in 1980.

The 22 songs on the soundtrack were produced by Brian May and Roger Taylor, with engineering and co-production by long-time Queen studio collaborators Justin Shirley-Smith, Kris Fredriksson and Joshua J Macrae, and mastering by Adam Ayan and Bob Ludwig.

The key task for the team behind the “Bohemian Rhapsody” soundtrack was sourcing the most suitable versions of the band’s songs, especially live performances, to fit the screenplay’s career-spanning narrative. Their brief was not merely to produce a greatest hits playlist package but a soundtrack album to stand on its own merits, underscoring key moments in the screenplay. May, Taylor, and their co-producers worked with the filmmakers to find the best versions of each track to heighten the dramatic power of each scene.

Ensuring that listeners are in no doubt they are listening to a soundtrack album, Brian came up with the inspired idea that Queen should record their own arrangement of the famous 20th Century Fox Fanfare. Featuring May’s famous multi-layered guitars and Roger Taylor’s distinctive percussion, this revamped track provides a suitably flamboyant opening fanfare to both film and album.

Unlike Queen’s soundtrack to “Flash Gordon”, no spoken dialogue from “Bohemian Rhapsody” is included on this new album. And while the film uses only parts from songs and performances, the soundtrack features the full-length versions of some of the band’s best-loved studio and live recordings.

The five tracks from Queen’s 21-minute performance at Live Aid on 13th of July 1985 have never been released in audio form before. They only ever featured on video as a special extra on the DVD/BluRay release of “Queen Rock Montreal”, which features the Montreal Forum shows of November 1981. The Live Aid audio is exclusive to this new soundtrack album.

Other tracks on the soundtrack have been sourced from different decades and even different continents. Fat Bottomed Girls comes from the Paris shows in 1979, part of the “Jazz” world tour and has never been released before. Now I’m Here was recorded at the band’s 1975 Christmas Eve show at London’s Hammersmith Odeon. And the history making duet between Freddie and Brian on Love of My Life comes from the Rock in Rio festival of January 1985 when 300,000 Brazilians sang along. Previously this track was only available to fans on the video releases of this performance.

For the studio recordings on the album, Queen had the luxury of being able to work with the Bob Ludwig remastered tracks from 2011, widely considered the best and most definitive versions.

The three remaining tracks on the soundtrack will be fresh to Queen fans, old and new. We Will Rock You starts out as the studio version, then seamlessly blends into a live performance with audience participation. This has been created especially for the film. Don’t Stop Me Now features Brian’s newly recorded guitar parts and is much closer to how the band plays the track live today.

Doing All Right was originally recorded by Smile, the predecessor band to Queen that featured Brian and Roger with vocalist Tim Staffell. When Tim later left, Roger and Brian would join forces with Freddie to form Queen. Freddie’s interpretation of the song featured on the first Queen album. To recreate the original Smile version, Brian and Roger re-united with Staffell at Abbey Road Studios to re-record Doing All Right for the “Bohemian Rhapsody” soundtrack. This session which featured Roger, Tim and Brian all singing lead vocals took place almost 50 years after the original Smile recording.

With record sales estimated at 300 million and counting, Queen remain evergreen rock favourites whose glorious catalogue of songs continues to thrill fans of all ages across the globe. Despite the loss of Freddie in 1991, their following has continued to grow over the decades, boosted by a new wave of fans who first discovered the band’s music through their hugely successful stage show “We Will Rock You” or via hit TV shows like “Glee”, “American Idol” and “The X-Factor”.

The “Bohemian Rhapsody” film and its original soundtrack album are certain to introduce Queen to a new generation of listeners, and remind existing fans just how magnificent the band was in its prime. Queen remain spectacular performers today, both live and in the studio, their songs having comfortably stood the test of time. After almost 50 years together, Queen continue to be one of the most exciting and beloved bands in rock history.

The post Bohemian Rhapsody OST to Release appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

LiveAid Archives - Shane the Gamer

Bohemian Rhapsody (20th Century Fox) Review

Bohemian Rhapsody OST to Release