![Queen - Headlong [2024 Raw Sessions Mix] @queenliverarities](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UWFCl0KGvIs/maxresdefault.jpg)
Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 8 minutes ago
During a random listening session with the 2011 bonus tracks recently, I noticed the Headlong "embryo" feat. Brian's vocals has a more complete-sounding mix than I remembered. I listened to it again, and thought WOW! This arguably sounds even better than the final mixes! They appear to have mixed it from scratch for the 2011 release. It's much closer to how we all wish the entire Innuendo album could sound if it got a proper remix! I just HAD to have a play with this and see if I could bring Freddie's vocal over in Brian's place.
There's maybe one spot where Brian's vocal wasn't quite a 100% clean removal no matter which models I tried, but this was still too exciting not to share 🙂 I'm calling this a "Raw Sessions" mix as there's some bonus guitar parts thrown in here and there, and I didn't have much success removing them all cleanly so I decided to leave them alone 👍 All the other parts on the track appear to be the same as the original though, just with a much purer sound!
Let me know what you think! 😁 And if you haven't already, check out the Restoration I did for the entire album here (which was recently updated):
youtu.be/iF537EjjzcM
During a random listening session with the 2011 bonus tracks recently, I noticed the Headlong "embryo" feat. Brian's vocals has a more complete-sounding mix than I remembered. I listened to it again, and thought WOW! This arguably sounds even better than the final mixes! They appear to have mixed it from scratch for the 2011 release. It's much closer to how we all wish the entire Innuendo album could sound if it got a proper remix! I just HAD to have a play with this and see if I could bring Freddie's vocal over in Brian's place.
There's maybe one spot where Brian's vocal wasn't quite a 100% clean removal no matter which models I tried, but this was still too exciting not to share 🙂 I'm calling this a "Raw Sessions" mix as there's some bonus guitar parts thrown in here and there, and I didn't have much success removing them all cleanly so I decided to leave them alone 👍 All the other parts on the track appear to be the same as the original though, just with a much purer sound!
Let me know what you think! 😁 And if you haven't already, check out the Restoration I did for the entire album here (which was recently updated):
youtu.be/iF537EjjzcM
![Queen - Headlong [2024 Raw Sessions Mix]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UWFCl0KGvIs/mqdefault.jpg "Queen - Headlong [2024 Raw Sessions Mix]
During a random listening session with the 2011 bonus tracks recently, I noticed the Headlong embryo feat. Brians vocals has a more complete-sounding mix than I remembered. I listened to it again, and thought WOW! This arguably sounds even better than the final mixes! They appear to have mixed it from scratch for the 2011 release. Its much closer to how we all wish the entire Innuendo album could sound if it got a proper remix! I just HAD to have a play with this and see if I could bring Freddies vocal over in Brians place.
Theres maybe one spot where Brians vocal wasnt quite a 100% clean removal no matter which models I tried, but this was still too exciting not to share 🙂 Im calling this a Raw Sessions mix as theres some bonus guitar parts thrown in here and there, and I didnt have much success removing them all cleanly so I decided to leave them alone 👍 All the other parts on the track appear to be the same as the original though, just with a much purer sound!
Let me know what you think! 😁 And if you havent already, check out the Restoration I did for the entire album here (which was recently updated):
https://youtu.be/iF537EjjzcM")
![Queen - Live in San Diego (July 5th, 1980) [2025 REMASTER]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UdzXBzZYgs0/mqdefault.jpg "Queen - Live in San Diego (July 5th, 1980) [2025 REMASTER]
Queen - Live at the Sports Arena, San Diego, CA, USA (05/07/1980)
*2025 REMASTER*
What better day for this to drop than on the gigs 45th anniversary 😀 A beloved show for so many reasons! I could seriously go on all day (its one of my all-time favourite Queen shows)! Will refrain from blabbering about the actual show. Got lots to talk about regarding the remastering process, which was rather complex compared to most...
