Hollywood RecordsLive Around the World, Queen‘s first-ever concert album with current singer Adam Lambert, got its release today on multiple formats, including on CD, on vinyl, and as a CD/DVD or CD/Blu-ray set.
The collection features performances personally selected by guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and Lambert from various concerts spanning from a June 2014 show in Los Angeles through the group’s appearance this past February at the Fire Fight Australia bushfire-relief concert in Sydney.
May, Taylor and Lambert came together yesterday to take part in a livestreamed Q&A that aired on Queen’s official YouTube channel.
During the interview, the band mates discussed their Fire Fight Australia performance, which appears in its entirety on Live from Around the World and featured a re-creation of Queen’s set from the historic 1985 Live Aid concert in London.
“The feeling of adrenaline was insane,” said May. “And the audience [was] so energized. That’s the highlight of this whole thing that we’re putting out.”
Live from Around the World also features three songs from Queen + Lambert’s performance at the 2014 Summer Sonic festival in Tokyo.
Taylor noted during the Q&A that the Summer Sonic show featured “a fantastic young audience who [were] incredibly…enthusiastic.” Added Lambert, “[T]hey were singing along with everything. [It was] amazing.”
Taylor also pointed out that Live from Around the World features no overdubs.
“[I]t’s all real. It’s all live,” he said. “It’s not been fiddled with.”
Lambert added, “And the mixes are really cool. It seems feels like you’re in an arena. It’s very, it’s very immersive and ambient, which is really exciting.”
You can check out the Q&A, plus two videos from the new release, at Queen’s YouTube channel.
Here’s the Live Around the World track list:
“Tear It Up” — The O2, London, UK, 2/7/2018
“Now I’m Here” — Summer Sonic, Tokyo, Japan, 2014
“Another One Bites the Dust” — Summer Sonic, Tokyo, Japan, 2014
“Fat Bottomed Girls” — featuring the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX, 2019
“Don’t Stop Me Now” — Rock in Rio, Lisbon, Portugal, 2016
“I Want to Break Free” — Rock in Rio, Lisbon, Portugal, 2016
“Somebody to Love” — Isle of Wight Festival, U.K., 2016
“Love Kills” (The Ballad) — iHeart Radio Theater, Los Angeles, CA, 2014
“I Was Born to Love You” — Summer Sonic, Tokyo, Japan, 2014
“Drum Battle” — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, Australia, 2014*
“Under Pressure” — Global Citizen Festival, New York, NY, 2019
“Who Wants to Live Forever” — Isle of Wight Festival, U.K., 2016
“The Guitar Solo (Last Horizon)” — The O2, London, U.K., 2018*
“The Show Must Go On” — The O2, London, U.K., 7/4/2018
“Love of My Life” — The O2, London, U.K., 7/2/2018
“Bohemian Rhapsody” — Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
“Radio Ga Ga” — Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
“Ay-Ohs” — Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
“Hammer to Fall” — Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” — Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
“We Will Rock You” — Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
“We Are the Champions” — Fire Fight Australia, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Australia, 2020
* = DVD and Blu-ray only.
By Matt Friedlander
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