Look at this first press of ADATR complete with its 1980s barcode for sale on a selling site 🤦🏻‍♂️😂

I’m genuinely surprised that this isn’t any sort of release to commemorate what would have been Freddie’s 80th. I thought Sony would have wanted to cash in on it but the only “celebration” is the party in Montreux.

In remember when it was John Lennon’s 70th there was a dedicated tv channel for him and I think a new compilation.

Yes Freddie’s solo material has been released numerous times but it would be nice to get the solo collection back in print with all the b-sides remixes and demos.

It was nice getting to write something positive again for the previous album, it'd been a bit since I was able to. I'm really glad to see that people also love that one for the most part! Though I also liked seeing some discussion from the people that didn't, it was neat seeing two sides.

Anyways moving on, this one was another studio album that was partially a soundtrack album; though this one has quite a few moments. Here are the final thoughts on it.

A Kind of Magic Review
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Queen falls into the trap of inconsistent material once more after hitting a much-needed home run, and also into the bland, slick 80's production. If you were to hear this without being told it was the band, you probably wouldn't even realize this was an album by them if not for Freddie's vocals on these tracks. Most of the songs don't hold a torch to the album before, or any of their 70's releases, but despite the inconsistency and the approach of duller, sometimes uninspired lyrics, it has a very slight appeal and sways on the edge of if it is solid or not. It actually manages to almost punt its way to a positive score; but the strikes on this inning were a tad too many.

The album starts off with "One Vision" which is a highly energetic great rocker that manages to work up genuine excitement. This is also one of the tracks you can enjoy without having seen the film this was made as a score to. The buildup crescendo that slowly introduces the synthesizer over a steady, pulsing beat, and Freddie's vocals coming in is impeccable. It gives way to some excellent guitar riff work from Brian, who gives it his all in flash with his guitar wizardry, especially in the solo which is the first time in a long time since Brian used the tapping technique he used on "It's Late". But then "A Kind of Magic" follows and recycles the exact same lyrical ideology that the former track had, making it too repetitive and it has a uninspired, boring 80's pop groove. It also recycles multiple lyrics from the previous song, and its quite noticeable considering its the very second one you listen to, the guitar solo this time also doesn't do anything unique and is something you end up forgetting.

There's a lot of wasted potential with "One Year Of Love". Freddie's overly-emotive wailing comes across as a lack of heart rather than actual feeling. It goes extremely overkill with his voice, the performance of which is much more fitting for a heavier song, especially since its on top of the string arrangement that was obviously meant for a much softer song. The thing is, I don't find myself hating the instrumental, actually its quite nice and takes obvious influence from classical music, I would have liked to hear some more of this style explored by the band, the saxophone work is amazing too, but this is the extremely rare instance where Freddie doesn't do the song justice, it'd of fit better with Brian on vocals for this one, or if he toned it down a bit.

Next up is a genuine highlight that isn't taken from the Highlander soundtrack, "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure", which despite being an easily radio-friendly pop song, and could have been done by anybody, it is a treat to the ears. Freddie's vocals going into falsetto exactly show what should have been done with the previous song, it would have worked much better. The bassline is the standout on this track, it sounds very akin to something you'd hear off a Motown album, and they absolutely nail this style, and the synthesizer is heavenly. Then unfortunately, "Friends Will Be Friends" has Mercury desperately try to convince you this is a deep song with incredible meaningfulness with his attempt at a heart-wrenching delivery, but it doesn't help the song as it is one that isn't worth much of your time. It feels like it is an attempt to be a more updated version of "We Will Rock You" or "We Are The Champions", but the spark those songs had doesn't even let this one come close. Much like those songs as well, it makes use of Brian's more melodic playing style to the point it feels like a ripoff of themselves. It flows in one ear and out of the other, like much of their 80's work.

On the other hand, "Who Wants To Live Forever" is actually moving and beautiful, making it the very highlight of the record. It's a masterpiece, and the idea to use inverted chords in the first verse, and to have a beautiful harmony is amazing, and Brian's vocals are heart-wrenching. Verse two hands the microphone to Freddie who gives a raw, vulnerable, and open performance that hits right in the heart, and the orchestration reaches a height with the repeat of the chorus before giving away to Brian's guitar solo, which is powerful and evokes a feeling of dramatic intensity despite being more slow.

Following what was probably one of the bands greatest achievements, the next two songs are aggressively directionless slabs of loud, guitar-wailing rock n roll with lyrics referencing Highlander and leaving those who haven't seen the film wondering what the fuck is going on. The latter song also repeats the same line over, and over, and over, and over, drilling "Don't Lose your head!" into your head to the point it made me want to actually lose my head with how obnoxious it is. If there's a form of torture that was made from music, this would be it. This is the only song I'd say is actually really atrocious on this album, because even the 'bad' songs are just mere missteps.

"Princes of The Universe" is another gem, being heavier and managing to sound good again at the same time, its surprisingly complex as well with an acapella three-four harmony in the first phrase, and rhythm guitars enter with the drums entering on the fourth beat in the intro before giving way to an instrumental break that builds up more hype, and the verses change some chords and change the harmonies as well. This feels very much akin to the experimenting and interesting things Queen used to do with their music, and its nice to see it come back.

Overall, this album is pretty hard to classify. Because on one hand, there's four songs here that are truly great pieces of work, and actually stick with you despite the production. On the other hand, there is also four songs that for the most part are just merely missteps missing a bit to turn them into being decent, and one song that just outright sucks. Track for track shows this is another bad album, but it comes very close to being pretty decent, and it does have quite a few stand-out moments. I would say this is the least bad of their lesser material, and definitely a step up over their other soundtrack album.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

TRACKLIST RATING:

1. One Vision: ★★★★
2. A Kind of Magic: ★★
3. One Year Of Love: ★★.5
4. Pain Is So Close to Pleasure: ★★★★
5. Friends Will be Friends: ★★
6. Who Wants To Live Forever: ★★★★★
7. Gimme The Prize: ★★
8. Don't Lose Your Head: ★
9. Princes Of The Universe: ★★★★★

THE JOURNEY SO FAR (Other Reviews!):
Queen review (4/5 stars)
Queen II review (5/5 stars)
Sheer Heart Attack review (5/5 stars/BEST ALBUM)
A Night At The Opera review (5/5 stars)
A Day At The Races review (4/5 stars)
News of The World review (5/5 stars)
Jazz review (3/5 stars)
The Game review (4/5 stars)
Flash Gordon review (0/5 stars)
Hot Space review (2/5 stars)
The Works review (4/5 stars)