What can I say about this recording? Taped very well and graciously shared 4 years ago by Mr. John Purlia. The quality is tremendous! The only glaring drawback was completely out of his control. Im referring to the notoriously boomy acoustics of the San Diego Sports Arena.
Now, not to burst anyones bubble, but a remaster cant magically get rid of the boominess. All we can really do is navigate around it the best we can, which is what Ive attempted to do here. Conventional tactics didnt necessarily apply here. Extra care was required. Too bright, and the cymbals become overbearing. So it was about finding that happy medium.
I do think the result offers a very immersive experience! Obviously, if I could strip away the amount of reverb, I would. But with the sub-bass frequencies freed-up, it plays a little more nicely. With headphones on and your eyes closed, it feels as though youre inside the arena 🤯
Another characteristic with this tape, it gets gradually brighter as it goes on. Applying one level of EQ across the whole lot wasnt working. If I adjusted something to suit the beginning of the show, the cymbals were way too overbearing by the end. And vice versa. Shifting the EQ it to suit the end of the show made the beginning really muddy.
I combated this by basically EQing this show two different times (to suit each end of the tape) and making one big crossfade between the two (if that makes sense). This allows for a nice flow and balance which maintains itself throughout the whole show 👍
1. Intro - 0:00
2. Jailhouse Rock - 2:18
3. We Will Rock You (Fast) - 3:59
4. Let Me Entertain You - 6:48
5. Play The Game - 9:52
6. Mustapha - 14:30
7. Death On Two Legs - 16:53
8. Killer Queen - 20:17
9. Im In Love With My Car - 22:22
10. Get Down, Make Love - 24:24
11. Mings Theme - 30:27
12. Youre My Best Friend - 30:53
13. Save Me - 34:07
14. Now Im Here - 38:23
15. Need Your Loving Tonight - 46:29
16. Rock It (Prime Jive) - 50:08
17. Love Of My Life - 55:45
18. Keep Yourself Alive - 59:29
19. Drum / Guitar Solos - 1:02:42
20. Brighton Rock (Reprise) - 1:11:36
21. Crazy Little Thing Called Love - 1:14:20
22. Bohemian Rhapsody - 1:18:50
23. Tie Your Mother Down - 1:24:10
24. Sheer Heart Attack - 1:30:11
25. We Will Rock You - 1:35:09
26. We Are The Champions - 1:37:31
27. God Save The Queen - 1:40:58
DISCLAIMER:
Regarding this and the other remasters yet to be featured, Ive made a concerted effort to keep a reasonable balance between the time/effort being spent and the actual payoff. Using this show as an example, I couldve potentially spent so many more hours/days/weeks finding and obsessing over any other miniscule artifact which could be present, but at a cost too significant to be deemed worthwhile. Time that could (and has) been spent focusing on a wide range of different shows to share with you over the remainder of 2025 instead 😃
In more simple terms, Ill never claim these live remasters are 100% perfect. But if I can reach 90%+ within a reasonable timeframe and is a noticeable improvement, I absolutely feel its a worthwhile addition to the community. And hey! If any of you feel strongly enough about a certain show and have the urge to add your own final touches, youre more than welcome (with credit of course) 👍
DOWNLOAD:
Link can be found in the comments section (Im unable to share links on YouTube directly at the moment)...")
![Queen - Sheer Heart Attack [2024 Restoration]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VmRLHNLrmDg/mqdefault.jpg "Queen - Sheer Heart Attack [2024 Restoration]
Happy 47th Anniversary to Queens sixth studio album, News Of The World 📰🤖
As far as clarity goes, of all Queens albums, this one most definitely has the most potential, and I think thats on full display here! Like most other installments of the project so far, thats thanks to the influence from the 1985 Complete Works box-set (which youll find out more about on the comparisons video).
