A Night at the Opera (Queen album)
| A Night at the Opera | ||||
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| Studio album by Queen | ||||
| Released | 21 November 1975 | |||
| Recorded | August – November 1975 at various studios | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 43:10 | |||
| Label | EMI, Parlophone (Europe) Elektra, Hollywood (US) |
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| Producer | Roy Thomas Baker, Queen | |||
| Queen chronology | ||||
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| Singles from A Night at the Opera | ||||
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A Night at the Opera is the fourth studio album by British rock group Queen, released in November 1975. Co-produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Queen, A Night at the Opera was, at the time of its release, the most expensive album ever recorded.[1] A commercial success, A Night at the Opera has been voted by the public and cited by music publications as one of Queen's finest works, and one of the greatest albums ever recorded.
The album takes its name from the Marx Brothers film A Night at the Opera, which the band watched one night at the studio complex when recording.[2] It was originally released by EMI in the United Kingdom where it topped the charts for four non-consecutive weeks, and Elektra Records in the United States where it peaked at number four.
Contents |
Recording history
Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)
"Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)" could only be referred to as Freddie Mercury's hate letter toward Queen's ex-manager, Norman Sheffield, who is reputed to have mistreated the band and abused his role as their manager from 1972-1975. Though it never made a direct reference to him, upon listening to the song, Sheffield attempted to sue the band for defamation, and this revealed to the public the subject of the song. Sheffield later admitted that it probably gave the band an incentive to dedicate the song to him after he decided to sue them. During live performances, Mercury would usually re-dedicate the song to "a real motherfucker of a gentleman", although this line was censored out on the version that appeared on their Live Killers album in 1979. Other than the version on Live Killers, he'd said it was dedicated to a "Mother fucker I used to know".
In the Classic Albums documentary about the making of A Night at the Opera, Brian May stated that the band at first was somewhat taken aback by the incisiveness of Mercury's lyrics. After the song came together, it was agreed that the "author should have his way," and the song went on as penned.[3]
As with "Bohemian Rhapsody", most of the guitar parts on this song were initially played on piano by Mercury, to demonstrate to Brian May how they needed to be played on guitar. "Death on Two Legs" remained on the setlist until, and well into, The Game Tour in 1980, then was dropped.
Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon
"Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" is another song by Mercury. He played piano and did all of the vocals. The lead vocal was sung in studio, produced through headphones elsewhere in the studio in a tin bucket. A microphone picked up the sound from the bucket, which gives it a hollow "megaphone" sound. The guitar solo is also reported to have been recorded on the vocal track, as there were no more tracks to record on, as explained by producer Roy Thomas Baker during the 'Classic Albums' documentary. The key change going into the guitar solo (Eb to A) is a tritone relationship, making it a jarring, but very effective, transition into the key of D for the next track, "I'm in Love with My Car".
I'm in Love with My Car
"I'm in Love with My Car" is amongst Roger Taylor's most famous songs in the Queen catalogue. The song was initially taken as a joke by Brian May, who thought that Taylor was not serious when he heard a demo recording.
Taylor played the guitars in the original demo, but they were later re-recorded by May on his Red Special. The lead vocals were performed by Roger Taylor, as Freddie Mercury refused to sing the song, although he would later assist with harmony vocals; Roger and Brian May would also handle harmonies. The revving sounds at the conclusion of the song were recorded by Taylor's then current car, an Alfa Romeo. The lyrics were inspired by one of the band's roadies, Johnathan Harris, whose Triumph TR4 was evidently the "love of his life". The song is dedicated to him, the album says: "Dedicated to Johnathan Harris, boy racer to the end".
When it came down to releasing the album's first single, Taylor was so fond of his song that he urged Mercury (author of the first single, "Bohemian Rhapsody") to allow it to be the B-side and reportedly locked himself in a cupboard until Mercury agreed. This decision would later become the cause of much internal friction in the band, in that while it was only the B-side, it generated an equal amount of publishing royalties for Taylor as the main single did for Mercury.
