Tenement Funster/Flick of the Wrist/ Lily of the Valley

[jcmistat]

The cover part of BC/SL was great.

The covers and the instrumentals are phenomenal.

the covers are brilliant. lily of the valley a "hairfinger" are my favorite. i also strongly prefer the instrumental version of the album over the regular one (except best of times).

I think the instrumentals would have been better if they included the solos.  Not sure why they didn't.

Yeah why did they leave out the solos? 

[iamtheeviltwin]

I believe out of a sense of "fairness" for not including JLB...just my opinion though.

[Orbert]

I agree, it would've been cooler, but at the same time kinda strange to have everything except the vocals.  Basically Karaoke versions of the songs.  I would even guess that they might have realized that at some point.  "Instrumental" versions don't necessarily means Karaoke versions, although I'm not sure what exactly the difference would be.  It very well could have been seen as a slap in James' face, or a kiss-up to all those who say they love everything about DT except the vocals.

They said something to the effect that they wanted to include something different, and this is what they came up with.  It's cool, but yeah, if the solos were all there, then I'd probably listen to them more.

[Bardic Tortoise]

I don't think it has anything to do with fairness or not wanting to produce karaoke versions. I always thought it had something to do with the way the tracks are recorded and at what stage those instrumentals were saved as separate. I believe they lay down everything but the solos first and then come back and lay them in.

That said, with everything being digital these days, I'm sure they could just as easily have included the tracks with solos and without vox, so I have no idea.

Any people who work in recording studios want to shed some light?

[BlobVanDam]

I figured the solos were left out so it could make a backing track for guitarists, as well as vocalists. Also, the vocals and solos are the most upfront, so this way people can hear what's behind those to learn them or just hear what's going on.
I always think of the instrumental versions of a bonus for musicians, rather than something you'd really listen to just like the album.

[cramx3]

This cover was great, while I am a fan on Queen, I dont own any albums and have never heard these songs, but from listening to DT, you can tell they totally nail the Queen vibe. 

Also, the entire idea of doing the cover songs and slowly releasing them digitally before the album came out was great.  One of many cool things DT have done for their fans.

[WildeSilas]

Wait, you're a fan of Queen but have never heard Tenement Funster or Flick of the Wrist? 

[cramx3]

I should clarify... I have thier greatest hits and a dvd of a concert, those songs are not on them so I am not familiar with them.