| A Kind of Magic | ||||
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| Released | 2 June 1986[1] | |||
| Recorded | September 1985 – April 1986 | |||
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| Length | 40:42 | |||
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| Queen chronology | ||||
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| Singles from A Kind of Magic | ||||
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A Kind of Magic is the twelfth studio album by the Britishrock bandQueen, released on 2 June 1986 byEMI Records in the UK and byCapitol Records in the US. It is based on the soundtrack to the filmHighlander, directed byRussell Mulcahy.
A Kind of Magic was Queen's first album to be released since they had received acclaim for their performance atLive Aid in 1985. It was an immediate hit in the UK, going straight to number one and selling 100,000 copies in its first week. It remained in the UK charts for 63 weeks,[9] selling 600,000 in the UK alone. The album spawned four hit singles: the album's title track "A Kind of Magic", "One Vision", "Friends Will Be Friends",[10] and "Who Wants to Live Forever", which features an orchestra conducted byMichael Kamen, while the album's final track, "Princes of the Universe", is thetheme song toHighlander.[11]
Although Queen would release another two albums withFreddie Mercury still alive,A Kind of Magic would turn out to be his last album promoted with aconcert tour, due to his diagnosis withAIDS the following year.
The album enjoys the status of an unofficial soundtrack for the 1986 filmHighlander, for which no official soundtrack album was released. The title, "A Kind of Magic", derived from one of the lines characterConnor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) says to describe his immortality.[12] Six out of nine songs on the album appeared in the film, although in different versions. The three songs that did not appear inHighlander are "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure", "Friends Will Be Friends" and "One Vision", which was featured a year earlier in the filmIron Eagle. Conversely, a recording of "Theme from New York, New York" made specifically for a scene inHighlander does not appear onA Kind of Magic, and in fact has never been released in album form to date. Band memberBrian May, according to a statement he made on theGreatest Video Hits 2 DVD (2003), had, at least at that point, the intention to work on a properHighlander soundtrack in the future. In one scene, a snippet of "Hammer to Fall" plays on a radio, a song from the previously releasedThe Works album.
After Queen's contribution toLive Aid,Freddie Mercury was enthusiastic about the band and soon after called them to go to the studio and write a song together which became "One Vision". All four band members were credited as songwriters; however,Roger Taylor stated in an interview with Australian TV that originally it had been his song, with lyrics reflectingMartin Luther King Jr. He joked that "that rotter Freddie" changed all his lyrics with additions like "one shrimp, one prawn, one clam, one chicken", and even name-checkedJohn Deacon.Brian May played the opening synth section using aYamaha DX-7. The sessions were filmed and later released on the 2003 DVD setGreatest Video Hits 2. The song does not appear inHighlander, but was used in the 1986 movieIron Eagle.
"A Kind of Magic" was written by Taylor. He has admitted writing down some lyrics, which proved to be the basis for both "One Vision" and "A Kind of Magic", something made obvious by the demo of the song appearing for the first time on the 2011 Universal bonus EP, which mixes some lyrics. Later on, unbeknownst to Taylor who had gone to the US for a few days, Mercury took it over, "polished" the lyrics, added the bassline, some connectors and re-arranged the structure. Regardless, the new, more pop-oriented version was still credited to Taylor. It was this version that was featured on the album, released as a single and included their auxiliary live musician,Spike Edney, playing some keyboards. The heavier, rockier alternate version, also making its official debut on the 2011 Universal bonus EP, played during the end credits ofHighlander. The song was covered byElaine Paige in 1988 on her album calledThe Queen Album.
"One Year of Love" is a song by John Deacon. The album version features him playingYamaha DX7 synth, astring orchestra conducted by Lynton Naiff and a saxophone played bySteve Gregory. Deacon decided to substitute the guitar components with a saxophone solo after a discussion with May, who does not appear in the song. It was released as a single only in France and Spain, and appeared during a bar scene and an instrumental piano version appeared in a scene where Connor Macleod was in Brenda Wyatt's apartment inHighlander. It was also covered byElaine Paige onThe Queen Album in 1988 and later byDutch singerStevie Ann in 2006.
"Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" was written by Mercury and Deacon. Beginning as a riff idea by May, Deacon and Mercury subsequently turned that into aMotown-style song, with Deacon playing rhythm guitar. A slightly remixed and reworked version was released as a single in 1986, reaching No. 26 on the Dutch charts. The title also appears as a line in "One Year of Love".
"Friends Will Be Friends" is a song by Mercury and Deacon, with lyrics written by Mercury.[13] It is one of the last of Mercury's piano ballads, and bears some similarity to "Play the Game" and "We Are the Champions". It did not feature inHighlander. It was noted as being a modern update of the 1970s Queen rock anthems "We Are the Champions" and "We Will Rock You", and reached No. 14 in the UK. During the Magic Tour, the song was played between "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions", the traditional closing songs of Queen live performances.
"Who Wants to Live Forever" was composed by May, and sung in the album version as a duet between himself and Mercury. Synthesizer parts are played on aYamaha DX-7 by May, and the orchestra was arranged and conducted by Michael Kamen. Deacon did not participate, and Taylor played some drum-machine parts and contributed backing vocals. Percussion was taken over by the orchestra as well asdouble bass, in spite of Taylor and Deacon miming those parts respectively in the video. It serves as somewhat of a "love theme" ofHighlander, as it adds to the sub-plot of the movie. In the film, Mercury sings the opening of the song as well, unlike the album version, which has May singing.
