Queen RARE "Keep Yourself Alive" original 1973 7" vinyl single EMI 2036
£
35
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46
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Description
Queen RARE "Keep Yourself Alive" original 1973 7" vinyl single EMI 2036. Condition is Used. Dispatched with Royal Mail 2nd Class Large Letter. The vinyl has 2 very light hairline marks but is in overall very good condition using the 'Record Collector' grading. The sleeve is the original EMI cover and is in very good condition.
"Keep Yourself Alive" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, it is the opening track on the band's eponymous debut album (1973). It was released as Queen's first single along with "Son and Daughter" as the B-side. "Keep Yourself Alive" was largely ignored upon its release and failed to chart on either side of the Atlantic.
In 2008, Rolling Stone Magazine rated the song 31st on its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time".
According to Mark Hodkinson, author of Queen: The Early Years, "Keep Yourself Alive" was conceived on acoustic guitars during Queen's practice sessions at Imperial College and the garden at Ferry Road in 1970. At the time, Queen had not yet found a permanent bassist; the group consisted of lead singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist May, and drummer Roger Taylor. In a radio special about their 1977 album News of the World, May said he had penned the lyrics thinking of them as ironic and tongue-in-cheek, but their sense was completely changed when Mercury sang them.
The first version of "Keep Yourself Alive" was recorded in summer 1971 at De Lane Lea Studios. It was produced by Louie Austin and includes the intro played on Brian May's Hairfred acoustic guitar. All of the song elements were already present, including call-and-response vocals by Mercury (verses) and during the break, where Taylor sang a line and Mercury answered it. This demo version remains May's favourite take of the song.
Subsequently they did several attempts to "recapture the magic" when they went on to do the "real" version at the famous Trident Studios. The one mixed by Mike Stone was the only one moderately accepted, and it's the one released as a single. It includes Mercury doing all of the harmony vocals in the chorus (multi-tracking himself) and May singing the "two steps nearer to my grave" line instead of Mercury (who did it live and in earlier versions). This recording does not use acoustic guitar; the printed transcription on EMI Music Publishing's Off the Record' sheet music lists at least seven electric guitar parts, one of which uses a prominent phasing effect. It can also be noted that this recording includes the line "Come on and get it, get it, get it, boy, keep yourself alive," which was not in the original version.
Info courtesy of Wikipaedia
I haven't got a record player to verify this by playing the record but if my memory serves me right, Roger does sing the line "Do you think you're better every day" to which Brian responds with "I just think I'm a step nearer to my grave line" on this,the original, single.
I checked with the Queen YouTube channel and I am correct.
The B Side is "Son and Daughter" from Queen 1.price rating
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