Search - Queen: Rock Montreal & Live Aid [HD DVD] on HD DVD

The Best-Sounding Queen Live Release Yet!

Jason W. Bellenger | Byron Center, Michigan, USA | 10/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The sound quality on this release is absolutely breathtaking. I cannot believe how much resolution has been tweaked out of these 26-year-old multi-track master tapes. This is by far the best audio quality I have ever heard of a music concert of this age. The sound quality can stand next to any sound quality of today. Yes, it is that stunning!!!

Honestly, I did not expect the audio quality to be as good as the audio quality from the 2004 DVD release of 'Queen On Fire - Live From The Bowl'. But this beats it, and the audio quality on that release is breathtaking as well. I had no idea that so much punch, bass, and kick could be lifted from a concert of this time.

The DTS 5.1 mix is unbelievable! It feels like I'm taken back in time and am right there in concert watching the show. The instruments are so crisp and clean! The music is not flat and lifeless. It is full, wide, and alive! These guys rock!

The picture is beautifully restored as well. In fact, it is hard for me to imagine that this concert was recorded in 1981. It simply does not show it's age, and now I understand why Queen Productions have taken technology further yet with Blu-Ray and HD DVD issues of this release as well. The picture is magnificent! No grain, lines, or darkness whatsoever! The picture glows and shines! Is it really this old? You won't believe it!

Since I do not own the original 'We Will Rock You' DVD release from a few years back I cannot do comparisons. All I know is that this is the best-sounding and best-looking Queen DVD concert in my collection. Overall, it is simply one of the best DVD releases in my collection.

The addition of the 'Live Aid' material on the second DVD is a nice treat for those fans who do not already own the material on the previously released 2004 Live Aid (4 Disc Set) DVD box. Even if one already owns this live set an interview with rehearsal footage is exclusive to this release. Furthermore, a 1982 news feature from US TV series PM Magazine is a bonus.

Queen has never sounded and looked better! These guys were incredible! Highly recommended!

"

Must-have

Mauro Guzzo Decca | São Paulo, Brazil. | 12/28/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It doesn't matter if you like Queen or not. This DVD is a must-have. That's my first Amazon review of a rock'n'roll item. I never cared too much about Queen but the DVD release seemed to me so awkward - I thought: why would they bother to release a concert from 1982 and a live performance in Live Aid which is in everybody's collective unconscious? - that I decided to give it a chance. I was prone to hating the item because Rock'n'Roll and Queen are not my cup of tea.

There I go, an innocent man inserting the beautifully boxed DVD in the player. I turn on the TV. I let the show run while I'm in another room studying and doing other stuff: I could barely listen to the music.

I grabbed a bottle of wine, sat on the sofa and started to look at the screen heedless of the music and the images. I laid down and was bound to sleep just when the player got to the chapter of Under Pressure. And man...

It's beyond description. Freedie Mercury delivers a performance that is perfect from beginning to end. In fact, Under Pressure is so wonderfully played and sung that it alone makes the DVD worth buying. The sheer power of his gutural voice constantly changing its register from bass and tenor is otherwordly in its beauty and sophistication. About the middle of the song his voice goes through a very logical and beautiful recitation of short, brief syllables, as if he were teaching you to sing, and then turns in a wonderfully executed falsetto as he faces the drummer - "these are the da-a-ys - just to get smoothly back to his powerful gutural voice: "it never rains but it pours". Then he starts to teach us to sing again beautifully ascending and descending in the scales by reciting very brief, distinct notes: there are legati and stacatte, all in a very short period of time, beautifully arranged and organized.

Suddenly, he threats to shoot us: his hands are clearly symbolizing a revolver shooting each note with accuracy. Then he goes out of his way to deliver a perfect progression from his natural register to a long high tenor-like note: "higher, high and hiiiiigh". He starks asking "why" in a vibrant, touching and thrilling way before the band develop the song to its climax. By then, you're already either crying or standing upright on your sofa. You're in for the final jewel: his desperate, almost dreadful questioning - "why can't we give ourselves one more chance... - and then the powerful, loud, but sofly and gently executed last verses: "cause Love is SU-ch an Ol-ld Fa-shion Wor-rd And LOve Dares YOU to CA-re FOR the PE-ople...". It's pure poetry. The guy rocks.

