Barcelona (Freddie Mercury And Montserrat Caballé Album)
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''Barcelona'' is a collaborative studio album recorded by Freddie Mercury, lead singer of popular British rock band
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
, and operatic soprano
Montserrat Caballé Montserrat Caballé i Folch or Folc (full name: María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch (, , ; (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), known simply as Montserrat Caballé, was a Catalan Spanish operatic soprano. She sang a wide v ...
. It was released in 1988 and serves as the second and final album by Mercury to be recorded outside of Queen. After Barcelona was selected to host the
1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
, Mercury was approached to write a song as a theme for the forthcoming games. The idea was to create a duet with Caballé, as she was from the city. He had been a long-standing admirer of her and she in turn grew to respect his talents very highly. They decided to work on an album together, with Mercury and Mike Moran taking the creative lead as songwriters. Mercury and Moran made and sent her tapes of the music with Mercury singing in falsetto as a guide vocal for Montserrat's parts. As they rarely had an opening in their schedule to meet, her parts were recorded at another location. A special edition of the album was released on 3 September 2012. It features a new version of the album with the previous instrumental tracks replaced with new, live symphonic orchestration and percussion rather than synthesizers and drum machines. The new edition also has a new unique album cover.


Track listing


Content


"Barcelona"

The song was composed and produced by Mike Moran and Freddie Mercury. The recording sessions include violins by Homi Kanga and Laurie Lewis,
cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...
by Deborah Ann Johnston, horn by Barry Castle and percussion by
Frank Ricotti Frank Ricotti (born 31 January 1949) is an English jazz vibraphonist and percussionist. Early life and education Ricotti was born in London, England. His father was a drummer. Bill Ashton, founder of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NY ...
. "Barcelona" was chosen to be the anthem of 1992 Olympics in Spain, but Mercury died less than seven months before the games. It was, however, featured as the city introductory video at the opening ceremony, and it was used as the title music to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's coverage of the
1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
. The music video was filmed at the world's largest nightclub, Ku, nowadays named Privilege in Ibiza.
Russell Watson Russell Watson is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs. He began singing as a child, and became known after performing at a working men's club. He came to attention in 1999 when he sang "God ...
covers it on his album ''The Voice'' with
Shaun Ryder Shaun William George Ryder (born 23 August 1962) is an English singer/songwriter and poet. As lead singer of Happy Mondays, he was a leading figure in the Madchester cultural scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, he formed Bla ...
.


"La Japonaise"

The song was recorded on 9 November 1987 (an early demo comes from 1 September). Mercury wrote all the lyrics including the ones in Japanese, and sang some parts in falsetto which were kept on the final version.


"The Fallen Priest"

Originally a virtuoso piano piece by Moran with some high vocals from Mercury, it was named "
Rachmaninov Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...
's Revenge" (demos come from 26 January and 19 February respectively). Then it was named "The Duet" and finally "The Fallen Priest" when
Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ...
wrote the lyrics for it.
Elaine Paige Elaine Jill Paige (née Bickerstaff; born 5 March 1948) is an English singer and actress, best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, Hertfordshire, Paige attended the Aida Foster Theatre School, making her first professiona ...
was living with Rice at the time and she was working on an album of Queen covers. Also released in 1987 it was also produced by Moran who conducted the orchestra, wrote the arrangements and played piano and keyboards. The ending piano riff bears a strong resemblance to the ending of the first movement of Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2.


"Ensueño"

When Mercury first met Montserrat Caballé in March 1987, he brought in a piece he and Moran had composed called "Exercises in Free Love", to which Caballé added lyrics and became "Ensueño" later on. She asked him to sing it in his natural speaking ( baritone) voice. Unlike "Exercises", "Ensueño" does not include any orchestration or backing vocals: Mike Moran plays only a piano part as an accompaniment for the two singers.


