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Rating:
It's difficult to review an album like this; some (myself included) consider it the greatest work of the queen, while others downgrade it and place it behind works like "A Night At The Opera" and "The Game." The fact remains that out of 9 tracks, 7 became hit singles.
The album stayed on the UK chart for 63 weeks and was released in 1986, produced for EMI and Hollywood Records by Queen and the Richards brothers (Mack and Dave); it was the soundtrack of the film Highlander. But now let's begin to review the tracks of this very valid work.
"One Vision": Released as a single in November 1985 and later included in the album "A Kind Of Magic," it was the opening song of the Queen's Magic Tour. The song starts with distorted voices (some say they contain subliminal messages, but that's all false) and then gives way to a true hard rock track, a valid song even if it becomes a bit boring after a while.
"A Kind Of Magic": A very catchy song, with truly splendid work by John Deacon, whose bass plays very cheerful and catchy riffs. The chorus gets stuck in your head after the first listen. Written by Taylor, it succeeded in 35 different nations.
"One Year Of Love": This is one of my favorite songs; it's a sad and melancholic ballad by Deacon with really beautiful lyrics. Furthermore, this track is very innovative because it is the first by Queen to have a saxophone playing a truly charming melody. For me, it remains one of the best ballads of all time.
"Pain Is So Close To Pleasure": Ranked 26th in the Netherlands, it's not one of Queen's biggest hits, although it's very sweet and carefree. Freddie showcases his vocal abilities particularly well in this track. The song is very relaxing and easy, definitely not lowering the album's quality.
"Friends Will Be Friends": This is the "We Are The Champions" of the '80s, although it will never reach the success of the latter. This track seems designed to pack stadiums and get them singing; the guitar intro of this song is truly fantastic, as is Freddie's performance.
"Who Wants To Live Forever": I still can't understand how Brian May composed such a masterpiece in five minutes while in the car. This is a MASTERPIECE!!!!! The song addresses existential issues with a somewhat pessimistic tone (Nobel Prize-worthy lyrics). The Philharmonic Orchestra provides a wonderful melodic background, and Freddie Mercury's voice hits very high notes; it's undoubtedly one of the most beautiful musical pieces in the history of music.
"Gimme The Prize": Certainly the hardest track by Queen, it's very tough, particularly fast, and powerful is the guitar intro, which I believe is the best in Queen's entire career (though the intro of "I Want It All" is also very worthy). Queen shows they know their way around Hard'n'Heavy, as they demonstrated with subsequent hits like "Princes Of The Universe."
"Don't Lose Your Head": This track is very peculiar; you can indeed feel pop, disco, and hard influences. I know these genres don't quite fit together, but this song is very unique and well-executed, although perhaps it is inferior to all the other tracks.
"Princes Of The Universe": What to say, there are no adjectives to classify this song as a 10 with honors. Freddie sings incredibly, Brian delivers incredible solos, and John and Roger show they know how to handle themselves very well in the Hard'n'Heavy realm. This is the best track of the whole album and deserves a lot; a real cherry on top of an excellent work like "A Kind Of Magic."
This is definitely an excellent album with very solid tracks that I would recommend to everyone. The Queen is absolutely grand. In the name of Hard'n'Heavy, Axl salutes you. HOLLA HOLLA HOLLA!!!!!!
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 claudio1
The complete resurrection of Queen happens in 1986, the year in which "A Kind of Magic" emerges.
A masterpiece is the next track... Who Wants To Live Forever, a song of great depth and substance thanks especially to the presence of the orchestra.
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 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.
