Barcelona

Barcelona (Album Version) 5:38
Written by Freddie Mercury/Mike Moran
Appears on: Barcelona, Track 1


Barcelona (Single Version) 4:27

Written by Freddie Mercury/Mike Moran
Appears on: UK Barcelona 7" vinyl, UK Barcelona 12" vinyl, UK Barcelona 12" picture disc, UK Barcelona CD single, UK Barcelona 7" vinyl (1992), UK Barcelona CD single (1992), Queen Greatest Hits 3, The Solo Collection

This was actually the first version to be released, months before the album was even finished. The album has a long, grandiose and epic opening to the song not heard here. The rest of the song is the same. This version is more to the point, making it radio friendly. Casual fans will have this on Greatest Hits III and if it doesn't move you to seek out the Barcelona album, nothing will.

Barcelona (Extended Version) 7:07
Written by Freddie Mercury/Mike Moran
Appears on: UK Barcelona 12" vinyl, UK Barcelona 12" picture disc, UK Barcelona CD single, UK Barcelona CD single (1992), The Solo Collection

The epic intro is here, along with some lush instrumental interludes. On reflection, it's likely that the intro heard here was made for the Extended Version and then retained for the album. Either way, it works well on both. This is definitely worth having.

Barcelona (TV Edit) 1:30
Written by Freddie Mercury/Mike Moran
Appears on: UK Barcelona 7" vinyl (1992), UK Barcelona CD single (1992)

Released in 1992, this was probably cut together for Olympic TV ads (the 1992 Summer Games took place there). Not as choppy as you would think, but not the best representation of the song.

Barcelona (Instrumental) 4:26
Written by Freddie Mercury/Mike Moran
Appears on: The Solo Collection

Here's a full instrumental mix of the Single Version which lets you hear just how majestic the backing track for this song is. On a side note, the Instrumentals disc from The Solo Collection boxed set has almost the entire Barcelona album in instrumental form, excluding only "Overture Piccante" and "Ensueno" (see that entry).

Barcelona (Gold Version)
Written by Freddie Mercury/Mike Moran
Appears on: Barcelona Gold

Information coming soon.


Idea (Barcelona) (Extract from Garden Lodge Tape) 1:12
Written by Freddie Mercury/Mike Moran
Appears on: The Solo Collection

Recorded at Freddie's house, he and Montserrat play around with the melody of what would become the song "Barcelona". The two sound like they they're having fun.

Idea (Barcelona) (2nd Extract from Garden Lodge Tape) 1:04
Written by Freddie Mercury/Mike Moran
Appears on: The Solo Collection

Freddie and Montserrat coming up with a few more melody ideas. It's amusing to hear Freddie say of Montserrat: "She's inexhaustible!" after she holds a really long note.

Barcelona (Early Version: Freddie's Demo Vocal) 4:21
Written by Freddie Mercury/Mike Moran
Appears on: The Solo Collection

Freddie sings both parts of the duet, with early lyrics.

Barcelona (Freddie's Vocal Slave) 4:31
Written by Freddie Mercury/Mike Moran
Appears on: The Solo Collection

This is a Freddie singing to his guide track so well it nearly phases at some points. This will grab your attention almost at once.

Barcelona (Later Version: Freddie's Vocal Only) 4:26
Written by Freddie Mercury/Mike Moran
Appears on: The Solo Collection

This is Freddie's finished vocal, without Montserrat, and the backing track brought way down. You can hear some lyrics which get drowned out in the final mix.

La Japonaise

La Japonaise (Album Version) 4:49
Written by Freddie Mercury/Mike Moran
Appears on: Barcelona, Track 2


La Japonaise (Instrumental) 4:46
Written by Freddie Mercury/Mike Moran
Appears on: The Solo Collection

This is the full backing track and makes for good listening. Without the vocals, the music carries through nicely.

La Japonaise (Early Version: Freddie's Vocal only) 4:41
Written by Freddie Mercury/Mike Moran
Appears on: The Solo Collection

No lyrics yet, but Freddie "dee dee dee dee dees" his away along. Most of the backing track is done, though.

La Japonaise (A Capella) 4:17
Written by Freddie Mercury/Mike Moran
Appears on: The Solo Collection

As the name obviously suggests, these are Freddie and Montserrat's vocals only. If you listen closely you can hear the backing track leaking out of one or both of their headsets and getting picked up by the vocal microphones. I'm not sure anyone was clamoring for this, especially when there were a few things left off The Solo Collection which fans were looking for, but here it is.

