Queen Album Review – Queen II – Collector’s Edition

Back in 2024, Queen released a collector’s edition of their debut album with new mixes, session outtakes, backing tracks and live performances, which I reviewed at the time.

And now, as has been long anticipated since then, they’ve brought out a collector’s edition of Queen II, their fantastic and highly complex second album, in much the same vein. So naturally I’ve been looking forward to checking that out as well.

Once again, there are multiple formats available from various retailers, including a big box set with 5 CDs and 2 LPs, a much simpler 2-disc CD edition with the new mixes and the sessions material, and others.

And just like last time, I’ve plumped for the digital download instead. It’s just £17.99 for the contents of all 5 CDs compared to the frankly ludicrous £194.99 for the physical equivalent, which has 2 vinyl records I’d have no use for and 2 of the CDs contain live tracks I already have from older releases. Sure, the book and photo prints look really nice, but I can live without them in the circumstances.

Considering the 6-CD box set for their previous album was an already steep £149.99, I’m baffled as to how this new 5-CD set is £45 dearer! Maybe it’s because it has 2 LPs rather than 1 like the previous set, one of which is white vinyl rather than black (as the album has ‘Side White’ and ‘Side Black’ instead of Sides 1 & 2). But it’s a lot extra just for that. If there had been a similar set without the vinyl LPs for a much cheaper price, I’d have been tempted to get it, but it’s quite common for box sets these days to have vinyls I don’t want. It always bugs me when artists do that.

Anyway, back in lockdown I wrote an extensive post reviewing the tracks on Queen II, along with related live performances and covers, so I’m not going to repeat that kind of thing here. Instead, I just want to compare the new mixes to the originals and look through the bonus material, and I’ve added the new tracks to my Queen II playlist as well. Nothing here is sponsored or gifted, because I bought the new download myself, and I hope you enjoy!

Contents

Altogether there are 58 tracks, with a total runtime of 3 hours and 36 minutes.

Disc 1 – 2026 Mix

The tracks on the first disc are as follows. As well as the 2026 mixes I’ve also included links to the previous 2011 remasters for comparison.

  1. Procession – 2026 Mix / 2011 Remaster (1:12)
  2. Father To Son – 2026 Mix / 2011 Remaster (6:13)
  3. White Queen (As It Began) – 2026 Mix / 2011 Remaster (4:35)
  4. Some Day One Day – 2026 Mix / 2011 Remaster (4:21)
  5. The Loser In The End – 2026 Mix / 2011 Remaster (4:05)
  6. Ogre Battle – 2026 Mix / 2011 Remaster (4:06)
  7. The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke – 2026 Mix / 2011 Remaster (2:41)
  8. Nevermore – 2026 Mix / 2011 Remaster (1:19)
  9. The March Of The Black Queen – 2026 Mix / 2011 Remaster (6:32)
  10. Funny How Love Is – 2026 Mix / 2011 Remaster (2:51)
  11. Seven Seas Of Rhye – 2026 Mix / 2011 Remaster (2:52)

Total Runtime = 40:47

There’s certainly a major difference in these new mixes, with greater clarity across the board, more prominence to the vocals, and a better balance between the different elements. While you can sort of tell with Procession, it’s when you compare the two versions of Father To Son that you first really notice it. For example, in the old remaster there’s some distortion in the beating drums and guitar that lead into Freddie’s first lyric, because it gets so loud, but now it’s perfectly clean. And it just continues nicely from there.

I sense they’ve taken heed of some of the criticism they got from the Queen I box set as well, as they haven’t gone overboard with the drums like they did on a few occasions before. There were also accusations of pitch correction on Freddie’s voice last time, which I never really noticed anyway, and I’m not aware of it happening this time either. His voice definitely pops out of the mix a bit better now though, which is great. There does seem to be a little bit more echo on it here and there if you listen closely, which it doesn’t really need, but it’s very subtle so it’s not disruptive.

All that said, I am just a casual listener, not a sound engineer or an expert audiophile, and I haven’t compared every song note for note. So those who conduct deep-level analysis between the old and new mixes may well pick up on various anomalies.

For me though, while these new mixes don’t replace the original versions that I still love and have a lot of respect for, they’re an excellent addition as an alternate approach to the album using modern technology, demonstrating what Queen would have done if they could back then. It’s given the album a new lease of life without a doubt, and I think they’ve done a better job than they did for Queen I, remaining more faithful to the original sound. So I’m very happy to own both editions.

Disc 2 – Sessions

This is the disc that I was most looking forward to, because hearing outtakes from Queen’s recording sessions is always fascinating. And I’m not disappointed. It’s a wonderful selection that represents every song on the album and more.

