Surround Sound Mixes
This page features details of the tracks which have been remixed into 5.1 Surround Sound, for release on standard DVD's and DVD-Audio discs. This page only includes details of tracks which are very different to the normal tracks, with different elements coming through different channels. The details refer to the standard setup of a Subwoofer, Centre speaker, 2 front speakers and 2 rear speakers. Where possible, the DTS mix has been used.
There are a number of DVD's which feature 5.1 Surround Sound, but their content does not seem to differ significantly from normal. For these there are minor changes but these are not worth mentioning. I haven't checked throughout these DVD's but I have checked at random points and have not noticed anything remarkably different. Unfortunately due to region coding I have been unable to check the USA 'We Will Rock You' DVD, and The Immortal Edition of 'Highlander', but I would imagine that the same applies to these. 'The Alps', a related release which has music by Queen and Brian, features music through the front channel, echoed music through the rear, and the commentary/sound effects through the centre.
In summary, this page includes details of the Surround Sound mixes found on 'Greatest Video Hits I', 'Greatest Video Hits II', 'A Night At The Opera', 'The Game', 'The Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs'.
In the descriptions given below, 'Straight' vocal refers to a normally sung, non-harmonied vocal.
'39
Appears on the 'A Night At The
Opera' DVD Audio and 30th Anniversary
DVD. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Brian May
Centre: Loses all of the acoustic guitar, retaining only the
straight vocals, percussion and double bass. As a result, there
are a few silent sections.
Front: Seems identical to normal, although some of the harmonied
vocals are lost.
Rear: The acoustic guitar at the start is less prominent, and
some of the guitar, straight vocals and drums are less prominent.
A
Kind Of Magic
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: Drums seem more prominent, whilst
some of Brian's guitar and the keyboards are lost
Rear: Drums are less prominent (and sound different), whilst some
of Brian's guitar and the backing vocals are more prominent.
Some of Brian's guitar solo is mixed so that it travels 'around'
the various speakers.
Another
One Bites The Dust
Appears on 'Greatest Video Hits I' and 'The Game'. Click here for the original song
details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Loses the guitar, harmonied vocals,
handclaps and 'earthquake' effects. As a result the mix sounds a
lot more basic.
Front: Features some new stereo effects, but otherwise very
similar to normal.
Rear: Loses the bass, harmonied vocals, handclaps, and some of
the guitar, and also has some stereo effects.
The Centre channel for the mix on 'Greatest Video Hits I' is
silent.
Back
Chat
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith. This is the Single Version of
the track.
Centre: Includes only Brian's guitar solo from about 1:52 to
2:18, and a couple of jangly guitar sounds later in the track.
Front: Loses all of the 'back chat, back chat' vocals. Brian's
guitar is also much quieter or missing from many places, but his
solo from 2:18 to 2:32 is still present. There are some other
changes too but these are the most noticeable.
Rear: The bass and straight vocals are quieter, but the 'back
chat, back chat' vocals are louder. The drums are also quieter
(except the solo), but the cymbals are still present. Some of
Brian's guitar is also removed.
Barcelona
Appears on 'The Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs'.
Click here for the original song details.
Produced by David Richards and Peter Cobbin
Centre: Loses most of the piano from the slow sections, and also
the harmonied vocals throughout. Some other vocals are also lost,
and there are other minor changes.
Front: Seems identical to the normal version.
Rear: The slow piano and vocal sections are much quieter, and the
straight vocals are generally much less prominent.
The bells at the start of the track are mixed so that they travel
'around' the various speakers.
Barcelona
(Live)
Appears on 'The Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs'.
Click here for the original song details.
Produced by David Richards and Peter Cobbin
Centre: Vocals are more prominent (some are lost), and the piano,
audience, and fireworks are a lot less prominent.
Front: Sounds very similar to normal.
Rear: Vocals and piano are a lot less prominent. The fireworks
and audience seem more prominent.
Bicycle
Race
Appears on 'Greatest Video Hits I'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: Quite similar to normal, but the piano is louder, some
vocals are lost, the harmonied vocals are quieter, and the entire
bell-ringing section is lost.
Rear: Loses most of the piano, and Freddie's straight vocals are
less prominent. Also, some of the vocals are missing at various
points, and the drums sound different.
In this mix, Brian's solo travels between the two channels.
Body
Language
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: Some of Freddie's vocals are more prominent, whilst the
synthesised effects and handclaps are less prominent (although
the fingerclicks are still there).
