By Alex Edds
Queen Rock Montreal, recorded in 1981, captures the band at a commercial and creative peak.
By then, The Game had yielded major US hits; “Under Pressure” was a UK No.1, and Greatest Hits was dominating the charts.
Fresh off a massive Latin American tour, Queen partnered with director Saul Swimmer to film two Montreal concerts, which the band agreed.
Creative friction soon followed; Sir Brian May noted a falling out over Swimmer’s heavyhanded direction, sparking a humorous wardrobe protest and a slightly faster tempo.
Visuals and Production
The most recent IMAX remastering highlights the iconic “BIC Razor Rig” light set-up in stunning detail.
Due to VHS constraints, the original release omitted sections like the start of Now I’m Here (later restored), while Flash and The Hero were cut entirely from the video and remain audio-only.
Swimmer’s tight scripting also prompted Freddie Mercury’s silent protest; the singer wearing long pants for the first encore of Another One Bites the Dust on night one, but switching to shorts on night two.
This forced Jailhouse Rock, a song that came after, to be moved earlier in the set.
Musical Performance
Freddie is in great vocal form, hitting his high notes cleanly, though studio overdubbing creates occasional consistency shifts.
May and Taylor deliver phenomenal backing vocals — especially on Under Pressure, where they tackle David Bowie’s parts together.
Taylor also shines on I’m In Love With My Car while Mercury’s piano work is airtight, standing among his best in Queen’s live catalog.
Conversely, May’s guitar tone leans unusually clean, lacking the grit preferred on the heavier tracks.
Love of My Life misses the thunderous crowd participation of later stadium eras, and Crazy Little Thing Called Love features Mercury on an acoustic instead of a Telecaster.
The rhythm section anchors the night brilliantly. John Deacon’s bass drives dance-heavy numbers like Another One Bites the Dust and Dragon Attack, and Taylor’s drums cut sharply through the mix with a rock-solid foundation.
Queen Rock Montreal is an essential snapshot of a legendary band operating at the height of their powers, with the only drawback being that we cannot experience the four legends live today.
Featured image: Queen in formation on stage. Artwork: Alex Edds
