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In between legs of Queen’s tours in 1980, drummer Roger Taylor spent time at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland, making his first solo recordings since the release of the 1977 single “I Wanna Testify.” Those recordings would make up his first solo album, 1981’s Fun in Space.
The Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame member produced, wrote and performed the entire project himself, with only “approximately 50 per cent of keyboards” being handled by engineer David Richards. Omnivore Recordings is excited to follow up their releases of the hits collection Best and box-set career overview The Lot with this expanded version of the CD, and its first vinyl reissue in decades. Street date for both titles is March 24, 2015.
The Fun in Space LP will be reissued on vinyl for the time since its 1981 release. The first run will be on clear vinyl (with black vinyl to follow) and contains a reproduction of the original album’s full color inner sleeve with lyrics. The CD version, housed in a digipak, contains three bonus tracks: both sides of Taylor’s 1977 solo offering (“I Wanna Testify” b/w “Turn on the TV”) and the U.K. single version of the album’s “My Country I & II” (issued as “My Country”).
A few months after Queen released The Works (featuring the Roger Taylor-penned smash “Radio Ga Ga”), Taylor unleashed his second solo album, Strange Frontier. While pieces were recorded in Munich while Queen was recording The Works, Taylor also worked on the material in Switzerland. He once again handled the vast majority of instruments and vocals, but took advantage of the time in Munich with Queen, with his three bandmates making guest appearances on tracks. Strange Frontier also contains a co-write and guitar work from Status Quo’s Rick Parfitt, plus covers of Bruce Springsteen’s “Racing in the Street” and Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War.” Production duties were handled by Taylor, engineer David Richards and Mack — with whom Queen had worked since 1980’s The Game.
Strange Frontier will be reissued on translucent red vinyl for the first pressing (black vinyl for future runs) with all original packaging elements replicated. The CD, contained in a digipak, features five bonus tracks: remixes of the album’s singles “Man on Fire,” “I Cry for You (Love, Hope and Confusion)” and “Strange Frontier.” It also contains the B-side to the title cut, “Two Sharp Pencils (Get Bad).”
With this material currently only available in the 10 CD/1 DVD collection The Lot, this is the first time versions of the individual albums will be offered outside of that package. Omnivore Recordings is proud to continue the reintroduction of Roger Taylor’s solo material, as he continues to announce himself to sold-out crowds during the Queen + Adam Lambert shows across the world. Nothing strange about that frontier at all.
Track Listings:
Fun in Space
No Violins
Laugh or Cry
Future Management
My Country I & II
Good Times Are Now
Magic Is Loose
Interlude in Constantinople
Airheads
Fun in Space
CD Bonus Tracks:
I Wanna Testify
Turn on the TV
My Country (Single Version)
Strange Frontier
Strange Frontier
Beautiful Dreams
Man on Fire
Racing in the Street
Masters of War
Killing Time
Abandonfire
Young Love
It’s an Illusion
I Cry for You
CD bonus Tracks:
Man on Fire (Extended Version)
I Cry for You (Single Remix)
Strange Frontier (Extended Remix)
I Cry for You (Extended Remix)
Two Sharp Pencils (Get Bad)
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