A NIGHT AT THE OPERA

I'm with love with this album.

Surely everyone has heard of the Queen. Since I had little contact with this band, and although it has never been a fan of them always had appreciation for his songs. Now, it was a surprise when I found them here on the site as a Prog Related artist! I do not care if Queen is a progressive rock band or not - they are a rock band, period.

The question is: how many styles of rock they play?

Look at A Night In The Opera. This is a great album. It's not just a rock record. It's one of those memorable works that are rooted in the history of music and who can please Greeks and Trojans. Yes, everyone has heard of Bohemian Rhapsody and Love of My Life, but the album goes beyond this and offers a complex range of styles (hard rock, country, classical music, vaudeville, pop, etc ...) in 43 bombastic minutes . Having been at the time the most expensive album ever produced and it has been recorded with meticulous (not obsessed ... just perfectionism, said Mercury), it was essential to the Queen that A Night In The Opera do succeed, otherwise it would be the end of the band. Needless to say they succeeded! Above the commercial success was the critical success, and not for nothing that album is revered as one of the best rock records ever made.

As much as I really love this album, there is a considerable amount of songs absolutely "useless" here. Ironically I hate only one of these: Good Company, which is really a weak song and unemotional with a poor use of the ukulele (besides being sandwiched between the two greatest hits album, which was really bad). Lazing on a Sunday Afternoom is so clueless that I really love you too much (the voice of Mercury that seems out of a bucket is one of the most kitschy and fun I've ever heard), Seaside Rendezvous is another fun time with their vocalizations woodwinds and brass to give it an air of pseudo-scholar and God Save the Queen is a strong and short end that although it is not bad to me it seems more appropriate if it were the opening of the album, and not vice versa.

But the other eight songs ... what is this? Wow! Even my father, a big fan and longtime connoisseur of the Queen, was surprised with the songs on this album. On the Side A have Death In Two Legs (Dedicated To ...) is a non-tribute to the album's producer and has everything that is typical of the band's strong vocal work, intricate guitar (May is really a gem of his generation) and memorable passages. I'm Love With My Car is an amazing piece sung sung by Taylor, while You're My Best Friend is a nice pop song that was a success. 39 is another highlight, being sung by May and cool lyrics - treble vocals are amazing! - and Sweet Lady is another hard rock piece with traces of Led Zeppelin, i think.

The B side is no less amazing to have, besides the two songs disposable are three masterpieces. The Prophet's Song is the largest of them, and frankly, I'm beginning to think this is one of the best songs I ever heard in my life! Unfortunately it is very underestimated - does the fact that it is the most progressive that the group has created has something to do with it? - But when you look at their sections and for the hard rock and May´s works with eletric and acoustic guitar and koto you understand what I'm talking about. And for all those who love opera section of Bohemian Rhapsody ... the harmonies in the middle-section in this song will leave you speechless. If there is something in which I love are the Queen is the vocal works of your members. And in this song it is taken to the peak of perfection, resulting in more powerful harmonic vocal section of all time.

The other songs everyone knows. Love of My Life is one of the greatest ballads of all time, highlighting the great work of Mercury (those vocal harmonies shivers down my spine) and May guitar now emulates a cello now emulates a synthesizer.

And Bohemian Rhapsody ... need to say something? perhaps the single most progressive of all time, and I do not think a song could be successful are so complex! You see, it starts with an a cappella section, a small part to verse-chorus section that is broken by a great guitar solo of May, and then we come to his very famous the "opera", it really is brilliant! All this and the best is yet to come: after the dark line "Beelzebub is a saint but the devil for me, for me, for me ..." the song explodes into a powerful hard-rock section until things calm down and the music close to the beat of a gong, and almost all in 6 minutes (gosh, I'm just tired of describing it!) - do not forget their lyrics fantastic, parodying opera and telling a really cool story! Definitely one of the greatest rock anthems of all time!

5 stars is the maximum I can give to this album, but he certainly much more mercy. Prog or not, this is a timeless masterpiece!

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