Bechstein Debauchery: Queen Studio Info (1971-1991)

Queen	Queen II	Sheer Heart Attack	A Night at the Opera	A Day at the Races
News of the World	Jazz	The Game	Flash Gordon	Hot Space
The Works	A Kind of Magic	The Miracle	Innuendo	Made in Heaven

THE MARCH OF THE BLACK QUEEN

Index

Queen II

The March of the Black Queen

QUEEN II

Procession	BM
Father to Son	BM
White Queen	BM
Some Day One Day	BM
The Loser in the End	RT
Ogre Battle	FM
...Master-Stroke	FM
Nevermore	FM
March of the Black Queen	FM
Funny How Love Is	FM
Seven Seas of Rhye	FM
...Beside the Seaside	JGK

RECORDING SESSIONS

Trident

August 1973

ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL

	Roy Thomas Baker
a	a	a	a
	Robin G. Cable
a	a	a	a
	Mike Stone

INSTRUMENTS

	Fender Precision Bass
e	e
	Ludwig Drums
e	e
	May & May Guitar
e	e
	Steinway Piano
e	e
	Tubular Bells

DEVICES

	3M 79 16-Track Tape-Recorder
e	e
	AKG Microphones
e	e
	beyerdinamic Microphones
e	e
	Deacon Bespoke Amplifier
e	e
	Dolby Noise-Reduction System
e	e
	fOXX Foot Phaser Pedal
e	e
	Ginger Baker Drum-Sticks
e	e
	Hiwatt Amplifier
e	e
	JBL Monitor Speaker
e	e
	Lockwood-Tannoy Monitor
e	e
	Neumann Microphones
e	e
	Rangemaster Treble-Booster
e	e
	Sony Microphones
e	e
	Trident A-Range Console
e	e
	Vox AC30 Amplifiers

QUEEN ARE

John Deacon

Brian May

Freddie Mercury

Roger Taylor

OVERVIEW

A very well-known no-hit for fans, and one of the best songs Freddie ever wrote. While it wasn't Bo Rhap's direct forerunner (In the Lap of the Gods was), it was indeed one of the pieces that paved the way for it.

It is also the de-facto central piece of the black side and the only Queen song with actual bells. No synths!

SONGWRITING

C"'

C""

G'"

Not so much has been documented about the songwriting process of this piece. Freddie most likely composed it on the piano, polishing it until he got the song that he wanted. The are several modulations very beautifully and cleverly executed as well as some lovely chromatic bits and a couple of strange chords.

The recurrence of the main phrase (or Chorus, in a way) makes it cohesive and brings it on a superior level than a mere collection of unfinished ideas.

INSTRUMENTS

Backing track, as shown on some Fan Club conventions, consisted of piano, bass and drums and stopped at the end of the climax. The rest of the song was probably done separately and then they mixed them together.

Guitars and bells followed as overdubs, both played by Brian. There are some very nice choirs, in and out of sync, creating different effects depending on the sections.

VOCALS

Freddie dominated both lead and harmonies, singing in different tones depending on the section, and doing some very high and some very low notes. Roger also sang a lot there, including a lead line. Brian's there mostly in the background, not as noticeable as the others.

The cascades were done via Mike Stone switching the tracks on and off to create the effect.

This article’s been written and researched by Sebastian (sebastian@queenconcerts.com), with a lot of direct and indirect help from who knows how many people. As any academic work, it may have mistakes and it things that can be rendered wrong in the future (remember there was a time when scientists thought the earth was flat). All of the information found here has been carefully checked and verified as much as possible. It still does NOT mean it's a 100% error-proof research (even the people who were there make mistakes about what happened) but it does ensure that it's way more than mere speculation and guessing. Not being able to prove everything is not the same as not being able to prove anything.

If you want to copy, quote, paraphrase, elaborate on, agree with, refute or condemn any part of this text in a public or private medium and acknowledge me, thank you very much for your consideration and inclusion. If you want to copy, quote, paraphrase, elaborate on, agree with, refute or condemn any part of this text in a public or private medium without acknowledging me, there’s nothing I can do to prevent it and I’ll probably never notice anyway.