By the release of 1986's A Kind of Magic, Queen's stature as a prominent rock band in the U.S.
had slipped considerably, while in all other parts of the world (especially Europe), they remained superstar hitmakers.
A Kind of Magic was their biggest album yet in England, where it reached number one, remained on the charts for 63 weeks, and spawned several hit singles -- the epic title track, the tuneful pop/rocker "Friends Will Be Friends," and one of their most haunting ballads, "Who Wants to Live Forever" (also included was the Live Aid-inspired hit anthem "One Vision," which was originally released as a single in 1985).
Most of the songs were written for the movie Highlander -- "Gimme the Prize (Kurgan's Theme)," "Princes of the Universe," the aforementioned "Who Wants to Live Forever," etc.
-- but instead of issuing just a movie soundtrack, the band added a few non-movie tracks and made an official Queen release out of it.
It may not have been as cohesive as some of their other albums, but A Kind of Magic was their best work in some time.
Queen would embark on a sold-out tour of outdoor stadiums in Europe upon the album's release, which would sadly turn out to be their final tour.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | One VisionQueen | Queen | Play | 05:11 | 11 MB | 32 MB |
| 2 | A Kind of MagicRoger Taylor | Queen | Play | 04:24 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | One Year of LoveJohn Deacon | Queen | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 4 | Pain Is So Close to PleasureJohn Deacon, Freddie Mercury | Queen | Play | 04:22 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | Friends Will Be FriendsJohn Deacon, Freddie Mercury | Queen | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Who Wants to Live ForeverBrian May | Queen | Play | 05:17 | 12 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | Gimme the PrizeBrian May | Queen | Play | 04:34 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 8 | Don't Lose Your HeadRoger Taylor | Queen | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 9 | Princes of the UniverseFreddie Mercury | Queen | Play | 03:33 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 40 mins | 92 MB | |||||
| 32 mins | 194 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joan Armatrading | Guest Artist, Vocals |
| 2 | Jim Beach | Management |
| 3 | Roger Chiasson | Cover Illustration, Original Illustration |
| 4 | John Deacon | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Bass), Keyboards |
| 5 | Spike Edney | Keyboards |
| 6 | Kris Fredriksson | Audio Restoration, Audio Supervisor |
| 7 | Chuck Gamage | Original Illustration |
| 8 | Richard Gray | Sleeve Design |
| 9 | Steve Gregory | Saxophone |
| 10 | Peter Hince | Photography |
| 11 | Michael Kamen | Orchestral Arrangements |
| 12 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 13 | Joshua J. MacRae | Audio Supervisor |
| 14 | Brian May | Composer, Executive Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, Orchestral Arrangements, Vocals |
| 15 | Freddie Mercury | Composer, Keyboards, Vocals |
| 16 | Lynton Naiff | String Arrangements |
| 17 | National Philharmonic Orchestra | Orchestra |
| 18 | Queen | Composer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 19 | David Richards | Engineer, Producer |
| 20 | Jenny Robinson | Colorist |
| 21 | Justin Shirley-Smith | Audio Supervisor |
| 22 | Mike Smith | Original Illustration |
| 23 | Chris Taylor | Recording Equipment |
| 24 | Roger Taylor | Composer, Drums, Executive Producer, Keyboards, Vocals |
| 25 | Eric Tomlinson | Engineer |
| 26 | Brian Zellis | Recording Equipment |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |