scapp70's Full Review: A Night At The Opera by Queen
This epinion is based on the Hollywood Records release from 1991.
This is Queen's greatest album. Oh yes, Queen have released many other albums that are amazing and almost as grand, but the songs on A Night At The Opera reaches the ceiling. They have never topped the brilliance of this CD, but yet they have come close. This CD is almost like a cross between Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack, it's two predecessors.
The CD opens up with a light and rapidly played piano piece that quickly turns dark and sinister along with the heavy guitar sounds. Death On Two Legs (Dedicated to...) is this first track. It has been known since that the dedication belongs to their old management that was at the helm for the first three albums. Queen was pretty big in the States and very big in the UK, and they made no money to show for their success. The problem with this is that Queen was not signed to a record company (EMI) they were signed to a management company (Trident). Sneaky deals had deprived Queen of their true earnings. This CD is the last Trident CD, and the first with new manager John Reid who has turned things around for Queen.
Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon is a very short song only lasting about one and a half minutes. This song is well, sort of, um..gay, just kidding. It sounds sort of 1920's-ish style. Freddie has a cool effect on his voice to make him sound more authentic. Great piano from Freddie and guitar orchestrations from Brian are heard here. Roger Taylor and John deacon add an authentic ambience that the song tries to get across.
Drummer Roger Taylor has penned and sang a song for every Queen album up to this point. His contribution here is I'm In Love With My Car. This is a very heavy guitar-oriented song. It is like I said, sung by Roger. His voice is the opposite from Freddie's. Where Freddie's voice is so sharp and clear, Roger's is very raspy. The background vocals are the thing that makes this song special.
Bass player John Deacon has contributed his second tune to Queen here. His first, Misfire was from the preceding album Sheer Heart Attack. This song, You're My Best Friend was a hit in many countries. It features John on the electric piano and the bass. Freddie sings amazing here. His range is very dynamic and wide.
Guitarist Brian May wrote and sang the next track, '39. He plays an acoustic, a 12-string acoustic, and electric guitar and probably many more. This is a folksy, countryish acoustic song about time travel. Strange harmonies and stranger lyrics make this song a favorite among Queen fans.
The next song was also written by Brian May, but sung by Freddie Mercury. Sweet Lady, is the most and only straightforward heavy metal song on the LP. Freddie's voice is double tracked and at the top of his range. He sounds magnificent. I love the guitar riff during the chorus, it's so cool to play. (That is, if you are cool enough like me to know how to play it...just kidding again).
Seaside Rendezvous is another one of Freddie's and this song is also very grand and in the same vein as Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon. This song is as Freddie describes it as a Cole Porter type song. It has cool vocal effects by both Roger and Freddie. Freddie does the woodwind, and Roger does the brass instruments vocally.
The Prophet's Song is the song that really sums up this whole CD for me. It is the heaviest song arguably ever recorded by Queen. Freddie is at his vocal best here, especially during the a capella middle part, where Freddie uses the same delay effect that Brian May used on Sheer Heart Attck's Brighton Rock. It is lyrically apocalyptic, and it runs longer than eight minutes long.
If there is one main reason to love Queen, it is this reason. Brian May wrote this song. This song segues right into the next song, Love Of My Life very nicely.
This song is a very beautiful song written by the late Freddie Mercury. The piano playing is very impressive here, and it also features Brian May on the harp. Yes one of those big angel-using harps. It adds a nice effect although the harp does sound a bit flat, (in tone not in key). They could have used a bit more reverb on the instrument, and it would have complimented the piano playing much more nicely. There are no drums on this track.
Good Company is the next song and was written by Brian May who also sings the lead vocals again here. At the end of the song there is an impressive guitar jazz band jam. I say guitar because that is the instrument used, but the many layers of guitar sound more like trombones, clarinets, saxaphones..Etc. I like this song a lot, but maybe the dullest on the CD.
The song that made them stars more than once has first appeared here on A Night At The Opera. It is called Bohemian Rhapsody. It made them stars when the song appeared as a single in October of 1975. It made them stars when the video of the song was released as the said first promotional video later that year. It made them stars again in late 1991 with the release of Wayne’s World.
It made them stars recently in 2002 with the topping of some polls as greatest song ever, including Guinness Book of World Records.
The song is a near six minutes of ballad, opera and heavy metal. Freddie sings at his best again, and his pride shines through with every note.
God Save The Queen is the traditional song arranged by Brian May. The song raps up the LP nicely for some reason. I suppose it does because it is a very English album, and perhaps that is the reason it was included.
I'm In Love With My Car is remixed here, and it sounds very fresh. It is a bit rearranged from the original version, and sometimes in this new mix the background vocals tend to get buried. The drums sound a heck of a lot better though.
You're My Best Friend is also here in the remixed fashion. This version is very similar to the original, except it sounds a bit rawer. I think I prefer this new remix, as the drums sound like they are done more properly, and the guitar parts are kept to a minimum here, as they do not punctuate every other line as they do in the original.
This Hollywood Records version is the best version out of the many out there, up until the newly released Hollywood Records release of the DVD-Audio/DTS version. The newer version released last year, (2002), sounds the best it will ever sound maybe, but if you do not have the equipment to play that version, please purchase this one here.
Songs:
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
13. I'm In Love With My Car (Remix - Bonus Track)
14. You're My Best Friend (Remix - Bonus Track)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~For more Queen CD Epinions from Scapp70~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.