Queen - Don't Lose Your Head [2024 Restoration]

1 месяц назад

47 Просмотров

A Kind Of Magic turns 38 today 😱 How insane!!! Welcome to another installment of the 2024 Restoration project 👑

This is another one I've been really excited to share, especially to those who's ears haven't been graced with an original vinyl pressing before!

You'd expect the initial CD release for this album to be is as good as it gets, given that the digital era was seemingly in full swing at this point. When I first got my hands on the CD, I was rather disappointed to imagine that was as good as it got. But thankfully, this isn't the case after all! While it'll never sound like an audiophile's dream, it sure is represented better on the early LPs. The comparisons video goes into more detail regarding where the CD mastering went wrong...

This is one of the rare occasions where as good as the UK pressing sounds, more folks prefer the USA 'Wally' pressing, or one that's similar. But as always, I'll leave it up to you to decide, as I've created editions for both 🙂

On that note, I'm aware the Japanese pressing is another favourite. The reason it's been excluded from the project is just how similar it is EQ-wise to the USA one. It's quite probable that the praise is directed towards the pressing quality itself (eg low surface noise)...

Not covered in the comparisons video is just how many extra tracks we get with this album! A lot of extended and single mixes. Thankfully, all of them were available digitally one way or another, with some requiring more work than others. Here's a few details:

Blurred Vision could only be sourced digitally via the 2010 Singles Collection box, and using the version from the 1985 Complete Works LP box-set for reference, the EQ was restored.

The intro for A Dozen Red Roses For My Darling was omitted on digital versions, so (ensuring the EQ was identical on each source) the intro from a high-quality rip of the AKOM 12" single has been seamlessly merged onto the 1988 CD Single version.

Extended versions of A Kind Of Magic and Pain Is So Close To Pleasure also make it into the 'Extra Tracks' folder via the 12" Collection CD, with the EQs being adjusted accordingly.

Not to mention Forever, and the extended mix of Friends Will Be Friends which were also sourced from the 1986 CD. These required the same EQ adjustments as the rest of the main album.

Exclusive to Hollywood releases, we've also got extended mixes of One Vision (from the 1991 CD) and One Year Of Love (from the 2002 Highlander Immortal Edition). EQs again adjusted accordingly.

We can't forget about the single mix of Pain Is So Close To Pleasure, which could only be sourced from the 2010 Singles Collection box. The EQ for this one in particular is a significant improvement!

Finally, single versions of One Vision and Who Wants To Live Forever. The former comes from the AKOM 1988 CD Single (the best sounding mix out of all versions of the song in my opinion), and the latter came from the 2010 Singles Collection box 👍

You'll also notice a sneaky sub-folder labeled "BONUS". This is likely the only time I'll throw something like this into an installment. But it's the type of thing I'd love to see if QPL ever did a boxset for this album, so it felt right to include:

A few years ago, Sikke briefly shared what appears to be the master audio from the TV broadcast of One Vision performed at the 2nd night in Leiden. Originally, as soon as the crowd mic kicks in after the intro, it sounded incredibly boomy and muddy. I was surprised to find (despite it being a lossy source) that there was a lot more detail we couldn't hear before. The main bulk of the performance has been balanced out to flow properly from the intro. I'm pretty chuffed with how it came out to be honest 👌

DOWNLOAD FOLDER:
https://mega.nz/folder/m8UyyLLa#PeC5GYAu8-paqkfuOq5rcg

Full album YouTube playlist (US Edition):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOvYtqeUuiLsfUs91iHRAdL79UVMAO0H6

Comparisons Video:
https://youtu.be/0wnsVmHaWnE

The 2024 Restoration Collection (so far):
Sheer Heart Attack - https://youtu.be/YWuGgZHHvII
Innuendo - https://youtu.be/iF537EjjzcM
The Works - https://youtu.be/iiq9A1XseL4
Queen II - https://youtu.be/K1mFRRLRy_c
Hot Space - https://youtu.be/7AuAEfxuuV8

Тэги: