Barcelona (album)
| Barcelona | ||||
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| Studio album by Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé | ||||
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Publication |
October 10, 1988 (reprint 1992, 2012) |
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| Label (s) | Polydor (1988/1992), Hollywood Records (1992), Island Records (2012) | |||
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Format (s) |
LP, CD; Download |
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Title (number) |
8th |
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running time |
39:56 |
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Studio (s) |
Townhouse Studios (London), Mountain Studios ( Montreux ) |
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Barcelona is an album released in 1988 by Freddie Mercury , lead singer of British rock group Queen , and Spanish opera singer Montserrat Caballé . It is Mercury's second and last album recorded independently from Queen. It is named after the title song Barcelona, which was released as a single in 1987 . During the Summer Olympics in 1992 , half a year after Mercury's death, the album was re-released with a different cover. This reissue proved to be more commercially successful than the original edition. The album will no longer be reissued as a single CD in Europe. In 2000 it was released as part of the Freddie Mercury boxing sets The Solo Collection or Solo .
For the 25th anniversary, Barcelona - The Special Edition was released on September 3, 2012.
prehistory
Mercury, who had always been very interested in classical music and opera, visited the London Royal Opera House in 1981 , especially to see Luciano Pavarotti in the piece Un ballo in maschera by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi .
Caballé also had a role in this performance. After the concert, Mercury was enthusiastic about the Spanish opera singer; both her voice and her demeanor had fascinated him. The British rock star then bought some records from Montserrat Caballé.
When Mercury was asked on a Spanish radio show in 1986 which voice fascinated him the most, he surprisingly said: "Montserrat Caballé". Caballé had watched this interview, and her brother, who was also her manager, got in touch with Mercury's manager, Jim Beach, to propose that a classic themed song be recorded for the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. Mercury accepted the offer.
Mercury was tasked with writing some pieces with the assistance of Mike Moran , recording them as a demo and then presenting them to Caballé at a subsequent meeting.
When the first pieces were nearly finished, Mercury and Caballé met in a hotel in Barcelona to get to know each other and to listen to the newly composed pieces. The songs were in a very early stage at that point; nobody knew, for example, which melody could be used for an opening anthem for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. You just knew that the song should be called "Barcelona". After Caballé had listened to the demos and expressed her opinion on each one, Mercury suggested that she make an album straight away. Caballé agreed.
Mercury wrote the pieces. When Caballé gave a concert shortly afterwards in London that Mercury wanted to see in the audience, she spontaneously called him on stage and they performed Exercises In Free Love (later Ensueño ), a piece that Cabellé rehearsed very well, to Mercury's surprise would have. This is how the public found out about the project. After this concert, Caballé visited Mercury at home, at the Garden Lodge. The two got on wonderfully and worked together on many of their songs in one night.
Mercury wrote more pieces and perfected the existing ones. For Ensueño he asked Caballé to contribute the text.
The recordings
When all the pieces were finished, Mercury faced the problem that Caballé was scheduled for a long time in advance. It was difficult to find more than two days a month when she wasn't busy. So Mercury and Moran recorded the songs in full (with his voice but without Montserrat's) and then sent them to Caballé. She listened to them and then went to London on her few days off to record her voice.
Shortly before the album was released, Mercury and Caballé performed at La Nit for the arrival of the Olympic flag in Barcelona.
Track list
- Barcelona (Mercury, Moran) - 5:37
- La Japonaise (Mercury, Moran) - 4:49
- The Fallen Priest (Mercury, Moran; Rice) - 5:46
- Ensueño (Mercury, Moran; Caballé) - 4:21
- The Golden Boy (Mercury, Moran; Rice) - 6:04
- Guide Me Home (Mercury, Moran) - 2:49
- How Can I Go On (Mercury, Moran) - 3:51
- Overture Piccante (Mercury, Moran) - 6:39
The title Barcelona differs from the 1987 single version (about 4:25 minutes long) by a longer intro.
Description of individual titles
Barcelona
Barcelona was with many other songs on the arrival of the Olympic flag in 1988 by Mercury and Caballe in Playback listed. Mercury reportedly had vocal problems at the time. It was planned that both would perform the song at the Olympic opening ceremony four years later. Mercury's death in 1991 prevented this. The song describes the admiration Mercury has for Caballé. It was the only song that was released as a single outside of the UK. The single was first released before the album was released in 1987 and again in 1992 after Mercury's death.
La Japonaise
In this song, Freddie Mercury expresses his admiration for everything Japanese. The text was translated into Japanese and transcribed especially for the two singers.
Ensueño
This song, which was originally called Exercises in Free Love , was translated into Spanish by Caballé. This is the only song in which Mercury sings in his natural voice, the baritone.
The Golden Boy
One of the gospel songs on the album. It was one of the three British single releases.
Overture Picante
This song is the album's overture - in the style of a potpourri overture. The most important melodies of the album (as is usually the case with operas and operettas ) were "mixed together" here.
How Can I Go On?
This song was created with the participation of Freddie's band colleague John Deacon . He was one of the three British single releases.
literature
- Peter Freestone, David Evans: Freddie Mercury. An Intimate Memoir by the Man Who Knew Him Best. Omnibus Press, London 2001, ISBN 0-7119-8674-6 .