Rear: Handclaps and cymbals are more prominent, and some of the
percussion effects are lost.
Bohemian
Rhapsody
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits I' and on the 'A Night At
The Opera' DVD Audio and 30th Anniversary
DVD. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Brian May
As the song has so many changes, I have divided it up into four
sections and described the mixing for each part:
Part One: (the introduction to the track, upto
'Anyway the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me, to me')
Centre: Retains the bass and some of the straight vocals only.
Front: Some of the vocals are quieter whilst the piano is louder.
Some harmonied vocals are lost.
Rear: Contains very little piano, the straight vocals are quieter
and the harmonied vocals are louder.
Part Two: (the verses of the song, from 'Mama, just
killed a man' to 'I sometimes which I'd never been born at all')
Centre: Loses the piano and harmonied vocals, retaining the
drums, bass and guitars. The straight vocals are still present
but less prominent.
Front: Loses some of the harmonied vocals and guitar but retains
the solo.
Rear: Similar to normal but loses all piano. There are also other
minor changes.
Part Three: (the
opera and rock section, from 'I see a little silhouetto of a man'
to 'Just gotta get right outta here')
Centre: Loses the guitar, piano and harmonied vocals, so retains
only the straight vocals, bass and drums. The vocal is lost from
the rock section.
Front: Some piano is lost whilst the rest of the music is the
same. Some harmonied vocals are lost and the rock section
includes all it's vocals.
Rear : Loses the piano in some places, whilst some harmonied
vocals and most of the guitars are lost. The rock section loses
it's vocals, and is very piano-orientated.
Part Four: (the closing part of the track, from
'Ooooh, ooooh, ooooh, oooh yeah, oooh yeah' onwards)
Centre: Loses all piano, guitar and
harmonied vocals, leaving only the drums, bass and straight
vocals.
Front: Similar to normal, but the guitar is more prominent.
Rear: Loses the piano and some of the guitar, and 'anyway the
wind blows' is lost.
Breakthru'
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: Drums and keyboards seem more prominent, whilst some of
the guitar and backing vocals are less prominent.
Rear: Piano, drums, keyboards, some vocals and some guitar is
less prominent, whilst the bass is removed.
Calling
All Girls
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Contains most of Freddie's chorus vocals a-capella
('Love, take a message of love' and 'this message is' etc), and
some other vocals, but none of the verse vocals. It also contains
small parts of electric guitar.
Front: Loses some of the acoustic guitar and other effects,
whilst the chorus vocals and some other vocals are far less
prominent.
Rear: Drums are less prominent, and some of the vocals are
quieter or lost completely. Some of the guitar is also quieter.
Coming
Soon
Appears on 'The Game'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith. This mix features some
different vocals to the original, as the original tracks were not
available.
Centre: Retains only the drums and Freddie's straight vocals
Front: Retains the full music, straight vocals, and Brian's
backing vocals, but loses Roger's vocals. The bass is also more
prominent.
Rear: Retains the full music and Roger's backing vocals, but the
straight vocals are less prominent.
Crazy
Little Thing Called Love
Appears on 'Greatest Video Hits I' and 'The Game'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: Very similar to normal, but the harmonied vocals are a lot
less prominent and missing in some places.
Rear: The drums have a slightly different sound and are less
prominent, and it loses the bass. The harmonied vocals are a lot
more prominent.
Death
On Two Legs
Appears on the 'A Night At The
Opera' DVD Audio and 30th Anniversary
DVD. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Brian May
Centre: Contains Freddie's straight vocal, the bass and drums
only, and some guitar at the start.
Front: Some of the guitar is lost in places, but some of Brian's
solo is still present. Some harmonied vocals are also lost.
Rear: The piano and straight vocals are much quieter throughout,
whilst the guitar is more prominent in places but quieter in
others. Also, the harmonied vocals are more prominent.
Don't
Stop Me Now
Appears on 'Greatest Video Hits I'. Click here
for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: The piano is more prominent throughout, whilst the
harmonied vocals are much quieter (and missing in some places).
Rear: The piano and bass throughout are much quieter, whilst the
harmonied vocals are more prominent. As a result, Freddie's
opening and closing vocals are almost a-capella, whilst the rest
of the track sounds very different.
Don't
Try Suicide
Appears on 'The Game'. Click here
for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Contains the straight vocal and bass only, with two
guitar bursts towards the end.
