There Can Be Only One!4 Out Of 5 Stars
Queen had just come off their triumphant Live Aid appearance when they headed back into the studio to record "A Kind of Magic." The band was also approached with the plum job of writing songs for the film Highlander, giving them even more inspiration to compose material up to their high standards. This album, probably the best of the latter part of their career, was the result.
"A Kind of Magic" contained the Live Aid inspired "One Vision" (which also ended up in the cult movie "Iron Eagle"). Better known as the "fried chicken song," "One Vision" is one of Queen's great arena rockers. Both "Gimme The Prize" and "Don't Lose Your Head" rocked the "Highlander" movie, with Freddie Mercury's mighty wails atop Brian May's usual guitar pyrotechnics.
May, however, contributed one of my favorite Queen ballads to this album, the heartbreaking "Who Wants To Live Forever." Along with the delicious pop of the title track, these were both massive hits around the world (and unforgivably ignored in the USA). The video of a cartoon Queen dancing to "Magic" is also one of the most clever things that the band's ever done. John Deacon put in the beautiful "One Year Of Love," also a worldwide hit.
Next to the farewell of Innuendo, the best of the second phase of Queen's career. As an Queen album, it's on a par with Jazz and A Day At The Races. The triumph of Live Aid and the inspirational feel of this album led Queen to embark on the Live Magic tour, their last live trek before Mercury's declining health ended their 20th Century touring.
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