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Rating:
The complete resurrection of Queen happens in 1986, the year in which "A Kind of Magic" emerges. The album accompanies the film "Highlander" in a different way from the disaster of "Flash Gordon" where the tracks were too attached to the film and were overly boring.
Here there's practically everything:
it begins with four dark voices, an intro that absolutely rocks, and the energetic One Vision which opens the work.
Then comes the title track, A Kind Of Magic, one of Roger Taylor's best songs where Queen shifts to a typical '80s pop.
Next, a recurring theme in "Highlander", of a style and genre completely different from the first two songs: that of One Year Of Love, a sweet love song where a good saxophone played by Steve Gregory emerges in the most intense moments.
Then there's a single of little success (although it was released only in the Netherlands, Germany, and a few other countries): Pain Is So Close To Pleasure, another underrated song with which the group tries to minimize the love pains of the previous song, very close in falsetto to Cool Cat and it's yet another showcase of Freddie's talent.
The "abundant" Friends Will Be Friends (also featured in some cookie commercials) is in a typical Queen style even though in some parts it is too "heavy".
A masterpiece is the next track, also famous, Who Wants To Live Forever, a song of great depth and substance thanks especially to the presence of the orchestra and the transition from Brian's gentle voice to Freddie Mercury's strong one.
Then there is Gimme The Prize, very connected to the film and especially to the Kurgan's Theme, distinguished by a good guitar work by Brian, especially regarding the beginning.
Track number eight is the "misunderstood" Don't Lose Your Head where the compelling rhythm chosen by Roger Taylor is truly engaging; the song is as dark as almost all the other songs by its author and overall a great contribution by the drummer to the album.
The last actual song is a rock gem also very tied to the film (in the accompanying video clip, Freddie and Christopher Lambert, the film's protagonist, engage in a fake fight): I'm talking about Princes Of The Universe.
The eleventh and twelfth tracks are A Kind Of Magic Of Magic and Friends Will Be Friends Will Be Friends. No, I'm not mistaken in writing, nor have I lost my mind: they are two highly unnecessary and boring mixes of the respective tracks. The only extra track worth saving is Forever by Brian May, a beautiful instrumental version of Who Wants To Live Forever.
But these last tracks hardly matter in the face of the actual greatness of this successful album which confirms their complete maturity and demonstrates their full control of a diverse range of musical genres. This should be the ultimate goal of every band.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
02 A Kind of Magic (04:24)
It's a kind of magic
It's a kind of magic
A kind of magic
One dream one soul, one prize
One goal, one golden glance of what should be
It's a kind of magic
One shaft of light that shows the way
No mortal man can win this day
It's a kind of magic
The bell that rings inside your mind
It's challenging the doors of time
It's a kind of magic
The waiting seems eternity
The day will dawn of sanity
Is this a kind of magic
It's a kind of magic
There can be only one
This rage that lasts a thousand years
Will soon be gone
This flame that burns inside of me
I'm hearing secret harmonies
It's a kind of magic
The bell that rings inside your mind
It's challenging the doors of time
It's a kind of magic
It's a kind of magic
This rage that lasts a thousand years
Will soon be, will soon be
Will soon be gone
This is a kind of magic
There can be only one
This rage that lasts a thousand years
Will soon be gone
Magic – it's a kind of magic
It's a kind of magic
Magic, magic, magic, magic
It's magic
It's a kind of magic
04 Pain Is So Close to Pleasure (04:22)
Words and music by Freddie Mercury and John Deacon
Ooh ooh pain is so close to pleasure oh yeah
Sunshine and rainy weather go hand in hand together all
your life
Ooh ooh pain is so close to pleasure everybody knows
One day we love each other then we're fighting one another
all the time
When I was young and just getting started
And people talked to me they sounded broken hearted
Then I grew up and got my imagination
And all I wanted was to start a new relation
So in love but love had a bad reaction
I was looking for some good old satisfaction
But pain is all I got when all I needed was some love and
affection
Ooh ooh pain is so close to pleasure yeah yeah
Sunshine and rainy weather go hand in hand together all
your life
Pain and pleasure
Ooh ooh pain and pleasure
When your plans go wrong and you turn out the light
But inside of your mind you have to put up a fight
Where are the answers that we're all searching for
There's nothing in this world to be sure of anymore
Some days you're feeling good some days you're feeling bad
But if you're feeling happy someone else is always sad
Let the sweetness of love wipe the tears from your face
For better for worse so let's make the best of the rest of our
years
Ooh ooh pain is so close to pleasure I told you so
Sunshine and rainy weather go hand in hand together all
your life
Pain and pleasure
Ooh ooh pain is so close to pleasure yeah yeah
Sunshine and rainy weather go hand in hand together all
your life
All your life
Pain - pleasure ....
06 Who Wants to Live Forever (05:17)
There's no time for us
There's no place for us
What is this thing that builds our dreams
Yet slips away from us
Who wants to live forever?
Who wants to live forever?
There's no chance for us
It's all decided for us
This world has only one sweet moment
Set aside for us
Who wants to live forever?
Who wants to live forever?
Who dares to love forever?
When love must die
But touch my tears with your lips
Touch my world with your fingertips
And we can have forever
And we can love forever
Forever is our today
Who wants to live forever?
Who wants to live forever?
Forever is our today
Who waits forever anyway?
09 Princes of the Universe (03:33)
Here we are - born to be kings
We're the princes of the universe
Here we belong - fighting to survive
In a world with the darkest powers
And here we are, We're the princes of the universe
Here we belong, fighting for survival
We've come to be the rulers of your world
I am immortal, I have inside me blood of kings
I have no rival, no man can be my equal
Take me to the future of your world
Born to be kings, princes of the universe
Fighting and free, got your world in my hand
I'm here for your love and I'll make my stand
We were born to be princes of the universe
No man could understand, my power is in my own hand
Ooh Ooh Ooh Ooh
People talk about you, people say you've had your day
I'm a man that will go far, fly the moon and reach for the stars
With my sword and head held high
Got to pass the test first time - yeah
I know that people talk about me I hear it every day
But I can prove you wrong cause I'm right first time
Yeah Yeah
Alright
Watch this man fly
Bring on the girls
Here we are
Born to be kings
We're the princes of the universe
Here we belong
Born to be kings
Princes of the universe, Fighting and free
Got the world in my hands, I'm here for your love
And I'll make my stand
We were born to be princes of the universe.(echo echo echo)
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Other reviews
By Danilo1987
The album, in my opinion, remains the best in Freddie Mercury and co.'s discography and definitely their best '80s record.
'One Vision' is a very powerful and rocking song in perfect Queen style, which will also open the concerts of the new (and unfortunately last) Queen tour.
By Axlspark
'Who Wants To Live Forever' is a MASTERPIECE!!!!!
The guitar intro in 'Gimme The Prize' is the best in Queen’s entire career.
By Io Ho Il Pene
This album is made up of songs, and now I’ll make the playlist so I can tell you what the songs are like: for example, 'Kind Of Magic', which in the background has quite psychedelic disco keyboard sounds, new genius sounds that renewed techno-rock where Freddy’s voice stretches out in all its fiery power.
If I were you, I would make this immortal album mine, and the 400 thousand souls at Wembley Stadium that night are the most striking demonstration of this.
By andrew1992
"A Kind Of Magic is rightly considered the rebirth of Queen after the dramatic decline in quality of the previous albums."
"Freddie shows an enviable tenor vocal performance... consecrating him as one of the most beautiful voices ever."
By Alevox
There is NOTHING in this album that can be called rock, nothing. It is a pop album.
If the album had been all like these last ballads, it would have turned out to be a masterpiece.