  1. Procession [Stage Intro Tape – April 1973] (2:05) – After a little bit of chat about getting the pulsing beat hard enough, the guitar part sounds very similar to the album version, while the ending with the beeping and chiming melody has a different tone to it.
  2. Father To Son [Takes 4 & 9 – With Guide Vocal] (7:31) – The studio chatter and cursing at the start of this is quite amusing, as they wait for Brian to get ready. It’s then really cool to hear Freddie’s guide vocal during this early take of the song. Even when he’s doing a guide track, where he’s clearly holding back a bit instead of giving it his absolute all like he will on the final recording, his voice still sounds incredible. The instrumentation is nice and powerful on this though, as the other guys are really going for it, with Brian’s guitar in particular sounding amazing, and there’s some nice bass work from John too.
  1. As It Began [Brian’s Studio Demo – October 1969] (2:14) – While Brian’s singing is vastly inferior to Freddie’s, this basic acoustic example of White Queen is quite nice, demonstrating how a relatively simple idea can blossom into an epic track later.
  2. Some Day One Day [Take 1 – With Guide Vocals] (5:03) – Once the band have sorted out the sound levels in their headphones, and remarked on how old their fingers are getting, this is a lovely early take. Freddie doesn’t sing many actual lyrics, but his melodic riffing in place of the words is beautiful regardless. He just had the voice of an angel even when he wasn’t singing properly. The high note he suddenly hits about 30 seconds before the end is a case in point, catching you completely off guard. And he even sings “that’s enough” to finish it.
  1. The Loser In The End [Roger’s First Demo] (1:08) – This sounds completely different to the final song, but it’s rather catchy with a fun bassline.
  2. The Loser In The End [Roger’s Second Demo] (2:03) – This is much closer to the song we know and sounds pretty good.
  3. Ogre Battle [Takes 2 & 6 – With Guide Vocal] (5:25) – The chatter at the start of this is fun. It reminds us that “Ready Freddie!” was already a catchphrase long before it became an integral part of Crazy Little Thing Called Love many years later. Then when Brian starts to play the opening riff, Freddie stops him to say how “fucking terrible” it is, as he was never one to mince his words (and nor were the others for that matter). He then demonstrates what he wants for Brian to copy, and they experiment to get it right before launching into a take properly. There’s another lovely guide track from Freddie, singing proper lyrics for the most part this time.
  1. The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke [Takes 4 & 9] (4:13) – There’s some more amusing banter in this. After crediting Richard Dadd, the artist whose painting the song is named after, Freddie proceeds to mess up the piano intro. When the others then tease him that he should have been an artist instead, he amusingly quips “I should go back to doing blue movies, fuck this!” Then they do a proper take, focused on the instrumentation rather than words, with Freddie bashing away nicely at the keys. When they then stop later on, and admit that they’re rushing it a bit, Freddie sings “The fairy fucker not feeling very good tonight, mucking up a lot of piano riffs tonight!” They then get back into playing at a slightly slower tempo, though they soon mess it up again!
  1. Nevermore [Take 6] (2:43) – Freddie struggles to get the piano part right for this initially, but then plays it really beautifully as he does a solo instrumental take. Some choral harmonies are then tagged on to the end.
  2. The March Of The Black Queen [First Section – Takes 3 & 5] (4:42) – This is a great instrumental take, until Freddie screws up and exclaims the F-word again. They then give it another go, more successfully this time!
  3. The March Of The Black Queen [Second Section – Take 1] (4:00) – Freddie sings to himself to keep time as he plays the piano on this. It picks up pace and sounds great when the rest of the band come in too.
  1. Funny How Love Is [Take 4] (4:00) – There’s a bit more silly banter at the start here, then once Freddie sets the pace they get underway for an instrumental take. At the end Freddie says he thinks he’s getting “pissed” because he fluffed a bit, and Brian replies that he’s “confiscated the wine”.
  2. Seven Seas Of Rhye [Takes 4, 5 & 6] (5:13) – Freddie struggles with the piano at first, in terms of playing the intro properly, getting the others to hear it more clearly, and making sure it’s tuned correctly. But once they get going it’s another great instrumental performance, which has a proper ending, sort of.
  3. I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside [Take 4] (0:46) – An amusing take of the coda from the end of Seven Seas Of Rhye, with the tune being played to help them along.
  4. See What A Fool I’ve Been [B-Side Version – 2026 Mix] (4:32) – A cleaner mix of the B-side track that was released as a bonus on the 2011 reissue of the album. It’s a good song.
  5. Not For Sale (Polar Bear) (3:56) – This song was originally recorded by Smile, the predecessor band to Queen featuring Roger and Brian with Tim Staffell. This is the first time Queen’s own rendition has been officially released, so it’s a beautiful rarity to finish the disc with.

