Queen Rock Montreal (2CD)

Queen Rock Montreal (2CD)
Customer Review: Aggressive
This is an aggressive Queen live set with with first 10 or so songs played at breakneck speed. The DVD commentary offers explanations for this (the gigs were one-offs, and there was friction between the band and the filming crew). The fast and furious playing is great to hear from a band who are sometimes criticised for being too precise. The guitar playing and drums sound great, but are sometimes a little rushed as a result.

The singing however is amazing. Freddie’s voice seemed to get rougher from 1980 to 1986 (maybe as a result of smoking), but here it is perfect – clear and liquid, yet slightly frayed around the edges.

The highlights are “Let me entertain you” for it’s sheer pace and aggression, “Killer Queen” for the variations on the vocal, “Keep Yourself Alive” (which unlike all the other songs is played at something closer to the pace of the original recording), the best rendition of “Love of My Life” that I have heard, and the two tracks from “Flash” (which are missing from the DVD).

The reason for the 4 stars is that despite all the band’s efforts, there is so little interaction with the crowd.

Customer Review: Long overdue gem from their Royal Highnesses
You have to remember when listening to this fantastic album that there are only four guys on stage playing absolutely everything themselves here which just doesn’t happen these days. That would change from the next tour onwards with the introduction of a keyboard player to allow Freddie more time to run around the stage and interact with his audience. First off, the musicianship is outstanding on this release as is the sound quality. It really does sound like it was recorded yesterday – and what a novelty to have a full live version of Flash and The Hero! But what I have always loved about Queen’s visit to Montreal is the sheer power of Freddie Mercury’s voice. Too often live artists cop out on the high notes but not here – check out Somebody To Love to see what I mean. Fred really goes for it on these songs (which Brian and Roger even mention in the audio commentary of the DVD). Anyone who doesn’t ‘get’ Queen should buy this disc to see what all the fuss is about. Forget any preconceptions you might have about the band and really listen to this concert. Who else puts on a show like this? This is the last concert Queen played as a foursome, they were at their peak of worldwide popularity with recent number one hits in Britain and the USA and Hot Space had yet to rear its well intentioned though ultimately misguided head. Simply wonderful. Sure Milton Keynes was a terrific gig but you can tell they band are a little frazzled after two years of non stop touring and were ready for a break. So if you really want to see Queen on fire then look no further than Montreal.

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