Product Notes
NTSC/Region 0. Limited four disc (two CDs + two DVDs) includes two bonus CDs, featuring the entire Saturday performance. This 25th Anniversary edition DVD set of Queens legendary 1986 concerts, comes with previously unreleased footage and brand new bonus features. For the first time, both the Friday and Saturday night concerts can be seen in their entirety on the Anniversary edition DVD. Footage has been restored for the Anniversary edition and the sound has also been remastered with a brand new stereo mix and 5.1 sound. Extras on the DVD include "The Magic Tour", a short feature containing brand new interviews with Brian May and Roger Taylor filmed this year. They reflect back on what was to be their final tour with their familiar intelligence, honesty and brilliant wit and humor. They explain in depth how they would approach planning their concerts and they also reflect on the poignancy of the shows which were to become among the last few performances with Freddie.
Product Reviews
The posthumously released, two-disc Live at Wembley '86 proves once and for all that Queen was a superior live band, and like the Beatles, the Stones, etc., had far too many hits to fit into a two-hour show. Recorded in their native England at the gigantic Wembley Stadium on their A Kind of Magic tour, the group was at their peak of popularity back home. This would, unfortunately, turn out to be the band's last tour, and it showed the group including old rock & roll covers, classics, then-current songs, improv, and overlooked album tracks. Queen opens up the show with the near-heavy-metal roar of "One Vision," and adds lively renditions of the well-known "Tie Your Mother Down," the David Bowie collaboration "Under Pressure," and their very first hit, "Seven Seas of Rhye." Also included on Disc One is the early forgotten show-closer "In the Lap of the Gods," the beautiful (and sadly prophetic) ballad "Who Wants to Live Forever," and a downright funky version of "Another One Bites the Dust." Disc Two opens with a pair of acoustic numbers including the perennial crowd fave "Love of My Life," but soon switches gear to some good old rock & roll covers. Spirited and fun versions of "You're so Square (Baby I Don't Care)" and "Tutti Frutti" expose Queen's roots, while their own "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" fits in perfectly with all the '50s hoopla. And even casual fans will recognize "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Radio Ga Ga," and "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions." Although most Queen fans prefer the unfairly criticized 1979 concert album Live Killers, Live at Wembley '86 does a good job of balancing the well-known, for the uninitiated, and the lesser-known, for the hardcore fan. Live at Wembley '86 should not to be confused with the double album/single-disc Live Magic, which was released in 1986 in England and 1996 in the U.S. [A CD/DVD version was also released.] ~ Greg Prato, Rovi