Queen - A Night At The Opera (1975) (DTS DVD-Audio ISO) [2002]

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.



Track listing

1. "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to…)" [Freddie Mercury] 3:43
2. "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" [Freddie 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" [Brian May] 4:01
7. "Seaside Rendezvous" [Freddie Mercury] 2:13
8. "The Prophet's Song" [Brian May] 8:17
9. "Love of My Life" [Freddie Mercury] 3:38
10. "Good Company" [Brian May] 3:26
11. "Bohemian Rhapsody" [Freddie Mercury] 5:55
12. "God Save the Queen" [Traditional, arr. Brian May] 1:11





Personnel:

Freddie Mercury – lead vocals, piano, and more vocals

Brian May – guitars, harp, ukelele, backing vocals, lead vocals on "'39" and "Good Company", toy koto, twelve-string guitar and harp on "Love of My Life"

Roger Taylor – drums, percussion, lead vocals on "I'm in Love with My Car", trumpet vocals on "Seaside Rendezvous", backing vocals

John Deacon – bass, double-bass, electric piano

Mike Stone – executive engineer

Gary Lyons – invaluable additional engineering

John Harris – equipment supervision

David Costa – art direction

Rick Curtin and Brian Palmer – special thanks

John Reid – management


Special Features:
"Bohemian Rhapsody" Video
Photo Gallery