In November 1981, with Under Pressure topping the charts in the UK, Queen arrived in Montreal following dates in Japan and their record-breaking tour of Latin America. It was to be the only concert by Queen that was ever shot on film. Always a great live band, with arguably the greatest frontman of all time in Freddie Mercury, they excelled themselves with the cameras rolling. The picture has been digitally restored from the original film and the sound has been newly mixed and mastered for DTS Surround Sound and PCM Stereo from the original multitrack tapes.
Following their record-breaking South American tour, the Montreal shows on 24 and 25 November 1981 were to be the only concerts by Queen ever shot on film - indeed they were the first group to shoot an entire show in full cinema format 35mm. These releases offer the best ever sound and picture quality on a Queen concert release. Always a great live band, with two years non-stop touring behind them and Freddie Mercury in front of them, Queen excelled themselves with the cameras rolling. The footage has been digitally restored from the original film and the sound has been newly mixed and mastered for DTS Surround Sound and PCM Stereo from the original multi-track tapes.
"Hello Montreal...long time no see. You wanna get crazy?" asks Freddie as the band tear into their alternative 'fast' version of We Will Rock You, and from there on Queen show their hard rock roots, slowing down only for Love of My Life and the more mid-tempo Under Pressure, notably being performed live for the first time in this concert.
Tracklisting
Intro
We Will Rock You (Fast)
Let Me Entertain You
Play The Game
Somebody To Love
Killer Queen
I'm In Love With My Car
Get Down Make Love
Save Me
Now I'm Here
Dragon Attack
Now I'm Here (Reprise)
Love Of My Life
Under Pressure
Keep Yourself Alive
Drum And Tympani Solo
Guitar Solo
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Jailhouse Rock
Bohemian Rhapsody
Tie Your Mother Down
Another One Bites The Dust
Sheer Heart Attack
We Will Rock You
We Are The Champions
God Save The Queen
Tracklisting (Double Disc Live Aid footage)
Live Aid:
Bohemian Rhapsody
Radio Gaga
Hammer To Fall
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
We Will Rock You
We Are The Champions
Is This The World We Created
The real joy to be had in watching Freddie, Brian, Roger and John performing here is that, unlike any other Queen concert film available, this delivers raw Queen. This is before the Hot Space album, before keyboards would find a place in the band's touring line up; this is simply four musicians in total cohesion.
Originally titled, "We Will Rock You", this film was first launched at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1983 - as only Queen could. It was then released in North America (September 1984), becoming the first commercially available film of Queen in concert. For this special edition, the picture has been digitally restored from the original 35mm negative.
The double disc release offers the incredible bonus of a slew of Live Aid features and performances. Regularly polled as the greatest live performance of all time, Queen's mighty Live Aid show at 6.44pm on July 13, 1985, is here in full. In addition to the set that reinforced Queen's position as unrivalled rock entertainers, Freddie and Brian's performance later in the evening of the poignant "Is This The World We Created" is included. Also featured are 11 minutes of never before seen Live Aid rehearsal footage, plus a rehearsal interview with the band. In addition, there's the curiosity value of a 1982 news feature from US TV series PM Magazine. Brian May and Roger Taylor bring the story up to date with a brand new audio commentary on the Montreal concert.
Both these releases offer extraordinary footage of one if the greatest acts of all time, recorded at the height of the powers. Truly, Rock royalty.
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