The Fallen Priest

The Fallen Priest (Album Version) 5:45
Written by Mercury/Moran/Rice

Appears on: Barcelona, Track 3


The Fallen Priest (Single Edit) 2:45

Written by Mercury/Moran/Rice

Appears on: UK The Golden Boy 7" vinyl, UK The Golden Boy 7" promo vinyl

Honestly, who would have thought cutting out more than half of the song could leave us with something that still works? Not as intense as the album version, but this does get right to the meat and potatoes. There's a lot missing, but until you play the two back to back, you won't notice just how much was removed. This is a tight little edit and taken on its own merits, it's not too bad.

The Fallen Priest (Instrumental) 5:50
Written by Mercury/Moran/Rice

Appears on: The Solo Collection

This instrumental retains all the strength of the original, losing nothing without Freddie and Montserrat's vocals. The backing vocals remain and add a bit of atmosphere (as if this song needed any more).

The Duet (The Fallen Priest) (Extract from Garden Lodge Tape) 3:04
Written by Mercury/Moran/Rice

Appears on: The Solo Collection

Freddie and Mike Moran had already started tinkering with "Rachmaninov's Revenge" before recording this. Taken from the same recording made at Freddie's house, we hear them presenting the idea to Montserrat, who jumps right in.

Rachmaninov's Revenge (The Fallen Priest) (Early Version) 4:46
Written by Mercury/Moran/Rice
Appears on: The Solo Collection

"Rachmaninov's Revenge" was the working title for what became "The Fallen Priest". This recording predates "The Duet" from the Garden Lodge Tape, between them you can hear the song taking shape.

Rachmaninov's Revenge (The Fallen Priest) (Later Version: Freddie's Demo Vocal) 5:51
Written by Mercury/Moran/Rice
Appears on: The Solo Collection

After the Garden Lodge Tape now, the song is close to being done. All that's left are the lyrics, which are still very loose and improvised. This might be just before Tim Rice's involvement.

Ensueño

Ensueño (Album Version) 4:20
Written by Mercury/Moran/Caballé

Appears on: Barcelona, Track 4


Ensueño (Montserrat's Live Takes) 5:36
Written by Mercury/Moran/Caballé

Appears on: The Solo Collection

The music of this song was pretty much written entirely before the Barcelona project began, in the form of Freddie's song "Exercises In Free Love." Montserrat recorded her own version of "Exercises" and then set about writing proper lyrics with Freddie and Mike Moran. This recording has her rehearsing the song and occasionally messing up.

Ensueno (Instrumental) 4:00
Written by Mercury/Moran/Caballé
Appears on: The Solo Collection

For reasons unknown, this isn't actually the "Ensueno" instrumental, but is the solo piano track from Freddie's "Exercises In Free Love." How can you tell? Well, listen to the three tracks very carefully ("Exercises In Free Love," "Ensueno (Instrumental)" and "Ensueno (Album Version)") and right from the first note, you'll hear differences. Notice too, that "Ensueno" on Barcelona runs about twenty seconds longer than "Exercises In Free Love." Still, It's a strong piano piece and is not that much different from "Ensueno."

The Golden Boy

The Golden Boy (Album Version) 6:04
Written by Mercury/Moran/Rice

Appears on: Barcelona, Track 5


The Golden Boy (Single Edit) 5:00
Written by Mercury/Moran/Rice

Appears on: UK The Golden Boy 7" vinyl

The whole opening verses are gone, jumping right into the "And then he sang to her…" I guess someone thought the song took too long to get going. The result leaves the narrative a little lacking because we don't know who the characters in the story are. Stick with the original.

The Golden Boy (Edit Version) 5:13
Written by Mercury/Moran/Rice

Appears on: The Best Of Tim Rice CD

In 1999, a compilation CD of Tim Rice material is issued, featuring unique edit of this song.

The Golden Boy (Instrumental Version) 6:04
Written by Mercury/Moran/Rice

Appears on: UK The Golden Boy 12" vinyl, UK The Golden Boy CD single, The Solo Collection

The full backing track, which isn't too bad, but lacks the punch of the album version. Hear and there, Freddie's lead vocal can be heard in the background, possibly from one of the gospel singer's headsets.

