Rock Montreal (2007)
Disc One
1. Intro
2. We Will Rock You (Fast)
3. Let Me Entertain You
4. Play the Game
5. Somebody to Love
6. Killer Queen
7. I'm in Love With My Car
8. Get Down, Make Love
9. Save Me
10.Now I'm Here
11.Dragon Attack
12.Now I'm Here (Reprise)
13.Love of My Life
Disc Two
1. Under Pressure
2. Keep Yourself Alive
3. Drum and Tympani Solo
4. Guitar Solo
5. Flash
6. The Hero
7. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
8. Jailhouse Rock
9. Bohemian Rhapsody
10.Tie Your Mother Down
11.Another One Bites the Dust
12.Sheer Heart Attack
13.We Will Rock You
14.We Are The Champions
15.God Save the Queen
Had this been the *only* Queen live album, it might have stood a bit taller. And to be fair, it’s not bad. The performances are solid, the sound is crisp, and you can tell the band came to play. But the problem is that it’s not the only Queen live album — not by a long shot. By the time this one was released, it was the *fourth* full-length live concert on CD, covering pretty much every tour Queen did between 1979 and Freddie Mercury’s passing. So at this point, things start to feel more than a little redundant.
The setlist, for example, is practically a carbon copy of On Fire: Live at the Bowl, which was recorded just six months later and was released to the public in 2004. "Six months later" is not an exaggeration. If you play both side by side, you might struggle to remember which one you’re listening to. That in itself wouldn’t be a huge problem — after all, great songs are great songs — but when the performances and even the banter start to overlap, it becomes hard to justify adding this one to the shelf.
Then there’s the audience. Or rather, the lack of one — in terms of energy, anyway. Yes, they cheer politely between songs, but during the performances? Not much going on. It becomes painfully obvious during Crazy Little Thing Called Love, when the band drops into that stripped-down, crowd-participation segment… and all they get in return is awkward silence. Freddie tries to coax them into singing along, but eventually just powers through it himself. You can almost hear the eye-roll in his voice when he closes the show by thanking the crowd for “being such good sports.” Translation: “Thanks for not being completely asleep.”
Again, there’s nothing particularly *wrong* with this live album. It just doesn’t bring anything new to the table — especially if you already own one (or more) of the many Queen live recordings out there. For completists only. Everyone else can stick with Wembley or Live Killers and call it a day.
Go back to the main page
Go To Next Review