Queen – A Night at the Odeon, Live at Hammersmith ‘75
Eagle Rock Entertainment
www.eaglrockent.com

Rating: A

Eagle Rock Entertainment has unearthed an amazing trip back in time with the release of A Night at the Odeon.  We are talking the band Queen, live in 1975, in living color and great sound!  The full set list is stellar, and features that now-four-decades-old classic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”  As epic as that tune is, the entire concert is what counts here... This era of Queen was much more than just a one hit song!

The CD, DVD and Blu-Ray feature the entire concert, but in addition there is a second encore of “Seven Seas of Rhye” and “See What a Fool I’ve Been.”  The DVD and the SD Blu-Ray also feature a 22-minute documentary in which Queen band members Brian May and Roger Taylor discuss the gig.  As you can tell from this paragraph alone, if you’re a Queen fan then you should own this sucker!  This drips with rock and roll history and features Queen being fronted by the original iconic rock star, the late-great Freddie Mercury.  

Queen in 1975 was not the band they eventually became to be... They were more hard rock, more glam and more raw.  That said, they were masters of their craft and they were so damn good ‘live’, both sonically and visually... which is why that it is no surprise that once the band had a huge international hit they would take the world by storm.  This concert was the beginning of the domination by the band Queen.  Because this concert was the dawn of the bands greatness, there are some real gems for diehard Queen fans in this set being performed live: “Ogre Battle,” “White Queen” and “Seven Seas of Rhye” are killer songs from an era the band pretty much left behind due to their ‘pop’ success, though the latter tune still snuck into the live set from time to time.  

In this show Mr. Mercury shines.  He thrived on the big stage and he belonged in this type of original band.  The only time one can take his or her eyes off of Freddie is when the lanky Brian May goes forth to do things on his guitar that were cutting edge in 1975.  May unleashes his skills and unique guitar tone in front of the audience on “Now I’m Here,” “Liar” and “The March of the Black Queen.”  Together, the band knocks out the classic “Killer Queen” and proceed to destroy “Keep Yourself Alive.”

At the end of the day, this was a concert that is so good it will find its way back into your living room time after time after time.  This was the real Queen, scratching and clawing their way to the top in an uncompromising and triumphant manner. 

Full Track listing (CD/Vinyl/Digital)
1. Now I'm Here
2. Ogre Battle
3. White Queen (As It Began)
4. Bohemian Rhapsody
5. Killer Queen
6. The March Of The Black Queen
7. Bohemian Rhapsody (Reprise)
8. Bring Back That Leroy Brown
9. Brighton Rock
10. Guitar Solo
11. Son And Daughter
12. Keep Yourself Alive
13. Liar
14. In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited
15. Big Spender
16. Jailhouse Rock Medley
17. Seven Seas Of Rhye
18. See What A Fool I've Been
19. God Save The Queen
 *DVD and SD Blu-ray formats do not include Seven Seas Of Rhye or See What A Fool I've Been.
 
By Jeb “The Black Queen” Wright