Total Runtime = 59:32

Disc 3 – Backing Tracks

Procession is just a duplicate from the main album, as it’s an instrumental anyway, but the other tracks are presented here without the lead vocals. Some people don’t see the point of that, but I really like it, because it allows you to focus on the intricacies in the performances, and you can hear all sorts of little details that you might never have noticed before. After all, these aren’t just standard rock songs with a basic structure, they’re ambitious with a lot going on.

  1. Procession (1:12)
  2. Father To Son (6:13)
  3. White Queen (As It Began) (4:35)
  4. Some Day One Day (4:21)
  5. The Loser In The End (4:05)
  6. Ogre Battle (4:06)
  7. The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke (2:41)
  8. Nevermore (1:19)
  9. The March Of The Black Queen (6:32)
  10. Funny How Love Is (2:51)
  11. Seven Seas Of Rhye (2:52)

Total Runtime = 40:47

Disc 4 – At The BBC

This is where things get unnecessary. Yes, these performances are great, but they were all released in the On Air box set that I already have, which is much more of a bargain if you want to hear all of their BBC material (it’s well worth it). But if you haven’t got that, then sure, this is a nice selection.

It also still seems silly to me that they separate the guitar solo from the opening and closing parts of Son And Daughter, as it’s not terribly long and is part of the overall performance of the song.

BBC Sessions:

  1. See What A Fool I’ve Been [BBC Session 2 – 25 July 1973 – 2011 Mix] (4:29)
  2. Ogre Battle [BBC Session 3 – 3 December 1973] (4:48)
  3. Nevermore [BBC Session 4 – 3 April 1974] (1:30)
  4. White Queen (As It Began) [BBC Session 4 – 3 April 1974] (4:57)

Live at Golders Green Hippodrome – 13 September 1973:

  1. Procession (Intro Tape) (1:41)
  2. Father To Son (5:29)
  3. Son And Daughter (3:45)
  4. Guitar Solo (1:26)
  5. Son And Daughter (Reprise) (2:09)
  6. Ogre Battle (5:22)
  7. Liar (7:27)
  8. Jailhouse Rock (1:12)

Total Runtime = 44:15

Disc 5 – Live Performances

Again, as awesome as they are, these performances have all been previously released, mostly on Live At The Rainbow, apart from White Queen from A Night At The Odeon. Queen translated these songs brilliantly to the stage though, with plenty of power and drive when it counted, and Freddie is top of his game. It’s just a shame they didn’t add on a few rarities, like they did on the Queen I set, as there’s plenty of room on the disc.

  1. Procession (Intro Tape) [Rainbow Theatre, London, 31 March 1974] (1:13)
  2. Father To Son [Rainbow Theatre, London, 31 March 1974] (6:06)
  3. Ogre Battle [Rainbow Theatre, London, 31 March 1974] (4:58)
  4. White Queen (As It Began) [Hammersmith Odeon, London, 24 December 1975] (5:24)
  5. The March Of The Black Queen [Rainbow Theatre, London, 20 November 1974) (1:37)
  6. The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke [Rainbow Theatre, London, 31 March 1974] (2:57)
  7. Seven Seas Of Rhye [Rainbow Theatre, London, 31 March 1974] (3:15)
  8. See What A Fool I’ve Been [Rainbow Theatre, London, 31 March 1974] (5:03)

Total Runtime = 30:35

Conclusion

All in all, it’s a pretty good set. The new mixes are fabulous, making the album sound much more clean and modern while still honouring the original sound, and the sessions material is a treasure trove of behind the scenes insights.

The backing tracks are also very nice to have, but if you’re not bothered about those or the live performances, especially if you already have the BBC sessions and concert tracks, then the 2-CD edition is better value for money.

The full 5-CD set is worth the download though, as it’s miles cheaper than the physical version (and even a couple of quid less than the physical 2-CD set for that matter). But fair play to anyone who can afford to spend nearly £200 on the actual box set, I’m sure it’s amazing. It’s just not for me.

And now I guess we’ll have to wait and see if they do a similar set for the Sheer Heart Attack album in the next year or two…

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Author: Glen

Love London, love a laugh, love life. Visually impaired blogger, culture vulture & accessibility advocate, with aniridia & nystagmus, posting about my experiences & adventures.

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