| | Queen Night At The Opera CD Queen Discography of CDs
(14 Customer Reviews)
Though they began their career practicing an artier, more theatrical variant on Led Zeppelin's heavy rock sound, Queen was always capable of much more. Ultimately, Freddie and the boys were popsters at heart, and capable ones to boot. A NIGHT AT THE OPERA is where they begin to show their eclecticism and compositional facility. The album title is probably a reference to the FM rock anthem "Bohemian Rhapsody," which begins as an existential ballad before moving into a mock-operatic section featuring scores of overdubbed Freddie Mercurys.
"Rhapsody" is just the tip of the iceberg here. "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" is a music-hall ditty that owes a debt to the Kinks. "'39" is a surprisingly poignant folk-rocker written and sung by Brian May. "You're My Best Friend" is pure '70s AM melodic pop. Queen even ventures into vaudeville territory (given Mercury's show-biz leanings, not as much of a stretch as one might think) on the fatalistic, old-timey "Good Company." There are several souped-up rockers here as well, but it's A NIGHT AT THE OPERA's winning stylistic experimentation that makes it a milestone in Queen history.
Queen were straining at the boundaries of hard rock and heavy metal on Sheer Heart Attack, but they broke down all the barricades on A Night at the Opera, a self-consciously ridiculous and overblown hard rock masterpiece. Using the multi-layered guitars of its predecessor as a foundation, A Night at the Opera encompasses metal ("Death on Two Legs," "Sweet Lady"), pop (the lovely, shimmering "You're My Best Friend"), campy British music hall ("Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon," "Seaside Rendezvous"), and mystical prog rock ("'39," "The Prophet's Song"), eventually bringing it all together on the pseudo-operatic "Bohemian Rhapsody." In short, it's a lot like Queen's own version of Led Zeppelin IV, but where Zep find dark menace in bombast, Queen celebrate their own pomposity. No one in the band takes anything too seriously, otherwise the arrangements wouldn't be as ludicrously exaggerated as they are. But the appeal -- and the influence -- of A Night at the Opera is in its detailed, meticulous productions. It's prog rock with a sense of humor as well as dynamics, and Queen never bettered their approach anywhere else. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Recorded at Sarm Studios, Roundhouse Studios, Olympic Studios, Scorpio Studios, Landsdowne Studios, London, England and Rockfield Studios, Wales.
Composer: Queen.
Personnel: Brian May (vocals, guitar, banjo, koto, ukulele, harmonica, keyboards); Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano); Roger Taylor (vocals, drums, percussion); John Deacon (guitar, electric piano, double bass, electric bass).
Audio Remasterer: Steve Hoffman.
Recording information: Lansdowne (1975); Olympic (1975); Rockfield (1975); Roundhouse (1975); Sarm (1975); Scorpio (1975).
Arranger: Queen.
Queen: Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano); Brian May (guitar, harp, ukulele, background vocals); John Deacon (electric piano, acoustic & electric basses); Roger Taylor (percussion, background vocals).
Q (p.129) - Ranked #2 in Q Magazine's "10 Essential Reissues Of 2006." Q (6/00, p.72) - Ranked #41 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" Q (12/93, p.143) - 3 Stars - Good - "...Even 'Bohemian Rhapsody' pales into significance next to the epic eight-minute toss of 'The Prophet Song'..." Uncut (p.85) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[L]istening again to A NIGHT AT THE OPERA is a reminder of the extent of the band's barmy diversity." Q (Magazine) (p.118) - "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." Mojo (Publisher) (7/02, p.27) - "...An imperial extravaganza, a cornucopia; a band of hungrily competitive individualists on a big roll of friendship and delight..." Night At The Opera Music | List Price | $13.95 (You save $2.56) | | Category | Rock Albums, Rock/Pop CDs, Hard Rock, Art Rock | | Label | Hollywood | | Orig Year | 1975 | | All Time Sales Rank | 354  | | CD Universe Part number | 1026371 | | Catalog number | 161065 | | Discs | 1 | | Release Date | Sep 03, 1991 | | Studio/Live | Studio | | Mono/Stereo | Stereo | | Producer | Queen; Roy Thomas Baker | | Engineer | Mike Stone; Gary Lyons | | Recording Time | 48 minutes | | Personnel | Roger Taylor - vocals, drums, percussion Brian May - vocals, guitar, banjo, koto, ukulele, harmonica, keyboards Brian May - vocals, guitar, banjo, koto, ukulele, harmonica, keyboards Freddie Mercury - vocals, piano John Deacon - guitar, electric piano, double bass, electric bass
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Queen Night At The Opera Songs Night At The Opera Music Review Average Rating: (4.8 out of 5 stars)    List All Reviews memories this cd brought back a lot of great memories. i still knew most of the words. great music. Submitted by mrnb8ol (whittier, ca)  Was This Review Helpful? Yes No 2 of 2 found this helpful.
