Queen Announce ‘Queen II’ Collector’s Edition — and Fans Are Ready to Relive It All

Queen have announced a newly remixed, remastered, and expanded Collector’s Edition of their second studio album, Queen II, reaffirming the record’s status as one of the most daring statements of their early career.

Originally released on March 8, 1974, Queen II was recorded at Trident Studios in Soho with producer Roy Thomas Baker. Frequently described as the band’s heaviest and most ambitious album, it reached No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart and peaked at No. 49 on the Billboard 200, cementing Queen’s growing reputation on both sides of the Atlantic.

A Defining Creative Leap

Looking back, guitarist Brian May describes the album as a turning point. “Queen II was the single biggest leap we ever made,” he says. “That’s when we really started making music the way we wanted to, rather than the way we were being pushed into recording it.”

Drummer Roger Taylor recalls the sheer scale of the work involved. “With Queen II, I couldn’t believe how much work we put into it,” he says. “I think we felt we were evolving our own sound. We were pioneering this sort of multitracking thing. It gave you a tremendous palette — massive choral effects with just three of us singing.”

That experimentation helped establish Queen’s distinctive blend of hard rock, theatricality, and layered vocal arrangements, elements that would later define their global success.

Inside the 2026 Collector’s Edition

The forthcoming 2026 release arrives as an expansive five-CD plus two-LP box set. Alongside a newly created stereo mix, the collection includes rare “fly-on-the-wall” studio recordings, previously unheard demos and outtakes, live performances, and BBC radio sessions.

A major highlight is the Sessions CD, which features a completely unreleased alternate version of every track from the album. These recordings capture false starts, guide vocals, minor mistakes, and candid studio banter, offering fans an unusually intimate look at Queen’s creative process during the original Trident sessions.

The set is completed by a 112-page book containing unseen photographs, handwritten lyrics, diary entries, and memorabilia, accompanied by new reflections from the band on the making of the album.

Reassessing a Misunderstood Classic

May describes the new stereo mix as “quite adventurous,” adding, “Rendering the impossible complexity of these tracks, the new clarity is astounding.” He reflects on the album’s initial reception, noting, “When Queen II came out a lot of people thought we’d forsaken rock music… All we could say was, give it another listen — it’s all layered, it’s a new approach.”

Decades later, that approach has earned new respect. “Nowadays people say, ‘Why don’t you play like Queen II?’” May says. “It’s not perfect — it has the excesses of youth — but I think that was our biggest single step ever.”

Taylor agrees, emphasizing its lasting importance. “I don’t think the album sounds like anyone else,” he says. “We gained a mental identity, a group identity, and we were just doing what we did.”

With this comprehensive reissue, Queen II is no longer simply a transitional album in Queen’s catalog, but a bold artistic statement whose ambition continues to resonate — a reminder of the moment when the band learned not just how to write songs, but how to inhabit their own creative universe fully.

Queen II: Collector’s Edition 2026 Mix (5CD+2LP)
CD1: Queen II – 2026 Mix
1. Procession
2. Father To Son
3. White Queen (As It Began)
4. Some Day One Day
5. The Loser in the End
6. Ogre Battle
7. The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke
8. Nevermore
9. The March of the Black Queen
10. Funny How Love Is
11. Seven Seas Of Rhye

CD2: Queen II – Sessions
1. Procession (Stage Intro Tape – April 1973)
2. Father To Son (Takes 4 & 9 – with Guide Vocal)
3. As It Began (Brian’s Studio Demo – October 1969)
4. Some Day One Day (Take 1 – with Guide Vocals)
5. The Loser In The End (Roger’s First Demo)
6. The Loser In The End (Roger’s Second Demo)
7. Ogre Battle (Takes 2 & 6 – with Guide Vocal)
8. The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke (Takes 4 & 9)
9. Nevermore (Take 6)
10. The March Of The Black Queen (First Section Takes 3 & 5)
11. The March Of The Black Queen (Second Section Take 1)
12. Funny How Love Is (Take 4)
13. Seven Seas Of Rhye (Takes 4, 5 & 6)
14. I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside (Take 4)
15. See What A Fool I’ve Been (B-side Version 2026 Mix)
16. Not For Sale (Polar Bear)

CD3: Queen II – Backing Tracks
1. Procession
2. Father To Son
3. White Queen (As It Began)
4. Some Day One Day
5. The Loser in the End
6. Ogre Battle
7. The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke
8. Nevermore
9. The March of the Black Queen
10. Funny How Love Is
11. Seven Seas Of Rhye

CD4: Queen II – At The BBC
1. See What a Fool I’ve Been (BBC Session 2, July 1973 – 2011 Mix)
2. Ogre Battle (BBC Session 3, December 1973)
3. Nevermore (BBC Session 4, April 1974)
4. White Queen (As It Began) (BBC Session 4, April 1974)
5. Procession – Intro Tape (Live at Golders Green Hippodrome, 13th September 1973)
6. Father To Son (Live at Golders Green Hippodrome, 13th September 1973)
7. Son And Daughter (Live at Golders Green Hippodrome, 13th September 1973)
8. Guitar Solo (Live at Golders Green Hippodrome, 13th September 1973)
9. Son And Daughter – Reprise (Live at Golders Green Hippodrome, 13th September 1973)
10. Ogre Battle (Live at Golders Green Hippodrome, 13th September 1973)
11. Liar (Live at Golders Green Hippodrome, 13th September 1973)
12. Jailhouse Rock (Live at Golders Green Hippodrome, 13th September 1973)

CD5: Queen II – Live
1. Procession – Intro Tape (Live at the Rainbow, March 1974)
2. Father To Son (Live at the Rainbow, March 1974)
3. Ogre Battle (Live at the Rainbow, March 1974)
4. White Queen (As It Began) (Live at the Hammersmith Odeon, December 1975)
5. The March Of The Black Queen (Live at the Rainbow, March 1974)
6. The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke (Live at the Rainbow, March 1974)
7. Seven Seas Of Rhye (Live at the Rainbow, March 1974)
8. See What A Fool I’ve Been (Live at the Rainbow, March 1974)

LP1: Queen II – 2026 Mix (Side White)
1. Procession
2. Father To Son
3. White Queen (As It Began)
4. Some Day One Day
5. The Loser in the End

LP2: Queen II – 2026 Mix (Side Black)
1. Ogre Battle
2. The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke|
3. Nevermore
4. The March of the Black Queen
5. Funny How Love Is
6. Seven Seas Of Rhye

Additional Formats
2x CD: Queen II: Deluxe Edition
CD1: Queen II – 2026 Mix
CD2: Queen II – Sessions

1x CD: Queen II – 2026 Mix CD

1x LP Queen II – 2026 Mix

1x LP Queen II: Picture Disc – 2026 Mix
Queen Online Exclusive

1x Cassette: Queen II – 2026 Mix
Queen Online Exclusive