Queen On Fire: Live At The Bowl CD

2cds Live @ Milton Keyes Bowl In England.

Queen: John Deacon, Roger Taylor , Brian May, Freddie Mercury.
Personnel: Morgan Fisher (piano, keyboards).
Additional personnel: Morgan Fisher.
Recording information: MK Bowl (06/05/1982).
Photographers: Neal Preston; Denis O'Regan.
Arranger: May.
The bowl in question in the title of Queen's 2004 release On Fire at the Bowl is the MK Bowl in Milton Keynes, England, a venue that Queen performed at on June 5, 1982. That concert is documented on this 25-track double-disc set, one of many double-live albums that Queen have released throughout and after their career. This is one of the better live albums they've released, even if it's somewhat hampered by a few too many unremarkable album tracks from their most recent releases -- particularly Hot Space, the record they were pushing on this summer tour -- and also has a couple embarrassing bits of stage patter from Freddie Mercury (most notably "for what it's worth, we're gonna do a few songs in the funk/Black category, whatever you call it"). But the band sounds big, raucous, and alive throughout this show, gaining steam as they drive into the second half of the show, the part that's filled with anthems like "Fat Bottomed Girls," "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Sheer Heart Attack," and "We Will Rock You." Perhaps this isn't a definitive live statement -- something that the band still doesn't have and still sorely needs -- but it is a spirited, satisfying concert album that will please fans who still hunger for new Queen material years after Mercury's death. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Queen's live shows have understandably always been the stuff of legend; if any man was made for the stage, it was Freddie Mercury. Flamboyant, energetic, and blessed with one of the most commanding and flexible voices in rock, Mercury led his outfit through shows that were not so much rock concerts as opera-esque events, full of drama, lights, and eye-popping costumes.
QUEEN ON FIRE: LIVE AT THE BOWL finds the band in 1982 at the height of its powers, capturing not only the vocalist in all his glory, but guitarist Brian May at his pile-driving, fleet-fingered best, and the rhythm section of Roger Taylor and John Deacon grooving with a combination of hard-rock energy and Broadway pit-band precision. Disc One showcases the group's then-current material, drawing heavily from THE GAME. A particular highlight is the completely re-worked version of "We Will Rock You" that transforms the arena anthem into a good-time party rave-up. Disc Two delivers all the big hits, from the bombastic epic "Bohemian Rhapsody" to the disco-fied Chic tribute "Another One Bites the Dust." A snapshot of a band utterly in its element, QUEEN ON FIRE is a welcome reminder of why Queen's music justified the group's towering reputation.