Now, wed previously encountered an issue with harsh high frequencies on Queen I, to where I felt I had no choice but to step in and turn them down a little. I think the argument can be made that (depending on your sound system), Freddies esses may be a little taxing the ears at certain points here too. Unlike the Queen I issue however, this is a very accurate reflection on how the Complete Works LP actually sounded, so I felt less inclined to take liberties here.
Instead, Im offering up two slightly different versions of the Restoration to hopefully suit your preferences. Theres this one, which remains very true to the enhancements offered on the 1985 LP. And an alternative, where (just like Queen I) the high end has only been recovered half-way 🙂 Id be curious to hear which version you end up leaning towards...
DOWNLOAD FOLDER:
linktr.ee/qlrvault
Full album YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOvYtqeUuiLufqKQL1cSh1NWuoUr0Itm4
The 2024/25 Restoration Collection:
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
A Kind Of Magic - https://youtu.be/0wnsVmHaWnE
The Game - https://youtu.be/5hCZ4xylu_4
Queen - https://youtu.be/JHy1XXVdkWM
Jazz - https://youtu.be/KZca62jaJBU
▶ News Of The World
A Night At The Opera - https://youtu.be/zfgkTPPIayQ
A Day At The Races - https://youtu.be/OyNTCm0VPPM
The Miracle - https://youtu.be/SVPwF7H2eyg
Flash Gordon - https://youtu.be/fonQaYLQbNc
Made In Heaven - https://youtu.be/XnpWAvblUc4")
![Queen - Somebody To Love (Live In Buenos Aires 8/03/1981) [2025 REMASTER/MATRIX]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/W_--s4GggQM/mqdefault.jpg "Queen - Somebody To Love (Live In Buenos Aires 8/03/1981) [2025 REMASTER/MATRIX]
Check out this short for a comparison with before and after:
https://youtube.com/shorts/T6Hrfy_7rHE
Consider this a proof of concept for what the bulk of the show could sound like with the same kind of treatment 🙂
What Ive done here is remastered both the AM broadcast and audience recording to the best of my ability. The AM broadcast has some things I cant fix all the way unfortunately, so I wanted to experiment and see if the audience recording could help mask those issues.
The sub-bass on the AM broadcast is almost non-existent, so Ive made 0-170Hz purely the audience recording. The biggest issue Ive run into with the AM broadcast is fluctuating noise levels, which makes a clean de-noise impossible sadly. I found it becomes increasingly obnoxious from roughly 4KHz upwards, so Ive made that area purely the audience recording too. Everything between 170Hz and 4KHz remains purely the AM broadcast 👍
The result cant be considered completely perfect. I de-crackled the audience recording to reduce the clapping as much as possible before it sounded too artificial, but it still bleeds through here and there. Spectrally removing every single clap and audience yell would help, but I mean, this would literally take months and months if I were to take on the whole show. Lets just say, this is as good as itll get in my hands 😄
The big question now is, what do you think? Is it worth taking on the whole show and giving it similar treatment? Please let your opinions be known down below 🙏")
![Freddie Mercury - My Love Is Dangerous [2025 Restoration]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/X0e08J5GKt4/mqdefault.jpg "Freddie Mercury - My Love Is Dangerous [2025 Restoration]
Months and months removed from the last one, were finally back with another Queen-related installment of the 2025 Restoration project 😃
Truth be told, I began work on this album well over two years ago, and its been in a near-complete state ever since then. Fast forward to now, Ive finally acquired the final piece of the puzzle needed in order to finish it! Of all things, the missing piece was a more reliable source of Stop All The Fighting, via a variation of the 1993 Great Pretender CD single 💪
Like the majority of Queen albums weve covered on the project, Mr. Bad Guy in digital form has always suffered. The original 1985 CD was solid, but came with similar hinderances to the likes of The Works, AKOM and Innuendo CDs. In turn, the early vinyl releases have always been considered the superior way of listening to this album. In this particular instance, Ive based the Restoration on the original USA pressing 🙌 Using the original 1985 CD as the base source, it was a breeze to work with! Basically, only the EQ needed adjusting.
