A Kind of Magic
| A Kind of Magic | |||||
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| Studio album by Queen | |||||
| Released | June 2, 1986 | ||||
| Recorded | November 1985–April 1986 at Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany, Mountain Studios, Montreux, Switzerland and Townhouse Studios, London, England | ||||
| Genre | Hard rock, pop rock, Glam Rock | ||||
| Length | 53:36 (EMI CD) 50:31 (Hollywood CD) |
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| Label | EMI Hollywood (US) |
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| Producer | Queen, Mack and David Richards | ||||
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| Queen chronology | |||||
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| Singles from A Kind Of Magic | |||||
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A Kind of Magic is a 1986 album by English rock band Queen. It was the band's twelfth studio album, and is based on the soundtrack to the film Highlander, the first in a series directed by Russell Mulcahy. Though the album stalled at #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. The single "A Kind of Magic" only reached #42 in the US despite being featured in Highlander. The album eventually went Platinum in the US in 2002. It is Queen's first album with a title track, and every album released thereafter also contained one. Although Queen would release another three three albums with Freddie Mercury (including one posthumous one), A Kind of Magic would turn out to be the band's last ever album promoted with a concert tour, due to Freddie Mercury's affliction with AIDS. 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.
Contents |
A Kind of Magic and Highlander
The album enjoys the status of an unofficial soundtrack for the 1986 film Highlander (for which no official standalone soundtrack was ever released), as six out of nine songs on the album appeared in it, albeit in different versions. The three songs that did not appear in Highlander are "Pain Is So Close To Pleasure", "Friends Will Be Friends" and "One Vision" (which 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. According a statement by Brian May on the Greatest Video Hits 2 DVD (2003), at least at that point, he had the intention to work on a proper Highlander soundtrack in the future.
Track listing
Side one
- "One Vision" (Queen) – 5:10
- "A Kind of Magic" (Taylor) – 4:24
- "One Year of Love" (Deacon) - 4:26
- "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" (Deacon, Mercury) – 4:21
- "Friends Will Be Friends" (Mercury, Deacon) – 4:07
Side two
- "Who Wants to Live Forever" (May) – 5:15
- "Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme)" (May) – 4:34
- "Don't Lose Your Head" (Taylor) – 4:38
- "Princes of the Universe" (Mercury) – 3:32
Bonus tracks (1986 EMI CD)
- "A Kind of a Kind of Magic" (Taylor) - 3:38
- "Friends Will Be Friends Will Be Friends" (Mercury, Deacon) - 5:58
- "Forever" (Piano version of "Who Wants to Live Forever") (May) - 3:20
Bonus tracks (1991 Hollywood Records CD reissue)
- "Forever" (May) - 3:20
- "One Vision" (Extended version) (Queen) - 6:23
Song information
One Vision
After Queen's contribution to 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, with serious lyrics about men like Martin Luther King, but joked that "that rotter Freddie" had changed all his lyrics with additions like "one shrimp, one prawn, one clam, one chicken" and even name-checking bassist John Deacon. May played the opening synth section using a Yamaha DX-7. The sessions were filmed and later released on the 2003 DVD set Greatest Video Hits 2. The song does not appear in Highlander, but was used in the 1986 movie Iron Eagle.
A Kind of Magic
"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 on the album, released as a single and included their auxiliary live musician, Spike Edney, playing some keyboards. An alternate version plays during the credits of Highlander. Mercury changed the lyrics while Roger was over in LA for a week.
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 Naif and a saxophone played by Steve Gregory. Deacon decided to substitute the guitar components with a saxophone solo after a discussion with May, who doesn't appear in the song. It was released as a single in France and Spain only, and appeared during the bar scene in Highlander. In 2006, this song was covered by Dutch singer Stevie Ann.
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. The song has a Motown style (a first for Queen) and was released as a single in 1986, reaching #26 on the Dutch charts. The title also appears as a line in "One Year of Love". The song does appear in Highlander, in the scene where Nash meets Brenda in the bar after they both leave the Garden. This would be one of the last times Freddie Mercury would sing a Queen song in falsetto
Friends Will Be Friends
"Friends Will Be Friends" was written by Mercury and Deacon, with lyrics written by Mercury (which was confirmed by Brian May on his website). 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". It is another song not featured in Highlander. It was noted as being a modern update of the 70's Queen rock anthems "We Are The Champions" and "We Will Rock You".
