Queen - Keep Yourself Alive (Guitar Track)

Artist: Queen Song: Keep Yourself Alive (Guitar Track From Studio) Recordings for "Queen" Year: 1973 Keep Yourself Alive is the first song Brian May wrote for Queen. According to Mark Hodkinson, author of Queen: The Early Years, "Keep Yourself Alive" was conceived on acoustic guitars during Queen&practice sessions at Imperial College and the garden at Ferry Road in 1970.[4] 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&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 May answered it. This demo version remains May&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 is the one released as a single. It includes Mercury doing all of the harmony vocals in the chorus (multi-tracking himself...