Freddie Mercury Surround Sound Mixes
This page lists details of the tracks which
have been remixed into 5.1 Surround Sound, for the 'Freddie
Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs'
DVD's. It only includes details of tracks which have significant
remixing, with different elements coming through different
channels, and where applicable, the DTS mix has been used.
In the descriptions given below, a 'straight' vocal refers to a
normally sung, non-harmonied vocal.
Barcelona
(single version)
Available on 'The
Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life,
Singer Of Songs'.
Produced by David Richards and Peter Cobbin.
Details of the original version can be found on the 'Barcelona' album page.
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)
Available on 'The
Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life,
Singer Of Songs'.
Produced by David Richards and Peter Cobbin.
Details of the original version can be found on the 'Barcelona' album page.
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.
How Can I
Go On?
(live)
Available on 'The
Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life,
Singer Of Songs'.
Produced by David Richards and Peter Cobbin.
Details of the original version can be found on the 'Barcelona' album page.
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.
In My Defence
Available on 'The
Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life,
Singer Of Songs'.
Produced by Dave Clark. This is the 2000 Remix of the track.
Details of the original version can be found on the Miscellaneous Songs
page.
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. These 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.
I Was Born
To Love You
Available on 'The
Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life,
Singer Of Songs'.
Produced by Mack.
Details of the original version can be found on the 'Mr Bad Guy'
album page.
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 while 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.
Living On My Own
(original version)
Available on 'The
Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life,
Singer Of Songs'.
Produced by Paul Hicks.
Details of the original version can be found on the 'Mr Bad Guy' album
page.
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)
Available on 'Lover Of Life,
Singer Of Songs'.
Upmixed by Kris Fredrikkson.
Details of the remix can be found on the 'Living On My Own'
Remixes page.
Centre: Not radically different, the percussion, bass and vocals
are more prominent, while 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 (possibly bongos)
in the background, which give the track a very different feel.
Made In Heaven
Available on 'The
Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life,
Singer Of Songs'.
Produced by Mack.
Details of the original version can be found on the 'Mr Bad Guy' album page.
Centre: Loses the warming up noises at the start and the audience
noise at the end, while 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 at the start, and the vocals
are less prominent (they also seem slightly echoed). The
synthesisers also seem quieter.
The Golden
Boy
(live)
Available on 'The
Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life,
Singer Of Songs'.
Produced by David Richards and Peter Cobbin.
Details of the original version can be found on the 'Barcelona' album page.
Centre: Most of the music and the choir vocals are far quieter,
but the percussion is present, so the track is almost a-capella.
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)
Available on 'The
Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life,
Singer Of Songs'.
Produced by David Richards and Peter Cobbin.
Details of the original version can be found on the Miscellaneous
Songs page.
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, while some are
missing. The drums also have a different sound.
Rear: The drums are far less prominent, while most of the
harmonied vocals are lost. The orchestral parts are also less
prominent.
The Great Pretender
(extended version)
Available on 'The
Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life,
Singer Of Songs'.
Produced by David Richards and Peter Cobbin.
Details of the original version can be found on the Miscellaneous
Songs page.
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.
Time
Available on 'The
Freddie Mercury Video Collection' and 'Lover Of Life,
Singer Of Songs'.
Produced by Dave Clark. This is the 2000 Remix of the track.
Details of the original version can be found on the Miscellaneous Songs page.
Centre: Loses most of the harmonied vocals, and orchestral music,
while the piano is quieter.
Front: Lead vocals are far less prominent, while the piano and
some of the guitar are more prominent.
Rear: Freddie's straight vocals and drums are much quieter, while
the harmonied vocals and some of the guitar are far more
prominent.