Front: No piano, and features less prominent guitar (and in some
places none at all). It also loses all of Brian's solos.
Rear: Loses the bass and hand claps (but retains drums), and the
piano and Brian's solo are very prominent.
Dragon
Attack
Appears on 'The Game'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Loses a lot of the guitar and some drums. Some of the
bass is more prominent.
Front: More prominent drums and harmonied vocals, and the bass is
less prominent in places. Some of the drums are lost.
Rear: The bass is less prominent, and loses some harmonied vocals
and guitar
Fat
Bottomed Girls
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits I'. Click here
for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith. This is a unique version,
containing the single version which then segues into the end of
the album version.
Centre: Silent
Front: Although similar to normal, the guitar seems more
prominent, and the harmonied vocals slightly less prominent. The
very last drum blast is missing (although the bass is intact).
Rear: The track loses all guitar until 1:45, leaving just the
vocals, drums and bass. The guitar after this point is less
prominent and in some places different to the front channel.
Flash
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits I'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Includes only two excerpts of film dialogue, both from
the news reports ("seemingly there is no reason for these
extraordinary intergalactical upsets. Only Dr Hans Zarkoff,
formerly of NASA, has provided any explanation" and
"this morning's unprecedented solar eclipse is no cause for
alarm")
Front: Very similar to normal, but loses the two film excerpts
mentioned above, and Ming's laughter.
Rear: The track starts on the first "Flash", but some
of the vocals are quieter. The main beat of the song is also
quieter in places, and it loses the film excerpts that comes
through the centre channel.
The film sound effects of weapons are mixed so that they travel
between the front and rear speakers.
Friends
Will Be Friends
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith. This is the 'crowd vocal'
version.
Centre: Silent
Front: Similar to normal, but some of the guitar, harmonied and
crowd vocals are less prominent.
Rear: Drums, bass and keyboards are less prominent, whilst the
harmonied vocals and some of the guitar are more prominent. The
drums also sound slightly different too.
God
Save The Queen
Appears on the 'A Night At The
Opera' DVD Audio and 30th Anniversary
DVD. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Brian May
DVD-Audio Version:
Centre: Appears to be the same as the normal version
Front: Appears to be the same as the normal version
Rear: The opening and closing drums seem more prominent, whilst
the drums in the middle appear to be less prominent. Also, the
cymbals are quieter, and some of the guitar travels between the
left and right channels.
30th Anniversary DVD Version:
Centre: Contains only the cymbals
Front: Appears to be the same as the normal version
Rear: Contains the opening drums, and it is then silent until
about 0:25. The cymbals seem generally quieter, and some of the
guitar is more prominent than normal.
Good
Company
Appears on the 'A Night At The
Opera' DVD Audio and 30th Anniversary
DVD. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Brian May
Centre: Contains only the vocals (except the 'all through the
years' verse), drums and bass.
Front: Similar to the normal version, but loses some lead guitar
and 'guitar jazz band' from some sections.
Rear: Straight vocals and acoustic guitar are less prominent,
whilst the electric guitar and 'guitar jazz band' are more
prominent. The acoustic guitar is completely lost from the
instrumental break.
Hammer
To Fall
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith. This is the single version.
Centre: Includes some of the 'candy-floss' noises and some of
Brian's guitar solo only.
Front: Loses most of Brian's guitar solo, but otherwise very
similar to normal.
Rear: Most of the drums are less prominent, and it loses a lot of
the guitar (including some of the solo) and audience noise. The
straight vocals are also echoed. As a result of the changes it is
a more basic mix.
How
Can I Go On? (Live)
Appears on 'The Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs'.
Click here for the original song details.
Produced by David Richards and Peter Cobbin
Centre: Most of the music is much quieter, leaving the vocals,
bass and fingerclicking far more dominant. As a result, this is
an almost a-capella version.
Front: The vocals are less prominent, but the rest seems similar
to normal.
Rear: The vocals and some of the orchestral music are less
prominent. The vocals also seem slightly echoed in places.
I'm
In Love With My Car
Appears on the 'A Night At The
Opera' DVD Audio and 30th Anniversary
DVD. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Brian May
Centre: Contains Roger's vocals, Drum and Bass only.
Front: Roger's vocals are more prominent but the harmonied vocals
are less prominent. The jangly guitar also seems more prominent,
and at about 1:20 there seems to be a banjo (I think) which is
far more prominent than normal. The very end includes just the
guitar and no engine noises.
