The Solo Collection | ||||
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Box set by | ||||
Released | 23 October 2000 | |||
Recorded | 1969–1989, 1993, 2000 | |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Label | Parlophone | |||
Freddie Mercury chronology | ||||
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The Solo Collection is a compilation box set detailing the solo career of Freddie Mercury; it includes the material Mercury recorded before joining up with Queen, up through the 1993 No More Brothers remixes. Mercury's two studio albums are included, along with various single edits and non-album singles, B-sides, remixes, instrumentals, collaborations, a large number of demo recordings and a set of interviews conducted by David Wigg. Also included are two DVDs: a collection of Mercury's promotional music videos, and a documentary covering his life.
All songs written by Freddie Mercury
In early prints of the Solo Collection box, the third chapter of the DVD, "Culture Shock", includes what is described in the audio commentary by the filmmakers, Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher of DoRo Productions, as a reconstruction of a Parsi initiation religious ceremony. This segment was completely edited out from all subsequent reprints of the DVD as it was considered potentially offensive. It is also absent from the second version of the documentary, released in 2006 as Disc 1 of Lover of Life, Singer of Songs, the DVD release accompanying the same-titled compilation CD of Mercury solo recordings.
Solo | |
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Box set by | |
Released | 7 November 2000 |
Recorded | 1969-1989, 1993, 2000 |
Genre | Pop rock |
Label | Parlophone, Hollywood (US/Canada) |
The box set was also released as a three-disc sampler titled Solo. This edition contains Mercury's two original studio albums, as well as a third disc of selected tracks from the twelve-disc box set.
Chart (2000) | Peak position |
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Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [1] | 36 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [2] | 21 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [3] | 55 |
Italian Albums (FIMI) [4] | 45 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [5] | 42 |
UK Albums (OCC) [6] | 13 |
Chart (2000) | Position |
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UK Albums (OCC) [7] | 77 |
Freddie Mercury was a British singer and songwriter who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock music, he was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. Mercury defied the conventions of a rock frontman with his theatrical style, influencing the artistic direction of Queen.
Queen is the debut studio album by the British rock band Queen. Released on 13 July 1973 by EMI Records in the UK and by Elektra Records in the US, it was recorded at Trident Studios and De Lane Lea Music Centre, London, with production by Roy Thomas Baker, John Anthony and the band members themselves.
Barcelona is a collaborative studio album recorded by Freddie Mercury, lead singer of popular British rock band Queen, and operatic Soprano Montserrat Caballé. It was released in 1988 and serves as the second and final album by Mercury to be recorded outside of Queen.
"I Was Born to Love You" is a 1985 song by Freddie Mercury that was released as a single from his first solo album, Mr. Bad Guy. After Mercury's death, Queen re-worked this song for their album Made in Heaven in 1995, by having the other members play their instrumental parts over the original track, transforming the song from disco to rock. The Queen version from the Made in Heaven album also includes snippets of Mercury's ad-lib vocals taken from "A Kind of Magic" and from "Living on My Own".
The Freddie Mercury Album is a posthumous solo project with material from Queen frontman and vocalist Freddie Mercury released in 1992, to observe the anniversary of his death. The album is mainly made up of new remixes, as well as the original versions of "Barcelona", "Love Kills", "Exercises in Free Love", and "The Great Pretender". A week later, The Great Pretender, its US counterpart, was released.
Lover of Life, Singer of Songs is a compilation album of Freddie Mercury's solo songs. It was released on 4 September 2006, the day before Mercury's 60th Birthday. It was released on 21 November 2006 in the U.S, three days before the 15th anniversary of Mercury's death.