Id go as far as saying its a night and day difference, and in my opinion, it suggests the 2019 Remix wasnt as warranted as it was made out to be. But Ill leave that up to you to decide 👀
Additionally, the Extra Tracks folder comes loaded with the extended versions which accompanied the original 12 singles. The 2000 Solo Collection box is our only current digital source for these tracks.
Being 100% honest, I knew the box set had Peter Mews finger prints all over it before I even looked at the credits 🤷 At least around that time period, he had at least three signature mastering techniques, and unfortunately, I could only fully reverse one of them 😢 The two I couldnt do anything about were compression and noise reduction (not all tracks were affected by the latter thankfully). Lucky for us, the obnoxious EQ patterns COULD be undone. For those who arent aware, hed always boost the upper bass and upper mids/lower treble areas, leaving the lower mids sucked away of any life.
Before the 2025 Restoration, I was never able to listen to the extended versions all the way through. To my ears at least, they sounded SOOOO bad 😖 But now theyre restored, I can listen to them no problem and finally appreciate just how fun some of them are 🤘
The way I reversed those EQ patterns accurately was simple. By measuring the original Mr. Bad Guy CD up against the one Peter Mew remastered for the box set, cancelling out the differences and applying those same changes to the extended versions. From there, I implemented the same adjustments I used on the main album to match the vinyl pressing. Easy as that. No offense to Mr. Mew, but this is how cut and paste his mastering techniques were at the time. In terms of this project, HE was the only real Bad Guy 😉 (Im being tongue-in-cheek obviously, no hard feelings towards the man)...
No comparisons video sadly! Its a struggle to find the time to make one to an acceptable standard at this time. But anyways, hope you enjoy 😁
DOWNLOAD FOLDER:
linktr.ee/qlrvault (clickable link can be found in the comments)
Full album YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOvYtqeUuiLts8S9EmF3maGYLFYqC7jHQ
The Queen 2024/25 Restoration Collection:
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
A Kind Of Magic - https://youtu.be/0wnsVmHaWnE
The Game - https://youtu.be/5hCZ4xylu_4
Queen - https://youtu.be/JHy1XXVdkWM
Jazz - https://youtu.be/KZca62jaJBU
News Of The World - https://youtu.be/psxYh1Ne5J4
A Night At The Opera - https://youtu.be/zfgkTPPIayQ
A Day At The Races - https://youtu.be/OyNTCm0VPPM
The Miracle - https://youtu.be/SVPwF7H2eyg
Flash Gordon - https://youtu.be/fonQaYLQbNc
Made In Heaven - https://youtu.be/XnpWAvblUc4")
![*COMPARISON* Queen - Live in Montreal (November 24th, 1981) [2025 REMASTER]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XutrmDGV9P4/mqdefault.jpg "*COMPARISON* Queen - Live in Montreal (November 24th, 1981) [2025 REMASTER]
Listen to the full remastered show here:
https://youtu.be/4n7cSGJ1MEk
Id go as far as saying this tape is an essential listen, as it offers a number of performances which didnt end up being featured on the official release of Rock Montreal (most of which sound undoubtedly better than the performances they opted to include). Im sure a lot of the decisions for the release were based purely on visuals and camera angles. As we know from the stories, the 1st night wasnt quite as smooth as the 2nd in that regard. But on that note, even the performances which DO feature on the release are still worthy listens here, as we get to hear them free of overdubs 🙌
Performances aside, something this audience recording captures much better than the official release was the atmosphere! Youd assume the Montreal crowd was dead and uninterested, but this recording says otherwise! Can only imagine what it mustve felt like being there 🤯
Talking more about the tape, the fixes Ive made are mostly the general. Speed correcting, Azimuth, EQ and Level matching. One area I felt compelled to work on more carefully was Somebody To Love. The right channel loses a lot of detail from the guitar solo onwards, so I opted to make it mono from 2kHz upwards during the affected area. This isnt a seamless fix, as switching from stereo to mono in any capacity will be jarring, but its a lot better than it was 👍")
![Michael Jackson - Is It Scary [2025 Restoration]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XyawgLlWgd0/mqdefault.jpg "Michael Jackson - Is It Scary [2025 Restoration]
Our final installment of the 2025 MJ Restoration project is here, just in time 🙌 Michaels 2nd to last studio album he ever completed, although some could argue its more of an EP with 5 new tracks, + 8 remixes. Whatever the case, no project involving the King Of Pops discography is complete without this one!