Rear: Roger's vocals are not as prominent,
but the harmonied vocals are more prominent. There is also no
guitar right at the end, whilst the engine noises are still
present.
In
My Defence
Appears on 'The Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs'.
Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Dave Clark. This is the 2000 Remix of the track.
Centre: Vocals, drums and guitars are more prominent. This gives
the mix a very basic feel.
Front: Seems very similar to normal.
Rear: Vocals and drums are far less prominent, and the guitar is
very dominating.
The version on "The Freddie Mercury Video Collection" contains several quotes from Freddie at the start and end of the track which come through the Centre channel. Thes quotes are not present on any of the channels for the mix on "Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs", but apart from this they seem identical.
It's
A Hard Life
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Loses the piano and guitar and only retains the vocals,
drums and bass (but they are barely audible). However Brian's
solo is intact (again very quiet) although two bursts are at
normal volume.
Retains some (but not all) of Brian's guitar solo, and Freddie's
vocals (very quietly) only.
Front: Loses some of Brian's guitar, and backing vocals are less
prominent (and some are lost).
Rear: Loses all of the piano, and backing vocals seem more
prominent. Most of Brian's guitar seems more prominent.
I
Want It All
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith. This is the single version.
Centre: Silent
Front: Similar to normal, but Brian's guitar is lost from some
places,
Rear: Harmonied vocals are less prominent in places, whilst the
guitar is lost from some places (including most of the solo).
Also, the drums have a different sound.
I
Want To Break Free
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith. This is the single version.
Centre: Includes only two short bursts of guitar, then at the
very end some of the keyboard/synthesiser effects.
Front: The straight vocal and seems to have a slight echo, as
does the synthesiser solo in the middle. It also loses most of
the guitars.
Rear: The drums are a lot less prominent, and have a different
sound. The bass is quite prominent, and the harmonied vocals seem
more prominent. The synthesiser solo is also much quieter.
In places the guitars are mixed so that they travel around the
speakers.
I
Was Born To Love You
Appears on 'The Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs'.
Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Mack.
Centre: Piano and keyboards are far less prominent (and in some
places not present), and the bass is more prominent. Some of the
synthesisers are also missing.
Front: The vocals and drums are slightly less prominent. So piano
chords are also louder whilst some are quieter. There may also be
some other minor changes.
Rear: Vocals are less prominent, and the volume of some piano
chords also changes. Some of the keyboards also sound slightly
different.
Many of the 'disco effects' are mixed so that they 'travel'
around the different speakers.
Killer
Queen
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits I'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: Similar to normal, but a lot of the lead guitar is lost
and some harmonied vocals are lost or quieter. The piano is also
quieter in places.
Rear: The opening finger clicks are missing, so the track starts
with the vocals. The straight vocals and bass are a lot less
prominent, some of the lead guitar is lost. and some harmonied
vocals sound different.
Las
Palabras De Amor
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: Backing vocals are quieter whilst the drums are louder.
Brian's guitar is much louder in some places, but quieter in
others.
Rear: The backing vocals are more prominent, whilst Brian's lead
guitar is also quieter in some places. Some of the strings are
also quieter.
Lazing
On A Sunday Afternoon
Appears on the 'A Night At The Opera' DVD Audio and 30th Anniversary DVD. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Brian May
Centre: This mix loses all of the piano and harmonied vocals,
leaving the drums, bass, and guitar only. Freddie's straight
vocals are also more prominent.
Front: The piano, harmonied vocals and guitar are very quiet, and
the drums and bass are slightly more prominent.
Rear: The piano is a lot more prominent, but the drums and
straight vocals are less prominent.
Living
On My Own (Original version)
Appears on 'The Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs'.
Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Paul Hicks. This is the original album version.
Centre: A more basic mix (especially the drums), with the vocals,
drums and bass more prominent than the other elements. It also
loses most of the piano.
Front: Similar to normal, but the drums have a different sound
and some of the piano is lost. Again, this mix has a more basic
feel.
Rear: Freddie's main straight vocal is much quieter (although
some of the 'second' straight vocals are present), and it also
loses most of the piano. The drums also have a different sound.
Some of the synthesisers are also more prominent.
Living
On My Own (1993 Radio Remix)
Appears on 'Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs'.
Click here for the original remix details.
Upmixed by Kris Fredrikkson.
