Until recently the only version of “Keep Yourself Alive” I knew was track 14 on the “Classic Queen” cd. Now that I think about it, this is the version that is played on the radio. However, today I heard the original version, track 1 on the “Queen” cd. There are quite a few differences between the original and the version I’m used to. Personally, I think the version on “Classic Queen” is better. Does this version appear anywhere else? I know “Classic Queen” is an American release; was the song remixed just for that one cd?
Does the version of the song on Classic Queen start with an acoustic guitar?
No. Also, it does not have the fade in that the version on “Queen” has.
I’d have to hear them to note the differences you believe you are hearing, but AFAIK there were only ever 2 recorded versions (studio recordings, I mean) of that song. The first was a demo recorded in 1971 (this has the acoustic intro) and the next was the version on Queen.
I know that there were several different sessions where the band recorded the song during the making of Queen, but as far as I know the only one of those that ever saw the light of day was the version that made it to the album.
How long is the version you are listening to?
There’s this version that sounds a bit different than the demo or the one on Queen:
A quick look at the album on amazon.com shows that the song is 3:47, which is the same length as the version on Queen.
It turns out that there are several version of this song, but everything I can find seems to indicate that the same version was used on Classic Queen as was found on their first album, Queen.
Should you (or anyone else) need more Queen information, check out www.queenpedia.com.
Here is the page for Keep Yourself Alive.
That’s the version I hear on the copy of Queen I was listening to earlier; which prompted my OP. However, with your guys’ help and further research, it appears that the version on Classic Queen is the correct version. I don’t know why this copy of Queen has the Long Lost Retake as the opening track. Strange…
In case you’re wondering… I’m in the process of completing my Queen collection. I’m converting everything to mp3, buying what I need, and wanted to make sure I had correct copies of all the tracks.
If I were you, I’d search around the queenpedia site and if you can’t find a definitive answer there, send them an email about it. I know that sometimes the UK and US pressings can be different (see The Clash), but everything I’ve read about this song says only the 1 version was pressed for both sides of the pond.