Queen - "Hungarian Rhapsody" CD/DVD Review (Eagle Rock)

With the flood of “deluxe edition” reissues and archival releases over the last few years, I’m convinced that most major labels don’t have a clue about the artists on their label or the demographic that they are attempting to target as many of these releases look like poorly designed cash grabs. With all the great Queen archival material that has been “floating around” as bootlegs over the last few decades, who thought releasing a full-priced DVD/CD set of Queen’s show in Budapest, Hungary from July 27, 1986 was a good idea…especially since this show took place just over two weeks after the well documented (and cheaper priced) Live at Wembley Stadium show?

Those who didn’t grow up in the era of stadium rock may not know this – but stadium rock show were highly polished, heavily rehearsed productions. With any stadium rock band, there are just minimal differences in the set and stage banter on any given night of a tour. Given this – you may be wondering what’s the difference between Live at Wembley Stadium and Hungarian Rhapsody. In short – the key difference is that the Budapest show features what is probably Queen’s only performance of the Hungarian children’s song “Tavaszi Szél Vizet Áraszt”. Unfortunately – the record company already released this song as a bonus track on the reissue of Live at Wembley so…there really is nothing new here. Completists may grumble that I’m (intentionally) ignoring the DVD Bonus Feature “A Magic Year” but there is similar ‘behind the music’ footage on Live at Wembley (both are amusing to watch once but not much more). My other reservation is that the DVD portion of Hungarian Rhapsody doesn’t include the full show (lost footage, blah, blah, blah).

On a positive note – Freddie Mercury was a brilliant front man and he is one of the few singers who could hold a full stadium in the palm of his hand. For anyone who has only been exposed to Queen through the dreadful ‘Queen + Paul Rodgers’ or ‘Queen + Adam Lambert’, you really owe it to yourself to see one of these two video from Queen’s final tour (with Freddie).



Major labels rarely listen to the fans but long-time fans should try to put pressure on the label to release one of the brilliant pro-shot live shows from 1981.

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Queen - "In the Mirror Again - More Lost BBC Sessions" CD Review (Unofficial - not an EMI Parlophone release)

This disc is being sold by major retailers as a Japanese EMI import but is allegedly a Russian bootleg. Regardless, it is a beautiful package and the two live shows on this disc document what a powerful live act Queen was early in their career. Both shows are sourced from radio broadcasts and are bookended around the release of the band's under-appreciated Queen II album.

The first show captures the band a month after Queen II was recorded but six months prior to the album's release. During this show, the band premiers three songs from Queen II and goes out with a 50's rock medley that was dropped from the band's set by the following year. The recording is crisp and clear - my only complaint is that the mix is off and Freddie's voice isn't as loud as the instruments.

Queen in Concert From Golders Green Hippodrome,
London, September 13, 1973
01. Alan Black Introduction (00:20)
02. Procession (01:22)
03. Father To Son (05:21)
04. Son And Daughter (07:21)
05. See What A Fool I've Been (04:39)
06. Ogre Battle (04:50)
07. Band Introduction (00:28)
08. Liar (07:38)
09. Jailhouse Rock (02:07)
10. Stupid Cupid (00:15)
11. Be Pop A Lula (00:45)
12. Jailhouse Rock (Reprise) (00:42)
13. Big Spenser (01:10)
14. Bama Lama Bama Loo (02:11)



The second show was recorded a few weeks after Queen II was released and shows the band already switching up the set list. The 50's medley has been dropped and the band is playing a slightly different mix of songs from the first two Queen albums.

In Concert From Rainbow Theatre
London, March 31, 1974
15. Procession (01:10)
16. Father To Son (05:44)
17. Ogre Battle (05:04)
18. Son And Daughter (07:36)
19. Keep Yourself Alive (04:05)
20. Seven Seas Of Rhye (03:01)
21. Modern Times Rock'n'Roll (02:45)
22. Liar (07:44)

(Note: YouTube video cuts halfway through the song)


Sadly, this is the sort of recording that should have been used as the bonus disc for the 2011 reissue of Queen II rather than the cobbled-together five tracks (~20 min) that EMI did release.

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Queen - "Hot Space" Deluxe Edition (2011) CD Review

This is the first of the 2CD Queen reissues that I've heard and Hot Space was probably a bad entry point to the series as this release looks like a "cash grab".

Starting with the bonus EP, the 5-track disc runs 23 minutes so these tracks could have easily been appended to the main disc (like the bonus tracks for Thin Lizzy's Bad Reputation).

The bonus EP contains:
1. "Staying Power (Live in Milton Keynes, June 1982)"
2. "Soul Brother (B-Side)"
3. "Back Chat (Single Remix)"
4. "Action This Day (Live in Tokyo, November 1982)"
5. "Calling All Girls (Live in Tokyo, November 1982)"

Taking this disc apart track-by-track:

- This live version of "Staying Power" is from Queen's Live at the Bowl CD which documents the band's Hot Space tour. As only four songs from Hot Space were played during this concert, you would have thought all four songs would have been included on the bonus disc.

- "Soul Brother" was the b-side to "Under Pressure" and I believe this is the first time this track has made it to CD. This is a full-on "Aretha Franklin-style" soul ballad with Freddie Mercury singing predominately in a high falsetto.

- "Back Chat (Single Remix)" - A complete throw-away as this is a single edit that runs twenty second shorter than the LP version.

- "Action This Day" and "Calling All Girls" come from the band's concert at Seibu Lions Stadium in Tokyo, Japan on November 3, 1982. Eight tracks from this show were previously released as bonus tracks on Live at the Bowl DVD so it is anyone's guess why the band is seemingly being very stingy with the remaining thirteen tracks.



I generally don’t write reviews of the original album when reviewing one of the many 2CD “deluxe editions” that the industry seems to be banging out by the truckload but I don’t think I’ve every heard all of Hot Space before.

While most everyone knows the song “Under Pressure”, that song is NOT indicative of the music on this disc. For a band that once prided themselves on using no synthesizers, most of the tracks sound like warmed-over Nile Rodgers leftovers or throw-away dance floor tracks. The predominate use of synthesizers and electronic drum machine tracks make this disc sound very “80s” and dated. There are a few moments of “classic” Queen ("Las Palabras del Amor", “Under Pressure”. “Life is Real (Song for Lennon)”) along with some enjoyable segues into Bronski Beat style pop but the dross significantly outweighs these tracks and this makes for a very uneven listening experience.

For the Hot Space tour, Queen played these songs much harder than the studio versions and the use of real instruments (as opposed to electronic beats) breathed some new life into these tracks. As such, an unreleased live show from this tour (or the remainder of the Tokyo show) would have made this set more interesting. At minimum, the original (and heavily bootlegged) version of “Cool Cats” with David Bowie’s backing vocals would have made a nice addition to the bonus disc.

This 2CD set hasn’t yet been released in the US but is available as an import on Amazon for $14.99 (new) through third-party sellers. (No one in their right mind should pay the $30 list price for this set.)



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