Centre: Not radically different, the percussion, bass and vocals
are more prominent, whilst some synths and keyboards are quieter.
Front: Very similar to the normal version.
Rear: Vocals are quieter and echoed while some of the bass,
keyboards and synths are missing. The percussion has a different
feel to it, and you can also hear other drums (bongos?) in the
background, which give the track a very different feel.
Love
Of My Life
Appears on the 'A Night At The
Opera' DVD Audio and 30th Anniversary
DVD. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Brian May
Centre: Retains only the vocals, drums, bass, and harp at the
end. Much of the track is silent.
Front: Quite similar to the album version, but it loses all
harmonied vocals
Rear: Piano is much quieter (and in some places absent), and it
also loses most of the guitar and bass, and some of the harmonied
vocals. Most of the track is almost a-capella.
Made
In Heaven
Appears on 'The Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs'.
Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Mack.
Centre: Loses the 'warming up' noises and the audience noise at
the end, whilst the bass is more prominent and the piano and
orchestra are less prominent (barely audible).
Front: Seems very similar to normal, the most noticeable
difference is that the orchestra is much quieter.
Rear: Loses the 'warming up' noises, and the vocals are less
prominent (they also seem slightly echoed). The synthesisers also
seem quieter.
Need
Your Loving Tonight
Appears on 'The Game'. Click here
for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Retains only the drums, bass and vocals, but the vocals
are far more prominent. The only guitar is Brian's solo, but this
is much heavier than can be heard in the original.
Front: Similar to the normal version, but the rhythm guitar seems
more prominent, and most harmonied vocals are lost.
Rear: A much more basic mix, losing some of
the rhythm guitar, and bass. The harmonied vocals are also more
prominent.
One Vision
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith. This is the single version.
Centre: Silent
Front: Loses some of the lead guitar, whilst some of the backing
vocals are less prominent.
Rear: Most of the introductory music is much quieter, and the
guitar is more prominent in places, but missing from others.
Also, the keyboards and some of the other effects are less
prominent, and some of the echoed vocals are missing. The changes
mean the track sounds very different in places.
Play
The Game
Appears on 'Greatest Video Hits I' and 'The Game'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
'Greatest Video Hits I' version:
Centre: Silent
Front: Similar to normal, but some of the guitar is lost or less
prominent or lost. The guitar solo is lost completely.
Rear: Similar to normal, but the backing vocals seem more
prominent, and the drums have a slightly different sound. Some of
the synthesised effects are less prominent.
'The Game' version:
Centre: Includes Freddie's straight vocal only, some of Brian's
solo, and very quiet bass, giving an almost a-capella version.
Front: Freddie's straight vocals are less prominent (barely
audible), but the harmonied backing vocals are still present. A
lot of the guitar is also lost, including all of the solo.
Rear: Virtually identical to the 'Greatest Video Hits I' rear
mix, but the vocals are slightly more prominent and there are
changes to the synthesized effects in places.
Princes
Of The Universe
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: Similar to normal, but in some places the backing vocals
and Brian's guitar are either lost or less prominent.
Rear: Again, loses some vocals and a lot of guitar, and some of
the percussion from the fast part towards the end. As a result,
parts of the track sound very different.
Radio
Ga Ga
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: Very similar to normal, but loses some of the synthesised
effects. During the chorus, the drums seem to have a slight echo.
Rear: Drums and synthesisers are far less prominent, so the
vocals, keyboards, bass and guitar dominate, giving a more basic
mix. Brian's guitar towards the end seems more prominent, and the
vocals also have a slight echo throughout.
Rock
It
Appears on 'The Game'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Contains the bass, drums, straight vocals, and some lead
guitars only. The intro section does not include any guitar.
Front: Straight vocals and bass are more prominent, but the
guitar and harmonied vocals are less prominent, and it loses
Brian's solo.
Rear: Straight vocals are less prominent throughout, and the
guitar and harmonied vocals seem more prominent.
Some of the sound effects are mixed so they appear through
various channels.
Sail
Away Sweet Sister
Appears on 'The Game'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith. This is possibly the best of
all the remixes.
Centre: The piano is lost, whilst the bass, drums and vocals are
less prominent. Freddie's vocal and parts of the guitar are far
more prominent. A lot of Brian's guitar sounds quite different to
the album version.
