Currently a Herritage Assistant in Islington...loving my new job!
Currently a Herritage Assistant in Islington...loving my new job!
Member since:26.05.2006
Reviews:34
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THE BAND
Queen have often been described as the 'ultimate of stadium rock bands', but their legend has lasted over the decades, and the death of their lead singer Freddie Mercury from AIDS in the nineties. Queen consisted of four band members- John Deacon(1951)-plays base guitar, and is the only member of the band never to sing. He, out of the four, had the littlest to do with song writing and was purely a performer. Brian May (1947)-is the lead guitarist of the group. Along with his guitar skills he often plays the piano. To add to his talents he wrote such songs as 'Driven by you' and 'Hammer to fall' for the later Queen albums. Freddie Mercury(1946-1991)-was the lead singer of the band He wrote the majority of the songs on the 'Greatest Hits' album, and was a huge talent to the music industry. John Taylor (1946)- plays drums and percussion. He provided backing vocals for many of the songs during the 1970's, and then went to write songs for the band.
The
band took a while to take off, their first single 'Keep yourself Alive' selling poorly during its first release in 1973. However, the band finally reached fame with 'A Night at the Opera' in 1975 giving them worldwide success. From then on they went from strength to strength, reaching highs which had never been attained by a popular music band before. Their music has been heard in film, such as Wayne's World and Moulin Rouge. After the release of Wayne's World the song Bohemian Rhapsody reached number 2 on the US billboard chart, over 10 years after its first release.
In 2002 the legend of Queen still lives on. Two members of the band, Brian May and John Taylor are still touring, using Paul Rodgers as their lead singer in their 'Return of the Champions Tour.' Furthermore in 2002 Brian May wrote 'We Will Rock You' a rock theatrical which has played at the Dominion Theatre in London's West End. The run of four years has led 'We Will Rock You' to be he longest running musical to grace the Dominion Theatre's stage.
THE DVD
Their almost cult status led to the release of the 2002 DVD 'Greatest Video Hits'- a 2 DVD collection. Having paid £12.99 for the collection I was expecting great things, and I was not disappointed! The first disc is the videos from the greatest hits CD, with the addition of 'Spread your Wings' and 'Tie Your Mother Down' but these, I found, were two great additions to the track list. The DVD starts with Bohemian Rhapsody, and what a wonderful start it is. Named the song of the Millennium, the video is so famous it need hardly be described. Shot in Elstree Studios it took only four days to film, and cost less than £4000. The cheapness to film does not show, as this video broke the mould and set the tone for music videos of the future. Track List DVD 1- 1)Bohemian Rhapsody 2)Another One Bites the Dust 3)Killer Queen 4)Fat Bottomed Girls 5)Bicycle Race 6)You're my Best Friend 7)Don't Stop me Now 8)Save Me 9)Crazy little thing called Love 10)Somebody to Love 11)Spread Your Wings 12)Play the Game 13)Flash 14)Tie your Mother Down 15)We Will Rock You 16)We Are the Champions
Many of the videos here are just recordings of stage performances, but due to the huge persona of Freddie Mercury they actually make for wonderful videos. They have all been digitally remastered for this DVD and as such look in pristine condition, despite their age. Along with the 16 tracks, audio commentaries can be added to the videos, performed by Brian May himself. This adds to the detailed knowledge of what happened during the filming of the video- and I found was extremely interesting!
The second DVD has what they term 'extra tracks', and documentary on Bohemian Rhapsody and a picture gallery. The extra tracks are 1)Now I'm Here (live version) 2)Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy 3)Keep yourself Alive 4)Liar 5)Love of my Life 6)We Will Rock You
Some people will say these were not actually worth adding on to a second disc, but I would completely disagree. 'Keep yourself alive' is of interest to any Queen fan as it was their first released single. The fact they have managed to get together a video for it shows how Queen were indeed at the forefront of music technology and promotions- these were the days before MTV remember! In all the live tracks it is clear to see how the talent of Freddie Mercury could literally command the audience and make the concert. I loved watching these extras. The 'Inside the Rhapsody' documentary does what it says on the tin really…an explanation by Brian May of how the notorious song came about. This again was hugely enjoyable and informative to watch. A clear must for any Queen fan.
CONCLUSION
I absolutely loved this DVD, for the price you pay it keeps you entertained for hours (or it did me at least!) There is a booklet that accompanies telling you all about each individual track. So all in all, definitely worth the money and damn good just to listen to!
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Production Year: 1999 - Music / Performing Arts - Original Language: English - Classification: Exempt - Starring: Donny Osmond, Joan Collins, Richard Attenborough
Production Year: 1992 - Music / Performing Arts - Original Language: English - Classification: Exempt - Starring: Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, David Bowie, Def Leppard, Extreme, Elton John, Bob Geldof
Queen's Greatest Video Hits 1takes full advantage of the legendary status of "Bohemian ... more
Rhapsody", still ranked as one of the best-loved tunes of all time, and its equally legendary video. Although no one can wholly explain what Freddie's lament was abo...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Queen's Greatest Video Hits 1takes full advantage of the legendary status of "Bohemian ... more
Rhapsody", still ranked as one of the best-loved tunes of all time, and its equally legendary video. Although no one can wholly explain what Freddie's lament was abo...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Disc 1: 16 Tracks DTS Surround Sound All Disc 1 tracks re colour graded and pan and ... more
scanned for 16:9 5.1 Audio mix PCM Stereo mix Audio commentary (including new commentary from Brian May and Roger Taylor plus archive footage from Freddie Mercury a...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![Queen - The DVD Collection: Greatest Video Hits 1 [2002]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/81402013.jpg "Queen - The DVD Collection: Greatest Video Hits 1 [2002]")
May 30th, 2006
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