A Night at the Opera (Queen album)

A Night at the Opera
Studio album by Queen
Released 21 November 1975
Recorded August – November 1975 at Sarm, Roadhouse, Olympic Studios, Scorpio and Lansdowne, London and Rockfield, Monmouthshire[1]
Genre
Length 43:10
Label EMI / Parlophone (Europe)
Elektra (US)
Producer Roy Thomas Baker, Queen
Queen chronology
Sheer Heart Attack
(1974)		 A Night at the Opera
(1975)		 A Day at the Races
(1976)
Singles from A Night at the Opera
  1. "Bohemian Rhapsody"
    Released: 31 October 1975
  2. "You're My Best Friend" / "'39"
    Released: 18 May 1976

A Night at the Opera is the fourth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released in November 1975. Co-produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Queen, it was the most expensive album ever recorded at the time of its release.[4] 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.[5][6] The album was originally released by EMI in the United Kingdom, where it topped the UK Albums Chart for four non-consecutive weeks, and Elektra Records in the United States, where it peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and became the band's first platinum selling album in the US. The worldwide sales for the album are currently over 6 million copies.

A Night at the Opera has been voted by the public and cited by music publications as Queen's finest work and many critics consider it the band's definitive album.{{Citation needed}} It incorporates a wide range of styles, from ballads and music hall style songs to hard rock numbers and progressive rock influences. It also produced the band's most successful single in the UK, "Bohemian Rhapsody", which went on to become their first UK number one and one of the best-selling singles in both the UK and the world.

Song information

"Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to....)"

"Death on Two Legs" could only be referred to as Freddie Mercury's hate letter towards Queen's ex-manager, Norman Sheffield, who for some years was reputed to have mistreated the band and abused his role as their manager from 1972 to 1975; however this was later denied in an autobiography by Sheffield published in 2013 titled "Life on Two Legs: Set The Record Straight"[7] where Sheffield denies such rumours and refers to copies of the original 1972 Queen management contracts between Sheffield and Queen included in the book as proof to back up his defence. Though the song never made a direct reference to him, upon listening to a playback of the song at Trident Studios during the time of album release, Sheffield was appalled and sued the band and the record label for defamation which resulted in an out of court settlement,[8] and this later revealed to the public his connection to the song.

During live performances, Mercury would usually rededicate the song to "a real motherfucker of a gentleman", although this line was censored on the version that appeared on their Live Killers album in 1979. Other than on the version of said live album, he'd said it was dedicated to a "motherfucker 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 and described by Mercury as being "so vindictive that Brian felt bad singing it".[9] After the song came together, it was agreed that the "author should have his way", and the song went on as penned.[10]

As with "Bohemian Rhapsody", most of the guitar parts on this song were initially played on piano by Mercury, to demonstrate to 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. The piano introduction though was played through the Hot Space and Works tours.

"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 the studio and reproduced through headphones in a tin bucket elsewhere in the studio. 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 E minor 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 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 Taylor on the studio version, and all released live versions.[11] 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.[12]

The song was often played live during the 1977–81 period. Taylor sang it from the drums while Mercury played piano and provided backing vocals. It was played in the Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour in 2005 and the Rock the Cosmos Tour in 2008. Taylor would again play 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 Queen's first single written by John Deacon. 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. The song was a top 10 hit.

"'39"

Main article: '39 (Queen song)

"'39" was May's attempt to do "sci-fi skiffle". "'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, because of the time dilation effect in Einstein's special theory of relativity, and the loved ones they left behind are now all dead or aged.

