MICHAEL JACKSON & FREDDIE MERCURY '83 DEMOS PLUS M.J./QUEEN MASHUP! (R.I.P. Michael Jackson)

Michael Jackson joining Freddie Mercury in Pop Star Heaven seems an opportune moment to post the two demo tracks co-written and recorded by the legendary singers in 1983, first leaked online 7 years ago. The collaboration was mentioned in Queen guitarist Brian May's statement on Jackson's death yesterday.

Needless to say, neither track was ever released, probably with good reason...

"There Must Be More to Life Than This" is a rather soppy, power-ish ballad, somewhat reminiscent of Queen's earlier "Save Me" and later "Is This the World We Created?," only not half as good as either. Mercury's own version would appear on his first solo album.

"State of Shock" is the dumb dance number which Jackson later reworked with Mick Jagger for the Jacksons' penultimate album, 1984's lousy Victory. (The Victory Tour, on the other hand...well, suffice it to say I was about a mile from the stage at RFK Stadium that night in September 1984, but still. I.Was.There.)

So check the tracks out and judge for yourself; direct links are below. Listening to them 25 years on, I note the irony that, in death, Freddie Mercury was pushed off the coveted cover of Rolling Stone by...Michael Jackson:

(Although Freddie probably never would have made the cover anyway, given the total lack of attention, much less respect, Queen got from RS when he was, y'know, alive.)

Finally, last but not hardly least comes "Jacko Under Pressure", a magnificent mashup of Jackson's "Rock with You" and Queen's "Under Pressure" created by Mark Vidler of Go Home Productions. It's very likely my favorite mashup of all time.

R.I.P. Michael, R.I.P. Freddie...now r-i-p these while you can.

MICHAEL JACKSON AND FREDDIE MERCURY
Studio demo recordings, 1983
"State of Shock"
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"There Must Be More to Life Than This"
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GO HOME PRODUCTIONS
Michael Jackson/Queen mashup, 2003
"Jacko Under Pressure"
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ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS - Essen, Germany 1983

From one King to another: Monday night's fantastic in-store at Amoeba Hollywood reminded me of how much I love that other Elvis...

My man did a full, rocking 70-minute set -- including spirited covers of "Friend of the Devil" and "Not Fade Away" -- yet only berated the sound guy once! (To be precise, Elvis called the poor kid onstage and then, just out of mic range, yelled "This sounds fucking horrible!") Don't let the new mandolin-and-fiddle sounds or jaunty hipster wardrobe fool you; our old Elvis can still be as pissy as ever.

By the way: from where I stood, it sounded fucking brilliant!

So grab another superduper show right here, an expansive FM broadcast from the German TV show Rockpalast. Loaded with sassy tunes from 1983's brassy Punch the Clock album, more from my personal faves Trust and Imperial Bedroom, plus a few hits, oldies and covers, this is certainly one of the essential Costello boots in any collection.

Long live the (Other) King!

ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS "Rockpalast '83"
Grugahalle - Essen, Germany - October 15, 1983 (FMB @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3

ELVIS PRESLEY - Greensboro, NC 1972

I'm just rolling with my current '69-through-early-'70s live Elvis obsession, so I figure why not take y'all along for the ride?

This concert boot may be of even higher quality than the first one, since was it was originally recorded for the 1972 documentary Elvis on Tour, The King's last-ever film, a Golden Globe-winner no less, though it still remains unreleased on DVD. Here's hoping that long-lost doc undergoes the same loving restoration lavished upon its predecessor, 1970's riveting That's the Way It Is.

At any rate, this is a magnificent performance and a tremendously crisp, dynamic, CD-quality soundboard recording. Read all about it here and here, then download it...you know where!

ELVIS PRESLEY "A Greensboro Revolution!"
Greensboro Coliseum - Greensboro, NC - April 14, 1972 (SBD)
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P.S. For top-notch '69 Vegas Elvis, head for Heavy Sugar Radio!

ELVIS PRESLEY - Las Vegas, 1973

Any man who tries to tell me I ain't allowed to post up The King on my own damn blog once in awhile...

(and don't you get offended, Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm talkin' to somebody else)

...if I find or hear the individual that has said that about me, I'm gonna break your goddamn neck, you sonofabitch! I will pull your goddamn tongue out by the ROOTS!

Thankyaverymuch. Anyway.

ELVIS PRESLEY "Vegas Rhythm" {Dinner Show}
Hilton Hotel - Las Vegas, NV - February 3, 1973 (SBD)
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METALLICA - Fresno, CA 2008

Why?

Because it's been four months since I done posted any Metallica, when I put up the 12/17/08 and 12/18/08 shows from L.A.'s Fabulous Forum.

Because this is another damn jolly good concert from the still-going strong World Magnetic Tour.

Because I just love saying the phrase "Save Mart Center in Fresno."

So let me repeat:

METALLICA
Save Mart Center - Fresno, CA - December 13, 2008 (SBD)
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PINK FLOYD - "BBC Archives 1970-1971"

This one was just too fine to resist. An expanded 2-disc version of the Floyd BBC boot I posted here last month, "BBC Archives 1970-1971" has to be one of the best boots I've ever posted. It's almost overwhelming, hearing these two complete performances together with intros and announcements and the rest...so what was great is now perfect!

Both shows were recorded at the BBC Paris Cinema theatre in London about one year apart, the first a few months before the release of 1970's too-far-out Atom Heart Mother, and the second just before the magnificently mad monolith that is Meddle (1971).

As in the earlier post, audio here is pure FM-broadcast, 320 kbps, CD-quality loveliness. It's amazing to me that, alone among major British bands of the 1960s and '70s, Floyd has never officially released any of their BBC session material...but hey, who cares? Dig, we got the freaky stuff right here, maaan -- from "Embryo" to "Echoes".

And, for the equally great 1967-'69 edition of Floyd at the Beeb, check out my other, '60s-centric blog, Heavy Sugar Radio.

PINK FLOYD "BBC Archives 1970-1971"
BBC Paris Cinema - London, England
July 16, 1970 and September 30, 1971 (FMB @ 320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2 / DOWNLOAD 3 / DOWNLOAD 4