A Kind Of Magic (Remastered Deluxe Edition) Queen

• 1 One Vision 05:11
• 2 A Kind of Magic 04:23
• 3 One Year Of Love 04:27
• 4 Pain Is So Close To Pleasure 04:22
• 5 Friends Will Be Friends 04:09
• 6 Who Wants to Live Forever 05:16
• 7 Gimme The Prize 04:34
• 8 Don't Lose Your Head 04:38
• 9 Princes Of The Universe 03:33
• 10 A Kind Of Magic (Highlander Version) 04:21
• 11 One Vision (Single Version) 04:04
• 12 Pain Is So Close To Pleasure (Single Remix) 03:57
• 13 Forever (Piano Version) 03:20
• 14 A Kind Of Vision (Demo / August 1985) 03:23
• 15 One Vision (Live At Wembley Stadium / Friday July 11th 1986) 05:12
• 16 Friends Will Be Friends Will Be Friends 05:58
• Total Runtime 01:10:48

Info for A Kind Of Magic (Remastered Deluxe Edition)

Queen's twelfth studio album was recorded between September 1985 and April 1986, at three different studios: Town House (London), Musicland (Munich) and Mountain Studios (Montreux). The project began life as the soundtrack to the motion picture Highlander, after director Russell Mulcahy had commissioned a handful of tracks from Queen. He regarded them as the ideal band for the task and would later comment that it was always Queen he had in mind because of their strong, anthemic songs. The band was so impressed with the first 20 minutes of rough footage they were shown, that further tracks soon followed and the A Kind Of Magic album was born.

Each band member was inspired by different parts of the story and in evidence the album covers a wide spectrum of emotion. The songs are full of references to the film dialogue and its main characters and events - There can be only one! / No mortal man can win this day / The prize / It's a kind of magic / Don't lose your head.

Brian was greatly moved by the death of Heather in the film (the main character's first and greatest love) and by the dialogue surrounding her final moments as she lay dying in the arms of her beloved MacLeod - the immortal Highlander - on the spectacular Scottish highland. MacLeod is destined to be without Heather for the rest of time and suddenly the prospect seems impossible to face. Who Wants To Live Forever is the song that emerged from this poignant moment of the movie, written by Brian on the drive home after viewing the first assembly footage.

Roger, meanwhile, was taken with the lines “There can be only one!” and “It's a kind of magic!” - later giving rise to his song of similar name. The battles in Highlander have been raging through many centuries and are only now, in the 1980s, coming to a head. This aspect too is covered in the song.

The main characters of the story, most notably The Highlander Connor MacLeod and his nemesis The Kurgan, have been relentlessly battling through the ages in order to secure the ultimate reward, the greatest prize of all, immortality (and some degree of peace, finally). Around this concept, Brian conceived his song Gimme The Prize. There is only one way to win the prize, however, and that is to be the last man standing, achievable only by the grim process of beheading all opponents – because ‘There can be only one!’ Another Roger song, Don't Lose Your Head (featuring incidental vocals from English vocalist Joan Armatrading), emerges from this idea, a recurring theme as the film builds and each warrior inevitably meets his gruesome end until only two are left for the finale confrontation.

Freddie's anthemic Princes Of The Universe (the proposed original title of the film) is a typical no-nonsense piece that, for release as a single in 1986, required an equally powerful video. What emerged was a startling screen duel between actor Christopher Lambert recreating his Highlander role, complete with head-dispensing sword, and Freddie, armed only with the faithful microphone stand. The two do battle amid a scene of devastation, while Brian, Roger and John play on regardless. It is breathtaking footage, with Freddie looking even more menacing than the sword-wielding Highlander, and in which, thankfully, neither man is parted from his head.

Certain tracks on the Magic album are significantly different to those featured in the film, particularly the title track, as the band reworked the material after the Highlander post-production was completed. Renowned composer Michael Kamen provided the score for most of the incidental music throughout the film, and the rare combination of his original music and dynamic Queen songs from all four band members proved a formidable alliance.

Though it appeared six months ahead of the LP, in November 1985, One Vision (coupled with the non-album instrumental piece Blurred Vision) was the first single issued from the album. Produced by Queen and Mack and recorded at Musicland in Germany, it was notably the first Queen single written jointly by the band. Inspired by their acclaimed performance at Live Aid several months earlier, universally regarded as their greatest concert triumph of all, Queen returned to the studio with renewed vigor to come up with this much-loved track. The artwork for the single features a portrait taken by famous photographer David Bailey backstage at Live Aid, while the accompanying video was filmed in September at Musicland studios while the band were working on the album there. Shot over a period of weeks, the video offers a rare insight into Queen at work in the studio and also enjoying free time.

A Kind Of Magic was released on June 2nd, 1986 and entered the UK charts at No. 1. It achieved double Platinum status at home and abroad and it topped the charts in many other territories.

