Queen Rock Montreal (2CD) Review

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(More customer reviews)Being a Queen fanatic, I buy anything "new." But I was reluctant, at first, to purchase yet another live album from them. Especially since I saw this concert when it was calleed "We Will Rock You." I know that Brian May said that they had completely cleaned it up and raised the standard of the audio and video. I have yet to see the DVD, but I can say that Brian and the crew did an AWESOME job of it. And more than that, the actual performance is the BEST of all of the live stuff they've put out. I thought Live at the Bowl was A+. Well, this show is A+++.
There are some super gems on here. "Love of My Life" is sung completely by Freddie, which is a very rare thing. He doesn't seem happy about it, though. "They don't know it," he declares after singing the first verse. "That's all right," Brian responds, and then Freddie gives on of the best live vocal performances I've heard from him. "Save Me" is wonderful, completely topping the Bowl performance. I really think Queen were totally on because they were well rested (these two shows were a "one off" because they weren't on tour any more). "Under Pressure" "Let me Entertain You" "Flash (ACTUALLY live, not a tape) and "Play The Game" are all standouts.
My only gripe, and it's small, since the tracks sound great, is I do get weary of "We Will Rock You" "We Are the Champions" "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Bohemian Rhapsody." Though, as I said, the tracks sound great, there are so many other great versions of these songs on other live albums. I think Brian said something about re-doing the Budapest concert next, and I really hope he doesn't. We have FAR too many post-Jazz live shows. I think there needs to be some News of the World Tour live album or something. I'd love to hear a remastered concert with "It's Late" or "March of the Black Queen." I know it probably won't happen anytime soon.I won't hold it against this Montreal concert, however, because I really loved it. I hope you will, too. A must have!

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July 21, 1982..the Rock n America tour...The Montreal Forum.A legendary night, a legendary concert, a legendary band - Queen performing their last North American tour with their original lineup Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon.The recording, long whispered about in chat rooms and bulletin boards, languished in music lawyer hell until earlier this year.Under the eagle eyes of the band, the album has been sequenced, mixed and mastered to the highest possible contemporary standards.It now stands in the pantheon, not just of great Queen live albums, but of the great live rock albums.

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News of the World Review

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(More customer reviews)Come 1977, the rock music world took some drastic turns. We witnessed the glory days of progressive rock, which started around the late 60s, and the creativity exhibited in that period seemed to only blossom and intensify up until the mid-70s. Ambitions were the order of the day, and it seemed like many bands - more or less - were trying to outdo one another in terms of technical prowess, intelligent lyrics, orchestral ambition and/or originality. However, the hyper-ambitious, long-winded, intelligent (some would say pompous) art that was popular shortly before began to wear thin, as many music fans wanted things to return to it's raw, dirty (and simple) roots.
The punks seem to appear on the scene at the right time to bring rock back to it's dangerous and dirty roots. The Sex Pistols seemed to be the band who led the charge, and guys like Johnny Rotten (frontman of the Pistols) and Joey Ramone (The Ramones) have verbally attacked Yes, Pink Floyd, Queen, and several others of the art-rock ilk for their long-winded arrangements, grand ambitions and fantasy/cosmic/literary material. (One of the members of the Sex Pistols wore a t-shirt that read the words, "I hate Pink Floyd," while another member reportedly had a brief bit of words with Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, as a few reviews below state.)
1977 also saw genres like disco, and what many call "corporate" rock, running wild. While bands like Yes and Pink Floyd continued to release "long-winded" material, Queen took an entirely different approach. Making art-rock albums since their inception, their creativity culminated with the ambitious, diverse and operatic A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1975), and it's stripped-down, but no less ambitious companion A DAY AT THE RACES (1976). So, on NEWS OF THE WORLD, Queen wisely chose to cut down on the sophisticated operatic arrangements, and focus their attention on a more straightforward, harder-edged album -- with attitude. They basically dropped the "art" rock, and made more "hard" rock this time out. Complex arrangements are still present, but are so subtle, some may not recognize them.
But Queen's well-known diversity still remains intact. You get Latin-infused, elegant numbers like "Who Needs You," bluesy workouts like Brian May's "Sleeping On the Sidewalk," in which he also performs the lead vocal, sophisticated piano-driven pop numbers like "All Dead, All Dead," a song written for Brian May's deceased cat I believe, and an elegant late-night jazz workout on Freddie Mercury's "My Melancholy Blues." The versatility of this band was simply awe-inspiring, and possibly the envy of many.
Now that all of that's out of the way, Queen ROCKS with the rest of the tracks. Everyone knows "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions." The latter exhibits brilliant arrangements - not to mention the apparent 12/8 time (7+5?) - which may be obfuscated for it's overplaying time on the radio. "Sheer Heart Attack" (not to be confused with the album of the same name) is just a lethal super-heavy monster. A fast-paced, supercharged heavy-hitter which may be able to induce a heart attack if played too loudly. There may also be a biting jab made toward the punks in one of the lyrics ("I feel so in-ar, in-ar, in-ar...ticulate.") Written by drummer Roger Taylor, he shares the vocal with Freddie Mercury, as well as contributing bass and rhythm guitar parts, which give the track it's extra heaviness. The prog rock epic of the album, however, is "It's Late," a love tale written by Brian May, and written in three parts (or scenes), and features an explosive John Bonhamesque drum solo at the end. I'll be the first to mention that the comparisons some people (and critics) make between Queen and Led Zeppelin are atrociously ridiculous, inaccurate and shallow (Queen sounded like nobody but themselves to me), but this part of the song is the closest Queen ever got to resembling Zeppelin.
With this album, Queen would abandon their unique brand of art rock for good. Is it ironic that the cover art of this album shows a gigantic robot killing the members of Queen? Was it a symbol that the operatic, original "queen" was no more? Or, was it purely coincidental? They would not make music resembling their 70s material for years to come (even if the small resurgences were slightly transformed.) NEWS OF THE WORLD is 70s Queen at their most straightforward and heavy. Highly recommended.

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Japanese remastered (2001 digital remastering) reissue of 1977 album packaged in a miniature LP gatefold sleeve, features 11 tracks. Virgin. 2004.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Live Magic Review

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(More customer reviews)This disc was the 2nd live offering from Queen after QUEEN LIVE KILLERS was made in the late seventies.
I like it a lot and prefer this to Live at Wembley and even the recent On Fire, all of which are double sets.
Here's why - although it's edited - the performances are sterling. Versions of One Vision, Tie Your Mother Down and Radio Gaga are great.
No disagreements that Bohemian sounds butchered but the album moves along at a nice pace. It feels tighter. Worth getting for the songs unless you must have a complete double set of Queen in concert.
I will say that the definitive live Queen set is probably still in the vaults waiting to be released...

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