"The Golden Boy"

This song also included lyrics from Rice and was recorded on 1 December 1987 (early demos come from 2 May and 9 November). The celebrity gospel choir featured
Madeline Bell Madeline Bell (born July 23, 1942) is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from America in the gospel show ''Black Nativity'' in 1962, with the ...
, Dennis Bishop,
Lance Ellington Lance Ellington (born 22 June 1957) is an English singer, songwriter and actor. Ellington, the only son of the band leader Ray Ellington, specialises in swing and big ballads. He has worked with many artists including Sting, George Michael, Glo ...
,
Miriam Stockley Miriam Arlene Stockley (born 15 April 1962) is a British singer. She was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and her work is influenced by the African music of her home country. Her distinctive '' vocalise'' style gained international acclaim whe ...
,
Peter Straker Peter Straker (born 7 November 1943) is a Jamaican-born British singer and actor Life and career Straker was born in Jamaica, and moved to London in his early childhood. He first became known in 1968, when he starred as Hud in the original L ...
, Mark Williamson, and
Carol Woods Carol may refer to: People with the name * Carol (given name) * Henri Carol (1910–1984), French composer and organist * Martine Carol (1920–1967), French film actress * Sue Carol (1906–1982), American actress and talent agent, wife of actor ...
. Straker was Mercury's friend who helped him out with some lyrics of "
I'm Going Slightly Mad "I'm Going Slightly Mad" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury but credited to Queen, with uncredited lyrical contributions by Peter Straker, it was released as the second single from the band's 1991 album ''Innuen ...
", and Stockley sang later on with
Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...
.


"Guide Me Home"

Originally titled "Freddie's Overture", it was one of the last numbers to be written (early 1988). The song was originally released as a CD single in Japan with other tracks from the LP, "How Can I Go On" and "Overture Piccante" which was then released as a
maxi CD A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, "In the Summertime" was the ...
single in the Netherlands in 2000.


"How Can I Go On"

This song comes from spring 1987. On the album its beginning is seamlessly merged with the end of the previous track. It features fellow
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
member
John Deacon John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician, best known for being the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits " You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bite ...
on bass.


"Overture Piccante"

The last track on the album mixes parts of other tracks into a new piece.


Special edition (2012)

The 2012 special edition replaces original instrumentation, created using synthesizers and samplers, with a full symphonic orchestra. "Ensueño", the fourth track, which originally featured only Mercury and Caballé singing over Moran's solo piano, was left unaltered, while the backing track to "Exercises in Free Love" was re-orchestrated and re-recorded. The score was transcribed and re-orchestrated by Stuart Morley, the musical director for Queen's musical ''
We Will Rock You "We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album ''News of the World''. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of " The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and it placed at num ...
'', who is also the album's producer. Morley listened to the original record to capture the harmony and leading parts, then re-orchestrated the score with traditional paper, pen and eraser, using
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's "Treatise on Orchestration" and "
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",
Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
's " Fourth Symphony" and Debussy's " La Mer" as a reference. The score was performed by the Prague FILMharmonic Orchestra. Naoko Kikuchi recorded a
koto Koto may refer to: * Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group * Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument * Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana * Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women * K ...
part for "La Japonaise", while Rufus Taylor, the son of
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
member
Roger Taylor Roger Taylor may refer to: *Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) (born 1949), drummer for Queen *Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) (born 1960), drummer for Duran Duran *Roger Taylor (author), author of epic fantasy Hawklan series *Roger Taylor (college pr ...
, recorded drums for "The Golden Boy" and "How Can I Go On", and classical violinist
David Garrett David Christian Bongartz (born 4 September 1980), known by his stage name David Garrett, is a German classical and crossover violinist and recording artist. Early life When Garrett was four years old his father purchased a violin for his ol ...
recorded a new violin solo for the latter.
John Deacon John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician, best known for being the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits " You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bite ...
's bass guitar remained in "How Can I Go On".


