The Surprise Single

Hi folks. Well, it seems that we have a new Queen single, or rather an old new single from Freddie and the guys. The first track on Side 2 of The Works is Machines (or ‘Back To Humans’) and it is one of the heaviest examples of electronic music in the Queen catalog. So, why is it releases a single now and not in 1984, or early 1985? Probably because it is going down a storm at recent Queen and Adam Lambert shows and to my mind, it’s about time. I mean, this is one of the better songs off of The Works for all of the sounds in it and even its nod to industrial music (in a way). Altho, I can not imagine Trent Reznor writing a song which sounds exactly like this in 1989, because he has never used a vocoder.

My only disappointment about the single is that it is the only track and there are no additional remixes from the past to go along with it. So, why is it being released now (I asked again)? Is there something cooking which is now a secret and will probably be unveiled to us within months to a year from now? Will we see a 40th anniversary boxed set of The Works? I hope so because of all of the songs which didn’t make the cut for the album by Freddie, Roger and Brian. I mean, even Thank God Its Christmas was recorded during the sessions and I hope, that we get the 12 inch version of the song, as we already have the single version of it, on the 2011 deluxe version of The Works and on Greatest Hits III. Also, let us not forget the instrumental mix of Machines (or ‘Back To Humans’) which appeared as the B-side to I Want To Break Free and why that wasn’t included in 2011 is beyond me. After all, we did get Thank God Its Christmas so, when will we get the remix I have been longing to own digitally, as apposed to only streaming on Youtube?

This was a surprise and I am happy that the song is finally a single, after 39 years. However, there can not be just that and something more must be coming. Right? I hope I am on to something because just dropping a single because it goes down well on tour, just isn’t a good enough reason to put it out there. Besides, this is Queen and Queen have a lot more to pull out of the fire and give us than just a song, which most of us already have. I guess we will have to wait and see, what is coming and I am looking forward to what ever it is.