Episode 28: Queen - A Kind of Magic (1986) Part 1

With Sarah back from her travels, the two hosts shift their musical direction slightly and focus their attention on a band very beloved by them both: Queen. While by no means a New Wave or synth-pop act, Queen's output in the 1980s did tend more towards the pop segment of the music spectrum, and the album up for discussion is a strong example of that-- it's the 1986 release, "A Kind of Magic."

Because Brian and Sarah are so eager to finally talk about not only one of their very favorite bands, but also the first album they became familiar with by that band, they find themselves with a lot to say. So once again, their long-windedness has necessitated that side one of this album be broken up into two episodes.

Part 1: Background

"A Kind of Magic" is Queen's twelfth studio album, and it very easily could not have happened, if it weren't for two things: a particular day in July 1985 and the viewing of about twenty minutes of a film under production. The hosts discuss Queen's reluctance to produce another soundtrack album and the steps they took to ensure "A Kind of Magic" would stand as an album in its own right. Brian and Sarah also address the fact that the album has two different producers, each of whom tended to work with different halves of the band. They also bring up the international success the album had upon its release.

Part 2: Personal History

Brian starts off by listing the Queen 45s he owned as a youth, and then goes on to explain what got him to take a deeper interest in the band, several years later. By that time, Brian and Sarah were already dating, so Sarah's history with this album is associated with Brian playing it throughout their college years.

Part 3: Track by Track

Every song on the first side of this album was released as a single, at least somewhere in the world. And accordingly, almost every song also has a video associated with it. Brian and Sarah get especially caught up in talking about the first track and its video. Because they've already talked a lot about the background of the album and their personal history with both it and the band, this episode concludes after the discussion of "One Vision."

One Vision (That's it!  Sorry!  More next episode!)

See the video we discuss here:

One Vision

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