One of most influential and popular bands of the 70's and early 80's was Queen. This English quartet was one of the first 'art rock' bands and not only did they create new and unusual music, but they also had a lot of popular appeal. Over their career they sold over 300 million albums, and spent a total of 1,322 weeks (the equivalent of 27 years!) on the British album charts. At the peak of their creative and musical powers the band played a pair of concerts in Montreal in 1981. It ended up being a legendary performance, with the band in top form and full of energy and luckily it was recorded on 35mm film. Previously released on SD DVD as Queen: We Will Rock You, this concert has now been renamed and release on HD DVD (as well as Blu-ray and SD) as Queen Rock Montreal and Live Aid. This HD disc is a definite improvement over the earlier release, with significantly improved sound and a more detailed picture.

This tour was undertaken to support their album The Game, and as it turns out this performance (actually recorded over two consecutive nights) was one of Queen's last really great concerts. Soon after they would add keyboards, breaking their famous "no synthesizers" pledge, and their albums would start to slide in quality and popular appeal (especially the latter). At this moment in time however, they were at the top of their game. The band comes out with a sped-up version of their rock anthem We Will Rock You (the perfect song to start of an evening of rock and roll) and then segues into Let Me Entertain You, setting the tone for the concert.

Even during these two intro songs, it's easy to see that the band is in top form. Freddy Mercury's voice is strong and powerful as he elegantly prances around the stage and the rest of the band (John Deacon on bass, Roger Taylor on drums and Brian May playing guitar) never missed a beat. The entire show is performed with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. In the commentary track, Taylor and May relate the problems the band was having, especially with the film's director who wanted them to make the exact same moves during both concerts that he was recording. They managed to channel this anger and frustration into their music and really rocked the house.

Just about all of the groups greatest hits are performed in this show. From the pop-ish Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Keep Yourself Alive to the hard rocking Sheer Heart Attack this shows how versitile and unique the band's songs are. There are several high points in the show, including the songs Killer Queen, their cover of Jailhouse Rock, and Another One Bites the Dust, but the pinnacle is performance of their most famous song Bohemian Rhapsody. Listening to this song on the radio or on CD, it would seem nearly impossible to perform live, especially the operatic middle section. Queen manages to pull it off, of course, and they do it with style and class.

This is a really great concert, full of energy, great songs, and a lot of fun. All even casual fans of the band will be greatly impressed.

The songs performed are:

We Will Rock You (fast)
Let Me Entertain You
Play the Game
Somebody to Love
Killer Queen
I'm in Love With My Car
Get Down Make Love
Save Me
Now I'm Here
Dragon Attack
Now I'm Here (reprise)
Love of My Life
Under Pressure
Keep Yourself Alive
Drum and Tympani Solo
Guitar Solo
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Jailhouse Rock
Bohemian Rhapsody
Tie Your Mother Down
Another One Bites the Dust
Sheer Heart Attack
We Will Rock You
We are the Champions
God Save the Queen

Video:

The 1.78:1, 1080p/VC-1 encoded disc looks very good for a concert film. Of course it wasn't recorded under the best of circumstances. The band was lit so the people in the audience could see them, and that harsh lighting is not the optimal situation for a creating a warm looking film. (This concert was recorded on 35mm film.) In any case this disc looks much better than my version of the earlier (SD) release of this concert. There's much more detail and the image is sharper overall. The strings on Brian May's guitar are distinct and don't blend into the neck and wrinkles in Freddie's pants that were previously invisible are now easy to see.

Most of the problems I have with the video sprout from the fact that it was recorded live in a concert setting. The flesh tones look off because of the stage lighting, and when the band is flooded with colored lights the color scheme sometimes looks odd. While the image is sharper than the earlier SD release, there are still parts where the picture is very soft. Shots of the crowd are a good example, and some of the shots of the entire stage weren't as defined as I would have liked. There's a fair amount of posterization through the show and grain is present at various times, especially when the lighting abruptly changes, and the blacks are not as solid as they could be. These are all video defects that are common to rock concerts, and with the high energy music that the band is producing, it's easy to forgive.

Audio:

When this disc arrived I couldn't wait to hear what it sounded like. As has already been mentioned, the previous release of this concert was marred by some horrible audio problems and a miscued soundtrack that had Freddy singing when his lips weren't moving. I'm happy to report that this is no longer the case. The disc comes with a PCM stereo track and a 5.1 DST HD track. I switched between the two during the concert and they both sounded exceptional. I usually prefer stereo audio tracks for music and concerts, but the DTS HD multi-track audio was very good. With the sounds of the crowd thrown to the rear as well as the front, it added a lot to the concert and made it sound like your were front and center. The range on both tracks were excellent, with Roger's drums sounding deep and powerful and Brian's guitar solos filling the high end. The audio didn't sound muddled and run together like some filmed concerts. You could hear each instrument separately and they all sounded great. This is a wonderful sounding disc.

Extras:

Rock concerts usually only have an extra song or two as bonus material, but this disc has quite a bit of added content. The most interesting bonus was the commentary track by guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. They give a lot of insight into the performance, discussing the state of the band at that time and the problems they were having with the production crew (who weren't familiar with the songs they were recording). Both musicians had a lot to say and came across as interesting down-to-earth guys and not prima-donnas at all. As a long time fan of the band, I was delighted to hear them talk over this excellent concert.

Though the cover touts this as "Queen Rock Montreal & Live Aid" the Live Aid sections feel like bonus material since it's presented in standard definition. This part looks identical to the Live Aid DVD version, but it's nice to have it on the same disc as this concert. The songs they performed during Live Aid are:

Bohemian Rhapsody
Radio Gaga
Hammer to Fall
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
We Will Rock You
We Are the Champions
Is This The World We Created?

There's also the band's warm up and rehearsals before Live Aid (also in SD), which wasn't included on the earlier released set coving that mega-concert. This includes: Bohemian Rhapsody, Radio Gaga, and Hammer to Fall.

There's also a short interview with the group on the TV show PM Magazine. It lasts seven minutes but the interview wasn't that good and I wasn't really that impressed.

Final Thoughts:

This is dating me a little, but I saw Queen live during this tour in Houston. This HD DVD captures nearly all of the energy and excitement of a Queen live show with a much better view of the performers. While this film has defects frequently associated with a live concert, the HD DVD looks very good and much better than the earlier release of the concert. The biggest improvement however is the sound. They got the audio track right on this release, and it sounds fantastic. Fans of the band should run out and grab a copy. You'll be glad you did. Highly Recommended.

Note: The images in this review are not from the HD DVD and do not necessarily represent the image quality on the disc.