The song was often played live during the 1977-1981 period, again for the Queen + Paul Rodgers tour in 2005 and the Rock the Cosmos Tour in 2008. Taylor sang it from the drums while Mercury played piano and provided backing vocals. Roger would recover the song for his concerts with The Cross and solo tours, where instead of drums he played rhythm guitar.
You're My Best Friend
"You're My Best Friend" was John Deacon's first single, which he composed while he was learning to play piano. He played the Wurlitzer Electric Piano (which Mercury called a "horrible" instrument in an interview) on the recording and overdubbed the bass later on. The song was written for his wife, Veronica Tetzlaff. In the music video, Deacon mimes a grand piano, and it is one of the only times on video he is playing an instrument other than his bass, the other times being the video of Who Wants to Live Forever, where he plays a double bass, and the video for Spread Your Wings, where he also mimes playing the piano. It was also Deacon's first single to hit the charts in the top 10.
'39
"'39" was Brian May's attempt to do sci-fi skiffle". The B-side of "You're My Best Friend" and one of the band's most popular songs, "'39" relates the tale of a group of space explorers who embark on what is, from their perspective, a year-long voyage. Upon their return, however, they realise that a hundred years have passed, due to the time dilation effect in Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity, and the loved ones they left behind are now all dead.[4] Because the "year of '39" resembles 1939, some[5] have speculated that this is actually a song about the beginning of the Second World War but this is not the case. There are backing vocals by Mercury as well as very high and fairly low harmonies by Taylor, and some falsettos by Taylor.
Following his performance of '39 at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, George Michael cited this song as his favourite Queen song, claiming he used to busk it on the London underground.
Counting all of the original songs starting with Keep Yourself Alive (on the first Queen album) all the way through to '39, this song falls 39th in chronological order. Brian May is also the 39th guitarist on the "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Sweet Lady
"Sweet Lady" is a distortion driven fast rock number written by May. Lyrically and musically, it's usually thought to precede 'Tie Your Mother Down' as a loud, riff-heavy expression of disdain for the author's romantic interest. However, 'Tie Your Mother Down' had already been written at the time.
The song is an unusual rock style in 3/4 meter (which gives way to 4/4 at the bridge). Roger Taylor remembers it as the most difficult drumming part he ever recorded.
The guitar line later evolved into the fast version of We Will Rock You only done at live performances.
Seaside Rendezvous
"Seaside Rendezvous", written by Mercury, is probably best known for the "musical" bridge section which begins at around 0:51 into the song. The section is performed entirely by Mercury and Taylor using their voices alone. Mercury imitates woodwind instruments including a clarinet and Taylor mostly brass instruments, including tubas and trumpets, and even a kazoo, during this section Taylor hits the highest note on the album C6. The tap dance segment is also "performed" by Mercury and Taylor on the mixing desk with thimbles on their fingers. Mercury plays both grand piano and jangle honky-tonk.
The Prophet's Song
"The Prophet's Song" was composed by May. On the show In the Studio with Redbeard, which spotlighted A Night at the Opera, May explained that he wrote the song after a dream he'd had while he was recovering from being ill while recording the Sheer Heart Attack album, and is the source of some of the lyrics. He spent several days putting it together, and it includes a vocal canon sung first by Mercury, then by Mercury, Taylor and May. The vocal, and later instrumental canon was produced by early tape delay devices. It is a heavy and dark number with a strong progressive rock influence. At over eight minutes in length, is also Queen's longest song (not counting the untitled instrumental track on Made in Heaven).
As detailed by Brian May in a documentary about this album, the speed-up effect that happens in the middle of the guitar solo was achieved by starting a reel-to-reel player with the tape on it, as the original tape player was stopped.
The dream May had was about The Great Flood, and lyrics have references from the Bible and the Noah's Ark account.
Love of My Life
"Love of My Life" was written for Freddie Mercury's girlfriend at the time, Mary Austin, and is one of Mercury's most covered songs (there have been versions by many acts like Extreme featuring Brian May, Scorpions and Elaine Paige). Mercury played piano (including a classical solo) and did all of the vocals with startling multi-tracking precision. Brian May played harp (doing it chord by chord and pasting the takes to form the entire part), Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar (which he'd bought in Japan) and his usual Red Special.
