Queen on Fire: Live at the Bowl

by

Queen

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I wish I was in the auidience the night or nights this live album was recorded. Since Queen first formed they have released a number of live albums all of which were good, well except for one and I wont bother mentioning its name. The point is that this one, Queen On Fire:Live At The Bowl is a excelent live album.

First lets talk about the band. Well as usuall Freddie Murcury doesnt dissapoint. When you go to see a man like Murcury you cant expect him to sound the same live as he does on record, but amazingly everytime i ever heard the man live he did, and this is no exception. Freddie's voice sounds phenonmenol here and it comes across nice and clear with great tone, as always. The rythm section of Queen isnt one that rock and roll fans have ever marvaled over but they do a good job keeping the band in time. Thats not to say that just because people dont talk about them that they are not good, the bass player, John Decan as we all know is one of the all time best (Under Pressure, Another One Bites The Dust). I guess Roger is pretty good too. Then there is Brian May, one of the all time greatest guitarists ever, here is no exception, you get all the great stuff he wrote and recorded in the studio as well as some amazing freestyle guitar solos that are absolutly mind blowing. If anyone ever doubted the power of this band this cd needs one good listen to prove the power.

Now on to the music. Before I say anything else I must say the the live version here of 'Somebody To Love' is the all time best version of the song ever. The vocals are out of this world!! Freddie was a bad a**! The rest of the album is filled with Queen classics like 'We Are The Champions' 'Bohemian Rhapsody' 'Tie Your Mother Down' 'Love Of My Life' 'Fat Bottomed Girls' and lots and lots more. Aside from the classics this was recorded on the tour for the Hot Space album, which while not that good of an album the songs that are performed live here are just killer all out rockers! I dont know why anyone wouldnt like this, it's just damn amazing!

As far as live albums go this is one of the best I have ever owned, and I own a lot. This is by far the best live Queen album you can get, so if your a Queen fan this has your name on it!

(REVISED REVIEW - MAY 08)

When this first came out - I felt it was hard to rate given the particular concert, but I would re-rate this 4 stars. With the recently released QUEEN ROCK MONTREAL - this is probably one of the two best vocal performances from Queen at their peak, which is as consistent as they come. One reason I would re-rate this is the sound quality. QUEEN ON FIRE is crystal clear and well recorded. The only issue is as some have pointed out - and would influence your purchase decision is the similar set list between the Hot Space Tour that this covers, and The Game tour which which Rock Montreal covers. I really can't recommend one over the other, so for the rabid fans - get both.

For Queen fans, any new product is welcome, but at the same time the Hot Space album was arguably one of their weakest. Fortunately, the Hot Space numbers sound better here than they did on the album thanks to Freddie's persistence in making them funky. And if you don't like those tracks - you just skip around with the CD button.

Freddie's voice is in great shape here and the band is enjoyably tight as it always is. Reasons to get this are rousing live versions of "Hero" "Play the Game"; "Now I'm Here/Dragon Attack" and "Save Me." There really isn't a bad track here, and compared to "Live Killers" and even "Live at Wembley" - "On Fire" will sound fresher in terms of the recording. His passion and dramatic highs are more in evidence here in vintage '82 rather than in later shows (save for Live Aid). Now all we need is a recording from the "Works" tour.

Long live Queen!