The Golden Boy (Radio Edit) 3:30
Written by Mercury/Moran/Rice

Appears on: UK The Golden Boy 7" promo vinyl

Info coming soon.

The Golden Boy (Early Version: Freddie's Demo Vocal) 3:54
Written by Mercury/Moran/Rice

Appears on: The Solo Collection

The real treat of this demo is that the gospel part is not done in the gospel choir-style. Freddie sings it straight and backs it with some synth-strings.

The Golden Boy (2nd Early Version: Extract) 2:56
Written by Mercury/Moran/Rice

Appears on: The Solo Collection

This time the second movement ("and then he sang to her…") and the gospel part are done in a completely different style. This song seems to have gone through the most changes in its evolution. Interesting listening.

The Golden Boy (A Capella featuring Gospel Choir) 5:12
Written by Mercury/Moran/Rice

Appears on: The Solo Collection

This is what it claims to be (with a little bleed from Montserrat's headset). This was mixed for The Solo Collection boxed set and isn't really necessary. It's not bad, just kind of pointless when you think of what was left off the boxed set.

Guide Me Home

Guide Me Home (Album Version) 2:41
Written by Mercury/Moran

Appears on: Barcelona, Track 6


Guide Me Home (Instrumental) 2:38
Written by Mercury/Moran

Appears on: The Solo Collection

A wonderful instrumental with one drawback: it's mixed the same way as on the Barcelona album, meaning it segues into "How Can I Go On (Instrumental)". As a result, it cuts off abruptly at the end.

Guide Me Home/How Can I Go On (Alternative Versions) 6:54
Written by Mercury/Moran

Appears on: The Solo Collection

These songs were written with the intention of being paired up on the album, so these too demos are mixed that way. The vocals are strong, even if the lyrics are incomplete. Freddie tries to sing Montserrat's parts in falsetto ad-lib.

Guide Me Home (Dutch Single Version) 2:47
Written by Mercury/Moran
Appears on: Dutch Guide Me Home CD single

In 2000, to promote The Solo Collection boxed set, Parlophone released this CD single in Holland and Italy. This is the full stand-alone version, ending properly instead of segueing into "How Can I Go On." It's nice to have a clean copy of the song.

How Can I Go On

How Can I Go On (Album Version) 3:59
Written by Mercury/Moran
Appears on: Barcelona, Track 7


How Can I Go On (Single Version) 4:02
Written by Mercury/Moran
Appears on: UK How Can I Go On 7" vinyl, UK How Can I Go On 7" picture disc, UK How Can I Go On 7" vinyl (1992), UK How Can I Go On CD single (1992), The Solo Collection

This full stand-alone version starts with the bridge from "Guide Me Home," but doesn't have the vocal ad-libs over it, giving this a clean little overture. This is a great song (featuring John Deacon on bass) and here is a version perfect for compilations.

How Can I Go On (Instrumental) 3:58
Written by Mercury/Moran
Appears on: The Solo Collection

Like the Single Version, this track starts with the bridge from "Guide Me Home" (though you can hear the last few piano notes underneath it). On the Instrumentals disc from the boxed set it was meant to recreate the album's flow from the previous track ("Guide Me Home"), but stands up by itself because it sounds complete.

How Can I Go On (Out-Take: Extract) 1:31
Written by Mercury/Moran
Appears on: The Solo Collection

Freddie started playing before the engineer was ready, so this demo starts a little ways into the song. This is Freddie singing (with Mike Moran on piano) with incomplete lyrics. It ends with some studio chatter and Freddie discovering the miscue at the beginning.

How Can I Go On (Alternative Piano Version) 3:45
Written by Mercury/Moran
Appears on: The Solo Collection

Wow! This demo backing track goes way off into uncharted territory. There are no vocals, so you're left to wonder how the lyrics would have fit on this. This is certainly a highlight of the Solo Collection.

Overture Piccante

Overture Piccante (Album Version) 6:40
Written by Mercury/Moran
Appears on: Barcelona, Track 8


When This Old Tired Body Wants To Sing

When This Old Tired Body Wants To Sing (Late Night Jam) 2:52
Written by Mercury/Moran
Appears on: The Solo Collection

A fragment of this appeared in the middle of "Overture Piccante," the part with the rip-roaring piano that didn't seem to be from any other Barcelona track. Well, it's from this, recorded by Freddie and Mike Moran late one night during the Barcelona sessions. I guess Freddie was a little drunk, making this a fun listen.