Smile (with Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen)
A new edition of Queen's 1974 sophomore album Queen II is expected before the end of 2026. While speaking about the reissue on his Planet Rock Christmas radio special in the U.K. on December 22nd, Queen guitarist Brian May played a previously unreleased outtake from the album, titled "Not For Sale (Polar Bear)", which will be one of the bonus tracks on the new edition of Queen II. Here is the snippet of the program during which May played the song:
The song is a sensitive ballad about a Christmas decoration in a store window, written by May in 1969. May commented that the song was originally recorded by his pre-Queen band called Smile, and that the Smile version has been heard on bootlegs. However, the Smile version of the song was actually issued in Japan and the Netherlands on legitimate, if not exactly band-approved, releases.
First of all, who were Smile? Smile were a British progressive rock trio formed by college students Brian May and singer/bassist Tim Staffell in 1968. They soon added future Queen drummer Roger Taylor to their lineup, thus beginning the long friendship and creative partnership between May and Taylor. These three young musicians wanted their rock to be heavy like Hendrix, but the progressive rock trends of the time made them feel obligated to also show intellect and sensitivity. The trio had one single, "Earth", released on Mercury Records in the U.S. in 1969. But their lack of success caused Staffell to leave the band, after which he formed another short-lived trio called Humpy Bong (with former Bee Gees drummer Colin Petersen and Irish singer Jonathan Kelly). Staffell's college friend Farrokh Bulsara -- aka Freddie Mercury -- was eager to replace Staffell as the singer in Smile. It was Mercury who suggested that the band change their name to Queen. When bassist John Deacon was later added to the group, the classic Queen lineup was born.
In 1982, Mercury Records released an EP in Japan titled Gettin' Smile, which featured both of the tracks from Smile's lone single, along with four other tracks recorded by the trio in 1969 in anticipation of a full-length album. One of those songs is the earlier version of "Polar Bear", which sounds rather primitive and unrefined compared to the unearthed Queen version; in particular, May's lead vocal on the Smile version suffers in comparison to Mercury's on the Queen version. Still, the Smile version does have a certain psychedelic-era charm of its own. Another track, "Doin' Allright" (spelled that way) is another early version of a song later rerecorded by Queen, as "Doing All Right" for their self-titled 1973 debut album. Again, the Smile version works well on its own terms as a 1969 recording, with the band coming across as a Cream-like power trio, and with Staffell's more masculine vocals being nearly as impressive as Mercury's on the Queen version. Still, Queen's arena-rock version is undoubtedly superior, with its advanced studio refinement and more aggressive guitar sound. The other tracks on the EP include a slightly proto-Queen British pop-rock song ("April Lady"), and a heavy psych-blues jam ("Blag", written by Taylor). But the high points of the EP are the two tracks from the 1969 single, inexplicably placed at the end of the EP. The single's A-side, "Earth", was an epic prog ballad about space travel, well-written and sung by Staffell. That song has one brief Queen-like guitar passage, but it otherwise stands on its own as a distinctive work by a proper band, instead of a curiosity featuring two future stars. The single's B-side, "Step On Me", is the track that most obviously presaged Queen. Although it was a finished track, it comes across like a demo in retrospect, as if Staffell was simply providing a blueprint for the way Mercury could have sung the song. "Step On Me" was absolutely crying out for a rerecording by Queen -- but as far as we know, that rerecording didn't happen.
In 1997, the same six Smile tracks were released on CD in the Netherlands as Ghost Of A Smile, newly remastered with a different sequence (wisely putting the single's tracks first), cover art by Staffell, and liner notes by Staffell and magazine writer Andy Davis. It's a decent presentation of the EP, but the CD has an oddly chosen pair of bonus tracks: namely, two different versions of a 1976 U.K. single by singer/songwriter Eddie Howell. That single, "The Man From Manhattan", was produced by Freddie Mercury, who provided piano and backing vocals, and also featured Brian May on guitar. At its core, the song's sound is reminiscent of '60's sunshine pop, updated by the arena rock flourishes provided by the two Queen members. The problem is that Mercury's occasional background vocals easily upstage Howell's less striking leads, and May's guitar solo also steals the song from the artist. The second version of the song, titled "The Man From Manhattan (Back Again)", receives a more full-blown Queen-like treatment, and it works better, as Howell is allowed to sound like the star of his song, this time being built up by Mercury's and May's support instead of being outshined by them.
Smile "Earth" b/w "Step On Me" (Mercury single 72977) 1969
Track Listing:
a. Earth
b. Step On Me
Smile "Gettin' Smile" EP (Mercury 18PP-1) 1982
Track Listing:
1. Doin' Allright
2. Blag
3. April Lady
4. Polar Bear
5. Earth
6. Step On Me
Smile "Ghost Of A Smile" (Pseudonym CDP-1049-DD) 1997
Track Listing:
1. Earth
2. Step On Me
3. Doin' Allright
4. April Lady
5. Blag
6. Polar Bear
Bonus Tracks:
Eddie Howell (featuring Brian May & Freddie Mercury):
7. The Man From Manhattan (Original)
8. The Man From Manhattan (Back Again)
The song is a sensitive ballad about a Christmas decoration in a store window, written by May in 1969. May commented that the song was originally recorded by his pre-Queen band called Smile, and that the Smile version has been heard on bootlegs. However, the Smile version of the song was actually issued in Japan and the Netherlands on legitimate, if not exactly band-approved, releases.