Front: The bass seems more prominent than normal, and most of the
guitar is lost. Freddie's vocals are less prominent,
Rear: The piano and bass is much less prominent, and Brian's
vocals seem to have a phased effect in places. Most of the guitar
is present, although some parts are lost.
Save
Me
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits I' and 'The Game'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: Similar to normal, but the harmonied vocals and a lot of
the guitar are lost.
Rear: Loses all piano, making the opening vocals a-capella, and
the harmonied vocals are more prominent. Some of the acoustic
guitar towards the end of the track is lost.
Scandal
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: Loses some of the backing vocals (not all) and some of the
synthesised effects
Rear: Drums are noticeably different, and some of the synthesised
effects are more prominent, whilst Brian's guitar solo is a lot
quieter.
Seaside
Rendezvous
Appears on the 'A Night At The Opera' DVD Audio and 30th Anniversary DVD. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Brian May
Centre: Loses a lot of the piano, the harmonised vocals and most
of the 'vocal orchestrations'. Also, in places, some of Freddie's
straight vocals are lost.
Front: Harmonised vocals are a lot less prominent whilst the
piano is more prominent. The "vocal orchestration of
brass" seems to be quieter (I think)
Rear: Loses the bass and a lot of the piano, and the "vocal
orchestrations of woodwind" are absent (I think). The
harmonied vocals are also louder.
The surround sound mix contains some elements that are not
present (or at least, not obviously present) in the original
stereo mix. Also, the original DVD-Audio version features
'tapping' at about 2:09 (in the rear mix), which is not present
on any other versions. Apart from this, the mixes are identical.
Somebody
To Love
Appears on 'Greatest Video Hits I'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: Harmonied vocal are almost inaudible, but the piano is
much more prominent.
Rear: Straight vocals and guitar are less prominent than normal,
and the piano is almost inaudible. The drums also sound
different.
Spread
Your Wings
Appears on 'Greatest Video Hits I'. Click here for the original song details.
Original mix 'upmixed' by Justin Shirley-Smith and Tim Young.
Centre: Seems identical to the album version.
Front: Seems identical to the album version. The guitar may be
quieter in some places, but any changes are only minor.
Rear: Loses all vocals, and there are a few other minor changes.
Sweet
Lady
Appears on the 'A Night At The Opera' DVD Audio and 30th Anniversary DVD. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Brian May
Centre: Retains only the drums, bass, and straight vocals, and
the lead guitars towards the end.
Front: Some of the lead guitar and harmonied vocals are lost
Rear: Guitars are absent from the start, but the rest of the
track has much more prominent guitar. It retains most of the
harmonied (and no straight) vocals. This means it is almost a
"karaoke" version.
The
Golden Boy (Live)
Appears on 'The Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs'.
Click here for the original song details
Produced by David Richards and Peter Cobbin
Centre: Most of the music and the choir vocals are far quieter,
but the percussion is present, so that the track is almost
'a-capella' by Freddie and Montserrat
Front: Seems identical to normal, although
the choir vocals seem louder.
Rear: Straight vocals are far less prominent, but the choir
vocals are more prominent.
The
Great Pretender (Single Version)
Appears on 'The Freddie
Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life,
Singer Of Songs'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by David Richards and Peter Cobbin
Centre: Most of the track retains only the vocals, drums and
bass. There are also orchestral parts in some sections.
Front: Most vocals are far less prominent, whilst some are
missing. The drums also have a different sound.
Rear: The drums are far less prominent, whilst most of the
harmonied vocals are lost. The orchestral parts are also less
prominent.
The
Great Pretender (Extended Version)
Appears on 'The Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs'.
Click here for the original song details.
Produced by David Richards and Peter Cobbin
Centre: In some sections, it contains
only the vocals, drums and bass. Some of the orchestral parts are
retained, but not many. It also retains the backstage comments.
Front: Vocals are less prominent, and it loses the backstage
comments. The drums also have a different sound.
Rear: The harmonied vocals, bass and orchestral parts are far
less prominent. The drums also sound different, and this mix
loses the backstage comments.
The
Invisible Man
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith. This is the video version of
the track.
Centre: Includes around 20 seconds of Brian's guitar solo only.
Front: Similar to normal, but some of Brian's guitar is lost
(although his solo is still intact). Roger's solo towards the end
is also less prominent.
Rear: Loses the strange noises at the start, and the drums have a
different sound. It also loses John's bass solo, most of Brian's
solo, and there are some other changes too.
