A Kind of Magic

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A Kind of Magic
A Kind of Magic cover
Studio album by Queen
Released June 2, 1986; June 3, 1986 (U.S.)
Recorded November 1985 - April 1986 at Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany, Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland and Townhouse Studios, London, England
Genre Rock
Length 53:35 (CD)
Label EMI, Hollywood Records (US)
Producer(s) Queen, Mack and David Richards
Professional reviews
Queen chronology

The Works
(1984)
A Kind of Magic
(1986)
The Miracle
(1989)


A Kind of Magic is a 1986 album by English rock band Queen. It was the band's twelfth studio album, and was based on the soundtrack to the film Highlander, the first in a series directed by Russell Mulcahy. Though the album hit #46 in the United States, it rocketed to #1 in the United Kingdom, remaining in the charts for sixty-three weeks and spawning 3 hit singles with "A Kind of Magic" going to number one in over 30 countries around the world. The single only reached #42 in the US despite being heavily featured in Highlander. The album eventually went Gold in the US in 2002. It is Queen's first album with a title track, and every album released thereafter also contained one.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

[edit] One Vision

Main article: One Vision

After Live Aid, Freddie Mercury was enthusiastic about the band and rang them up to go to the studio and write a song together, the finished product being "One Vision". All four band members were credited as songwriters however Roger Taylor stated in an interview with Australian TV that originally it had been his song but joked that "That rotter Freddie" had changed all his lyrics. May played the opening synth section using a Yamaha DX-7. The sessions were filmed.

[edit] A Kind of Magic

Main article: A Kind of Magic (song)

"A Kind of Magic" was originally written by Taylor before Mercury took it over, added the bassline, some connectors and re-arranged the structure. Regardless, it was still credited to Taylor. The new version was featured in the album, released as single and included their auxiliary live musician, Spike Edney, playing some keyboards.

[edit] One Year of Love

Main article: One Year of Love

"One Year of Love" is a song by John Deacon. The album version features Deacon playing Yamaha DX-7 synth, a string orchestra conducted by Lynton Naiff and a saxophone played by Steve Gregory. The song doesn't feature May.

[edit] Pain Is So Close to Pleasure

Main article: Pain Is So Close to Pleasure

"Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" began as a riff idea by May. Then Deacon and Mercury turned that into a song, with Deacon playing rhythm guitar.

[edit] Friends Will Be Friends

Main article: Friends Will Be Friends

"Friends Will Be Friends" was written by Mercury. Again, Mercury and Deacon collaborated on the song and gave it the final touches. It's one of the last of Mercury's piano ballads, and it holds many musical similitudes with older Queen material, such as Play The Game and We Are the Champions.

[edit] Who Wants to Live Forever

Main article: Who Wants to Live Forever

"Who Wants to Live Forever" was composed by May and sung in the album version as a duet between himself and Mercury. Synths are done on a Yamaha DX-7 by May, and the orchestra was arranged and conducted by Michael Kamen. Deacon did not participate and Taylor played some drum-machine parts and contributed to backing vocals. Percussion was taken over by the orchestra as well as bass (double-bass in this case), in spite of Taylor miming those parts in the video.

[edit] Gimme the Prize

"Gimme the Prize" was written by May. Both Mercury and Deacon disliked the track, but participated anyway[citation needed]. The lines "I have something to say : It's better to burn out than to fade away" and "There can be only one" are from Highlander and are presumably said by actors Clancy Brown (The Kurgan) and Christopher Lambert (Connor MacLeod) respectively.

[edit] Don't Lose Your Head

"Don't Lose Your Head" was composed by Taylor and features Joan Armatrading in a vocal cameo.

[edit] Princes of the Universe

Main article: Princes of the Universe

"Princes of the Universe" is the film's theme song and the only song on the album for which Mercury received sole credit.

[edit] Singles

  • Queen recorded One Vision, released in the UK on November 4, 1985, directly after their much-lauded appearance at the Live Aid concert; the single was criticized for being no more than a means of cashing in on a charity event. It did, in fact, do well on the charts, reaching seventh in the UK and making top ten throughout Europe. The song appeared in the film Iron Eagle.
  • A Kind Of Magic, released in the UK on March 17, 1986, reached #3 on its home chart but was a #1 hit in thirty-five other countries. While charting well everywhere else, it peaked at #42 in the USA and has been played on radios mostly in New England (Similar to their first single Keep Yourself Alive). Russell Mulcahy, director of Highlander, directed the song's accompanying video.
  • Friends Will Be Friends, released on June 9, 1986, reached 14th in the UK and made the top forty throughout Europe.
  • Who Wants To Live Forever, released on September 15, 1986, reached 24th in the UK. The National Philharmonic Orchestra featured in the song's video, along with forty choirboys and two thousand candles.
  • Pain Is So Close To Pleasure, released in the US and parts of Europe only.
  • One Year Of Love, released in France and Spain only.
  • Princes Of The Universe, was never released as a single in the UK. While not a hit, it is a cult favorite due to the 1986 film Highlander in the USA. It was also used as the theme music for the Highlander television show which followed the movie in 1992-1998. The music video featured Christopher Lambert and the band on part of the film set, and is cleverly cut with scenes from the film. The song also appears on Greatest Hits III. It was released as a single in The Netherlands on February 28th 2000.

