Queen
Hungarian Rhapsody – Live in Budapest
(Eagle Rock Entertainment)

Opening with a rousing, pretty much note-for-note “One Vision” into “Tie Your Mother Down,” then slowing down the live dynamic as only Queen ever could on the anthem “In The Lap Of The Gods,” it’s apparent that a Queen concert in the mid-80’s (specifically from Budapest in 1986)  was not to be missed.

Lead singer/best frontman ever Freddie Mercury trills on “Looks Like Its Gonna Be A Good Night,” with the band roll jamming behind him. Then we are into Brian May’s echo-brilliant guitar solo battle, followed by a Roger Taylor-led “Now I’m Here.”

“Under Pressure” is a good, solid effort, not an easy song to reproduce live as is “Who Wants To Live Forever” (one of my personal Queen favorites — could Freddy’s voice be any more expressive?). This one also showcases the backing vocals of Brian and Roger. Brian and Freddie get nice and quiet on the 3-song acoustic set of “Love Of My Life,” an airing of the old Jewish-Hungarian “Tavaszi Szel Vizet Araszt” (the audience singing along not surprisingly seeing where the band is here!) into “Is This The World We Created?”

Though the end of this 27-song set does get silly with the medley “(You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care”/“Hello Mary Lou (Goodbye Heart)”/ “Tutti Frutti,” Queen brings it all home with “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a blistering “Hammer To Fall,” Brian May’s wailing, single-cutting note opening of “Friends Will Be Friends” and Freddy’s strutting, cape-and-crown moment on the usual concert end-er “God Save The Queen.”