May sings the song on the album, with backing vocals by Mercury and Taylor. During live performances, Mercury sang the lead vocal. May had asked bassist John Deacon to play double bass as a joke but a couple of days later he found Deacon in the studio with the instrument, and he had already learned to play it.[13]

Since Queen had named their albums A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races after two of the Marx Brothers' most popular films, surviving brother Groucho Marx invited Queen to visit him at his Los Angeles home in March 1977 (five months before he died). The band thanked him, and performed "'39" a cappella.[14]

George Michael performed "'39" at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in April 1992.[15][16] Michael cited this song as his favourite Queen song, claiming he used to busk it on the London Underground.[17]

Recently, Queen have included the song on the setlists of their recent tours with Adam Lambert [18] and before Adam with Paul Rodgers;[19] for all these tours since 2005 it is sung as it is on the album by May.

"Sweet Lady"

"Sweet Lady" is a distortion-driven fast rocker written by May. The song is an unusual rock style in 3/4-meter (which gives way to 4/4 at the bridge). Taylor remembers it as the most difficult drumming part he ever recorded.

The backing track was probably recorded live, as one can hear the snare wires on the snare drum of Taylor's kit vibrating along with Deacon's bass guitar riff.

"Seaside Rendezvous"

Main article: Seaside Rendezvous

"Seaside Rendezvous", written by Mercury, is notable for the mock-instrumental 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 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"

Main article: The Prophet's Song

The Prophet's Song was composed by May (working title "People of the Earth"). 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 about a great flood 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 by Mercury. 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 and challenging lead vocals. At over eight minutes in length, it's also Queen's longest song (not counting the untitled instrumental track on "Made in Heaven").

As detailed by May in a documentary about the 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 Mercury's girlfriend at the time, Mary Austin, and is one of his most covered songs (there have been versions by many acts like Extreme featuring May, Scorpions and Elaine Paige). Mercury played piano (including a classical solo) and did all of the vocals with startling multi-tracking precision. 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 Red Special.

Brian May eventually arranged the song so it could be played on an acoustic 12 string for live performances.

"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"

Main article: Good Company (song)

"Good Company" was written and sung by May, who provides all vocals and plays a "Genuine Aloha" ukulele.[20]

The recording is remarkable for featuring an elaborate recreation of a Dixieland-style jazz band, produced by way of May's Red Special guitar and Deacy Amp. Brian May composed the song on a Banjo ukelele, but recorded the song with a regular ukulele instead.

"Bohemian Rhapsody"

Main article: 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 and garnering mixed critical reviews initially, 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.[21]

After Freddie Mercury's death, the song was rereleased as a double A-side to "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" on 9 December 1991 in the UK and September 5, 1991 in US.

"God Save the Queen"

May recorded a cover version of God Save the Queen, the British national 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.[10] After the song was completed it was played as an outro at virtually every concert while the band were taking their bows. 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.[10] He performed the song live on the roof of Buckingham Palace for the Queen's golden jubilee in 2002.[22]

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".

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 Deacon, and later released commercially like the "Brian May" amplifier by Vox.

"God Save the Queen" is the only-ever song recorded by Queen that was not written by any of the band members, but May is credited as its arranger.

Reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chicago Tribune[23]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[24]
Pitchfork Media8.9/10[25]
PopMatters9/10[26]
Q (1993)[27]
Q (2006)[28]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[29]
Uncut[30]
The Village VoiceB–[31]

At the time the most expensive album ever recorded,[4] May has asserted in subsequent years that, had A Night at the Opera not been successful, Queen would have disbanded.[32] Upon release, the album was a commercial success, debuting at No. 1 in the UK and topping the charts for four non-consecutive weeks. In the US, it reached No. 4, the band's strongest showing at that time. In 1977 "Bohemian Rhapsody" received two Grammy Award nominations for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus and Best Arrangement for Voices.

