Despite thriving in the album era, Queen is mostly remembered for their individual songs. In the Top 500, I gave a few nods to Sheer Heart Attack at #384 and The Game at #465 but overall I haven’t been too overly effusive about Queen’s albums. A Night at the Opera is the glaring exception - and it was the exception for most other people too. Named after the 1935 Marx Brothers movie, A Night at the Opera takes itself just as seriously. It’s one of those defining 1970s albums released on the cusp of the beginning of rock’s segmentation into isolated, marketable subgenres. There were no real boundaries in 1975, and Queen celebrated the freedom of early rock and roll by assembling one of the most eclectic batches of songs ever released. What ties them together is an exuberance, joy, and distinct tone that immediately identifies each song as a Queen song. It’s a shame that this kind of diversity is still hard to find as we now dig deep into the 2010s. I remember after Freddie Mercury died in 1991 and after Wayne’s World re-popularized “Bohemian Rhapsody” in early 1992 that Queen became almost as popular as they were in the 1970s. Everyone in high school seemed to own Classic Queen and Greatest Hits. Today, Queen appears to have been largely forgotten. During the brooding, indie 2000s, Queen’s grandiose, showy, flashy, good times music ran counter to the reigning snob aesthetic. And even today as bands and artists loosen up and put on better shows, they fail to take inspiration from Queen’s unadulterated, direct, honest connection to an audience. From Taylor Swift to Arcade Fire, everyone just takes themselves too damn seriously even when they’re appearing to generate fun. Queen showed you can be artists and still not give a crap about seriousness. For me, A Night at the Opera encapsulates my college years, those days when I thought everything was possible. The music encompasses all of my feelings from those days - from grand ambition to female friendships. Those were the days when I recorded a lot of CDs to save money, and I wore the cassette out upon which I recorded A Night at the Opera. Unlike every other Queen album, A Night at the Opera became one of my defining youthful albums.
"Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)" opens the album with a jolt. While much is made of the bitter lyrics (basically Freddie Mercury bitching about music industry folks stealing Queen’s money) I think they help give the song a gut punch feel that gets everyone’s attention. The riff is genius, interweaving with Mercury’s vocals. “Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" is one of a handful of songs on A Night at the Opera that feel like 1930s movies or British music hall. It’s funny how rock sounded so badass and modern in the 1970s but that was also a decade during which people watched a lot of classic Hollywood movies out of nostalgia. The 1970s introduced so much social chaos and complexity that I’m sure these older songs and movies evoked much simpler, innocent sentiments about love and fun. Roger Taylor nails "I'm in Love with My Car.” Despite the awkward metaphor, there’s a nostalgic majesty about it that also taps into a great early 1970s glam rock vibe. John Deacon’s "You're My Best Friend" is one of my favorite songs of all time. I remember thinking of female friends during my late college days who I absolutely adored. And while I may have had crushes on these women, the friendship was ultimately more important. Maybe that makes me a weak man in the eyes of others, but I’ve always prized my friendships with women even when romance doesn’t work out. “You’re My Best Friend” is like an anthem to that feeling, and the song today makes me ache with nostalgia. "'39" is a shockingly effective song from Brian May because it’s a rare folk song that tells a science fiction story. Yet, the story is emotionally powerful - the idea that traveling at light speed and coming back after a year may mean that 100 years pass on Earth and everyone you love is dead. May’s vocals are quite powerful and emotional, and I love the song’s unusual approach. "Sweet Lady" is a classic, kickass hard rock song similar to “Keep Yourself Alive” or “Stone Cold Crazy.” Glad to hear at least one of these fast-paced songs on the album. Similar to “Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon,” “Seaside Rendezvous" provides the same 1930s nostalgic silliness and fun.
I wouldn’t exactly call A Night at the Opera progressive, but side two definitely serves up some of their more experimental tracks. "The Prophet's Song" is one of the most overlooked Queen songs (if you consider any song on this classic album overlooked) probably because it’s overshadowed by “Bohemian Rhapsody.” At over eight minutes, it’s definitely epic. The flow of the song is spectacular - spiritual and almost fantasy-like. It reminds me of the various fantasy-ish tracks on Queen II and is a nice throwback. And then come Mercury’s delayed a cappella vocals. Stunning. Just stunning. I remember playing this at my friend Todd’s cabin in 2001. Other friends were in the room also visiting. This section of the song shut everyone up and we all had to listen. Perhaps the Beach Boys could stun like this at times, but there was no other Freddie Mercury. The things he could do with vocals, as heard on “The Prophet’s Song,” were just captivating. He had technical mastery but also injected emotion, charisma, and danger into his operatic vocals. After this strange epic, we transition into the absolutely beautiful "Love of My Life.” It’s the kind of song that Queen (especially Mercury) weren’t afraid to sing and deliver unironically. So many bands and artists cannot write and perform simple love songs, I think for fear of looking silly or vulnerable. Also, I think these kinds of songs are harder to write and perform than it seems. It’s a throwback to direct, lovely, emotional Tin Pan Alley songwriting that didn’t try to hide behind a Dylan-like hip obfuscation. "Good Company" was always one of my least favorite songs on the album but I gained more appreciation for it after hearing Brian May show the George Formby influence and discuss how ALL of the parts are guitar. Amazing how he replicated the sound of so many jazz instruments through a guitar. It also has a distinct McCartney White Album feel. And finally, "Bohemian Rhapsody.” What can I say that a zillion others haven’t thought or experienced? I still remember not knowing about this song at all and hearing it on Top 40 radio in early 1992. Not knowing that it was from 1975, I immediately fell in love with the song and wondered how something so brilliant popped out of nowhere. Eventually, I discovered that it was a 17-year old song as popular as “Stairway to Heaven” but I like the fact that it won me over when I had zero knowledge of classic Queen. Despite getting sick of it at times over the years, the song always wins me back if I haven’t heard it in a while. It’s hard to analyze because it’s our song - we all know it, we’ve all memorized it, and we all own it. That, ultimately, is what I think Freddie Mercury wanted us to get from Queen. Despite Queen’s eclectic strangeness, they were a people’s band. Things could be fancy, stylish, and sophisticated, but Mercury believed we could all partake in it. No alternative or indie scene was meant to preclude even the most humble working class person from enjoying Queen. A Night at the Opera encapsulates that feeling on the highest level - some of the best art rock ever created that’s accessible to everyone.
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