Live Magic
| Live Magic | ||||
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| Live album from Queen | ||||
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Publication |
1st December 1986 |
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| Label (s) |
EMI / parlophone Hollywood Records (USA / 1996) |
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Format (s) |
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Title (number) |
15th |
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running time |
49:12 (CD) |
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| occupation |
Guest musicians:
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Queen and Trip Khalaf |
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Live Magic is the end of 1986 appeared, the second live album of British rock group Queen . It contains concert recordings from the same year, including mostly excerpts from Freddie Mercury 's last live performance with Queen.
The album
Queens Magic Tour of eleven European countries followed the release of the album A Kind of Magic . It comprised a total of 26 concerts and lasted from June 7 to August 9, 1986. It was Queen's second tour, during which (like five years earlier at the stadium shows in Latin America ) the majority of the appearances were open air concerts were. Excerpts from four of these concerts can be heard on the album Live Magic . In contrast to Queen's first live (double) album Live Killers , which is roughly the size of an entire concert, Live Magic is designed as a single LP that presents a selection of the pieces. The playing time of the album is roughly half the length of the concert at that time. Some of the songs are given in abbreviated form; For example, the entire middle section (played from the tape) is missing on the album on Bohemian Rhapsody .
The live recordings of most of the tracks on the album - 11 of the 15 tracks - are from the last concert of the tour, which was the best-attended with more than 120,000 spectators, which took place on August 9, 1986 in Knebworth Park near Stevenage , Hertfordshire, England, took place. It was only long after the album was released that it was certain that this would be Freddie Mercury's very last live appearance with Queen.
The other four songs from Live Magic are recordings from concerts in Budapest's Népstadion and London's Wembley Stadium ; in London, Queen performed twice on consecutive days.
The album is co-produced by Queen's longtime live sound mixer Trip Khalaf. Live Magic is the first Queen album whose release was not accompanied by a single release.
Later on, other sound carriers with recordings of the Magic Tour appeared : The second concert at Wembley Stadium and the performance in Budapest were also filmed. The recording from Budapest was released on VHS and Laserdisc ( Live in Budapest , 1987). The Wembley performance was released both as a double album ( Live at Wembley '86 , 1992) and as a VHS ( Queen at Wembley , 1990; later also Laserdisc) or DVD ( Live at Wembley Stadium , 2003).
In the USA, the album Live Magic was only released in 1996, ten years after its original release date.
Track list
Page 1:
- One Vision (Queen) - 5:08
- Tie Your Mother Down (May) - 2:59
- Seven Seas of Rhye (Mercury) - 1:21
- A Kind of Magic (Taylor) - 5:29
- Under Pressure (Queen, Bowie ) - 3:48
- Another One Bites the Dust (Deacon) - 5:50
Page 2:
- I Want to Break Free (Deacon) - 2:40
- Is This the World We Created ...? (May, Mercury) - 1:30
- Bohemian Rhapsody (Mercury) - 4:41
- Hammer to Fall (May) - 5:20
- Radio Ga-Ga (Taylor) - 4:26
- We Will Rock You (May) - 1:32
- Friends Will Be Friends (Mercury, Deacon) - 1:09
- We Are the Champions (Mercury) - 2:01
- God Save the Queen (Arrangement: May) - 1:18
The times refer to the CD title including announcements and applause and not to the actual, mostly shorter title lengths. The LP and cassette editions of the album contain abbreviated versions of the tracks A Kind of Magic , Another One Bites the Dust and Hammer to Fall , while only the CD contains their so-called "Full Live Versions".
With the exception of four songs, the recordings of the album are from Queen's performance in Knebworth Park in Stevenage on August 9, 1986. The recording dates for the remaining tracks: Wembley Stadium, London, July 11, 1986 ( Is This the World We Created? ); Wembley Stadium, London, July 12, 1986 ( Hammer to Fall ); Népstadion, Budapest, July 27, 1986 ( A Kind of Magic and Under Pressure ).
The album's producers are Queen and James "Trip" Khalaf . The live recordings were made by Mack and David Richards (in Manor Mobile, Rolling Stones Mobile and Power Sound Mobile). The mix took place at Townhouse Studios , where the album was also mastered by Kevin Metcalfe. The sound engineer was John Brough.
Equipment
In addition to the instruments used by the musicians, the manufacturers are indicated:
- Piano: Steinway
- Bass guitar: Fender Precision
- Drums : Yamaha
- Basin : Zildjian
- Electric guitar (Brian May): Red Special
- acoustic guitar: Gibson
- Synthesizer: Yamaha DX7 , Roland , E-MU Emulator II
- Electric guitar (Spike Endey in Hammer to Fall ): Gordon Smith
Reception in the media
“[…] A closer look reveals that it's a better record than the previous Live Killers . [...] Live Magic captures Queen, and Freddie Mercury in particular, at the height of their powers. While the set list might rely a bit too heavily on mediocre mid-'80s material for some tastes, the band is tight and professional, and Mercury has an undeniable hold over the crowd. It's to Queen's credit that the energy rarely dips over the course of the record. Live Magic may be designed for hardcore fans, but for those listeners, it will provide a number of highlights, proving that the band's remarkable performance at Live Aid was no fluke. ”
Chart placements
In the charts reaching Live Magic following placements:
- # 3 - Great Britain ( platinum ).
- # 13 - Austria ( gold ).
- # 15 - Germany (gold).
- # 17 - Netherlands.
- # 22 - Italy.
- # 26 - Switzerland (platinum).
- # 49 - Japan.
- # 50 - Sweden.
Web links
- Live Magic . Queen Picture Hall - Pictures of the album cover
- Concertography (Magic Tour) . Queen Concerts - Directory of all concerts and interpreted songs of the Magic Tour 1986 (English)
- Instruments on tour (Magic Tour) . Queen Concerts - Details of the instruments used on this tour
- Live Magic . ultimatequeen.co.uk - Lyrics / Announcements (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Queen - Live Magic. Review . In: All Music Guide
- ↑ UK Top 40 Hit Database. everyhit.com; tsort.info .
- ↑ Live Magic . austriancharts.at; IFPI Austria
- ↑ charts surfer ; ifpi.de .
- ^ A b c Andrew Young: Queen International Album Chart Positions (USA, Japan, Netherlands, Italy).
- ↑ Live Magic ; Precious metal 1992 . hitparade.ch
- ↑ Live Magic . swedishcharts.com