Product Description

Originally issued just a few months after Freddie Mercury'suntimely death, LIVE AT WEMBLEY '86 is two discs full of Queen at the height of its powers in concert. Perfectly blending popular hits with more obscure album tracks and several vintage 1950s rock & roll covers, WEMBLEY '86 is everything aQueen fan could possibly want from an in-concert release. Recorded at England's massive Wembley Stadium during a stop on their sold-out A KIND OF MAGIC summer tour, the band is heard giving it their all in front of over 150,000 fans duringa two-night stand.
LIVE AT WEMBLEY '86 proves to be a very consistent set, a worthy successor to Queen's previous double live album, 1979's LIVE KILLERS. All of the band's classic '70s material--"Tie Your Mother Down", "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions", "Bohemian Rhapsody"--is performed with just as much vigour as their newer cuts--"One Vision", "AKind of Magic", "Under Pressure", "Another One Bites the Dust". And it's a gas to hear Queen have some fun with spirited renditions of '50s standards--"Tutti Frutti", "(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care", and "Hello Mary Lou (Goodbye Heart)".

Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. One Vision
2. Tie Your Mother Down
3. In The Lap Of The Gods
4. Seven Seas Of Rhye
5. Tear It Up
6. A Kind Of Magic
7. Under Pressure
8. Another One Bites The Dust
9. Who Wants To Live Forever
10. I Want To Break Free
11. Impromptu
12. Brighton Rock Solo
13. Now I'm Here

Disc 2:

1. Love Of My Life
2. Is This The World We Created
3. (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care
4. Hello Mary Lou (Goodbye Heart)
5. Tutti Frutti
6. Gimme Some Lovin'
7. Bohemian Rhapsody
8. Hammer To Fall
9. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
10. Big Spender
11. Radio Ga Ga
12. We Will Rock You
13. Friends Will Be Friends
14. We Are The Champions
15. God Save The Queen

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19419 in Music
• Released on: 2003-07-14
• Number of discs: 2

Customer Reviews

A stunning live band at their peak.
It is generally commonly agreed that Queen's material got worse as the Eighties continued; coincidentally, as a live band, they got better and better as they went. There may be some correlation between these two facts - by 1984 they'd started writing songs specifically for their live audience, i.e. 'Radio Ga Ga' - but that means that here, on what serves you well as an additional Queen release outside of a Greatest Hits, you find Queen at their live peak, playing plenty of their stellar early material, the highlights of their 80s catalogue and more besides.

Despite some very minor editing issues - we didn't really need two minutes' worth of crowd interaction as the stopgap between 'A Kind Of Magic' and the following track - this double-disc set is great value, as you get lots of fine renditions. While nothing here betters the studio versions, there are lots of times when you realise that Queen were the stadium band's stadium band - they weren't just crowd pleasers, they were self-pleasers. Take the lengthy jams of 'Now I'm Here,' 'Hammer To Fall' and particularly a stunning 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love;' a band enjoying themselves, and an audience lapping it up.

Elsewhere, they resurrect older material on the fly - 'Lap Of The Gods,' 'Friends Will Be Friends' - put together improvisations - 'Impromptu' - jazz up songs for the live situation - 'A Kind Of Magic,' 'Another One Bites The Dust' - and display those harmonies that have always been so impressive on 'Tie Your Mother Down.'

There is even a charming acoustic segment,where in addition to a couple of their own lovely downbeat numbers, they jam through some 50s standards too. It's a heartwarming part of the show that U2 and Coldplay would later copy in their own stadium shows.

The one problem here is that if you have the companion DVD of this package, you already have all of these songs; it's the exact same listing. You strictly speaking get better value out of the DVDs - it's a visual medium, interviews, special features, etc. - but if you don't want the DVDs (or if, like me, you just like the completism of both and/or want MP3s of the concert) then this double-CD is a totally worthwhile collection showing one of the great live bands at their height.

The best concert of all time!!!
If you like Queen's music then do yourself a favour and buy this. Remember that they were one of the best live bands EVER so prepare to be astounded as they rip through all your favourites and perform them BETTER than on the records. Outstanding.

A very good value CD for all Queen lovers
First of all, I must say I have the majority of Queen's CDs and bought this CD to complete my collection. I was pleasantly surprised by this CD to find that the whole Wembley concert has been included, even with some of the less known songs, such as Big Spender, Brigton Rock, etc. All the classics of the day, such as Radio Ga Ga, Under Pressure, One Vision, We Will Rock you and others are included, as are the older classics Bohemian Rhapsody and Love of my life.

This CD is a double CD and is as such great value. The only reason I couldn't give this CD 5 stars is that I was not as impressed with the sound quality of this CD as I was with other Queen CDs that were also digitally remasterd. There again, though, this is a CD of a live concert that took place nearly 20 years ago...

All in all, this is a great Queen CD that every fan should own. However, if you don't know Queen's music well, I would recommend you purchase some of the Greatest Hits or the Platinum Collection first and get to know their music through the original studio recordings.