Queen II (Remastered Collector's Edition) Queen

• 1 Procession (2026 Mix) 01:13
• 2 Father To Son (2026 Mix) 06:14
• 3 White Queen (As It Began) (2026 Mix) 04:36
• 4 Some Day One Day (2026 Mix) 04:22
• 5 The Loser In The End (2026 Mix) 04:05
• 6 Ogre Battle (2026 Mix) 04:08
• 7 The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke (2026 Mix) 02:41
• 8 Nevermore (2026 Mix) 01:19
• 9 The March Of The Black Queen (2026 Mix) 06:34
• 10 Funny How Love Is (2026 Mix) 02:50
• 11 Seven Seas Of Rhye (2026 Mix) 02:50
• 12 Procession (Stage Intro Tape / April 1973) 02:04
• 13 Father To Son (Takes 4 & 9 / with Guide Vocal) 07:30
• 14 As It Began (Brian's Studio Demo / October 1969) 02:13
• 15 Some Day One Day (Take 1 / with Guide Vocals) 05:04
• 16 The Loser In The End (Roger's First Demo) 01:07
• 17 The Loser In The End (Roger's Second Demo) 02:02
• 18 Ogre Battle (Takes 2 & 6 / with Guide Vocal) 05:25
• 19 The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke (Takes 4 & 9) 04:13
• 20 Nevermore (Take 6) 02:43
• 21 The March Of The Black Queen (First Section Takes 3 & 5) 04:41
• 22 The March Of The Black Queen (Second Section Take 1) 04:00
• 23 Funny How Love Is (Take 4) 03:59
• 24 Seven Seas Of Rhye (Takes 4, 5 & 6) 05:13
• 25 I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside (Take 4) 00:45
• 26 See What A Fool I've Been (B-side Version 2026 Mix) 04:31
• 27 Not For Sale (Polar Bear) 03:55
• 28 Father To Son (Backing Track) 06:12
• 29 White Queen (As It Began) (Backing Track) 04:35
• 30 Some Day One Day (Backing Track) 04:21
• 31 The Loser In The End (Instrumental) 04:05
• 32 Ogre Battle (Backing Track) 04:06
• 33 The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke (Instrumental) 02:40
• 34 Nevermore (Backing Track) 01:18
• 35 The March Of The Black Queen (Backing Track) 06:31
• 36 Funny How Love Is (Backing Track) 02:50
• 37 Seven Seas Of Rhye (Backing Track) 02:52
• BBC Session:
• 38 See What A Fool I've Been (BBC Session 2 / July 1973 / 2011 Mix) 04:28
• 39 Ogre Battle (BBC Session / December 3rd 1973, Langham 1 Studio) 04:41
• 40 Nevermore (BBC Session / April 3rd 1974, Langham 1 Studio) 01:30
• 41 White Queen (As It Began) (BBC Session / April 3rd 1974, Langham 1 Studio) 04:54
• Live at Golders Green Hippodrome / 13th September 1973:
• 42 Procession (Intro Tape) (Live at Golders Green Hippodrome / 13th September 1973) 01:40
• 43 Father To Son (Live at Golders Green Hippodrome / 13th September 1973) 05:29
• 44 Son And Daughter (Live at Golders Green Hippodrome / 13th September 1973) 03:44
• 45 Guitar Solo (Live at Golders Green Hippodrome / 13th September 1973) 01:25
• 46 Son And Daughter (Reprise) (Live at Golders Green Hippodrome / 13th September 1973) 02:08
• 47 Ogre Battle (Live at Golders Green Hippodrome / 13th September 1973) 05:22
• 48 Liar (Live at Golders Green Hippodrome / 13th September 1973) 07:27
• 49 Jailhouse Rock (Live at Golders Green Hippodrome / 13th September 1973) 01:07
• Live At The Rainbow, London / March 1974:
• 50 Procession (Live At The Rainbow, London / March 1974) 01:13
• 51 Father To Son (Live At The Rainbow, London / March 1974) 06:06
• 52 Ogre Battle (Live At The Rainbow, London / March 1974) 04:58
• 53 White Queen (As It Began) (Live At The Hammersmith Odeon, London / December 1975) 05:24
• 54 The March Of The Black Queen (Live At The Rainbow, London / November 1974) 01:37
• 55 The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke (Live At The Rainbow, London / March 1974) 02:57
• 56 Seven Seas Of Rhye (Live At The Rainbow, London / March 1974) 03:14
• 57 See What A Fool I've Been (Live At The Rainbow, London / March 1974) 05:03
• 58 Procession (2026 Mix) 01:13
• Total Runtime 03:35:27

Info for Queen II (Remastered Collector's Edition)

Queen II Collector’s Edition features the 2026 mix of the album, plus audio of Queen in the recording studio, previously unheard outtakes and demos, live tracks, and radio sessions.