To anyone who may be here for the first time, welcome! The intention of this project is to find the albums best digital source(s), undo any & all previous remastering work and restore the music to exactly how the artist originally intended it to sound!
The base source for the restoration was (of course) the original CD release from 1997. The CD itself sounds fine on its own! It did have its drawbacks though. By the late 90s, brick-walling the dynamics to achieve a louder sound was an industry standard. In addition, a certain style of EQ was becoming more fashionable again. Known in some circles as smiley-faced EQ, and what I observe to be more of a low-end and high-mids boost. Everyone has their own opinions on this, but to me, I feel it tends to suck the life out of the music.
The original vinyl release of Blood On The Dance Floor had a more natural approach to the mastering, without the same hinderances the CD was subjected to. The result is much more in line with what weve come to know with MJs other 90s releases 🙂 Ive modelled the 2025 Restoration to sound as close to this as possible. The dynamics were able to be revived for the most part, but have still fallen short in some areas compared to the LP (predominantly the remixes). Bringing the EQ over really makes all the difference though 👌
One other glaring difference with the vinyl release compared to all others is a couple alterations in the track-listing. The remixes for This Time Around and You Are Not Alone actually feature different versions! This Time Around has the full mix which runs 6 minutes longer than the common radio mix, and You Are Not Alone is a shorter edit, paced a lot more similarly to the album version. The 2025 Restoration track-listing has been altered to reflect these differences, and the discarded remixes can still be found as extra tracks 👍
Ive decided not to make all the remixes public on YouTube, as they may not be everyones cup of tea, but they can still be found in the full album playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOvYtqeUuiLsq9YAxSiy7BWj-i7RXZ0dY
Check out the other MJ albums apart of the Restoration project 👀⬇
Thriller - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOvYtqeUuiLu-EQLp8hCCAtvka1rODGuu
Invincible - https://youtu.be/CeFle3bHlAQ
Dangerous - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOvYtqeUuiLsXHde0dY2Qp6nh4xQ5WOGX")
![Freddie Mercury - Mr. Bad Guy [2025 Restoration]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YEKiU4mbqQk/mqdefault.jpg "Freddie Mercury - Mr. Bad Guy [2025 Restoration]
Months and months removed from the last one, were finally back with another Queen-related installment of the 2025 Restoration project 😃
Truth be told, I began work on this album well over two years ago, and its been in a near-complete state ever since then. Fast forward to now, Ive finally acquired the final piece of the puzzle needed in order to finish it! Of all things, the missing piece was a more reliable source of Stop All The Fighting, via a variation of the 1993 Great Pretender CD single 💪
Like the majority of Queen albums weve covered on the project, Mr. Bad Guy in digital form has always suffered. The original 1985 CD was solid, but came with similar hinderances to the likes of The Works, AKOM and Innuendo CDs. In turn, the early vinyl releases have always been considered the superior way of listening to this album. In this particular instance, Ive based the Restoration on the original USA pressing 🙌 Using the original 1985 CD as the base source, it was a breeze to work with! Basically, only the EQ needed adjusting.
Id go as far as saying its a night and day difference, and in my opinion, it suggests the 2019 Remix wasnt as warranted as it was made out to be. But Ill leave that up to you to decide 👀
Additionally, the Extra Tracks folder comes loaded with the extended versions which accompanied the original 12 singles. The 2000 Solo Collection box is our only current digital source for these tracks.