[edit] Album trivia

  • Six songs from the album appeared in the 1986 film Highlander, albeit in different versions. No standalone soundtrack for the movie was ever released, but according to Brian May on his commentary for the Greatest Video Hits 2 DVD, he mentioned a desire to work on such a release in the future.
  • The songs that didn't appear in Highlander were: 'One Vision', 'Pain Is So Close To Pleasure' and 'Friends Will Be Friends', although 'One Vision' was featured a year earlier in the film Iron Eagle. Conversely, a recording of "Theme from New York, New York" made specifically for a scene in Highlander does not appear on A Kind of Magic, and in fact has never been released in album form to date.
  • For the first time in their career, the band allowed cameras to film them while they were in the studio. The video for 'One Vision' shows them in various stages of writing and recording the song.
  • A different version of 'A Kind Of Magic' appears in the film Highlander. It is in fact the original version.
  • The saxophone solo that featured in 'One Year Of Love' was played by Steve Gregory, who also played saxophone on George Michael's first solo single, 'Careless Whisper'.
  • The video for 'Friends Will Be Friends' marked the second occasion where the band invited fans from their fanclub to appear as a concert audience, the first time being 'We Are The Champions'.
  • A different version for 'Who Wants To Live Forever' appears in the film Highlander. Where guitarist Brian May sings the first verse on the album version, lead vocalist Freddie Mercury sings the entire song in the movie.
  • 'Gimme the Prize' was director Russel Mulcahy's 'least favourite' Queen song to appear in Highlander.
  • An instrumental version of 'Don't Lose Your Head' appeared as the b-side of the single 'A Kind Of Magic'. Retitled 'A Dozen Red Roses For My Darling', it more resembled the version that appeared in Highlander.
  • The video for 'Princes Of The Universe' is was directed by Russel Mulcahy and shot on a set used in his film Highlander. It features a 'sword fight' between Christopher Lambert and Freddie Mercury, although some would question the fairness of the battle as while Lambert was armed with a katana, Mercury was armed with his signature microphone stand.
  • In a Beatlesque joke, the words "fried chicken" are sung at the end of "One Vision" in lieu of the title.
  • 'Don't Lose Your Head' was later featured in Highlander : The Series, in the episode Free Fall. The song is used as background music during the scene in which Duncan MacLeod fights Immortal Felicia Martins. This scene was made to look like a promotional video. [1]

[edit] Credits

  • Lead vocals by Freddie Mercury except:
  • 'Who Wants To Live Forever': Mercury & May.
  • Backing vocals by Mercury, Taylor and May except:
  • 'One Vision': May.
  • 'One Year Of Love': Mercury.
  • 'Pain Is So Close To Pleasure': Mercury.
  • 'Don't Lose Your Head': Roger Taylor & Joan Armatrading.
  • Bass guitars by John Deacon.
  • Guitars by Brian May, John Deacon (rhythm parts on 'Pain Is So Close To Pleasure' and 'Don't Lose Your Head').
  • Synths by Queen & Spike Edney.
  • Pianos by Freddie Mercury.
  • Drums, electronic percussion, drum machines by Roger Taylor.

[edit] Charts

Country Charts Sales
Peak position Weeks Certification
United Kingdom 1 63 Platinum (x2) 1.000.000
Spain 2 Platinum (x2) 205.000
Netherlands 2
Portugal 3 Silver 10.000
Austria 3 Platinum 50.000
Switzerland 4 Platinum (x2) 100.000
Germany 4 Platinum 600.000
Japan 25 50.000
United States 46 13 Gold 1.000.000

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bill Panzer, DVD of Highlander Season 1 (2001), comment on episode 'Free Fall'.
Queen
John Deacon | Brian May | Freddie Mercury | Roger Taylor
History | Live performances | Songs
Discography
Studio albums: Queen | Queen II | Sheer Heart Attack | A Night at the Opera | A Day at the Races | News of the World | Jazz | The Game | Flash Gordon | Hot Space | The Works | A Kind of Magic | The Miracle | Innuendo | Made in Heaven
Live albums: Live Killers | Live Magic | Live at Wembley '86 | Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl | Return of the Champions
Compilation albums: Greatest Hits | At the Beeb | Greatest Hits II | Classic Queen | Queen Rocks | Greatest Hits III | Stone Cold Classics
DVDs: We Will Rock You | The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert | Greatest Video Hits 1 | Live at Wembley Stadium | Greatest Video Hits 2 | We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan | Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl | Return of the Champions | Super Live in Japan
Related Articles
Ibex | Larry Lurex | Smile | The Cross | Queen + Paul Rodgers
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