"Love of My Life" was such a concert favourite that Mercury frequently stopped singing and allowed the audience to take over. It was especially well received during concerts in South America, and the band released the song as a single there. When Queen and Paul Rodgers performed the song (specifically Brian solo) he sang almost none of the words and let the audience sing it all, continuing the tradition.
Good Company
"Good Company" was written and sung by Brian May. All vocals are by May, who also plays a George Formby Ukelele-Banjo (also known as banjolele) that he'd used one year previously in 'Bring Back That Leroy Brown'.
The recording is remarkable for featuring an elaborate recreation of a Dixieland-style jazz band, produced by May using his Red Special guitar, along with various forms of effects processing.
The song is a narrative tale, told by a man who in young age was advised by his father to "take care of those you call your own, and keep good company." In his younger years, the singer follows his father's advice, keeping his friends and marrying a girl named Sally. However, after their marriage, he begins to lose interest in his friends, who gradually disappear. As he grows older, he becomes increasingly skilled at and dedicated to his occupation, working long nights and neglecting his family.
Eventually, the man's efforts are rewarded, he begins his own Limited company (which is also a pun, since throughout the rest of the song "company" is used in the sense of companions). Even more dedicated to his business, he hardly notices as his wife leaves him.
The song finishes with the speaker as an elderly man, puffing his pipe and pondering the lessons of his life, which he has no one left to share with.
In one of the more philosophical lines in the song the narrator muses, "all through the years in the end it appears, there was never really anyone but me".
Bohemian Rhapsody
"Bohemian Rhapsody" was written by Mercury with the first guitar solo composed by May. All piano, bass and drum parts, as well as the vocal arrangements, were thought up by Mercury on a daily basis and written down "in blocks" (using note names instead of sheets) on a phonebook. The other members recorded their respective instruments with no concept of how their tracks would be utilised in the final mix. The now famous operatic section was originally intended to be only a short interlude of "Galileos" that connected the ballad and hard rock portions of the song.
During the recording, the song became affectionately known as "Fred's Thing" to the band, and the title only emerged during the final sessions.
Despite being twice as long as the average single in 1975, the song became immensely popular, topping charts worldwide (where it remained for an unprecedented nine weeks in the UK) and is now widely regarded as one of the most significant rock songs in history.[6]
God Save the Queen
Brian May recorded the anthem in 1974 before their Sheer Heart Attack tour. He played a guide piano which was edited out later and added several layers of guitars.[3] After the song was completed it was played as an outro at virtually every concert Queen played. When recording the track May played a rough version on piano for Roy Thomas Baker. He called his own skills on the piano sub-par at the time.[3] He performed the song live on the roof of Buckingham Palace for the Queen's golden jubilee in 2002.[7]
Brian May has stated that he performed the song on the roof of Buckingham Palace as a homage to Jimi Hendrix's version of "The Star-Spangled Banner".[8]
Guitar layering is one of May's distinctive techniques as a rock guitarist. He has said that the technique was developed whilst looking for a violin sound. For tracks like this, he stated he can use "up to 30" layers, using a small amplifier named the 'Deacy Amp' built by John Deacon, and later released commercially like the "Brian May" amplifier by Vox.
