Queen 40 [Box set]

I'll not bother lording over how great Queen were - any fan can spend hours going over the different albums, songs and how great each individual musician is/was. Instead I'll focus on this particular reissue set. The packaging is very nice - first 5 CDs with bonus discs housed in the dark blue box with gold logo, lettering and trim. Box doesn't look or feel cheap like some of the American issues do. There are two inserts included so the 5 discs are housed well and don't slide around - each insert can be removed so as you add the forthcoming releases to the box you have room to expand. No booklets or inserts included with the box, just the original albums and artwork. Some sort of booklet with career encompassing live shots would have been a nice addition. The discs are housed in a type of jewel box I've seen before but is not common here in America - not sure what to call it. I was disappointed that all the spokes that hold the CDs in place inside the jewel boxes were broken. The CDs were fine as there really isn't room for them to slide around even with the broken spokes but I have to be careful when opening especially when removing the bonus disc as these can easily fall out (I should know as it happened twice before I figured it out). The bonus tracks, while nice to have, are somewhat inconsequential. There are some acapella mixes, instrumental versions, live versions, etc. scattered across the five bonus discs. Highlights would likely include the 1971 demos for songs on the first album, the live cuts from Hammersmith, Hyde Park and Earls Court all from the mid 70s and the BBC sessions from 74. It's a mixed bag for sure with the oddest bonus track going to Sheer Heart Attack's In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited - I get that the original song is on that album but using the version from the 1986 Live At Wembley show isn't staying within the original release date time frame - I suppose there is no live version of that song from around the same time the album was released? I'd like to see more live material from the tours for these albums in regard to bonus tracks - there is an excellent live version of It's Late taken from the BBC that will hopefully make it on the News Of The World bonus disc. As for the remastering, the sound quality is very nice. I've not yet had time to compare them to older versions I have but they certainly seemed very vibrant sounding as I listened to them. Other than the minor quibbles, a nice set overall and recommended.

REVISED/ADDED 7/12/11 - extremely disappointed in the second batch of reissues that go in the box. First, there is apparently some issue with the Flash Gordon soundtrack as it is currently not available (apparently someone reported a problem with it and it is being "investigated" - but that's been going on since the release date and still not available). Overall, this batch of reissues stands up to the first - some rare tracks missing, some cool stuff included, some throwaway tracks that should have not been included but my biggest complaint is that this batch is not packaged consistently like the first batch. I got different type of jewel boxes than what they used on the first reissues thus they don't offer a consistent look when placed in the display boz - a small quibble I know BUT if you are going to try and do a catalog justice as well as a band that deserves this sort of treatment, shouldn't the record label strive to make it the best package possible, especially for the money. Queen rocks but the reissue campaign leaves something to be desired so far.