Originally released in March 1974, Queen II marked a pivotal moment in the band’s development. The album expanded on the ambition hinted at on their 1973 debut and laid the groundwork for the sound that would define Queen’s future.

Now, more than fifty years on, the album has been remixed and remastered. The new 2026 mix has been overseen by Brian May and Roger Taylor as executive producers, with mixing handled by Justin Shirley-Smith, Joshua J Macrae and Kris Fredriksson.

“the single biggest leap we ever made. That’s when we really started making music the way we wanted to, rather than the way we were being pushed into recording it.” (Brian May)

“With Queen II, I couldn’t believe how much work we put into it. I think we felt we were evolving our own sound. We were pioneering this sort of multitracking thing. It gave you a tremendous palette, massive choral effects with just three of us singing.” (Roger Taylor)

Queen II has been hailed as the band’s crowning glory by many fans over the years, among them legendary Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose, who said of the album: “With Queen, I have my favourite: Queen II. Whenever their newest record would come out and have all these other kinds of music on it, at first I'd only like this song or that song. But after a period of time listening to it, it would open my mind up to so many different styles. That's something I've always wanted to be able to achieve.”

Queen’s self-titled 1973 debut album had established the band as one of the boldest and most unique new voices in music. Even a troubled recording process, which resulted in a sound the band were unhappy with (subsequently rectified on the 2024 reissue), couldn’t mask the brilliance of the songs, nor the ambition of the band behind them.

For the follow-up, recorded once again at Soho’s Trident Studios with Queen I co-producer Roy Thomas Baker, Queen seized control of their own destiny. They were already incredibly well-drilled before they began, with Father To Son and Ogre Battle having featured in the live shows as far back as September 1973. The result was an album that didn’t so much tear up the blueprint as redraw it on a grand scale.

“I wanted to give it everything – to be self-indulgent,” said Freddie Mercury at the time. “But the whole band in particular, we don't go in for half-measures and I'm pretty hard with myself. There are no compromises.”

Originally released in the UK on March 8, 1974, Queen II still sounds extraordinary today. Bold, brave and madly ambitious, it’s the work of a band whose self-belief, vision and ability were unmatched. Its songs range from the intricate and complex to the raw and heavy, with vocals stacked to near-operatic levels and Brian May’s fabled ‘guitar orchestra’ giving the band a sound like no other.

Like the iconic Mick Rock photo that stares out from the cover – revisited by the band themselves nearly two years later in the groundbreaking promo video for Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen II is an album of shadow and light.

Rather than the traditional sides one and two, in characteristically flamboyant Queen fashion the album is divided into Side White and Side Black. The former is dominated by Brian May’s songs, including soaring rocker “Father To Son” and the ethereal, celestial “White Queen (As It Began)”, with Roger Taylor’s raucous but bittersweet “The Loser In The End” capping off the white side.

Fifty-two years after it was originally released, Queen II remains the first great of many great pinnacles of the band’s career, sending out a message to the world: “This is who we are, and this is what we can do.”

“We were charging down the road of voices and orchestrating and all of that was a dream come true,” says Brian May. “It had been in our heads for so long, and finally we were able to make it happen."

“I don’t think the album sounds like anyone else,” says Roger Taylor. “We gained a mental identity, a group identity and we were just doing what we did.”

Freddie Mercury, vocals, piano, harpsichord
Brian May, guitars, vocals, piano, bells
John Deacon, bass, acoustic guitar
Roger Taylor, drums, percussion, vocals

Digitally remastered

Queen
Queen formed in 1971 and in 1973 signed their first recording contract for EMI. That year they released their first album, QUEEN. The same year saw their first major UK tour, and in 1974 they released QUEEN II as well as making their first UK headlining tour. They made their first US tour, and in November released SHEER HEART ATTACK which was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

1975 saw their new release, A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, and – significantly – the single Bohemian Rhapsody. At 5’ 55” it should have been too long for successful radio play but it became one of the greatest singles of all time, staying at No. 1 in the UK chart for nine weeks. The video, directed by Bruce Gowers, is credited with being the first genuine promotional video. The song has regularly featured in all major pop polls and was recently named again as the best single of all time. The success of A NIGHT AT THE OPERA was equally stunning, giving the band their first platinum album.