Reception and legacy
At the time the most expensive album ever recorded,[1] Brian May has asserted in subsequent years that, had A Night at the Opera not been successful, Queen would have disbanded.[9] Upon release, the album was a commercial success, debuting at #1 in the UK charts and remaining there for nine weeks. In the US, it debuted at #4, the band's strongest showing at that time. Rolling Stone wrote, "Like all heavy-metal groups, Queen's most easily distinguished trait is a knack for manipulating dynamics. But what sets them apart is their selection of unlikely effects: acoustic piano, harp, acapella vocals, no synthesisers. Coupled with good songs. Queen's obviously the strongest contender in its field."[10] Melody Maker called the album a "must-have," encouraging listeners to "turn it up loud and enjoy,"[11] while the Winnipeg Free Press wrote, "The group's potential is practically limitless, indicating that Queen is destined to finally take its place among the small handful of truly major acts working in rock today."[12] Robert Christgau was less enthusiastic, but gave the album a favourable "B-" rating.[13] Later reviews in notable publications such as Allmusic, Mojo and Q Magazine, have seen the album receive five-star ratings. Allmusic, who chose the record as an "album pick", wrote, "It's prog rock with a sense of humor as well as dynamics, and Queen never bettered their approach anywhere else"; Allmusic chose "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)", "Sweet Lady" and first single "Bohemian Rhapsody", as the best tracks on the record.[8] Mojo called the album "An imperial extravaganza, a cornucopia; a band of hungrily competitive individualists on a big roll of friendship and delight."[14] Q were similarly receptive, writing, "It's a record to which all four contributed fine songs, and one of extremes -- among the crashing rock and proggy wigouts were love songs, acoustic whimsy, a trad-jazz pastiche and a brace of vaudeville show tunes."[15] Uncut awarded the album only 3/5 stars, but offered a mostly positive review, commending "the extent of the band's barmy diversity."[16] Rhapsody's Mike McGuirk wrote, "Generally considered one of the greatest rock albums of all time, A Night at the Opera's overlaying of heavy metal, genius stereo gimmickry, Broadway swish and British pomp is as vital and riveting to listen to today as when it was released in 1975."[17] The BBC said of the record, "Christmas 1975 was to be forever remembered as Queen’s. And A Night at the Opera remains their finest hour."[18]
Accolades
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die | UK | [19] | 2005 | * |
| ABC | AUS | Poll: Top 100 Albums[20] | 2007 | 28 |
| BBC | UK | Poll: Top 100 Number One Albums[21] | 2006 | 9 |
| Channel 4 | UK | Poll: Greatest 100 Albums[22] | 2005 | 13 |
| Classic Rock | UK | The 100 Greatest British Rock Albums Ever[23] | 2006 | 17 |
| The 200 Greatest Albums of the 70's (20 greatest of 1975)[24] | 2006 | * | ||
| NME | UK | Poll: Greatest 100 Albums of All Time[25] | 2006 | 19 |
| Q | UK | The 50 Best British Albums Ever[26] | 2004 | 17 |
| Rolling Stone | MX | Poll: The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time[27] | 2004 | 11 |
| US | The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time[28] | 2003 | 230 | |
| The Times | UK | The 100 Best Albums of All Time[29] | 1993 | 86 |
| Virgin | UK | Poll: Top 1000 Albums[30] | 1998 | 87 |
(*) designates unordered lists.
Re-releases
The album was first re-released in the US on Hollywood Records on 3 September 1991 with two bonus remixes, as part of a complete re-release of all Queen albums.
On 30 April 2002 the album was again re-released on DVD-Audio with a 5.1-channel mix in Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound.[31]
On 21 November 2005 it was once more re-released by Hollywood Records Catalogue Number 2061-62572-2 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the album and its first single, "Bohemian Rhapsody". This release is accompanied by a DVD-Video disc with the same track listing featuring the original videos, old and new concert footage (including "'39" from the Queen + Paul Rodgers tour and Brian May on the roof of Buckingham Palace playing "God Save the Queen") and audio commentary by all four bandmembers. It was on this commentary (and on In the Studio with Redbeard, which devoted an episode to A Night at the Opera) that May stated that had the album not been a success, Queen certainly would have disbanded.
Track listing
| Side one | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)" | Freddie Mercury | 3:43 | ||||||
| 2. | "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" | Mercury | 1:08 | ||||||
| 3. | "I'm in Love with My Car" | Roger Taylor | 3:05 | ||||||
| 4. | "You're My Best Friend" | John Deacon | 2:50 | ||||||
| 5. | "'39" | Brian May | 3:25 | ||||||
| 6. | "Sweet Lady" | May | 4:01 | ||||||
| 7. | "Seaside Rendezvous" | Mercury | 2:13 | ||||||
| Side two | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "The Prophet's Song" | May | 8:17 | ||||||
| 2. | "Love of My Life" | Mercury | 3:38 | ||||||
| 3. | "Good Company" | May | 3:26 | ||||||
| 4. | "Bohemian Rhapsody" | Mercury | 5:55 | ||||||
| 5. | "God Save the Queen" | Traditional, arr. May | 1:11 | ||||||
| 1991 Hollywood Records bonus tracks | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 13. | "I'm In Love With My Car" (1991 bonus remix by Mike Shipley) | 3:28 | |||||||
| 14. | "You're My Best Friend" (1991 bonus remix by Matt Wallace) | 2:52 | |||||||
Personnel
- Freddie Mercury – vocals, piano.