In a contemporary review, Kris Nicholson of Rolling Stone magazine said that, although they share other heavy metal groups' penchant for "manipulating dynamics," Queen are an elite act in the genre and set themselves apart by incorporating "unlikely effects: acoustic piano, harp, acapella vocals, no synthesisers. Coupled with good songs."[33] Melody Maker called the album a "must-have", encouraging listeners to "turn it up loud and enjoy",[34] 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."[35] Robert Christgau, writing in The Village Voice, felt that the album "doesn't actually botch any of a half-dozen arty-to-heavy 'eclectic' modes ... and achieves a parodic tone often enough to suggest more than meets the ear." However, he questioned the record's consistency and what "that more is".[31]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album "a self-consciously ridiculous and overblown hard rock masterpiece" and "prog rock with a sense of humour as well as dynamics". Erlewine felt that Queen "never bettered their approach anywhere else".[36] Progressive rock historian Stephen Lambe has disputed that the album itself is progressive rock in his book Citizens of Hope and Glory: The Story of Progressive Rock. He wrote: "While far from progressive rock, it was the band's most grandiose and ambitious album yet, full of great songwriting and prog influences." He said the album was "a neat symbol of the furthest reach of the progressive rock movement".[37] The Dutch Progressive Rock Page concluded that A Night at the Opera "crosses musical boundaries and combines many musical styles, which makes it a real progressive album".[38]

In a 2006 review, Q also felt that they never topped the album, which the magazine said "remains glorious, monumental" as British rock music's "greatest extravagance".[28] Uncut noted "the extent of the band's barmy diversity".[30] Mojo called the album "an imperial extravaganza, a cornucopia", and Queen "a band of hungrily competitive individualists on a big roll of friendship and delight".[39] Pitchfork Media's Dominique Leone said that the band topped their contemporaries on the album without limiting themselves or sparing any effort.[25] According to Rhapsody's Mike McGuirk, A Night at the Opera is often viewed as one of the greatest rock albums of all time. McGuirk felt that the album's combination of heavy metal, recording effects, theatrical sophistication, and British grandeur still make for an engaging listen.[40] 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."[41]

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die UK 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[42] 2005 *
ABC AUS Poll: Top 100 Albums[43] 2007 28
BBC UK Poll: Top 100 Albums[44] 2006 9
Channel 4 UK Poll: Greatest 100 Albums[45] 2005 13
Classic Rock UK The 100 Greatest Rock Albums Ever[46] 2001 25
The 100 Greatest British Rock Albums Ever[47] 2006 17
The 200 Greatest Albums of the 70's (20 greatest of 1975)[48] 2006 *
Kerrang! UK Poll: The 100 Best British Rock Albums Ever[49] 2005 19
NME UK Poll: Greatest 100 Albums of All Time[50] 2006 19
Q UK The 50 Best British Albums Ever[51] 2004 17
Rolling Stone MX Poll: The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time[52] 2004 11
US Poll: Readers' Top 100 Albums[53] 2002 82
US The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time[54] 2003 231
Virgin UK Poll: All Time Top 1000 Albums[55] 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.[56] It also includes the original 1975 video of Bohemian Rhapsody.

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.

On 8 November 2010, record company Universal Music announced a remastered and expanded reissue of the album set for release in May 2011. This as part of a new record deal between Queen and Universal Music, which meant Queen's association with EMI would come to an end after almost 40 years. According to Universal Music, all Queen albums were to be remastered and reissued in 2011. By September 2012 the reissue program will actually be complete.[57] Along with this came a 5.1 channel release of the album on Blu-ray Audio.

Track listing

Side one
No. TitleWriter(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. TitleWriter(s) Length
8. "The Prophet's Song"  May 8:17
9. "Love of My Life"  Mercury 3:38
10. "Good Company"  May 3:26
11. "Bohemian Rhapsody"  Mercury 5:55
12. "God Save the Queen" (Instrumental)Traditional, arr. May 1:11

Personnel

Queen
Additional personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1975–76) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[58] 1
Austrian Albums Chart[59] 9
Canadian Albums Chart[60] 2
Dutch Albums Chart[61] 1
French Albums Chart[62] 16
German Albums Chart[63] 5
Japanese Albums Chart[64] 9
New Zealand Albums Chart[65] 1
Norwegian Albums Chart[66] 4
Swedish Albums Chart[67] 10
UK Albums Chart[68] 1
US Billboard 200[69] 4