"Gimme the Prize" was written by May. This song is widely known for itsheavy metal features. It is featured inHighlander, and also samples various lines from the film, most notably "I have something to say: It's better to burn out than to fade away" and "There can be only one", spoken by actorsClancy Brown (The Kurgan) andChristopher Lambert (Connor MacLeod) respectively. DirectorRussell Mulcahy states in the DVD commentary that this was his least favourite of the band's songs used in the film because he does not like heavy metal. May also commented to a Japanese magazine in 1986 that both Mercury and Deacon hated the song.
"Don't Lose Your Head" was composed by Taylor and features singerJoan Armatrading in a vocal cameo. The song takes its name from a line spoken inHighlander, and is played for a short time when Kurgan kidnaps Brenda. The song then segues into a cover of "Theme fromNew York, New York", though it is only a small clip. It is also featured in an episode ofHighlander: The Series titled "Free Fall". An instrumental version of the track entitled "A Dozen Red Roses for My Darling" is featured as the B-side to "A Kind of Magic".
"Princes of the Universe" is the film's theme song and the only song on the album for which Mercury received sole credit. It is quite a complex and heavy work, showing Queen returning to theirhard rock roots. The song is played in the opening credits ofHighlander.[14] The music video uses clips and scenery from the movie, as well as a cameo byChristopher Lambert, who fights with Mercury on part of the film set atElstree Studios, London on 14 February 1986. The song's name comes from the original working title of the film.[1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [16] |
| Chicago Tribune | [17] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [18] |
| Kerrang! | [19] |
| MusicHound Rock |  [20] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [21] |
| Sounds | [22] |
Rolling Stone described the album as "heavy plastic", concluding: "This band might as well put some pomp back in its rock. Its members are never going to make it as dignified elder statesmen".[23]The Times described the album as one of "the most spectacularly successful releases this year", yet questioned its appeal, asking, "why does it not extend to those of us who are given the records to review?"[10]People Weekly wrote: "There's hardly a personal expression, let alone an intimate one, in this album... The group can be dazzling. In this case they're just overbearing".[24]Kerrang!'s Paul Henderson wondered "how much of the album is the 'real' Queen and how much is the result of the constraints/musical slant imposed upon them by writing material to go with a movie", concluding that "only a band of Queen's stature (...) could put out an album of such diverse songs without disappointing a sizeable portion of their fans".[19]
In a retrospective review, Greg Prato ofAllMusic wrote: "It may not have been as cohesive as some of their other albums, butA Kind of Magic was their best work in some time".[16] Queen biographerMark Blake wrote: "The album's confused origins made for a somewhat uneven listening experience... only the title cut and 'Who Wants to Live Forever' were songs that would survive the album's natural shelf life. Like every Queen record sinceJazz,A Kind of Magic was a so-so album, cleverly loaded with two or three potential hit singles".[25]
In the 1994 edition ofThe Guinness All Time Top 1000 Albums, the album was votedNo. 171 in the all-time greatest rock and pop albums.[26] In 2006, a nationalBBC poll saw the album voted the 42nd-greatest album of all time.[27] In 2007,Classic Rock rankedA Kind of Magic the 28th-greatest soundtrack album of all time.[28]
All lead vocals byFreddie Mercury unless noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "One Vision" | 5:11 | |
| 2. | "A Kind of Magic" | Taylor | 4:24 |
| 3. | "One Year of Love" | Deacon | 4:27 |
| 4. | "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" |
| 4:21 |
| 5. | "Friends Will Be Friends" |
| 4:06 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Who Wants to Live Forever" | May | Mercury and May | 5:15 |
| 7. | "Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme)" | May | 4:33 | |
| 8. | "Don't Lose Your Head" | Taylor | Mercury withJoan Armatrading | 4:38 |
| 9. | "Princes of the Universe" | Mercury | 3:33 | |
| Total length: | 40:42 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "A Kind of 'A Kind of Magic' " (Second half of the extended version of "A Kind of Magic"[30]) | Taylor | 3:38 | |
| 11. | "Friends Will Be Friends Will Be Friends..." (Extended version of "Friends Will Be Friends"[31]) | Mercury, Deacon | 5:58 | |
| 12. | "Forever" (Piano version of "Who Wants to Live Forever"[29]) | May | Instrumental | 3:20 |
| Total length: | 52:58 | |||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Forever" | 3:20 |
| 11. | "One Vision" (Extended Version) | 6:23 |
| Total length: | 50:25 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Kind of Magic" (Highlander version) | 4:22 |
| 2. | "One Vision" (Single Version) | 4:00 |
| 3. | "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" (Single Remix) | 3:57 |
| 4. | "Forever" | 3:20 |
| 5. | "A Kind of Vision" (Demo, August 1985) | 3:23 |
| 6. | "One Vision" (live atWembley Stadium, 11 July 1986) | 5:12 |
| 7. | "Friends Will Be Friends Will Be Friends..." | 5:59 |
| Total length: | 30:13 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 8. | "One Vision" (Extended promo video[32]) | 6:28 |
| 9. | "Princes of the Universe" (Promo video[33]) | 3:31 |
| 10. | "A Kind of Magic" (live at Wembley Stadium, July 11, 1986[34]) | 6:46 |
| Total length: | 46:18 | |
Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album.
Queen
Additional personnel
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[59] | Platinum | 50,000* |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[60] | Gold | 100,000* |
| France (SNEP)[61] | Gold | 100,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[62] | 3× Gold | 750,000^ |
| Italy (FIMI)[63] sales since 2009 | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[64] | Gold | 7,500^ |
| Poland (ZPAV)[65] 2008Agora SA album reissue | 3× Platinum | 60,000* |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[66] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[67] | 2× Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[68] | 2× Platinum | 600,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[69] | Gold | 500,000^ |
| Yugoslavia[70] | Gold | 50,000[70] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
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