Though the appeal of posthumous releases is sketchy at best – see Michael Jackson for evidence – it appears as if Queen is actively working on a new album featuring previously unheard vocals from late frontman Freddie Mercury.
The legendary singer, who died of AIDS in 1991, will be featured in what guitarist Brian May is calling a compilation album mainly featuring material recorded in the 80s. May revealed the details in an interview with BBC Radio.
“I’ve just been doing something very similar because we found a few more tracks with Freddie singing and all of us playing and they’re quite beautiful,” he said. “People will be hearing this work toward the end of the year.”
“It’s a compilation but it will have this new material on which nobody in the world has ever heard and I think people will really enjoy it,” May continued. “It’s the big, big epic sound. It wouldn’t have been if we hadn’t have done this restoration job. We only had scraps, but knowing how it would’ve happened had we finished it, I can sit there and make it happen with modern technology.”
Producer William Orbit, known for his work with Madonna, confirmed that he is involved in the project on Twitter. “definitely working with QUEEN,” he wrote. “Amazing songs. That’s all I’m sayin 4 now. Watch this space.”
Queen is currently on tour with Adam Lambert.
