A Night at the Opera

#128 Queen- A Night at The Opera

This is the album that made Queen one of the great rock acts of the 70's; they put all their creativity on record. At the time it was the most expensive album ever produced. The album shows the versatility of each individual band member. 

The album starts out with the scorching “Death On Two Legs” I think it is one of the greatest openers to an album ever. The song is allegedly about the band’s former manager. Freddie's lyrics are filled with venom. The band’s use of multi-layered tracks are prominent throughout the whole song. Brian May gives one hell of a solo. “Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon” is a 1930’s vaudevillian inspired track. It’s 1:07 of blissful pop. A stark contrast to the previous track. “I’m In Love With My Car” written and sung by drummer Roger Taylor is just a dumb rock track but done in the Queen style. . Hey Bruce Springsteen has many songs about his love of cars too. I love the dense  heaviness of the  instrumentation on the track. “You’re My Best Friend” is a mid tempo song that shows the band’s Beatles influences. The song was written by John Deacon for his wife.  For “39” the band goes for a folksy vibe. I get a Hollies or The Turtles groove from the track. Lyrically, it is a sci-fi tale about a group of space explorers who think they are going on a year-long trip but on the return they find out that a hundred years has passed. “Sweet Lady” is a distorted heavy track that harkens back to the earlier albums. “Seaside Rendezvous” is another piano driven theatrical track. They take the aspects of “Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon” and amp up the sound.  Everyone talks about the epicness of  “Bohemian Rhapsody” and don’t mention the greatness that is “The Prophet’s Song” . It has this hard driving groove that is propelled by Taylor/Deacon’s playing. The Harmonies  are simply gorgeous and add to the intensity that is delivered throughout the song. “Love Of My Life” is just Freddie and a piano delivering a great love ballad. Such a beautiful performance by him. Brian May is playing the harp which adds to the beauty of the song. “Good Company” is a mix of vaudevillian energy with a distinct Beatles vibe. You can hear banjos and ukuleles being played throughout the track. It is a happy go lucky song. What can I write about “Bohemian Rhapsody that hasn’t been said before. It is just a fabulous song. There is a reason that it is the most streamed song from the 20th century.  RS as it ranked at #17 of their greatest songs of all time. To me it is #1 it is just timeless. The album concludes with a rendition of the British National Anthem. Brain May has been quoted saying that he was inspired by Jimi Hendrinx's version of the Star Spangled Banner.

This is an album that doesn’t follow one cohesive theme but takes a multitude of inspirations and puts them down. Somehow it works. This is just a landmark album for the band. I would put this one on your bucket list. It is a five star album for me. 

In .

Innuendo is #2, A Day at the Races #3.

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Songs In:

1. Death On Two Legs (Dedicated To...)

2. Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon

3. I'm In Love With My Car

4. You're My Best Friend

5. '39

6. Sweet Lady

7. Seaside Rendezvous

8. The Prophet's Song

9. Love Of My Life

10. Good Company

11. Bohemian Rhapsody

12. God Save The Queen

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Adam Lambert joins the two remaining members of Queen at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles for a triumphant review of the band's history.

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