From Queenpedia.com
Unlike the umpteenth release of the We Will Rock You concert video (pointlessly retitled Queen Rocks Montreal for this release, perhaps to really drive home the point that Queen was, at heart, a rock'n'roll band), the audio equivalent is essential for many reasons. Apart from the fact that the band were really on a high that night, cameras be damned, this was also the final instance where Queen would play as a four-piece band: from 1982 to 1986, they were augmented by an extra keyboardist (and, in the case of Spike Edney, a keyboardist, guitarist, and backing vocalist). This time, however, the band tear through new and old songs alike, even premiering their newest single, Under Pressure, which had been released at the end of October 1981 and was currently racing up the UK charts. Additionally, there are two songs here -- Flash and The Hero -- which were performed on the night, but cut out of the final product. Unfortunately, these outtakes, which would have been ideal to create a full concert, were deemed surplus to requirements and discarded, erased forever from the archives. (Remember that in 1981, it never crossed anybody's minds that such bonuses would be attractive for fans.) Happily, the audio performances were added for the album release, and it's interesting to hear these full versions. These two songs, which had been in the set list since November 1980, would later be used as the opening numbers on the 1982 Hot Space tour (the former as a taped introduction, the latter severely abridged), but this is the first official release of the full performances. On the other end of the spectrum is Jailhouse Rock, which was performed as an encore number just prior to Sheer Heart Attack, but was instead edited in following Crazy Little Thing Called Love. The reason for this was that Freddie wanted to deliberately annoy the director, who had told the band that they had to wear the same outfits both nights; for the encores on the first night, Freddie wore white jeans, while on the second night's encores, he appeared in the shortest white shorts seemingly known to man. This screwed up the continuity on the film, but why the song couldn't have been placed in its correct position on the album is anyone's guess. Unofficially, the reason was that it wouldn't match up to what was on the film, but unless the listener is viewing the DVD with the sound off and instead playing the album, this explanation holds little water. Regardless, this is another fine live album of a decent (but not excellent) Queen concert. The rumor mill has started churning, though, wondering which concert will receive the DVD/CD treatment next. Speculation has centered around Budapest 1986 or Rock In Rio 1985, though it would be nice to have something from either of the Rainbow Theatre (March or November 1974) and Hammersmith Odeon shows (1975 or 1979), Hyde Park 1976, Earls Court or Houston 1977. Fans await with not-so-baited breath. Tracklists
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