Weekly charts (reissues)

Chart (2005) Position
French Catalog Chart[62] 11
Japanese Albums Chart[70] 67
Portuguese Albums Chart[71] 23
Spanish Albums Chart[72] 77
Chart (2011) Position
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[73] 96
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[74] 88
Japanese Albums Chart[75] 73
UK Albums Chart[76] 96

Year-end charts

Chart (1976) Position
Australian Albums Chart[58] 4
Canadian Albums Chart[77] 15
French Albums Chart[78] 88
Japanese Albums Chart[79] 22
UK Albums Chart[80] 12
US Billboard Year-End[81] 8

Preceded by
40 Greatest Hits by Perry Como
40 Greatest Hits by Perry Como		 UK Albums Chart number-one album
22 December 1975 – 10 January 1976
17–31 January 1976 		Succeeded by
40 Greatest Hits by Perry Como
The Best of Roy Orbison by Roy Orbison
Preceded by
A Song for You by George Baker Selection		 Dutch Mega Chart number-one album
10 January – 28 February 1976 		Succeeded by
Desire by Bob Dylan
Preceded by
Bill and Boyd by Bill and Boyd
How Dare You! by 10cc		 New Zealand Chart number-one album
12–26 March 1976
9 April – 16 March 1976 		Succeeded by
How Dare You! by 10cc
The Best of ABBA by ABBA
Preceded by
Desire by Bob Dylan		 Australian Kent Music Report number-one album
15–28 March 1976 		Succeeded by
The Best of ABBA by ABBA

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Argentina (CAPIF)[82] Platinum 60,000
Argentina (CAPIF)[82]
Hollywood Records release		 Platinum 60,000
Austria (IFPI Austria)[83] Gold 25,000
Canada (Music Canada)[84] Platinum 100,000
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[85] Gold 20,000[85]
Germany (BVMI)[86] Platinum 500,000
Japan (Oricon Charts) 150,000[87]
Poland (ZPAV)[88]
2008 Agora SA album reissue		 2× Platinum 40,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[89] Platinum 300,000
United States (RIAA)[90] 3× Platinum 3,000,000

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

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  3. 1 2 3 James E. Perone, ed. (2012). The Album: A Guide to Pop Music's Most Provocative, Influential, and Important Creations. Praeger Publishers Inc. ISBN 978-0313379062. the album includes integrations of progressive rock, pop, and heavy metal
  4. 1 2 Allmusic – Queen
  5. ↑ "The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody", BBC, dir. Carl Johnston, First broadcast 4 December 2004
  6. ↑ Roger Taylor interview on Supersonic Saturday Scene in 1976
  7. ↑ Life on Two Legs - Norman Sheffield
  8. ↑ Sheffield, Norman (2013). Life on Two Legs. UK: Trident Publishing. p. 239. ISBN 9780957513310.
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  74. ↑ "ultratop.be Queen – A Night at the Opera" (ASP). Hung Medien (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  75. ↑ "クイーン-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック" [Highest position and charting weeks of A Night at the Opera (2011 remaster) by Queen]. oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  76. ↑ "Chart Stats – Album chart for 26/03/2011". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  77. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1976". RPM. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  78. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1976 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  79. ↑ 1976年アルバム年間ヒットチャート [Japanese Year-End Albums Chart 1976] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  80. ↑ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  81. ↑ "Top Pop Albums of 1976". billboard.biz. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  82. 1 2 "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  83. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Queen – A Night at the Opera" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Queen in the field Interpret. Enter A Night at the Opera in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  84. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Queen – A Night at the Opera". Music Canada.
  85. 1 2 "Queen" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  86. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Queen; 'A Night at the Opera')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  87. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  88. ↑ "Polish album certifications – Queen – A Night at the Opera" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
  89. ↑ "British album certifications – Queen – A Night at the Opera". British Phonographic Industry. Enter A Night at the Opera in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  90. ↑ "American album certifications – Queen – A Night at the Opera". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

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