Queen: The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert [DVD]

Freddie, as I've mentioned in my "Queen+Paul Rodgers" review was/is absolutely irreplaceable. Although there are several members of bands that I've been in that I wouldn't have missed at ALL, should THEY have taken a dirt bath, Brian May, John Deacon, & Roger Taylor are to be commended for quelling their grief at Freddie's loss. And, believe me, the magnitude of Freddie's loss is sadly, brazenly displayed here, "other" performers "doing" Freddie's part. In the "oh, be serious" category, a couple of members of "Guns 'n Roses" display how poorly they play/sing, and...well, my Mama always told me, "if you can't say anything nice about somebody, don't say anything at all" - so I won't mention Elton John or George Michael. And although I have quibbled about David Bowie of late ("Americans Scare Me?"), he is definitely THE STAR here: on "Under Pressure," he duets with the great Annie Lenox, late of Eurhythmics (I don't know how to spell it and it's a stupid name!), and she is great, although that black makeup around her eyes is very distracting from her beauty. Then Bowie reminisces about the music scene, late sixties/early seventies, and brings out Ian Hunter & Mick Ronson of Mott The Hoople. They, with Queen, perform an effervescent "All The Young Dudes." Finally, Hunter leaves, and Bowie/Ronson/Queen perform an almost tender version of "Heroes," a song from Bowie's "lost in the wilderness days." But what happens next is so shocking that it - alone - justifies the price of the DVD: Bowie drops to one knee and prays The Lord's Prayer. And I'm grateful that we get to see Mick Ronson (who, by all rights, SHOULD have gotten R Wood's job when Mick Taylor left the Stones in 1974) perform his last concert. He's suffering from the cancer that would kill him just over a year later, but, by his performance here, you'd never know it. These are MY interpretations of the Tribute Concert Film. For more information about "whose performance was not included," refer to all the other reviewers - and remember that I DIDN'T say "justifiably," either.

Stupendously great concert from April 1992. I've owned it on laserdisc since 1993 and I've been hoping a DVD release would be forthcoming!This concert is culled from a day-long Freddie Mercury tribute/benefit concert that took place about 5 or 6 months after Freddie died. The first half is largely devoted to a number of bands doing mostly Queen covers, though we only see a truncated version of it. Then, the REAL fireworks start! Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon take the stage and lead a Who's Who of musicians and singers through a lengthy set of Queen material. Robert Plant sings "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", Metallica's James Hetfield sings "Stone Cold Crazy", Gary Cherone of Extreme absolutely rocks the joint with "Hammer To Fall", Roger Daltrey sings "I Want It All", Seal does "Who Wants To Live Forever", Def Leppard returns, and we also get Lisa Stansfield, Elton John, Axl Rose, Paul Young, David Bowie, members of Mott the Hoople, and Liza Minneli closes the show with "We Are The Champions."The show runs in excess of 3 hours, and the DVD release promises to have extra material not on the laser and VHS versions.The audio recording of the show is stellar, and the video photography is crisp and clear. After you watch this you'll wish you'd been there.Best of all, you get a renewed sense of how strong Queen's songwriting and performing talents were (and still are). And all of the artists singing in Freddie's place give it their all and make the versions their own, all without detracting from Freddie's original version.You're an IDIOT if you don't get this concert DVD!

Excellent

The videos fine, knew what I was getting. So.Delivered late. Again. Also the delivery message said it was handed directly to a resident. It was not. It was left on my door step which I saw when I got home from work. I'm fine with it being left on the step. My neighborhood is good like that. I dislike a company which I do a lot of $$$ with to be dishonest. Say what you do, do what you say. Simple.Yesterday at approximately 2 pm I looked at the delivery status. It was 7 stops away and about 4 blocks from my house. 9 pm rolls around and I check again. It said it might be late. There was still a chance it would be delivered today, it said. Ok.It was delivered today @ 4ish ( according to my reliable neighbor ) by a clearly delusional driver who interacts with phantom beings but takes the time to write about it.Product is a 5 star. I wish it was HD but those are obscenely difficult to find and expensive. Like I said, I knew what I was getting.I'm giving this a 1 star because Amazon is increasingly making me choose other outlets for my online $$$.Tiger DirectNeweggName brand Factory directetc. etc.