- Brian May – guitar, harp, banjolele, backing vocals, lead vocals on '39 and Good Company, toy koto.
- Roger Taylor – drums, percussion, lead vocals on I'm In Love With My Car, trumpet vocals on Seaside Rendezvous, backing vocals.
- John Deacon – bass guitar, double bass, electric piano.
- Mike Stone – executive engineer
- Gary Lyons – additional engineering
- John Harris – equipment supervision
- David Costa – art direction
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Allmusic – Queen
- ↑ "The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody", BBC Three, dir. Carl Johnston, First broadcast 2004-12-04
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Classic Albums, "A Night at the Opera", VH1
- ↑ '39 by Queen Songfacts
- ↑ http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=458 Sputnik Music review
- ↑ Chiu, David (2005-12-27). "Unconventional Queen Hit Still Rocks After 30 Years". The New York Times. http://nytimes.com/2005/12/27/arts/music/27quee.html?ex=1293339600&en=5825caa9f4db1fb0&ei=5090. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
- ↑ "Fire at Palace doesn't stop pop party". BBC News. 3 June 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/uk/newsid_2022000/2022802.stm. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dnfpxqyaldke AMG review of A Night at the Opera.
- ↑ A Night at the Opera 30th Anniversary DVD release (audio commentary)
- ↑ "A Night at the Opera Review". Rolling Sone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/queen/albums/album/316712/review/19062358/a_night_at_the_opera.
- ↑ Melody Maker review, archived at queenarchives.com
- ↑ Winnipeg Free Press review, archived at queenarchives.com
- ↑ ">Christgau. "A Night at the Opera Review". http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=3505&name=Queen.
- ↑ Mojo, July 2002, p.27: "...An imperial extravaganza, a cornucopia; a band of hungrily competitive individualists on a big roll of friendship and delight (5 stars)."
- ↑ Q Magazine, November 2005, p.188: "It's a record to which all four contributed fine songs, and one of extremes -- among the crashing rock and proggy wigouts were love songs, acoustic whimsy, a trad-jazz pastiche and a brace of vaudeville show tunes (5 stars)."
- ↑ Uncut, November 2005, p.85: "Listening again to A Night at the Opera is a reminder of the extent of the band's barmy diversity (3 stars)."
- ↑ A Night at the Opera at Rhapsody
- ↑ BBC review
- ↑ "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die"
- ↑ ABC poll
- ↑ "Beatles' Pepper tops album poll". BBC. 2006-08-29. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5294652.stm. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
- ↑ "100 Greatest Albums". Channel 4. http://www.besteveralbums.com/thechart.php?c=3&page=2. Retrieved 2006-11-21.. Archived at besteveralbums.com
- ↑ Classic Rock "The 100 Greatest British Rock Albums Ever", (rocklistmusic)
- ↑ Classic Rock/Metal Hammer, "The 200 Greatest Albums of the 70s", March 2006
- ↑ "Oasis album voted greatest of all time". The Times. 1 June 2006
- ↑ Q Magazine: "The 50 Best British Albums Ever", July 2003 (archived at muzieklijstjes.nl)
- ↑ Rolling Stone (Mexico), "The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time", December 2004
- ↑ The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
- ↑ "The 100 Best Albums of All Time", The Times, 1993 (archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk)
- ↑ Maung, Carole Aye. "Beatles albums are top 3 of all time". Daily Mirror. 7 September, 1998. Retrieved 23 August, 2010. Archived at TheFreeLibrary.com.
- ↑ DVD-Audio titles of note
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