Kind Of Magic, A - Queen > Reviews > Magic of the Right Kind

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	What can I say  -  an assortment of great songs
Disadvantages:	None

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I decided this morning to write an opinion on a Queen album, and this is the result. Why chose ‘A kind of Magic,’ over such classics like ‘Queen 2’ or ‘Innuendo?’ Possibly because this is my personal favourite. While other Queen albums can have their odd ‘duff’ track, ‘A Kind of Magic’ is pretty much flawless, containing a strain of songs that should appeal to almost everyone. That is one reason. Another reason is that I saw Queen back in ’86 on the ‘A Kind of Magic Tour’, at St James Park Newcastle – this was their last but one gig ever. Therefore the songs, the feel and sense of this album are special to me.

Others agree with me, I suppose, because this is Queen’s biggest ever selling album in England. It reached Number One and stayed in the charts for 63 weeks. Most of the songs feature in the movie ‘Highlander,’ but rather than spawn several waste-of-time sequels as this film did, ‘A Kind of Magic’ remains and has remained a colossal structure of infinite goodness… a real toe-tapper…

Its blasts into action with the hit single ‘One Vision.’ Written by Queen, this is a stomper, filled with guitars and strange sounds. It is one of my favourites. Next up is the famous ‘A Kind of Magic,’ which features an easy on the ear chorus and gentle symphony. We have the enchanting ‘One Year of love’ next, followed by ‘Pain is so Close to Pleasure,’ written by Deacon and Mercury. The first ‘half’ of the album finishes with the anthem ‘Friends Will be Friends.’

Now things really start to get going. ‘Gimme the Prize’ really rocks. This is Brian May at his most irate. A brilliant guitar riff accompanied by Mercury’s superb vocals. ‘Don’t lose your Head’ is next. This is a bit of a fun-song, but is typically Roger Taylor – fresh and new, and instantly catchy. Then we have ‘Princes of the Universe,’ which is one of my favourites of all time. This is Queen at their best…

“…Here we are, born to be kings, we’re the princes of the Universe…”

The album concludes with ‘Forever,’ an instrumental of ‘Who want to Live Forever’ which was not on the original vinyl and a rendition of ‘One Vision.’

Full track listing…

One Vision (Queen) 5:08
A Kind of Magic (Taylor) - 4:23
One Year of Love (Deacon) - 4:26
Pain Is So Close to Pleasure (Deacon/Mercury) - 4:19
Friends Will Be Friends (Deacon/Mercury) - 4:07
Who Wants to Live Forever (May) - 5:13
Gimme the Prize (May) - 4:32
Don't Lose Your Head (Taylor) - 4:35
Princes of the Universe (Mercury) - 3:30
Forever - 3:20
One Vision - (Queen) 6:23

The band…

Freddie Mercury – Vocals
Brian May – Guitars
John Deacon - Bass
Roger Taylor – Drums

Date of Release 1986

I like Queen because they fused Rock and Opera well. They where an incredibly talented band, and highly original. This is just a small part of what they were and it is sad to see that they are no more.

This will be my only Queen op…

In memory of Freddie Mercury 1946 – 1991

Borg 2003