Hungarian Rhapsody - Queen Live in Budapest Deluxe Edition Blu-Ray/CD Review

Written by General Jabbo

In 1986, Queen mounted their most ambitious tour yet, a stadium outing for their latest release, A Kind Of Magic. It would prove to be the band’s final tour with their charismatic front man, Freddie Mercury. One of the most memorable stops on the tour — and arguably of the band’s career — came on July 27, 1986, when Queen played Budapest, Hungary. Though there was no money to be made at this gig, it was more important than that. Queen became the first western act to play a stadium show behind the old Iron Curtain, which, for the members of Queen who grew up during the Cold War, was a significant event.

To commemorate the occasion, the show was filmed on 35mm, shown in theaters in Europe and eventually released on VHS and laserdisc. It has never gotten a DVD or Blu-ray release, however, until now. The original negatives were scanned at HD quality and a new 5.1 audio mix was created for this new version. Add in a two-CD set of the complete concert and you have Hungarian Rhapsody – Queen Live In Budapest Deluxe Edition.

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Freddie Mercury - The Great Pretender Blu-ray Review

Written by General Jabbo

When one thinks of Queen, the first person he or she usually thinks of is Freddie Mercury. This in spite of the fact that all four members of the band were major forces in their own right, contributing hit songs and, in guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor’s case, the trademark harmonies that enabled Queen to sound like no band before or since. Mercury was one of popular music’s best singers and arguably the greatest rock front man to ever grace the stage, effortlessly making crowds of 100,000 seem like intimate shows of 1,000. He was flamboyant, but he had the musical chops to back it up. In short, he was that good. In spite of his public persona however, little is known about the private life of this near recluse. A new documentary, Freddie Mercury – The Great Pretender, attempts to unravel the mystery of one of music’s greatest characters.

Read the rest of the review at www.blindedbysound.com by clicking here.

Queen - Greatest Video Hits DVD Review

Written by General Jabbo

Throughout their illustrious career, Queen presented a unique experience for their fans, both with their complex, operatic music featuring multilayered guitars and vocals and visually, with their extensive, groundbreaking use of music videos. Queen Greatest Video Hits celebrates the latter, presenting many of the band’s videos in both restored picture and sound.

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Queen: Days of Our Lives Blu-ray Review

Written by General Jabbo

Before Queen released their first album in 1973, the late Freddie Mercury already had lofty ambitions for his musical career, telling friends he wasn't going to be a pop star, he was going to be a legend. He was right, and more than 40 years later, we are still talking about Queen. To celebrate their 40th anniversary, the BBC ran a two-part documentary mixing old clips and recent interviews with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Those make up the Blu-ray Queen: Days Of Our Lives.

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WhoCares - Out Of My Mind/Holy Water CD Review

Written by General Jabbo

In 1983, after the departure of Ronnie James Dio, Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan joined forces with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward to record Born Again, the first — and only — Black Sabbath album to feature Gillan's vocals. Despite its short-lived status, that Sabbath lineup has a cult following among fans. Fast forward to the end of the 1980s when tragedy struck the Spitak region of Armenia in the form of an earthquake. Gillan, along with Deep Purple band mate, Ritchie Blackmore and an all-star cast including Tony Iommi, David Gilmour, Bruce Dickinson, Brian May and Roger Taylor recorded an updated version of "Smoke On The Water" as part of the Rock Aid Armenia album to raise money for the region. Now, some 20 years later, Gillan, Iommi and a new all-star band have recorded a single to help the charity.

Read the rest of the review at www.blindedbysound.com by clicking here.

Queen Rock Montreal & Live Aid DVD Review

Written by General Jabbo

At the tail end of 1981, Queen was at the height of its considerable powers, having topped the album and singles charts in both the UK and US, playing for over 130,000 people in Brazil and with the number one video in the UK. It was during this period that they were filmed over two nights in Montreal. Originally titled We Will Rock You, Queen Rock Montreal & Live Aid is 96 minutes of Queen at their live best.

Filmed as one-off performances, this was the last time the band played with just its four original members on stage before Hot Space introduced keyboards and extra musicians into their live mix. It is also the first time they played their classic hit, “Under Pressure,” live. Touring off Greatest Hits, Queen played a set featuring songs from their entire career including “Keep Yourself Alive,” “Tie Your Mother Down,” and “Another One Bites the Dust.”

The original idea for the show, which was shot on 35mm film, was to take it on the road as sort of a traveling concert, played on large screens at high volumes – a precursor to IMAX in many ways. However the original film suffered from poor editing and sound problems. Those have since been fixed, as Queen now owns the rights to the film, which has been restored from the original negative and presented in newly mixed and remastered DTS Surround Sound.

From the included commentary from drummer Roger Taylor and guitarist Brian May, we learn the band was never comfortable with the film crew being around and that was a great source of tension, resulting in many of the songs being played much faster than their recorded versions. Still, tension often makes for great rock and roll, and the band really pushes the songs here with Freddie Mercury in great voice throughout.

Also included on the two-disc set is the band’s legendary performance at Live Aid. In 20 minutes, Queen reminded the world why they were one of the greatest live acts in the world with their tight powerful set of old classics including “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” as well as “Radio Gaga” and “Hammer to Fall” from their then-new album, The Works. Mercury and May return later for a duet on “Is This The World We Created,” also presented on the DVD.

In addition, there’s 11 minutes of unseen rehearsal and interview footage from Live Aid, a Web link to the Queen Rock Montreal Web site and an interview from the old US television show, PM Magazine.

For a good look at Queen at their live peak, as well as their complete Live Aid performance, Queen Rock Montreal & Live Aid is a must-own DVD. HD DVD and Blu Ray versions come out on Dec.4