Being 100% honest, I knew the box set had Peter Mews finger prints all over it before I even looked at the credits 🤷 At least around that time period, he had at least three signature mastering techniques, and unfortunately, I could only fully reverse one of them 😢 The two I couldnt do anything about were compression and noise reduction (not all tracks were affected by the latter thankfully). Lucky for us, the obnoxious EQ patterns COULD be undone. For those who arent aware, hed always boost the upper bass and upper mids/lower treble areas, leaving the lower mids sucked away of any life.
Before the 2025 Restoration, I was never able to listen to the extended versions all the way through. To my ears at least, they sounded SOOOO bad 😖 But now theyre restored, I can listen to them no problem and finally appreciate just how fun some of them are 🤘
The way I reversed those EQ patterns accurately was simple. By measuring the original Mr. Bad Guy CD up against the one Peter Mew remastered for the box set, cancelling out the differences and applying those same changes to the extended versions. From there, I implemented the same adjustments I used on the main album to match the vinyl pressing. Easy as that. No offense to Mr. Mew, but this is how cut and paste his mastering techniques were at the time. In terms of this project, HE was the only real Bad Guy 😉 (Im being tongue-in-cheek obviously, no hard feelings towards the man)...
No comparisons video sadly! Its a struggle to find the time to make one to an acceptable standard at this time. But anyways, hope you enjoy 😁
DOWNLOAD FOLDER:
linktr.ee/qlrvault (clickable link can be found in the comments)
Full album YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOvYtqeUuiLts8S9EmF3maGYLFYqC7jHQ
The Queen 2024/25 Restoration Collection:
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
A Kind Of Magic - https://youtu.be/0wnsVmHaWnE
The Game - https://youtu.be/5hCZ4xylu_4
Queen - https://youtu.be/JHy1XXVdkWM
Jazz - https://youtu.be/KZca62jaJBU
News Of The World - https://youtu.be/psxYh1Ne5J4
A Night At The Opera - https://youtu.be/zfgkTPPIayQ
A Day At The Races - https://youtu.be/OyNTCm0VPPM
The Miracle - https://youtu.be/SVPwF7H2eyg
Flash Gordon - https://youtu.be/fonQaYLQbNc
Made In Heaven - https://youtu.be/XnpWAvblUc4")
![Queen - Stealin [2024 Restoration]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Yb1MWTDMrTo/mqdefault.jpg "Queen - Stealin [2024 Restoration]
Its a Christmas Miracle 😉 Just in time for the big day! The Miracle gets the special treatment before I have to start calling them 2025 Restorations 😅
Ill be straight forward in saying, if youre expecting as drastic of a result as some of those early albums, this might not be the installment for you. It may very well be the least drastic, but still absolutely a worthwhile addition 👍
The original CD for this album did a pretty darn good job at representing these tracks in an accurate light, in comparison to the original (UK) vinyl that is. Its mainly just the difference in depth were addressing here, along a few extra bits and pieces here and there...
