Although "Bohemian Rhapsody" is the Queen song that almost every person on the planet knows, the album that it is taken from as a whole offers many other varieties of tracks, each one better than the next. Queen combines classical sounds with a rock n roll inspired outlook, from the fade-in piano of the vicious "Death on Two Legs" to the rockin' "I'm in Love with my Car." It's difficult to see exactly which direction the band is taking with this album; I believe that they were still experimenting with sound at this stage. That would explain why some of the songs (such as "...Rhapsody" and "The Prophet's Song") are so mulitlayered and over the top, while others ("You're My Best Friend," and my favorite, the sweet "Love of My Life") are a little simpler. All in all, a great rock album, one of the first that got me hooked on the Queen sound. It has a little bit of everything for many different musical tastes.
Operatic vocals, acapella sections, fantastic and whimsical lyrics, flamboyant vocal melodies, top notch musicianship and even a kazoo solo or two.In the hands of a lesser band, all these factors could combine to make a pretentious mess. But with Queen, these come together to make a masterpiece, A Night At The Opera.
Queen has left a indelible mark on the rock landscape. The flagship track here, Bohemian Rhapsody is one of the most known and revered tracks in classic rock. Singers and groups as diverse as George Michael and Metallica have expressed their admiration for Queen. And A Night at the Opera is generally considered Queen's masterpiece.
Why is it so good? Variety, quality, uniqueness, unpredictability and the sheer power of these songs. And of course, Freddie Mercury. His vocal performance here is one of the best of all time. Technically spectacular, tasteful, at times heartfelt and simply amazing. Mercury was one of those vocalists who could make a song better and determine the mood just by singing on it. Plus, He's supported by top notch musician, songwriter(every member pens at least one great song here) vocalists in Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor. The guitar work is exciting, innovative and just fun to listen too. The bass and drums are pretty good too and keep up perfectly. Last but not least, is the genius production on this album. Listen to Bohemian Rhapsody or Prophet's Song and you'll see what I mean.
Death On Two Legs: A Night at the Opera starts out on a bitter yet wonderful note with Death on Two Legs. The song is a vicious screed against the band's former manager. The lyrics and delivery are perfect here. From the menacing instrumental sections to the great melodies, this is one of the best songs on A Night At the Opera. A/A+
Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon: What a fruity song. Mercury's vocals are jubilant and flamboyant melodies. They sound like a throwback to the 20s or 30s. Short but pretty sweet. B+
I'm in Love With My Car: This majestic motor vehicle tribute was penned by drummer Roger Taylor. The lyrics are just overblown. The melodies are soaring. Not one of my favorites but still good. B+
You're My Best Friend:It's written by John Deacon, the bassist for his wife. I think I heard this in commericals or the Simpsons or something. Really catchy and Freddie Mercury's vocals are just great here. Not surprise that it was a single. A-
5. 39': The 39th Queen song. Criminally underrated IMO. One of my favorites here. The lyrics may be about space travel but this song still really moves me. Brian May's voice is great and his melodies are just amazing. Very folksy. Great bassline too. A
6. Sweet Lady: I used to not like this song much but it grows on you. The guitar is pretty good and the melodies have their moments. Not one of the best but its still not bad. Better than a lot of tripe that passes for music these days. B
7. Seaside Rendezvous: Even more flamboyant than Lazing... and even better. The instrumentation here is really fun to observe and try to figure out. A testament to Queen's creative talent and uniqueness. I mean what kind of band has a kazoo solo that enhances the music. Cool track. A-
8. The Prophet's Song: At 8:14 this is the longest song here and perhaps the most extravagant. Another underrated epic masterpiece. Brian May wrote this about a dream he had concerning Moses and the Flood. The song has some cool non western melodies.
The first section is a hard rocking affair that's quite beautiful and heavy. The second section is lengthy voice section. Production genius. It's like 15 Freddies singing various lyrical round. Sounds pretty menacing. The final section is akin to the first and wraps up with some instrumental noodling. A/A+
9. Love of My Life: Beautiful song. The intro has classical piano and a harp. Freddie's vocals here are great and his melodies really make this song. I love the melody when he pleads "don't take it away from me". The vocal dubs are really effective here: A
10. Good Company: A little bit like Seaside Rendezvous. Written by Brian May, this track is a bouncy little number with more creative instrumentation. Listen to the great guitar rhythms here. Simply splendid. B+
11. Bohemian Rhapsody: Here it is, the masterpiece. Could possibly be interpreted as Freddie's comment on the guilt("pulled MY trigger now he's dead")and persecution of homosexuality("can't do this to me baby"). Or just a whimsical tale. From the dreamy vocal intro, to the heartfelt ballad, to the wall of voices, to the head bobbing hard rock to the modest conclusion, this is one of the best songs of all time. Just amazing. In terms of emotion, musicianship, production and creativity. One of those songs that redefines what music can be. A+
12. God Saves the Queen: Could have just ended the album with Bo Rap but this isn't too bad. The guitar arrangements are interesting. B
A Night At the Opera is one of those special albums that entertains again and again. From the vicious hard rock assault of Death on Two Legs to the last guitar chords of God Saves the Queen, this is an essential album that should not be missed. If you want to know what kind of album it takes to change rock music, this is a must listen. Highly highly recommended.
Listening to this great CD today, I can remember why it was one of my favorite albums in my senior year in HS. Queen really knew how to produce a cohesive album. This album is so eclectic in styles and yet somehow it all fits together so well I can't imagine the album without all of the songs and in the order they were placed. Now this CD offers alternative versions of two of the songs, well I wouldn't have done that, but in the wonderful digital age we can make the albums we own into any order of presentation we want, so that is a trifling issue.
At the time I remember the Brian May disclaimer on the bottom that no synthesizers were used to create this album. In 1975 I didn't get that, but by the early 80's I completely understood. Finally, in 2008 it seems that music for the most part (Cher and Paula excepting) have gotten back to real instruments and real musicians playing real music. But much of that seems to be the old guys on "comeback tours" so I may be over hopeful.
In any case here's the deal,
If you don't own A Night at the Opera, you should it is amazing!
Queen have always done consistently Great work; this album is great. The music is GREAT music, and whatever you think the genre is, it really does not matter... this is superb music.
As noted by some reviewers, this was Queen's breakthrough album ... and the attention given to it in the 1970s, was because of ONE dj at the time ... if you look at the Hollywood brand DVD's with Live at Wembley, and BEST OF, volume 1 ( Which does not have the horrible editing done by DO-RO ) you will discover who this dj was.
Out of the first 8 albums, two have been put into the DVD audio format ... this one, and THE GAME... both for excellent reasons.
Totally awesome CD, worth every penny.
While I agree ANATO was a breakthrough album in showing that good music has no boundaries, I sometimes wonder if it is overrated once I look at the actual songs here. For all of its influence on the 70s rock scene, I found the actual album didnt flow very well at all. The subject matter is all over the map, as Queen goes from singing about love affairs with cars and lovely ladies to a madman's apocylptic visions in "The Prophet's Song" (without a doubt the best piece of work on this album). The longer, "5-star" songs are broken up by songs that are often heavy on filler (see the tedious "sweet lady")
To its credit though, the production is outstanding, Freddie Mercury sounds positvely angelic (of course) and the musical performances are stellar. For more consistency, see Queen's next effort, A Day at the Races. To hear the album that everyone talks about when Queen is discussed, pick up a Night at the Opera...
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