The Donna Summer Anthology is a double CD compilation album by the American singer Donna Summer, released by Polygram Records in 1993. The compilation featured the majority of Summer's best known songs right from the start of her success to the then present day. Summer had originally made her name during the disco era in the 1970s and in the decade that followed had experimented with different styles. Most of the tracks on this compilation are the original album versions of the songs, which were sometimes edited down for their release as a single. Included for the first time are two remixed tracks from her then unreleased album I'm a Rainbow, which had been recorded in 1981 but was shelved by her record company. The album also featured the Giorgio Moroder-penned and produced song "Carry On"', marking the first time Summer and Moroder had worked together since 1981. Summer and Moroder, together with Pete Bellotte had written the vast majority of her 1970s disco hits. Four years later, "Carry On" would be remixed and become a big dance hit. It also won Summer a Grammy for Best Dance Recording, her first win since 1984 and her fifth win in total.
Musicland Studios was a recording studio located in Munich, Germany established by Italian record producer, songwriter and musician Giorgio Moroder in the early 1970s. The studios were known for their work with artists such as Donna Summer, Electric Light Orchestra, and Queen, among others.
As well as his work with Queen, Freddie Mercury released two solo albums and several singles. Although his solo work was not as commercially successful as most Queen albums, the two off-Queen albums and several of the singles debuted in the top 10 of the UK Music Charts. Following Mercury's death in 1991, several posthumous box sets and compilation albums have been released.
A Taste of Strawbs is a box-set album by Strawbs. Instead of being a "best of" album, the compilers have attempted to present alternative versions of some well-known songs plus some previously unreleased material. Included are some very old songs by The Strawberry Hill Boys, with Dave Cousins, Tony Hooper and Ron Chesterman, also are some very interesting songs by Sandy Denny and The Strawbs, and outtakes from different periods of the band's career.
"The Golden Boy" is a song recorded by Queen frontman Freddie Mercury together with Catalan operatic soprano Montserrat Caballé.
"Barcelona" is a single released by Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury and operatic soprano Montserrat Caballé. A part of their collaborative album Barcelona, it also appeared on Queen's Greatest Hits III.
American Gigolo is the soundtrack album to the 1980 film of the same name, starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. The music was composed and performed by Italian musician Giorgio Moroder and was released worldwide on the Polydor label. It peaked at number 7 on the Billboard 200 album chart. All the cuts from the soundtrack also went to number two for five weeks on the disco/dance charts.
"In My Defence" is a song performed by Queen lead vocalist Freddie Mercury. It was from the 1986 musical Time by Dave Clark and featured on the Time concept album. The song was not a hit during Mercury's lifetime but was released posthumously in November 1992, reaching number eight on the UK Singles Chart.
Friends for Life is a 1997 album by Catalan opera singer Montserrat Caballé.
"Time" is a 1986 song recorded by Freddie Mercury, along with "In My Defence", for Dave Clark's musical of the same name. Even though Mercury did not appear in the musical itself, both songs were included on the cast album, and "Time" was also released as a separate single, backed by an instrumental version of the song, and reached #32 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also peaked at #12 in Ireland. The single version was later included in the 2000 box set The Solo Collection and the 2006 compilation album Lover of Life, Singer of Songs: The Very Best of Freddie Mercury Solo.
"Love Kills" is a song by Freddie Mercury, and his first song released as a solo artist, though the other members of Queen appeared on the song - initially uncredited.
Freddie Mercury: The Great Pretender is an Emmy/Rose d'Or award-winning 2012 feature-length documentary film about Queen singer Freddie Mercury and his attempt to forge a solo career. The film is a British venture co-produced by EMP and Mercury Songs for Eagle Rock Entertainment with Eagle Rock serving as distributor.
Messenger of the Gods: The Singles is a compilation album of Freddie Mercury's singles. It was released three days before what would have been Mercury's 70th birthday.
"Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow" is a song by Freddie Mercury, released in 1985 as the fourth and final single from his debut solo album Mr. Bad Guy. It was written by Mercury, and produced by Reinhold Mack and Mercury. "Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow" reached No. 76 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the Top 100 for two weeks. According to Peter Freestone, in his book Freddie Mercury: An Intimate Memoir by the Man Who Knew Him Best, "Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow" was inspired by Mercury's relationship with the Austrian actress Barbara Valentin.