Hi everybody,
I'd just like to know: why does the album "Live Magic" contain nearly only short versions of the songs except a few full version songs? I think that's really a pity to shorten the live renditions of these songs.
because the whole thing didn´t fit in a SINGLE LP... and they didn´t want to release a double album... just a single LP like a souvenier or something.
P.
Yes, I'm sure it's because they didn't want to release a double album - especially as it would have included a few duplicates from Live Killers including Brian's guitar solo.
Some of the versions are good, aren't they, like One Vision and Another One Bites the Dust, but it's probably best not to listen to Bohemian Rhapsody!
The double LP concept wasn't marketable apparently at that time. Seems strange to me given the popularity of the shows (huge audiences) and the AKOM album, but that's the EMI machine for you folks!
Perhaps they were run by visionaries at the time - too much of the same material all at once would have been prohibitive.
AKOM album
Countless singles from the album
Live At Wembley TV broadcast
Live At Wembley radio broadcast
Live In Budapest TV broadcast
The Magic Years - 3 volumes ft. AKOM material
If only the same people were responsible now.....
I like it for the alternate versions of the stuff from the magic tour - its nice to hear, for example, another version of AOBTD, which I actually prefer to the Wembley version, and if Im not mistaken, isnt WATC from Knebworth, along with a couple of others, so it has value as a official release of some of the final Queen show....
The editing is bloody terrible though - Bo Rap being a horrible shining example, lol.
Voice of Reason 2007 wrote: Some of the versions are good, aren't they, like One Vision and Another One Bites the Dust, but it's probably best not to listen to Bohemian Rhapsody!
Nonsense! Only the opera section is missing... big deal. This is one of the best versions ever. It's amazing to hear 180,000 people sing along, practically drowning out Freddie.
Hehe.. I agree about Bo Rhap. Seems silly having the studio-based opera section on a recording of the show anyway so I don't miss it, and it's a good edit.
I like the album even with its faults. I would have rather seen another song dropped than have so many edits though, and it could have been mixed together a little smoothlier.. they didn't even cross-fade most of the time, it just cuts from one to the other.
I have a friend who is just a casual fan and wanted a good quality document of their last show and particularly WWRY/WATC so I mentioned this album but when he heard those were edited he said "Nevermind, I'll go on pretending Wembley was the last". LOL
Bubbles the driving bunny wrote: I have a friend who is just a casual fan and wanted a good quality document of their last show and particularly WWRY/WATC so I mentioned this album but when he heard those were edited he said "Nevermind, I'll go on pretending Wembley was the last". LOL
A complete rip off in my opinion - just to cash in on then the latest tour! Only saved by extended versions of a few songs.
I never play it at all!!
I heard that it was voted the worst ever live album release.
For such a brilliant live band why do they mess up this live release!!!
Not a patch on Live at the Bowl, Live Killers or Wembley 86.
Pretty common practice for an artist to select different shows to compile a live release.
The album was named Live Magic and that's exactly what it was. That's also why Live at Wembley was so named.
Most recently I bought Peter Gabriel's Growing Up which was filmed over two days and was excellent... AND IT WAS EDITED!!!
To say a $15 CD was a rip-off is pretty cheap. Now if it was blank, OK. But you paid $15. I think a rip-off starts around $50-$100.
The only things I find lame about Live Magic are the edited versions of the songs and the WWWRY-FWBF-WATC thing, which they did a lot on that tour. I didn't like that at all, but I do see how they could want to change things up on the tour.
Actually, the only time I like FWBF is as a bridge between those two songs (and shortened)...in that regard it's kind of nice since it's an extra song just before you think the show's about to end. On it's own though IMHO it's got to be one of Queen's weakest, cheesiest songs...just embarrassing, and too much of a forced attempt to reproduce the audience participation anthemic-type songs that WWRY/WATC were. FWBF sort of sounds like an unfinished half-song to me, so it seems better when paired with something else.
Yea, FWBF does seem to be an attempt at the group participation/anthemic (Brian's word) thing.
The lyrics are kind of interesting -- very British.
"Red letter day" -- I had to look up. There's other turns of phrase that seems un-Queenly, almost literary.
I reserve a special spot for Live Magic since I didn't even know it was coming out back then. I was in New York on a college trip, walked into Bleecker Bob's -- a kind of famous place, its exterior used in, among other shows, Seinfeld -- and sheepishly asked if they had any rarities by Queen.
"Why yes," the British guy from behind the counter said. "We just got the live album from the UK!"
Completely by surprise! Of course, if there was an all-kazoo covers album of Queen songs, I would have bought it. It was awesome to hear the live version of "One Vision," with the Star Fleet ending and everything. Gave me goosebumps.
I think we forget that this album wasn't released initially in the U.S. Was import-only. Maybe it came out later, but initially, it was only expensive imports.