Queen

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Queen
Queen formed in 1971 and in 1973 signed their first recording contract for EMI. That year they released their first album, QUEEN. The same year saw their first major UK tour, and in 1974 they released QUEEN II as well as making their first UK headlining tour. They made their first US tour, and in November released SHEER HEART ATTACK which was a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

1975 saw their new release, A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, and – significantly – the single Bohemian Rhapsody. At 5’ 55” it should have been too long for successful radio play but it became one of the greatest singles of all time, staying at No. 1 in the UK chart for nine weeks. The video, directed by Bruce Gowers, is credited with being the first genuine promotional video. The song has regularly featured in all major pop polls and was recently named again as the best single of all time. The success of A NIGHT AT THE OPERA was equally stunning, giving the band their first platinum album.

In 1976 they toured the US and Japan and by spring all four albums resided in the UK Top Twenty. Later that year they released A DAY AT THE RACES, and gave a free concert in Hyde Park to an estimated crowd of 200,000 fans. The album was a huge success, advance orders alone amounting to over 500,000. The following year saw two major US tours, the band’s sixth album, NEWS OF THE WORLD and the legendary double A side single, WE WILL ROCK YOU and WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS.

1978’s JAZZ, included another huge hit single in Bicycle Race and Queen toured the US and Canada. They spent much of 1979 touring in Europe and Japan, as well as releasing their first live album, LIVE KILLERS. They were also approached to write the score for a forthcoming feature film, FLASH GORDON. Before that they released THE GAME in 1980 which went five times platinum in Canada alone! Another One Bites The Dust became the band’s biggest selling American single. Later that year the soundtrack for FLASH GORDON was released and by the end of the year Queen had sold over 45,000,000 albums worldwide.

In 1981 they toured the Far East and were the first band to make a stadium tour of South America. They played to 131,000 people in Sao Paolo, the largest paying audience for any band anywhere in the world. GREATEST HITS, GREATEST FLIX and GREATEST PIX were released simultaneously later in the year and Greatest Hits has rarely been out of the UK album charts since. Greatest Flix was the first collection of promo-videos released commercially by any band. Next year saw the release of the band’s twelfth album, HOT SPACE whilst they were in the middle of a European tour.

1984 saw THE WORKS and the single Radio Ga Ga became a worldwide hit, reaching No. 1 in 19 countries. Another huge hit was I Want To Break Free, featuring one of their most famous videos, all dressed in drag. In 1985 they were the headlining act at Rock in Rio, the biggest festival to be held anywhere in the world. They again made history that year with the show-stealing performance at Live Aid from Wembley Stadium, which proved to be a turning point for the band, One Vision being the first post Live Aid release.

1986 saw their 14th album, A KIND OF MAGIC, which was the soundtrack to the Russel Mulcahy film, Highlander. The title track became another worldwide smash and the album entered the UK charts at No. 1; later in the year the 2nd live album, LIVE MAGIC, went into the charts at No. 3. Between 1988 and 1991 Queen released three more albums, THE MIRACLE in 1989 and in 1991 INNUENDO and GREATEST HITS TWO. All three entered the UK charts at No. 1, as did the single Innuendo.

On 23rd November 1991 Freddie Mercury announced to the world that he had AIDS and the next day he died peacefully at his home, surrounded by family and friends. He remains the most high profile loss from the disease in the entertainment world and the news shocked fans throughout the world. As a tribute Bohemian Rhapsody /These Are The Days Of Our Lives was released as a double A-sided single to raise funds for the Terence Higgins Trust. It entered the UK chart at No. 1, where it stayed for five weeks, raising over £1,000,000 for the charity and Queen became the first band to have the same single top the uK charts twice. In December of that year Queen had 10 albums in the UK Top 100. In 1992 Freddie was awarded posthumously the BRIT’s “Outstanding Contribution to British Music” and Days Of Our Lives won Best Single. On 20th April many of the world’s top stars joined Brian, Roger and John on stage at Wembley for an emotional tribute to Freddie.

In 1995 the tracks that Queen had begun in 1991 were completed by Brian, Roger and John and the long-awaited MADE IN HEAVEN was released worldwide. It was the end of an era. Since then the phenomenon of Queen has remained, however, with continuing sales for their recorded output on CD and video. A ballet of their music by famous French choreographer Maurice Bejart was premiered at the National Theatre in Paris in 1997 and in May 2002 the hit musical We Will Rock You opened to sell-out audiences in London’s West End and continues to play to packed houses and standing ovations every night. Queen’s first DVD Greatest Video Hits Vol.1 was released at the end of October 2002, and yet another piece of Queen product entered the UK charts at number 1. October 2002 also saw Queen receive their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Los Angeles, joining The Beatles as only one of a handful of non-US bands to receive the much coveted honour. Last year, 2004 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Walk of Fame, and in the UK were voted by the public into the first UK Music Hall of Fame.

Queen’s musical has since opened in Australia, Spain, Las Vegas,USA, Russia, Germany and is scheduled to open in Japan this May.

Brian and Roger continue to be ambassadors for Nelson Mandela’s 46664 HIV/AIDS awareness campaign and this month, March, played a second benefit concert for 46664 in Fancourt, South Africa.

Brian and Roger took Queen back onto the touring circuit for the first time since 1986 in 2005 and 2008, joined by former Free/Bad Company singer, songwriter and musicial Paul Rodgers playing concerts across the UK and throughout Europe. (Source: www.queenonline.com)

This album contains no booklet.