Disc one – New orchestrated album

# "Barcelona" – 5:43 # "La Japonaise" – 4:52 # "The Fallen Priest" – 5:46 # "Ensueño" – 4:22 # "The Golden Boy" – 6:04 # "Guide Me Home" – 2:50 # "How Can I Go On" – 3:49 # "Exercises in Free Love" – 3:57 # "Overture Piccante" – 6:47 # "How Can I Go On" onus Track featuring David Garrett– 3:56


Disc two – The Best of the Rarities and Session Outtakes

# "Exercises in Free Love" 987 B-side– 4:26 # "Barcelona" arly Version: Freddie's Demo Vocal– 4:21 # "La Japonaise" arly Version: Freddie's Demo Vocal– 4:41 # "Rachmaninov's Revenge (The Fallen Priest)" ater Version: Freddie's Demo Vocal– 5:51 # "Ensueño" onsterrat's Live Takes– 5:36 # "The Golden Boy" arly Version: Freddie's Demo Vocal– 3:54 # "Guide Me Home" lternative Version– 2:50 # "How Can I Go On" lternative Version– 4:03 # "How Can I Go On" lternative Piano Version– 3:44


Disc three – Album orchestral version

# "Barcelona" nstrumental– 5:39 # "La Japonaise" nstrumental– 4:51 # "The Fallen Priest" nstrumental– 5:47 # "Ensueño" nstrumental– 4:01 # "The Golden Boy" nstrumental– 6:03 # "Guide Me Home" nstrumental– 2:50 # "How Can I Go On" nstrumental– 3:37 # "Exercises in Free Love" nstrumental– 3:57 # "Overture Piccante" nstrumental– 6:43 *On this CD, "Ensueño" consists only of Moran's (original) piano part. No backing vocals are featured on any of the tracks.


Disc four – DVD

* Club Ibiza Performance # "Barcelona" * La Nit Barcelona Performance # "Barcelona" # "How Can I Go On" # "The Golden Boy" * Barcelona lassic Video* Barcelona he Special Edition EPK* Barcelona 012 Edit by Rhys Thomas


Musicians

* Freddie Mercury – lead vocals and
backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...
,
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
, arrangements *
Montserrat Caballé Montserrat Caballé i Folch or Folc (full name: María de Montserrat Bibiana Concepción Caballé i Folch (, , ; (12 April 1933 – 6 October 2018), known simply as Montserrat Caballé, was a Catalan Spanish operatic soprano. She sang a wide v ...
– lead vocals and backing vocals * Mike Moran –
keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...
, programming, arrangements *
John Deacon John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician, best known for being the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits " You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bite ...
–
bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
("How Can I Go On") * Homi Kanga –
violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
("Barcelona") * Laurie Lewis – violin ("Barcelona") * Deborah Ann Johnston –
cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...
("Barcelona") * Barry Castle –
French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...
("Barcelona") *
Frank Ricotti Frank Ricotti (born 31 January 1949) is an English jazz vibraphonist and percussionist. Early life and education Ricotti was born in London, England. His father was a drummer. Bill Ashton, founder of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (NY ...
–
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
("Barcelona") *
Madeline Bell Madeline Bell (born July 23, 1942) is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from America in the gospel show ''Black Nativity'' in 1962, with the ...
–
backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...
("The Golden Boy") * Dennis Bishop – backing vocals ("The Golden Boy") *
Lance Ellington Lance Ellington (born 22 June 1957) is an English singer, songwriter and actor. Ellington, the only son of the band leader Ray Ellington, specialises in swing and big ballads. He has worked with many artists including Sting, George Michael, Glo ...
– backing vocals ("The Golden Boy") *
Miriam Stockley Miriam Arlene Stockley (born 15 April 1962) is a British singer. She was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and her work is influenced by the African music of her home country. Her distinctive '' vocalise'' style gained international acclaim whe ...
– backing vocals ("The Golden Boy") * Peter Straker – backing vocals ("The Golden Boy") * Mark Williamson – backing vocals ("The Golden Boy") *
Carol Woods Carol may refer to: People with the name * Carol (given name) * Henri Carol (1910–1984), French composer and organist * Martine Carol (1920–1967), French film actress * Sue Carol (1906–1982), American actress and talent agent, wife of actor ...
– backing vocals ("The Golden Boy")


Charts


Album


Singles

"Barcelona" (1987/1992) "The Golden Boy" (1988) "How Can I Go On" (1989)


Certifications


References


External links

* * * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1Umy0azDV0
Partial liner notes at official artist site
{{Authority control Freddie Mercury albums 1988 albums Vocal duet albums Classical crossover albums Albums produced by David Richards (record producer) Albums produced by Freddie Mercury