The Singles Collection
The Singles Collection
Released	not released
Recorded	1972 - 2008 at various studios
Length
Label
Producer(s)
Queen chronology
The Singles Collection

If you'll excuse the indulgence...

Before the sorry excuses for a box set collection that The Singles Collection series eventually became, a far superior idea was compiled by Greg Brooks, Queen's official archivist, which collected every one of the band's singles and the various versions on various formats onto a 10-disc set. Furthermore, it was planned to be wrapped in a coffee table format book, with extensive liner notes – very much in the same vein as the Freddie Mercury box set.

Typically, the project was scaled back considerably, with arbitrary rules and caveats implemented, until it resembled a hatchet job of Queen's singles discography. It's been written about elsewhere, so it's not worth repeating any of the frustrations, complaints, and annoyances; what this hypothetical section focuses on is what should have been released. No official tracklisting of Greg Brooks' version of has been released, nor will it probably any time soon, but judging by what's been released since 1973, the following discs represent what could have ended up on the 10 disc set. Keep in mind, however, that Brian and Roger were reportedly displeased with the many You Don't Fool Me remixes, as well as the butchering of Liar, so these very likely would not have ended up on the release. In the interest of completeness, though, they are included here.

Additionally, the live version of We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions with Queen + Paul Rodgers, released in Japan only, had to be omitted because of timing constraints. Also, the entirety of We Will Rock You (ruined by Rick Rubin), released as a Hollywood Records promotional disc in 1991, is missing also because of time constraints, except for the main track, collected with No One But You (Only The Good Die Young).

Duplicate tracks have been avoided, unless there were some situations where it was necessary (Tie Your Mother Down as both a 1977 single and as a single with No One But You (Only The Good Die Young), Thank God It's Christmas twice, only because it was a single in 1984 and it fit the seasonal theme with A Winter's Tale, etc.). This means there's no Body Language, Las Palabras De Amor (The Words Of Love), etc. with The Show Must Go On, or Killer Queen or Seven Seas Of Rhye with Friends Will Be Friends and Who Wants To Live Forever. There are some inclusions of songs that weren't singles (Chinese Torture, Runaway, 46664 - The Call, We Are The Champions with Robbie Williams), but that's also because they were relatively rare and would fit well on such a collection.

Why something like this couldn't have been released is just baffling. Queen has always taken pride in being above and beyond their peers, going to extremes to come up with tasteful, elegant collections, so why their singles discography has been reduced to being just like everyone else's – 13 separate discs in a similar box, with two songs per disc, wasting 70-75 minutes of space with nothing – is sad to witness. If it was Queen Productions' intention to maintain the integrity of the 7" vinyl singles, as has been stated repeatedly, why not issue a separate collectors' edition box set of replica 7" discs? In these days of getting the most for the consumer's money, 26+ songs spread over 13 discs makes absolutely no sense; a lavish box set filled to the brim with every known single format, as well as informative liner notes, would have not only made the separation of cash for product worthwhile, but also would have set the benchmark for other bands. Alas...

Note: this hypothetical box set was compiled by Georg Purvis. Liner notes written and designed by him, too. The artwork and tracklist presented on this page is used for his own personal purposes, and is not intended to become a real product – so this means no bootlegging, and no asking Queenpedia or anyone associated with the site where they can find the tracks. Nobody knows, so don't bother.

Hypothetical Tracklists

Credits

• Musicians:

John Deacon - bass guitar, keyboards

Brian May - guitars, vocals, keyboards

Freddie Mercury - vocals, piano, keyboards

Roger Taylor - drums, percussion, vocals, keyboards

Additional info

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