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. Many Queen fans believe this to be one of their most moving works. 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 Deacon miming those parts in the video. It serves as somewhat of a 'love theme' of Highlander, as it adds to the sub-plot of the movie (in the film, Freddie sings the first verse as well, unlike the album version, which has Brian singing first).
Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme)
"Gimme the Prize" was written by May. This song is featured in Highlander, and also samples the lines "I have something to say: It's better to burn out than to fade away" and "There can be only one", spoken by actors Clancy Brown (The Kurgan) and Christopher Lambert (Connor MacLeod) respectively. Director Russell Mulcahy states in the DVD commentary that this was his least favorite of the band's songs used in the film because he does not like heavy metal. Brian May also commented (to a Japanese magazine in 1986) that both Mercury and Deacon hated the song. It is one of Queen's heaviest works.
Don't Lose Your Head
"Don't Lose Your Head" was composed by Taylor and features Joan Armatrading in a vocal cameo. The song takes its name from a line spoken in Highlander, and is played for a short time when Kurgan kidnaps Brenda. The song then segues into a cover of "Theme from New York, New York", though it is only a small clip (a full version is rumored to exist in Queen's archives, but no information is known). An instrumental version of the track entitled "A Dozen Red Roses For My Darling" features as the 'B' side to "A Kind of Magic". This disco experimental track was a joke to not lose your head in battle, in co ordinance with the Highlander movie
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. It is quite a complex and heavy work, demonstrating Queen returning to their hard rock and heavy metal roots. The song is played in the opening credits of Highlander. The music video uses clips and scenery from the movie, as well as a cameo by Christopher Lambert.
Singles
- Queen recorded One Vision, released in the UK on November 4, 1985, the first after their much-lauded appearance at the Live Aid concert. It did 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 and was a top ten hit in many 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.
Personnel
- Queen
- Freddie Mercury – lead vocals, piano, backing vocals, synthesisers, programming
- Brian May – electric guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Who Wants to Live Forever", synthesisers, programming
- Roger Taylor – drums, electronic drums, backing vocals, synthesisers, programming
- John Deacon – bass, electric Guitars, synthesisers, programming, backing vocals
- Additional musicians
- Spike Edney – extra keyboards
- UMI & BBC B – computer keyboards
- Joan Armatrading – incidental vocals on "Don't Lose Your Head"
- Steve Gregory – alto sax on "One Year of Love"
- String Section on "One Year of Love" arranged and conducted by Lynton Naiff
- National Philharmonic Orchestra on "Who Wants to Live Forever" arranged by Michael Kamen and Brian May and conducted by Michael Kamen
Chart performance
| Country | Charts | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak position | Weeks | Certification | Sales | |
| United Kingdom | 1[1] | 63[1] | Platinum (x4)[2] | 1.200.000 |
| Ireland | 1 | Platinum | 50.000 | |
| Netherlands | 2 | 180.000 | ||
| Spain | 2 | Platinum (x2) | 300.000 | |
| Austria | 3 | 20 | Platinum | 60.000 |
| Portugal | 3 | Silver | 10.000 | |
| Germany | 4 | Platinum | 800.000 | |
| Switzerland | 4 | 19 | Platinum (x2) | 150.000 |
| Norway | 5 | 12 | ||
| France | 6 | Gold | 320.000 | |
| New Zealand | 7 | 2xPlatinum | 30.000 | |
| Sweden | 9 | 5 | 70.000 | |
| Italy | 13 | Platinum | 180.000 | |
| Japan | 25 | Gold | 200.000 | |
| United States | 46[1] | 13[1] | Platinum[3] | 1.100.000 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "A Kind of Magic at queenonline.com". queenonline.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-11.
- ↑ "BPI Certified Awards". bpi.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-08-11.
- ↑ "RIAA. Gold & Platinum". riaa.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-11.
| Preceded by So by Peter Gabriel |
UK number one album June 14, 1986–June 20, 1986 |
Succeeded by Invisible Touch by Genesis |
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