A RETURN TO THE PAST A Night at the Opera was one of my favorites back in the day, and it still sounds as good today. Submitted by sherrybwm (Orangeburg,SC, USA)  Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
A MASTERPIECE ON SO MANY LEVELS Simply awesome. Submitted by e (Cabo Wabo, Mexico) Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
Listen with 70's ears. You are sitting in your parents living room. Your fathers headphones are clamped to your head. Queen's NATO is blaring into your skull at pain level. The year is 1976 and this is some of the greatest music out for its day. Put yourself in our high school years before you wish this was more like the pop Queen you know. Listen again and again and hopefully you'll realize what a great album this really was, and still is. There's a style for everyone in here whether you're 14 or (ahem) 44. Submitted by Shaun (Leonardtown, MD) Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
Good lord I cannot believe I didn't review this one yet!! Queen is one of my favorite bands of all time, and this album blows me away. This album was released loooong before my time, but I am grateful to have found this. Great, great, great album. Submitted by Tiffany (Flint, MI, USA) Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
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Purchase Night At The Opera CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Queen Day At The Races CD (1976)
Night At The Opera album
$11.39 A DAY AT THE RACES appeared almost exactly one year later after 1975's hugely successful A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, proving to be a more-than-deserving ...
| | Queen Sheer Heart Attack CD (1974)
Night At The Opera CD music
$11.99 SHEER HEART ATTACK is widely considered Queen's best pre-"Bohemian Rhapsody" album. Containing their first global hit single, "Killer Queen," it certainly qualifies as one of Queen's best all-time releases. Just prior to the recording of the album, Queen was making very important inroads in America by opening a US tour for Mott the Hoople, but had to cut it short when guitarist Brian May became seriously ill. Instead of moping, the band immediately began writing and recording SHEER HEART ATTACK while May recovered. Upon its release, fans were pleasantly surprised to witness Queen's growth--although there were still plenty of hard rock numbers, other musical styles were tried and perfected, while the energy of their live show shined through in many of their new songs.
The album's other popular single, "Now I'm Here," would prove to be a concert ...
| | Queen News Of The World CD (1977)
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$11.25 Freddie Mercury indulges his cabaret ...
| | Queen CD (1973)
Night At The Opera songs
$11.99 Queen's 1973 debut is definitely their most underrated album of that decade. Although most tracks aren't as well known as the band's later material, QUEEN proves to be an impressively consistent listen from beginning to end. It's extraordinary how many of the group's future musical trademarks were already detectable in their debut--Brian May's orchestrated guitar harmonies, multi-tracked vocal "choirs," imaginative songwriting and dynamics that could switch from head-banging heavy metal to reflective balladry in the blink of an eye.
Although QUEEN was recorded off and on over a three-year period, the tracks still manage to be focused and unified. The rocker "Liar" contains a middle section that foreshadows Queen's future hits (1975's "Bohemian Rhapsody," 1976's "Somebody To Love," etc.) while "The Night Comes Down" ...
| | Queen II CD (1974)
Night At The Opera album
$11.99 Although QUEEN II borders on heavy metal (it wasn't until their next release, SHEER HEART ATTACK, that they began experimenting with other musical forms), the songwriting and playing is still top-notch. Queen was criticized by some in the press upon the release of QUEEN II, since there was simply nothing to compare it to--it encompassed glam, progressive, and metal, with a healthy dose of studio wizardry.
QUEEN II contained the band's first official UK hit--the mystical "Seven Seas of Rhye"--and, as on their debut a year prior, the lesser-known material is just as delightful. Singer Freddie Mercury and guitarist Brian May contribute one lovely ballad each--"White Queen (As It Began)" and "Some Day One Day." The latter does a splendid job of breaking up this otherwise continuously hard-rocking album. Other intriguing titles include "Ogre Battle," "The March of the Black Queen," and a strong bonus b-side--the bluesy "See What ...
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