If there were just this song in the DVD, it'd already be magical. But the whole thing, once I started to listen carefully to it, is wonderful. His performance in Live Aid beggars belief. The stage is just an extension of his body: he moves freely, beautifully, and delivers what's likely the greatest feat in the history of live rock and roll concerts. Play the Game, Hammer to Fall, Radio Ga-Ga and We are the Champions are given their most incredible performances in Live Aid. He commands the crowd, the stage, and, above all, his voice.

But the real treat is the Montreal gig DVD. It's perfect every step of the way. Therein is probably one of the most impressive versions of "Bohemian Rhapsody". In Montreal, he's much more elegant in his moves and dances than in Live Aid: he throws his fist in the air as he opens and closes his hands; he gets his arm in a hook-like disposition, the muscles all strained, and lifts it as if he were trying to break some barrier.

I give up. The band is wonderful and the guy is just a genius. I can't watch people singing just after listening to him: it's dull. The way he commands the stage, his beautiful presence and his jaw-dropping vocal technique are peerless in Rock and Roll's history. Maybe Robert Plant in his good old days could match him, I don't know.

Buy this cd. It's too cheap for the treasure that's in it. It really doesn't matter whether you like Queen or not.

"

WOW!

David Shanklin | 12/06/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"What can I say?

The picture quality is better than any other concert I have seen on blu-ray.

Shooting on 35mm film was definately the right choice. There is something about film and the way it captures the lights. The colors are all highly saturated and the detail is amazing. You can see the dust and finger prints on the monitors, the uneven texture on the surface of Brian's guitar and all the little details in Roger's drum kit. I have never seen a more beautiful concert video; and to think this was shot 25 years ago.

The sound is excellent too. But I found myself switching back and fourth between surround and stereo a number of times. The surround soundtrack provided a very open and spacious sound; but it was a little too reverberant. I found the stereo soundtrack to be more clear and direct.

Musically the band is in great form. Freddie's vocal performance is top-notch. He is in full voice and clear as a bell.

The reason's I only gave this DVD 4 stars are minor. Even though Queen were at their peak in popularity when they filmed this performance, in my opinion this was not their artistic peak. If only they could have filmed a performance 5 or so years earlier during their Night at the Opera and Day at the Races period. Also, even though the band sounded great, it seemed like their performance was somewhat lackluster. Compared to some of their other concert videos, this outing was not quite up to par."

An awesome job...

D. Quigley | London | 09/23/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was in London last night with my partner and saw (quite unexpectedly) that the Empire Leicester Square were showing a Digital Presentation of this concert...I saw it and I have to say, the picture and sound for this "re-release" is nothing short of awesome.

Having already seen many far older films and concerts being transferred to high definition, This version ranks among the best I've seen, with perfect colour reproduction and image resolution. The source is meticulously free of dirt and scratches and doesn't suffer from artificial removal of natural grain on the 35mm stock, preserving the concert's filmic look.

Tim Young at Metropolis Studios is on top form and has really outdone himself with the sound mix...It's quite front heavy which is the way I like it with the surrounds only adding to the illusion of actually being at the concert. The bass is deep, fast, clean and tight (and any other words you'd like to describe good bass) and had that real "kick in the chest" gravitas.

The Empire has long been my favourite cinema for picture and sound, so I was surprised when, at one point during the concert, the sub bass distorted rather alarmingly. In their defence, the bass on that particular section was insane, but if Empire want to reclaim their "most spectacular cinema in the world" title, they need to update their sound system to PMC speakers and Bryston amplification, as used by Metropolis and Brian May himself.

I'm expecting great things from this one...and the fact it's coming out on Blu-ray with (hopefully) a HD sound mix means we probably won't see it 're-released' for a good few years to come.

On a side note, the inclusion of the Live Aid tracks is fantastic news for me as it's my favourite Queen performance...followed closely by this one."