In 1976 they toured the US and Japan and by spring all four albums resided in the UK Top Twenty. Later that year they released A DAY AT THE RACES, and gave a free concert in Hyde Park to an estimated crowd of 200,000 fans. The album was a huge success, advance orders alone amounting to over 500,000. The following year saw two major US tours, the band’s sixth album, NEWS OF THE WORLD and the legendary double A side single, WE WILL ROCK YOU and WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS.

1978’s JAZZ, included another huge hit single in Bicycle Race and Queen toured the US and Canada. They spent much of 1979 touring in Europe and Japan, as well as releasing their first live album, LIVE KILLERS. They were also approached to write the score for a forthcoming feature film, FLASH GORDON. Before that they released THE GAME in 1980 which went five times platinum in Canada alone! Another One Bites The Dust became the band’s biggest selling American single. Later that year the soundtrack for FLASH GORDON was released and by the end of the year Queen had sold over 45,000,000 albums worldwide.

In 1981 they toured the Far East and were the first band to make a stadium tour of South America. They played to 131,000 people in Sao Paolo, the largest paying audience for any band anywhere in the world. GREATEST HITS, GREATEST FLIX and GREATEST PIX were released simultaneously later in the year and Greatest Hits has rarely been out of the UK album charts since. Greatest Flix was the first collection of promo-videos released commercially by any band. Next year saw the release of the band’s twelfth album, HOT SPACE whilst they were in the middle of a European tour.

1984 saw THE WORKS and the single Radio Ga Ga became a worldwide hit, reaching No. 1 in 19 countries. Another huge hit was I Want To Break Free, featuring one of their most famous videos, all dressed in drag. In 1985 they were the headlining act at Rock in Rio, the biggest festival to be held anywhere in the world. They again made history that year with the show-stealing performance at Live Aid from Wembley Stadium, which proved to be a turning point for the band, One Vision being the first post Live Aid release.

1986 saw their 14th album, A KIND OF MAGIC, which was the soundtrack to the Russel Mulcahy film, Highlander. The title track became another worldwide smash and the album entered the UK charts at No. 1; later in the year the 2nd live album, LIVE MAGIC, went into the charts at No. 3. Between 1988 and 1991 Queen released three more albums, THE MIRACLE in 1989 and in 1991 INNUENDO and GREATEST HITS TWO. All three entered the UK charts at No. 1, as did the single Innuendo.

On 23rd November 1991 Freddie Mercury announced to the world that he had AIDS and the next day he died peacefully at his home, surrounded by family and friends. He remains the most high profile loss from the disease in the entertainment world and the news shocked fans throughout the world. As a tribute Bohemian Rhapsody /These Are The Days Of Our Lives was released as a double A-sided single to raise funds for the Terence Higgins Trust. It entered the UK chart at No. 1, where it stayed for five weeks, raising over £1,000,000 for the charity and Queen became the first band to have the same single top the uK charts twice. In December of that year Queen had 10 albums in the UK Top 100. In 1992 Freddie was awarded posthumously the BRIT’s “Outstanding Contribution to British Music” and Days Of Our Lives won Best Single. On 20th April many of the world’s top stars joined Brian, Roger and John on stage at Wembley for an emotional tribute to Freddie.

In 1995 the tracks that Queen had begun in 1991 were completed by Brian, Roger and John and the long-awaited MADE IN HEAVEN was released worldwide. It was the end of an era. Since then the phenomenon of Queen has remained, however, with continuing sales for their recorded output on CD and video. A ballet of their music by famous French choreographer Maurice Bejart was premiered at the National Theatre in Paris in 1997 and in May 2002 the hit musical We Will Rock You opened to sell-out audiences in London’s West End and continues to play to packed houses and standing ovations every night. Queen’s first DVD Greatest Video Hits Vol.1 was released at the end of October 2002, and yet another piece of Queen product entered the UK charts at number 1. October 2002 also saw Queen receive their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Los Angeles, joining The Beatles as only one of a handful of non-US bands to receive the much coveted honour. Last year, 2004 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Walk of Fame, and in the UK were voted by the public into the first UK Music Hall of Fame.

Queen’s musical has since opened in Australia, Spain, Las Vegas,USA, Russia, Germany and is scheduled to open in Japan this May.

Brian and Roger continue to be ambassadors for Nelson Mandela’s 46664 HIV/AIDS awareness campaign and this month, March, played a second benefit concert for 46664 in Fancourt, South Africa.

Brian and Roger took Queen back onto the touring circuit for the first time since 1986 in 2005 and 2008, joined by former Free/Bad Company singer, songwriter and musicial Paul Rodgers playing concerts across the UK and throughout Europe. (Source: www.queenonline.com)

This album contains no booklet.