Queen: Live Killers (1979)
Queen’s crown jewels displayed live and loud, from Killer Queen to Love of My Life.
Kronomyth 8.0: Now I’m here ‘til eternity.
Maybe the killer live album you were waiting for, maybe not. The double-live albums that came after Frampton Comes Alive were specious creatures, dubious in intent. Record companies likely saw them as an inexpensive way to make money, since double albums sold for considerably more than single elpees and didn’t carry the financial/critical risks that a new studio album might. So, the battle-forged steel is trotted out for the faithful, who run a simultaneous soundtrack of the original studio wonders in their head, an amalgam of pristine intent and live animal execution. If you’re looking for an introduction to the body of Queen, Live Killers has the right content (mostly) but the wrong incarnation. The hermetically sealed magic of Bohemian Rhapsody or You’re My Best Friend unravels on stage, the bottled intensity of Keep Yourself Alive and Sheer Heart Attack fizzles. Queen is surprisingly faithful some of the time, re-creating the strange musical shapes of Get Down, Make Love in the middle, but play hard and fast with the opening We Will Rock You for example. Live Killers does rock, and that’s worth something. It’s not by accident that Queen has such broad appeal among both potheads and headbangers; they check off a lot of boxes. In fact, after The Who, you’d be hard-pressed to find a quartet that rocks this loud on stage. At 21 songs, Live Killers is a generous collection even by double-album standards. I’m not sure Dreamer’s Ball or Brighton Rock would make my Queen top 20 (“Somebody to Love,” anybody?), but this is mostly choice cut Queen. And the versions of Love of My Life, Death on Two Legs and I’m in Love with My Car presented here are priceless. Over the years, Live Killers has become the essential live Queen record by default, much as Bootleg and Bursting Out were to Aerosmith and Tull respectively. Until someone invents a time travel machine, this remains the best way to experience Queen in their prime.
Original 2LP version
A1. We Will Rock You (Brian May) (3:18)
A2. Let Me Entertain You (Freddie Mercury) (3:15)
A3. Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to…) (Freddie Mercury) (3:31
A4. Killer Queen (Freddie Mercury) (1:59)
A5. Bicycle Race (Freddie Mercury) (1:28)
A6. I’m in Love with My Car (Roger Taylor) (2:01)
A7. Get Down, Make Love (Freddie Mercury) (4:31)
A8. You’re My Best Friend (John Deacon) (2:08)
B1. Now I’m Here (Brian May) (8:42)
B2. Dreamer’s Ball (Brian May) (3:44)
B3. Love of My Life (Freddie Mercury) (4:57)
B4. ’39 (Brian May) (3:26)
B5. Keep Yourself Alive (Brian May) (4:02)
C1. Don’t Stop Me Now (Freddie Mercury) (4:28)
C2. Spread Your Wings (John Deacon) (5:22)
C3. Brighton Rock (Brian May) (12:13)
D1. Bohemian Rhapsody (Freddie Mercury) (6:02)
D2. Tie Your Mother Down (Brian May) (3:40)
D3. Sheer Heart Attack (Roger Taylor) (3:35)
D4. We Will Rock You (Brian May) (2:48)
D5. We Are the Champions (Freddie Mercury) (3:27)
D6. God Save the Queen (Brian May) (1:31)
The Players
John Deacon (bass, vocals), Brian May (guitar, vocals), Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals). Produced by Queen; engineered by John Etchells.
The Pictures
Sleeve concept by Queen. Sleeve design by Foster & Knowles. Cover photo by Koh Hasabe.
The Plastic
Released on 2LP and 8-track on June 26, 1979 in the UK (EMI, EMSP-330), the US (Elektra BB 702), Germany and the Netherlands (EMI, 62792/3), Japan (EMI, P-5567/8E), Korea (Neumann, KY-702) and Mexico (EMI, SLEMB-889) with gatefold cover and picture sleeves. Available in Japan in red and green vinyl. Reached #3 on the UK charts and #16 on the US charts (RIAA-certified 2x platinum record).
- Re-issued on remastered 2CD and 2CS in 1991 in the US (Hollywood, HR-61066).
- Re-issued on remastered 2CD in 1994 in the UK (Parlophone, CDPCSD 138).
- Re-issued on remastered 2CD in 2001 in Japan (EMI Toshiba, TOCP-65856/7).
- Re-issued on remastered 2CD in 2003 worldwide (EMI, 592417).