And the result edges closer to the kind of balance heard on The Miracle Sessions CD from a couple years back, as well as the 5.1 remixes from the GVH2 DVD 👌
The schedule issues Im facing wont be changing anytime soon, so cant guarantee when the next installment is coming. Of course Im hoping itll be sooner rather than later, but who knows 🤷♂️ Anyways, Merry Christmas, and if I dont see you before then, Happy New Year 🙂
DOWNLOAD FOLDER:
linktr.ee/qlrvault
Full album YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOvYtqeUuiLs7GQpxL6JMiAnjS5j680vC
The 2024/25 Restoration Collection:
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
A Kind Of Magic - https://youtu.be/0wnsVmHaWnE
The Game - https://youtu.be/5hCZ4xylu_4
Queen - https://youtu.be/JHy1XXVdkWM
Jazz - https://youtu.be/KZca62jaJBU
News Of The World - https://youtu.be/psxYh1Ne5J4
A Night At The Opera - https://youtu.be/zfgkTPPIayQ
A Day At The Races - https://youtu.be/OyNTCm0VPPM
▶ The Miracle - https://youtu.be/SVPwF7H2eyg
Flash Gordon - https://youtu.be/fonQaYLQbNc
Made In Heaven - https://youtu.be/XnpWAvblUc4")
![Freddie Mercury - Foolin Around [2025 Restoration]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YfgO5QsbA1s/mqdefault.jpg "Freddie Mercury - Foolin Around [2025 Restoration]
Months and months removed from the last one, were finally back with another Queen-related installment of the 2025 Restoration project 😃
Truth be told, I began work on this album well over two years ago, and its been in a near-complete state ever since then. Fast forward to now, Ive finally acquired the final piece of the puzzle needed in order to finish it! Of all things, the missing piece was a more reliable source of Stop All The Fighting, via a variation of the 1993 Great Pretender CD single 💪
Like the majority of Queen albums weve covered on the project, Mr. Bad Guy in digital form has always suffered. The original 1985 CD was solid, but came with similar hinderances to the likes of The Works, AKOM and Innuendo CDs. In turn, the early vinyl releases have always been considered the superior way of listening to this album. In this particular instance, Ive based the Restoration on the original USA pressing 🙌 Using the original 1985 CD as the base source, it was a breeze to work with! Basically, only the EQ needed adjusting.
Id go as far as saying its a night and day difference, and in my opinion, it suggests the 2019 Remix wasnt as warranted as it was made out to be. But Ill leave that up to you to decide 👀
Additionally, the Extra Tracks folder comes loaded with the extended versions which accompanied the original 12 singles. The 2000 Solo Collection box is our only current digital source for these tracks.
Being 100% honest, I knew the box set had Peter Mews finger prints all over it before I even looked at the credits 🤷 At least around that time period, he had at least three signature mastering techniques, and unfortunately, I could only fully reverse one of them 😢 The two I couldnt do anything about were compression and noise reduction (not all tracks were affected by the latter thankfully). Lucky for us, the obnoxious EQ patterns COULD be undone. For those who arent aware, hed always boost the upper bass and upper mids/lower treble areas, leaving the lower mids sucked away of any life.
Before the 2025 Restoration, I was never able to listen to the extended versions all the way through. To my ears at least, they sounded SOOOO bad 😖 But now theyre restored, I can listen to them no problem and finally appreciate just how fun some of them are 🤘
The way I reversed those EQ patterns accurately was simple. By measuring the original Mr. Bad Guy CD up against the one Peter Mew remastered for the box set, cancelling out the differences and applying those same changes to the extended versions. From there, I implemented the same adjustments I used on the main album to match the vinyl pressing. Easy as that. No offense to Mr. Mew, but this is how cut and paste his mastering techniques were at the time. In terms of this project, HE was the only real Bad Guy 😉 (Im being tongue-in-cheek obviously, no hard feelings towards the man)...
