Queen Rock Montreal

Essentially, the 2007 release Queen Rock Montreal is the long-delayed official release of the soundtrack to the We Will Rock You concert video, capturing highlights from the group's two-night stand at the Montreal Forum on November 24 and 25, 1981. This double-disc contains the full set, including the previously unreleased "Flash" and "The Hero," and it benefits from the ebb and flow of a full concert, giving a broader, fuller sense of Queen at the peak of their power, which they were close to being at the time this was recorded. That is, they were close to the peak of their powers as world-conquering stadium rockers, touring the same set across the globe, perfecting it so it could play in any territory, as if it was rock & roll Esperanto. That may mean that this isn't as raw or visceral as various live recordings from the '70s, but it is deliberately theatrical and often majestic. When Queen is thought of as a ridiculous, over-sized arena monster, this is the kind of sound people have in mind, and it's still grandly entertaining decades later.