Queen Rock Montreal CD

Recorded in Montreal, Quebec in November 1981, when Queen were arguably the biggest hard rock band in the world thanks to their string of chart-topping singles and LPs (culminating in the previous year's THE GAME), QUEEN ROCK MONTREAL captures the band in their full prog-pop glory. All of the hits and a strong handful of fan favorites are here, performed with both impeccable skill and surprising, almost punky, energy: the opening "We Will Rock You" is taken at nearly twice the studio version's tempo. A DVD version of QUEEN ROCK MONTREAL adds the band's set at 1985's Live Aid concert.

Essentially, the 2007 release Queen Rock Montreal is the long-delayed official release of the soundtrack to the We Will Rock You concert video, capturing highlights from the group's two-night stand at the Montreal Forum on November 24 and 25, 1981. This double-disc contains the full set, including the previously unreleased "Flash" and "The Hero," and it benefits from the ebb and flow of a full concert, giving a broader, fuller sense of Queen at the peak of their power, which they were close to being at the time this was recorded. That is, they were close to the peak of their powers as world-conquering stadium rockers, touring the same set across the globe, perfecting it so it could play in any territory, as if it was rock & roll Esperanto. That may mean that this isn't as raw or visceral as various live recordings from the '70s, but it is deliberately theatrical and often majestic. When Queen is thought of as a ridiculous, over-sized arena monster, this is the kind of sound people have in mind, and it's still grandly entertaining decades later. [A UK edition was issued in 2007.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

When Queen returned for the fourth time to Montreal's 18,000 seater Forum in November 1981, where this concert was recorded, it was after a 15 month absence which had seen them become the biggest band in the world. Fuelled by the release of The Game album and extensive touring, Queen now dominated the charts in every major territory and ever-eager for a new challenge, had taken on, and won, new continents. America was the big game, and they won out, playing their biggest tour ever, with 46 sold out concerts including four nights at New York's Madison Square Garden, and The Game delivered their two biggest selling US singles, Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Another One Bites The Dust (both US No 1's), and the bonus of their first American No.1 album. Under Pressure had returned them to No.1 in the UK singles chart, and Greatest Hits topped the album charts. With a No.1 video (Greatest Flix) at the same time, Queen became the first band ever to top all three charts simultaneously. Indeed, this was a time in which Queen was racking up a number of world 'firsts', at every turn setting new benchmarks which would take many years for their contemporaries to match. The band's historic invasion of Latin America in the early part of '81 saw scenes of mass hysteria unequalled since the height of Beatle mania. When Queen played two concerts at Sao Paulo's Morumbi stadium their first night broke the word attendance record for a single paying concert, with more than 131,000 Brazilians turning out to see the band play. Their second night drew 128,000. By the time Queen had completed the first leg of their Latin America incursion at the end of March, Queen albums held nine of the top 10 positions of the Argentinean charts.

Recording information: Forum, Montreal, Canada (11/1981).