A NIGHT AT THE OPERA

"A Night at the Opera" is recognized by most of the fans and critics as QUEEN'S Magnum Opus and there are many reasons to agree being the strongest "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Prophets Song" despite I agree musically is the most solid, I have a special weakness for "A Day at the Races" that will try to leave behind when writing this review..

The band had reached their maturity and the harder edge of their first albums for a more eclectic and explorative sound that dared to escape from Rock to touch the doors of Vaudeville, proving how versatile this great band always was

Now, many Prog purists (including myself) made a scandal when QUEEN was added to Prog Archives, but with the pass of the months almost all of us are convinced that they deserved to be mentioned because their relation with our dear genre can't be denied.

But without more empty words, lets check the album:

Death on Two Legs seems like a return to the heavier roots but much more elaborate due to the excellent piano intro, but it's clearly a Brian May track with plenty of room for his unique guitar performance and a lot of drama in the vocals.

Lazing on the Sunday Afternoon and the posterior Seaside Rendezvous should be seen as two of a kind, the Vaudeville is back after decades od death, nice relievers that add a bit of comedy and relief to the dramatics of other pieces, this is the way in which an album gets balance, mixing hard with lighter tracks to avoid saturation in the audience.

I heard people saying the two are just fillers, but I believe they play a very important role in the album keeping the balance.

I'm in Love with my Car is probably the weakest spot of the album, the heavy distorted sound and the good vocals by Roger Taylor can't save it from the monotony, well not every album is perfect.

You're my Best Friend is a cute track, not memorable but good enough, the powerful vocals by Freddie are the highest point of the song, this added to a nice melody make of it a very pleasant listening experience.

39 is an incredibly beautiful song, the acoustic folksy sound combines perfectly with the voice of Brian May and the melody is simply perfect, simple but one of the most memorable tracks of their whole career.

Sweet Lady is another hard track that is another weak spot, not bad but neither in the level of the rest of the album,

Now it's time for the real deal Prophet's Song is absolutely perfect, the quintessential QUEEN Prog track, has absolutely everything great piano, outstanding guitars, the rhythm section is just perfect and the powerful vocals by Freddie and his choir is just breathtaking, the best song of the album by far.

Love of my Live with the harp and the romantic feeling may sound cheesy for some fans, but is a song full of a different kind of drama, the band achieves perfectly the task to transmit a very strong feeling without falling in the common cliché, more important than the lyrics is the way they are song, you really believe what Freddie is saying.

After a short epic, a dramatic song and before a pompous stravaganza the band required another comedy relief and Good Company provides it, lowering the tension and preparing for the most famous track of their career, the ukulele gives a very nice touch, cute little song that fulfills it's purpose.

Without any doubt Bohemian Rhapsody is the song that catapulted QUEEN to the fame, as any Opera, starts dramatic and exaggerated with very theatrical lyrics that describe the situation as in a theater, the changes are soft but not for this reason less radical, they manage to make a great transition from one to the other until the point where Brian's guitar announces the operatic vocal madness of Freddie and the band, everything is perfect and to end a strong heavy section, another track that has everything.

The album ends with God save the Queen which is simply an anecdote and the perfect closer for every concert from then till the death of Freddie, where the story of the band ended, because no matter who they hire, there's no QUEEN without Freddie Mercury in the vocals.

Some people believe everything they did after this album seems pale in comparison, but I do believe "A Day at the Races" is the twin album, not so pompous but equally strong.

I would love top rate "A Night at the Opera" with 5 stars but there are some small flaws and according to the interpretation of the guidelines, no Prog Related album should be rated with the maximum, so 4 stars may sound unfair but IMHO is the precise rating, because "A Night at the Opera" has a clear connection with Prog, if not I would have to go with 3 stars, thanks God I didn't had to make an injustice in this case, maybe in a non Prog site I would go with the top rating.