Reviews
 What Happened?
The Lone Sharks
Nine Lives
Steve Winwood
Moneyland
Various Artists
I'm Not There (Original Soundtrack)
Various Artists
Home Before Dark
Neil Diamond
Toby Keith's 35 BIGGEST Hits
Toby Keith
It's A Shame About Ray (Collector's Edition)
The Lemonheads
About a Son
Otis Blue (Collector's Edition)
Otis Redding
Loaded
Wood Brothers
|
I think it’s safe to say that 99% of the people who are familiar with Queen have already made up their minds about the band. Either you love ‘em or you hate ‘em, and there isn’t much room for middle ground. Strangely, though, I find myself in that 1%, a ‘hater’ who has slowly crept over into the ‘fan’ category. Growing up in the ‘70s, kids had to choose between ‘glam’ music or ‘rootsy’ music. That meant that you could listen to Bowie and Queen, or Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers, but never both. I fell in with a crowd that worshipped southern rock, so Queen was verboten in my high school days. Remarkably, though, the band survived such prejudice. Queen even survived the punk onslaught, as this show from 1981 proves with a vengeance.
An independent crew filmed “Queen Rock Montreal” in 1981, and the band was unhappy with the final results. This DVD is the result of the band claiming possession of the footage and restoring it to a state that meets their own exacting standards. If you are fan of Queen, the result is glorious. The band opens with “We Will Rock You,” and they definitely do just that. This live version blows away the bombastic studio/stadium version that is now abused by sports franchises. They then move through a series of album tracks, building momentum as they progress. Freddie Mercury is at his peak, which is a primary reason for this video being so valuable now. The entire band shines behind him, and the harmonies are fantastic.
Here’s a fun fact for the ignorant (like me); did you know that both Freddie Mercury and Brian May play piano with flair and grace? I did not, but the footage for “Save Me” displays them as piano-playing ‘switch-hitters’, changing the piano seat to suit the song’s instrumentation. It seems as if much of Queen’s catalog is slipping into the ether, growing ever more forgotten as time passes. Other than the obvious hits, this material is rarely heard, so it is both entertaining and informative to see and hear the band tackle this wealth of material without straining to prove anything. Throughout the show, not one single bandmember ever acknowledges the presence of the camera crew, which is beneficial, leaving us with the impression that this is just another show with Queen on the road. The truth is different, and seen from today’s perspective, it is plain that by any standard, this is not just another show. If for no other reason, you ought to see the video just so you can gawk at Mercury’s outfit for “Another One Bites the Dust” – even Elton John would have blushed at that outfit. The commentary by Brian May and Roger Taylor is extraneous and not particularly informative, so you can skip the 'special features'. Just crank up the volume and let the band rock you. Long Live Queen!
Grade: 
 |
Buy it now! -  |
 
|
More Music Reviews
More Movie Reviews
More Book Reviews
More Concert Reviews
See more hits from the 2000's
Powered by Millennium Communications Inc.