Queen released a rediscovered song featuring Freddie Mercury on Thursday, marking the first new recording using the late frontman’s instantly recognizable vocals in nearly eight years.
During a summer interview, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor first informed fans of “Face It Alone’s” existence. Originally recorded in the late 1980s during sessions for the band’s chart-topping album “The Miracle,” but never released.
When working on an impending box set edition of the album in November, the Queen production and archival crew discovered it once more. Taylor stated in a statement, “We’d kind of forgotten about this song.” “However, there it was, this jewel. It’s fantastic, a true discovery. It is a highly intense composition.”
May, 72, also provided a statement to the press about the song, noting that former Queen member John Deacon, who departed the group in 1997, also contributed to the song. “I’m glad that our crew discovered this track,” he remarked. “After all these years, it’s wonderful to hear all four of us… yes, Deacy is also present… Working in the studio on a fantastic music concept that was never completed… until now!”
The box set will include a vinyl LP of a long-lost version of the album with its original track listing, 5 CDs — the album in its known version, a Miracle Sessions set of demo recordings and studio banter, a planned follow-up album titled Alternative Miracle featuring B-sides and alternative mixes, and an instrumental version titled Miracu-metals — as well as a Blu-Ray/DVD of music videos, interviews, and live performances.
May and Taylor originally hinted at the release of “Face It Alone” during a BBC Radio 2 interview in June. “We did discover a Freddie Mercury gem that we had forgotten about,” the drummer told host Zoe Ball. “And it’s fantastic. In reality, it was a true discovery.”
He mentioned at the time that they had changed their minds due to a new perspective. May added, “But in fact, we went back in and our brilliant technical team said, ‘OK, we can do this and that.'” “Similar to sewing pieces together. But it’s gorgeous. It is moving.”
Queen has previously released posthumous recordings containing Mercury’s voice, most recently on the compilation album Queen Forever from 2014. The multiple-disc set included three unreleased songs: “Let Me in Your Heart Again,” “Love Kills,” and “There Must Be More to Life Than This” featuring the late Michael Jackson.
Mercury was included on Queen’s final studio album, 1995’s Made in Heaven, which was recorded before and after his death.