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Queen | Bohemian Rhapsody: Original Soundtrack

The anthology champions unveil new rarities on the Mercury biopic soundtrack.

Queen are the champions, my friends. Especially when it comes to milking their back catalogue. Just look at the numbers: The band made 15 studio albums with singer Freddie Mercury. And as of this writing, they’ve released more than 50 anthologies, box sets, live albums and DVDs — not to mention various reissues of those original albums. And while some of those archival offerings (especially the vintage live sets) have been worthwhile, a lot have just been the same regurgitated hits and singles in new configurations and packages. Which was honestly all I expected from the soundtrack to the new Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, starring Mr. Robot‘s Rami Malek as the flamboyant frontman. And to be sure, the 22-track disc has its fair share of classics like Killer Queen, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Another One Bites the Dust, Somebody to Love and the title cut — all in crisply mastered versions. But producers Brian May and Roger Taylor also went the extra mile by tossing in nearly a dozen rarities, including five Live Aid tracks making their audio-only debut, along with other ancient performances. There are also a few new creations, including a Queen-sized version of the 20th Century Fox Fanfare, a new mix of We Will Rock You that blends studio and live versions, and a recreation of Doing All Right with singer Tim Staffell of Smile, May and Taylor’s pre-Queen band. Are you happy? Are you satisfied? Well, you should be.

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