First of all, who were Smile? Smile were a British progressive rock trio formed by college students Brian May and singer/bassist Tim Staffell in 1968. They soon added future Queen drummer Roger Taylor to their lineup, thus beginning the long friendship and creative partnership between May and Taylor. These three young musicians wanted their rock to be heavy like Hendrix, but the progressive rock trends of the time made them feel obligated to also show intellect and sensitivity. The trio had one single, "Earth", released on Mercury Records in the U.S. in 1969. But their lack of success caused Staffell to leave the band, after which he formed another short-lived trio called Humpy Bong (with former Bee Gees drummer Colin Petersen and Irish singer Jonathan Kelly). Staffell's college friend Farrokh Bulsara -- aka Freddie Mercury -- was eager to replace Staffell as the singer in Smile. It was Mercury who suggested that the band change their name to Queen. When bassist John Deacon was later added to the group, the classic Queen lineup was born.
In 1982, Mercury Records released an EP in Japan titled Gettin' Smile, which featured both of the tracks from Smile's lone single, along with four other tracks recorded by the trio in 1969 in anticipation of a full-length album. One of those songs is the earlier version of "Polar Bear", which sounds rather primitive and unrefined compared to the unearthed Queen version; in particular, May's lead vocal on the Smile version suffers in comparison to Mercury's on the Queen version. Still, the Smile version does have a certain psychedelic-era charm of its own. Another track, "Doin' Allright" (spelled that way) is another early version of a song later rerecorded by Queen, as "Doing All Right" for their self-titled 1973 debut album. Again, the Smile version works well on its own terms as a 1969 recording, with the band coming across as a Cream-like power trio, and with Staffell's more masculine vocals being nearly as impressive as Mercury's on the Queen version. Still, Queen's arena-rock version is undoubtedly superior, with its advanced studio refinement and more aggressive guitar sound. The other tracks on the EP include a slightly proto-Queen British pop-rock song ("April Lady"), and a heavy psych-blues jam ("Blag", written by Taylor). But the high points of the EP are the two tracks from the 1969 single, inexplicably placed at the end of the EP. The single's A-side, "Earth", was an epic prog ballad about space travel, well-written and sung by Staffell. That song has one brief Queen-like guitar passage, but it otherwise stands on its own as a distinctive work by a proper band, instead of a curiosity featuring two future stars. The single's B-side, "Step On Me", is the track that most obviously presaged Queen. Although it was a finished track, it comes across like a demo in retrospect, as if Staffell was simply providing a blueprint for the way Mercury could have sung the song. "Step On Me" was absolutely crying out for a rerecording by Queen -- but as far as we know, that rerecording didn't happen.
In 1997, the same six Smile tracks were released on CD in the Netherlands as Ghost Of A Smile, newly remastered with a different sequence (wisely putting the single's tracks first), cover art by Staffell, and liner notes by Staffell and magazine writer Andy Davis. It's a decent presentation of the EP, but the CD has an oddly chosen pair of bonus tracks: namely, two different versions of a 1976 U.K. single by singer/songwriter Eddie Howell. That single, "The Man From Manhattan", was produced by Freddie Mercury, who provided piano and backing vocals, and also featured Brian May on guitar. At its core, the song's sound is reminiscent of '60's sunshine pop, updated by the arena rock flourishes provided by the two Queen members. The problem is that Mercury's occasional background vocals easily upstage Howell's less striking leads, and May's guitar solo also steals the song from the artist. The second version of the song, titled "The Man From Manhattan (Back Again)", receives a more full-blown Queen-like treatment, and it works better, as Howell is allowed to sound like the star of his song, this time being built up by Mercury's and May's support instead of being outshined by them.
Smile "Earth" b/w "Step On Me" (Mercury single 72977) 1969
Track Listing:
a. Earth
b. Step On Me
Smile "Gettin' Smile" EP (Mercury 18PP-1) 1982
Track Listing:
1. Doin' Allright
2. Blag
3. April Lady
4. Polar Bear
5. Earth
6. Step On Me
Smile "Ghost Of A Smile" (Pseudonym CDP-1049-DD) 1997
Track Listing:
1. Earth
2. Step On Me
3. Doin' Allright
4. April Lady
5. Blag
6. Polar Bear
Bonus Tracks:
Eddie Howell (featuring Brian May & Freddie Mercury):
7. The Man From Manhattan (Original)
8. The Man From Manhattan (Back Again)
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