A Night At The Opera

There's a quote from fabled film director Howard Hawks about what makes a great movie: "Three great scenes, no bad scenes." That same rule applies to one's definition of a great album. But it has to check both boxes. Queen surely meets the "3 great songs" criteria here (You're My Best Friend, Bohemian Rhapsody and Death On Two Legs qualify, as does 39 on a good day). But imagine you're the drummer for Queen, and your band's frontman is Freddie Freaking Mercury. You decide to bring in a song you wrote for your band's make or break album, and it's titled "I'm In Love With My Car". You're so fond of this song that you insist it can only be sung by you. The drummer. Who can sell the song in a way the iconic Freddie Mercury just wouldn't understand. Your belief in this song is such that you go so far as to lock yourself inside a cabinet unless it not only makes the album, but it also has to be the B Side of the Bohemian Rhapsody single. As one does. There are 3 songs of which Mercury takes a back seat (although in the interest of full disclosure, I don't mind guitarist Brian May's vocals on the aforementioned "39"). But it's the bad songs that keep this album from the fabled 5 rating. Listen to this with a great set of headphones to really appreciate the finer moments. Even the auto enthusiasts can feel free to skip Roger Taylor's car song.

Amazing. A work of art. But not the car song

A surprising amount of fluff surrounding the eternal hits makes for a night at the opera that’s less memorable than you might hope.

Scaramouche

To have you’re my best friend, love of my life, and Bohemian Rhapsody on the same album, is one of the greatest accomplishments in modern-day history. I know this is only the first album that we are listening to, but it’s going to be hard to beat this collection of songs.

I really wanna like the album more than I can honestly admit. I think it’s a 5 in terms of cultural impact but for my listening pleasure a lot of the songs are just on. Bohemian Rhapsody is a 5/5 and the production is very good but, I wish the rest of the album was as catchy and bombastic as that.

Absolutely a fantastic album. I’d never listened to all of this and it was such a delight to listen to some Queen deep cuts. There’s a reason why they’re held in such regard. This album blows me away.

Fantastic album, a beautiful voice with a beautiful band. I particularly liked The Prophet's Song

I lost my virginity to my best friend Puma while listening to this album. Sex was one star. Album is a 5.

Yeah, I mean, this hits all my sweet spots. It rocks. It's huge. It's dumb. It's weird. I love it. If you also love this and you've never heard The Kleptones A Night at the Hip-Hopera, I suggest you do so. This is all good.

Another one I don’t even have to try on.

Now that's a fine album, REAL fine album, you can get a first class listening experience there

I never owned this one but this was one of those albums you didn't have to buy since it was played so much at all the parties. Side 1 doesn't have THE song, but it is still a strong side. The Side 1 songs I remember most from the parties where this LP was spun are "You're my best Friend" and "I'm in Love with my Car". You're My Best Friend still sounds great. Death on Two Legs is also musically good and lyrically full of piss and vinegar to say the least. Wiki just taught me that this song was with respect to their management that they fired at the time over financial and contractual issues. I recall the Bohemian Rhapsody movie made it seem like the old label was fired because they wouldn't agree to make THE Song a single because it was too long for radio. I guess this was a better storyline for the movie than the legal one. It also allowed the brilliantly casted scene where Dana Carvey plays the record company exec who gives a diatribe about how bad Bohemian Rhapsody was. I can't watch that scene without thinking of Dana and Mike Myers bobbing their heads in the car while they lip sync THE Song. There is a lot of genre hopping in this LP: On Seaside Rendezvous I keep waiting for the tap dancing solo, lol, 39 is a cool folk song, Good Company is a funky Ragtime song, The Prophet's Song has a 2 1/2 minute capella segment, and THE Song brings us opera. One could argue whether or not the music itself brings this to a 5 but, imo, Queen's ability to record good songs in so many off the beaten path genres gets it there.

Brilliant

Just fantastic, varied and fun, front to back awesome

Love queen

An album I should have listened to a long time ago. I picked it up on vinyl years ago. An incredible listening experience, as per usual with Queen.

Dogshite overrated.

Almost unbearable

You suck my blood like a leech You break the law and you breach Screw my brain ‘til it hurts You’ve taken all my money and you want more - death on two legs (dedicated to … )

Adrenaline rush from start to finish. Tracks keep jumping without a moment's breath. Really puts the prog in prog rock by taking inspiration from all sorts of classical genres, from the namesake opera ("Bohemian Rhapsody") to ragtime ("Good Company"). There are the really poppy songs. The true-to-form hard rock songs ("I'm in Love with my car"), which gets even heavier, metal-like with "Sweet Lady." The beginning of the folk '39 sounds like it could have come out today, especially with that beat. The songs are catchy and fun to sing to. Production sounds amazing. Weaknesses? I'm not sure this is a weakness, but I felt the diversity in genres could be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it grabs your attention the entire album, interested to discover not just what the next song will be, but what the very song you're listening to will sound like in a minute. On the other hand, they don't share much in common beyond the high energy, and it can be kinda exhausting with the sound constantly changing with each passing second. I think a better example of genre-blending is LDIV, but I don't think this deters from a perfect score. The songs can stand on their own. Each song is interesting to listen to from start to finish. There's really not much to dislike about anything about this album.

