''Live Killers'' is a double

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

, released on 22 June 1979.Live Killers
Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 11 July 2011 The album was recorded live during the European leg of Queen's

Jazz Tour The Jazz Tour was the sixth headlining concert tour by the British rock band Queen, supporting the album ''Jazz''. The tour was memorable for the spectacle created by the band. As James Henke of ''Rolling Stone'' said about the band's Hallowee ...

, between 26 January and 1 March 1979.

Recording

The album was self-produced by the band and was their first to be mixed at their own studios,

Mountain Studios Mountain Studios was a commercial recording studio founded by American singer and composer Anita Kerr and husband Alex Grob in 1975 within the Montreux Casino in Montreux, Switzerland. The studio was under the ownership of Queen and then long ...

in Montreux, Switzerland. Guitarist

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...

and drummer

Roger Taylor Roger Taylor may refer to: *Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) (born 1949), drummer for Queen *Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) (born 1960), drummer for Duran Duran *Roger Taylor (author), author of epic fantasy Hawklan series *Roger Taylor (college pr ...

later revealed on the US radio show ''In the Studio with Redbeard'' (which spotlighted the making of 1980's '' The Game'') that the band had mixed ''Live Killers'' themselves and were unhappy with the final mix.

Release

''Live Killers'' was released as a double vinyl album in the UK by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

on 22 June 1979, in Europe by

Parlophone Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

, and in the US by Elektra and

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records l ...

. In the territories outside of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

re-released a shorter and edited version of the album in 1985 titled ''Queen Live''. The 1994 issue released as part of the Digital Master Series by

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

did not improve upon the quality of the previous release. It was later remastered and restored in better quality by

Peter Mew Peter Mew is a retired British music audio engineer. He worked at Abbey Road Studios, where he was the senior mastering engineer. He came to Abbey Road in 1965 as a tape operator and has since worked with many artists at the studio. Kevin Ayers of ...

in 2001.

Reception

The album reached number 3 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and number 16 on the ''Billboard'' 200 in the United States, and is certified

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in the US.Roberts, David (2006).

British Hit Singles & Albums ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' (originally known as ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles'' and ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'') was a music reference book originally published in the United Kingdom by the publishing arm of ...

. London: Guinness World Records Limited The album received negative reviews from critics on release. In a retrospective appraisal, Greg Prato of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

found the initial reaction inexplicable, calling the album "an excellent document of Queen at the height of their '70s

arena rock Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of po ...

powers".

Track listing

Omitted tracks

*" Somebody to Love" *"

Fat Bottomed Girls "Fat Bottomed Girls" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, the song appears on the band's seventh studio album ''Jazz'' (1978) and later on their compilation album ''Greatest Hits''. When released as a single ...

" (Version from Pavillon de Paris, 27 February 1979, was released on the '' Bohemian Rhapsody: The Original Soundtrack'') *" If You Can't Beat Them" *"

It's Late "It's Late" is a song written by Queen guitarist Brian May and performed by the band for their 1977 album, ''News of the World''. Background The song was May's idea of treating a song as a three-act theatrical play, and the verses are called " ...

Singles

*" Love of My Life (Live at Festhalle Frankfurt, 2 Feb '79 – edited version)"/"Now I'm Here (Live at Festhalle Frankfurt, 2 Feb '79)" *"We Will Rock You (Fast Version) (Live)"/"Let Me Entertain You (Live)" – Elektra E46532; released August 1979

Charts

Certifications

Personnel

;Queen *

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

– lead vocals, piano *

– guitars, backing vocals *

– drums, tambourine, timpani, backing vocals, lead vocals on "I'm in Love with My Car" *

John Deacon John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician, best known for being the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits " You're My Best Friend", " Another One Bit ...

– bass guitar, backing vocals, triangle

Production

*Mastered by

George Marino George Marino (April 15, 1947 – June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He at ...

at Sterling Sound, NYC

References

External links

Queen official website: Discography: Live Killers
includes lyrics of "'39".

– an analysis of the edits and overdubs on the album {{Authority control Queen (band) live albums 1979 live albums Elektra Records live albums Hollywood Records live albums Parlophone live albums