Queen, lead by Freddie Mercury, has a unique and incomparable sound. From the first time I heard "Bohemian Rhapsody," I was a dedicated fan. This concert pays tribute to the body of work that is Queen. The artists chosen to perform were excellent and the perfomances were inspired. I particularly enjoyed Roger Daltrey, David Bowie and Annie Lennox, Robert Plant, and Axl Rose who managed to supress his own distinct persona and immerse himself in Queen. I watch the concert regularly and frequently. I also have two DVD's of Queen's greatest hits which I also enjoy immensely, especially the special features.

I purposefully bought the VHS because he had footage on it that the DVD does not have. Queen is my favorite rock band and Freddie Mercury is dear to my heart. I have devoted my career as an RN to finding and administering treatments for those with HIV/AIDS. I love this concert and it brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it. I was surprised at the quality of the tape. I'll cherish forever.

Bought as a gift for the other half, but have ended up enjoying it myself! Great for a night in with a few beers. Overall, the second disc is my favourite, but the highlight of the first disc is the medley tribute done by Extreme- seriously, watch that and save yourself the time of watching the rest of Disc 1! The second disc has highlights including David Bowie and Annie Lennox covering "Under Pressure" which was an outstanding performance, and also George Michael doing my favourite cover of "Somebody to Love." As with any compilation type event, some artists performed better than others, and I'm sure everyone has their own favourites. But for so many artists to come together to collaborate on a last hurrah to celebrate Freddie's life is wonderful to watch.Overall, picture quality is pretty good for something recorded in the early 90s and never designed to be put into blu ray format. The sound is nice as well, and can be played loud if the mood takes you. I understand that some songs have been cut, but Freddie Mercury was a very unique, powerful performer who had some very large shoes to fill. I imagine some of the artists weren't happy with their rendition of their chosen songs. Even with the cuts, it is still a rather lengthy performance and there is plenty to keep you entertained.

I bought the Blu-ray version of this and was looking forward to the best possible picture and sound quality - as well as of course an exciting concert.The concert itself is indeed brilliant with numerous supporting stars singing and playing along with Queen and the sound quality too was excellent. The picture quality however was very poor, being grainy, and of far worse quality than I would expect from a Blu-ray or DVD. This is a shame as I have other Blu-rays and DVDs of concerts from the same era which are of far better picture quality. It is for this reason that I have awarded it 4 stars as opposed to 5.Having said all this, the concert is so good that it is certainly worth buying this and trying to ignore the poor picture quality.

Whilst the quality isn't Blu-Ray standard and not even decent DVD standard it is a great disc and well worth the money. The BluRay Disc at the time of buying it worked out cheaper than the DVD version so cant really complain.This is not the full show. I an qualified to comment on this as I was there at the concert and there are some missing acts.Anyway, should you buy this ?? In short, YES, A VERY BIG YES. It a great flashback to the 90's and well worth very penny. A great disc to stick on at a social gathering with friends.

the quality of the picture is superb seeing as the original footage was recorded on video tape and not on film, with regards to the missing songs by def leppard, spinal tap and the robert plant version of innuendo. there's various reasons1. concerning def leppard, they dont own the publishing rights to their back catalogue and don't have a great relationship with the record company2. concerning spinal tap..need i say more. its a made up band and the publishing deal expired years ago.3. robert plant specifically asked for his performance of innuendo to be omitted as he wasnt happy with his performance and to give him credit hes right as the original footage on the night showed, it was inaudible and he was mumbling the lyricshope that clears up a few issues that many people have raised, unfortunately the band has no control over these.overall though, its a great concert to watch and listen to. wish there was an offical cd/download release.

This DVD is simply amazing, not just the Queen music, but the many artists who paid tribute to Freddie and did him more than proud with their interpretation of Queen music, especially George Michael, Lisa Stanfield - just everyone!Will never tire of listening/watching this. The three remaining Queen members are simply just BRILLIANT. An excellent memory of one of the great rock artists who had a hall of famous artists in their own right, paying tribute to the ONE AND ONLY FREDDIE MERCURY.