On Fire: Live at the Bowl (2004)


 
Disc One 1. Flash 2. The Hero 3. We Will Rock You (Fast) 4. Action this Day 5. Play the Game 6. Staying Power 7. Somebody to Love 8. Now I'm Here 9. Dragon Attack 10.Now I'm Here (Reprise) 11.Love of My Life 12.Save Me 13.Black Chat Disc Two 1. Get Down, Make Love 2. Guitar Solo 3. Under Pressure 4. Fat Bottomed Girls 5. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 6. Bohemian Rhapsody 7. Tie Your Mother Down 8. Another One Bites the Dust 9. Sheer Heart Attack 10.We Will Rock You 11.We Are the Champions 12.God Save the Queen

 

This is one of those many albums that gets released long after the band is basically over and done with, knowing there will never be another new release. There really couldn't be, as Freddie Mercury had died twelve years prior, but that's not to say the the execs didn't keep trying. Compilations, rarities, and live albums were still coming to keep the coins in the coffers clinging. There had already been 3 live albums in this band's catalog, one from a show in 1979 and two from 1986 - so this one was sort of "in between" coming from a 1982 concert at the Milton Keynes outdoor "Bowl" in England.

Like the 1986 live show recording documented in 1992's Live at Wembley, this show had tons and tons of people in attendance. Unlike that record though, this one sounds a bit more intimate, so it actually resonates a lot better. At this point, though, to be brutally honest, no one really needed another Queen live album, but this one does fill in the "gaps" between the two aforementioned records nicely, with a good set of songs not available on either one of those tours. That's all not necessarily positive, though, since this album was featuring the then new album Hot Space which would prove to be the most lackluster release of their career. The few songs here from that album are forgettable.

The music sounds tight, the guys rock hard, and the audience is truly into it. An overall strong "plus" in the catalog.

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