The
Miracle
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: Similar to normal, but in places the guitar, keyboards and
harmonied vocals are less prominent.
Rear: The piano is lost, Freddie's vocals are less prominent in
places, and the drums and bass are more prominent.
The
Prophet's Song
Appears on the 'A Night At The
Opera' DVD Audio and 30th Anniversary
DVD. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Brian May
As the song contains three identifiable parts, and the mixing for
each part is different, the changes to each part are listed
below:
Part One: (the start of the song, upto 'Should death
await you')
Centre: Straight vocals are louder and some harmonied vocals are
missing. Only the drums are retained, which means the opening
vocals are mostly a-capella. The harp at the start is also lost.
Front: Includes the full backing, straight vocals and some
harmonied vocals. Some guitar is lost, but the harp at the start
is kept.
Rear: Straight vocals are quieter and some of the guitar is more
prominent. Some of the harmonied vocals are louder but some are
quieter. Small parts of the harp at the start are retained.
Part Two: (the middle 'echo' part of the song, from
'Aaah, people can you hear me' until 'listen to the mad, listen
to the mad man')
Centre: Silent
Front: Appears to be the same as normal
Rear: Again, the same as normal, but the stereo channels are
reversed.
Part Three: (the closing part of the song, from 'God
give you grace to purge this place')
Centre: Retains the vocals, bass and drums, but no guitar,
harmonied vocals or the harp at the end.
Front: Some of the lead guitar is lost and there are no harmonied
vocals. The outro includes all of the harp.
Rear: The drums are quieter and some of the guitar is lost.
Straight vocals are quieter, whilst the harmonied vocals are much
louder. Small parts of the harp at the end are retained.
The two DVD's feature an identical surround sound mix, but the
version on the DVD-Audio disc adds about eleven seconds of wind
at the very start of the track.
Tie
Your Mother Down
Appears on 'Greatest Video Hits I'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent.
Front: Similar to normal, but there are a few stereo effects
applied. Roger's backing vocals also seem more prominent. Some of
Freddie's vocals seems to be echoed or multi-tracked.
Rear: Straight vocals are less prominent, whilst the harmonied
vocals are more prominent. Some of the guitar is also quieter,
and Brian's guitar solo is lost.
Time
Appears on 'The Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs'.
Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Dave Clark. This is the 2000 Remix.
Centre: Loses most of the harmonied vocals, and orchestral music,
whilst the piano is quieter.
Front: Lead vocals are far less prominent, whilst the piano and
some of the guitar are more prominent.
Rear: Freddie's straight vocals and drums are much quieter,
whilst the harmonied vocals and some of the guitar are far more
prominent.
Under
Pressure
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: Keyboards are less prominent, whilst the drums are more
prominent. Brian's lead guitar and some vocals are also less
prominent.
Rear: Lead vocals seem slightly quieter whilst the backing vocals
are louder. The keyboards and piano are also far more prominent,
whilst Brian's jangly guitar is lost from some places.
We
Are The Champions
Appears on 'Greatest Video Hits I'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: Piano is more prominent than normal, whilst the guitar is
far less prominent, and some of the harmonied vocals are lost.
Rear: The piano and drums are less prominent, whilst the guitar
is more prominent, and some harmonied vocals are lost.
We
Will Rock You
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits I'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith
Centre: Silent
Front: Identical to normal, but the chorus vocals are less
prominent.
Rear: Identical to normal, but Freddie's straight vocals are less
prominent.
Who
Wants To Live Forever
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits II'. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Justin Shirley-Smith. This is the single version.
Centre: Silent
Front: Seems very similar to normal, but some backing vocals are
less prominent. Some of the drums sound different, too.
Rear: Some of the vocals seem quieter, and some of the orchestra
is more prominent. In places the guitar is louder whilst in
others it is quieter (including the solo). Some of the drums are
also quieter, whilst Roger's backing vocals towards the end are
more prominent.
You're
My Best Friend
Appears on 'Greatest
Video Hits I' and on the 'A Night At
The Opera' DVD Audio and 30th Anniversary
DVD. Click here for the original song details.
Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Brian May
Centre: Loses all piano, guitar, and most harmonied vocals, and
the bass seems more prominent. As a result it's a very drum
orientated track.
Front: Loses most of the harmonied vocals, but otherwise very
similar to normal.
Rear: Straight vocals are less prominent, whilst harmonied
vocals, and some piano, is more prominent.