No comparisons video sadly! Its a struggle to find the time to make one to an acceptable standard at this time. But anyways, hope you enjoy 😁
DOWNLOAD FOLDER:
linktr.ee/qlrvault (clickable link can be found in the comments)
Full album YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOvYtqeUuiLts8S9EmF3maGYLFYqC7jHQ
The Queen 2024/25 Restoration Collection:
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
A Kind Of Magic - https://youtu.be/0wnsVmHaWnE
The Game - https://youtu.be/5hCZ4xylu_4
Queen - https://youtu.be/JHy1XXVdkWM
Jazz - https://youtu.be/KZca62jaJBU
News Of The World - https://youtu.be/psxYh1Ne5J4
A Night At The Opera - https://youtu.be/zfgkTPPIayQ
A Day At The Races - https://youtu.be/OyNTCm0VPPM
The Miracle - https://youtu.be/SVPwF7H2eyg
Flash Gordon - https://youtu.be/fonQaYLQbNc
Made In Heaven - https://youtu.be/XnpWAvblUc4")
![Michael Jackson - Bad [2026 Restoration]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/YzNsZBK6Ebk/mqdefault.jpg "Michael Jackson - Bad [2026 Restoration]
Following Brad Sundbergs new Vinyl Battle series on YouTube, Ive been inspired to fast-track a restoration for this 1st portion of Michael Jacksons HIStory album, as a sort of companion piece 😃
At the time of writing, Brad (one of Michaels former engineers) has compared vinyl releases for two tracks - The Way You Make Me Feel and Man In The Mirror. On both occasions, the original HIStory vinyl has been his winner, with the original Bad vinyl coming in 2nd place. Thats mammoth praise 🤯
I must admit, until a week or two ago, Id never given HIStory Begins a fair shot in terms of sound quality. This is because compression and limiting handcuffs the digital releases, making it harder for me to appreciate it in that aspect. But as the story usually goes, the original vinyl release wasnt a victim of the same hinderances. If you own that LP, huge congrats 🎉 Thats a very rare piece! But for most of us who dont, this is where the restoration project comes into play 👀
Fortunately, thanks to the MoFi releases of Off The Wall, Thriller and Dangerous, we now have perfect, dynamic digital sources for ALL versions of the tracks featured on HIStory Begins! For Bad, the initial CD releases from the late 80s/early 90s were already unhindered to start with, so no need for a MoFi release 🙌
With the correct versions chosen, the work was more straight-forward than any other MJ album Ive tackled to this point! A teeny bit of volume fluctuations needed to be addressed during a few tracks, but other than that, all I needed to do was EQ the left and right channels of each track to mirror Bruce Swedien & Bernie Grundmans remastering for HIStory.
For this initial stage, I matched the EQ with the tracks from the CD, and waited til the very end to implement the EQ curve from the vinyl release across the whole album. I tend to trust this method more (depending on where I can source my vinyl rips). Inner groove distortion can occasionally affect the EQ curve for tracks near the end of a side. Referencing the CD first will ensure a 100% authentic result across every track 🙂
Track-spacing is also an important step I often forget to mention on these restorations. I made sure the gap between each track was as close to the actual release as possible 👍 On this occasion, my source for the vinyl rip is the same as our Invincible, Dangerous and Blood On The Dance Floor restorations, so Id already undergone all the steps to ensuring weve landed on an accurate (flat) EQ curve 👌
Can happily report this 2026 Restoration has a healthy DR value of 13, vs the original CD which sits at a 9 🔥
I must say, with the installment completed, I couldnt agree any more with Brads assessments 😱 This is one of VERY few remastered releases Ive ever encountered where the tracks actually benefit (IMO). As Brad recalls in his episodes regarding those two Bad tracks, he and the team were 7-8 years older and more experienced by the time they reached HIStory, and mastering preferences can change in that time. Every track has a super deliberate balance between the lows, mids and highs 👏👏
According to Brad, the initial remastering was done in-house by Bruce, before sending it off to Bernie. Lets not forget, these two guys had been on every MJ project from Off The Wall onwards! It could not have been in better hands 🙏 This is without a doubt the most carefully-curated MJ hit collection therell ever be. Michael and his team were apart of every single step, from the track-selection to the very end...
If these restorations are your cup of tea, youll likely be into Brads series too! He breaks everything down thoroughly, from both the listeners point of view, and the actual process he and Bruce underwent during the making of said releases, such as the original mastering stages and critically approving/rejecting test pressings. Intriguing stuff! Heres his page: @inthestudiowithmj
Check out the full album playlist here ⬇
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOvYtqeUuiLtNCg8ybZJL2gkIkjkzHKTa")
