A Kind of Magic Review by Greg Prato


By the release of 1986's A Kind of Magic, Queen's
stature as a prominent rock band in the U.S. had slipped considerably,
while in all other parts of the world (especially Europe), they remained
superstar hitmakers. A Kind of Magic was their biggest album yet in
England, where it reached number one, remained on the charts for 63
weeks, and spawned several hit singles -- the epic title track, the
tuneful pop/rocker "Friends Will Be Friends," and one of their most
haunting ballads, "Who Wants to Live Forever" (also included was the
Live Aid-inspired hit anthem "One Vision," which was originally released
as a single in 1985). Most of the songs were written for the movie Highlander
-- "Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme)," "Princes of the Universe," the
aforementioned "Who Wants to Live Forever," etc. -- but instead of
issuing just a movie soundtrack, the band added a few non-movie tracks
and made an official Queen release out of it. It may not have been as
cohesive as some of their other albums, but A Kind of Magic was their
best work in some time. Queen would embark on a sold-out tour of outdoor
stadiums in Europe upon the album's release, which would sadly turn out
to be their final tour.

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