A NIGHT AT THE OPERA

BUT, is it prog? Here and there, yes it is. Putting aside my own mild reservations as to whether or not Queen should be in the archives, there is no getting away from the fact that this album is progressive in its own right. ANATO is a collection of brilliantly crafted, eclectic songs; fusing styles and moods with drama, comedy and camp. 'Death on Two legs' is a brilliant opener, with screaming guitar effects and a dramatic Cello build up, and witty bitchy lyrics about someone they know, but refuse to identify on the sleeve notes!

'Lazing on a Sunday afternoon' and 'Seaside Rendezvous' see Queen climbing into a comedic time machine and celebrating/lampooning a quintisessential English time gone by. Queen at their eccentric best!

'Prophets Song' is probably my favourite on this album. It's atmosphere of foreboding prophecy, is consolidated by the hypnotic depth of the multi tracked vocals, and dramatic heavy guitar interludes. May tinkles his mandolin over howling desert winds at the start of this semi epic, while Mercurys soft trembling vocals warn us of 'storm that gathers here' One of Queens greatest pieces IMO..

'Love of my Life' is simply a great love song, complete with wafting waves of Harp! The lyrcis are heartfelt and the piano part exquisitely sad. Dont listern to this at the tail end of failed relationship!!! Queen were masters at switching from comedy to tragedy in the space of a couple of songs, and ANATO is one of Queens finest hours in this respect. The beauty of this album is it's variety of moods and themes, which interweave with each other,cleverly avoiding any loss of continuity. The only weak points IMO, are 'Sweet Lady' and '39' and they're not that bad, just relativly not as good as the rest.

I need say nothing about Bohemian Rhapsody. It's a masterpiece, but I've heard it so much, that when I play this album, I always skip it! Such is the tragedy of radio/TV overplay. You cant blame Queen for that.

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