I could go the rest of my life without hearing Bo Rhap again and die a happy man. Yet, in terms of being the cherry on top of this overblown, bombastic confection, it's hard to argue with its aptness. Anyway, this also has 'Death on Two Legs', 'Love of My Life' and an eccentric love letter from Roger Taylor to his favourite motor. Oh, plus 'You're My Best Friend', the best thing Queen ever did. Eclectic, stuffed to the gills and, ultimately, glorious. Where's this ambition these days?

No other band can jump from heavy metal to cabaret to prog rock with the effortless grace of Queen, and this album displays that with a beautiful smattering of song variety.

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, pop, campy British music hall, and mystical prog rock, 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. [Source: https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-night-at-the-opera-mw0000391519]

Classic. Random weirdness and gold standard all-time greats.

Okay, so this is great. I don’t really know why I haven’t been more into Queen before. This album has a sort of cinematic sound. I loved the quirkiness of the second song. They are so varied! Like, they have so much versatility in their style, and I think it’s fantastic.

This album is brilliant, silly, fun. My ex girlfriend used to love it and it reminded me of the good times with her. So much fun

YAS QUEEN! i've been expecting this here

Queen albums are always entertaining. This is the big one - featuring everyone's favorite song, at least for one moment in their life. Varies a bit in quality throughout, but you gotta give respect to Freddie and the gang's most accomplished effort to bring ballet to the masses.

Gives a whole other level of appreciation for Bohemian Rhapsody

Amazing range and variety. Not all songs stick in the mind though.

Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon into I'm In Love With my Car is the rock n roll one-two punch you never knew you needed.

I hated school. Hated it. Queen got me through year 10, year 11 and helped me get through - by actually getting to see them live with Freddie at the Sydney Entertainment Centre - year 12.* The sixth best Queen album. Still a ripper. The neat production tricks. Good Company with its 20s English trad jazz band built from guitar feed back, then the tape being cut and the pitches being all arranged into order. Yet tell me that’s not a clarinet. I’m over Bohemian Rhapsody - heard it way too much and there’s nothing in it for me to discover anymore. But it’s still an incredible track. Somewhat underrated I think. That piano riff is a six chord. Used all the time in Italian music. But also used in rock and roll. The Beatles often ended on a six. Possibly the most bitter rock song and a great great opener - Death On Two Legs. Young Mr Bulsara was not known for his subtlety. (He could be subtle but he wasn’t known for it.) Prophets Song - just brilliant. Actually Brian May starts to hit the heights of songwriting. He still had great stuff in him but Prophets song, 39, Good Company and even Sweet Lady are bangers. And the performance of God Save the Queen is the cherry on the top. John Deacon writes and plays piano on You’re My Best Friend. A top ten hit. A portend of things to come.** Freddie slushes and gushes on Love of my Life. I prefer Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, Day at the Races and Queen. But this is still 5 stars. In fact 20000000 stars. *My dad gave me the tickets on his birthday. I caught the XPT train from Dubbo. Stayed at my uncle's at Burwood. He drove me in. Was in the very back row seven seats from the back wall on stage right. I can still remember a lot of it. Life changing for me. Was the show that made me want to be a musician. Also the first international act I saw. Still the standard I use to judge whether a show was any good. Seen them three times with Adam Lambert who is great. **It’s not generally recognised that Queen’s biggest selling single was ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ written by John Deacon.

When I was about 13, my mate Peter D. played me The Prophet's Song on his walkman during a school excursion to the Sydney Opera House (we were there for an afternoon at the opera, a matinee performance of Puccini's Manon Lescaut) I didn't think much of the Puccini, but Queen blew my mind. Peter subsequently made me a cassette of Night at the Opera backed with Queen's Greatest Hits. I had been familiar with Bohemian Rhapsody and some of their singles prior to that, but Night at the Opera was the first Queen studio album that I really delved into and played obsessively. I find it hard to approach this record objectively because of my nostalgic love of the record. Does it have a lot of songs that delve into pastiche and novelty? Yes. Is it almost bombastically over-produced? Well, yes. Is it full of cracking tunes and rocking rock? Well, hell yeah! Let's play it again, and louder! I love this review from Pitchfork (https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/15221-reissues/), which encapsulates my feelings about the band: "Fucking Queen. For all their reported bombast, pomp, and tendency to overshoot and double-slaughter any semblances of good taste, everything you've heard about them is still true. They're one of the few phenomena who deliver on the hype, regardless of how you approach them. Hate or love proggy album suites? Doesn't matter, Queen will make you feel good about your choice. Can't stand operatic drama, or can't get enough unitard-clad frontmen? Love to hate prime 1970s hard rock with arena sheen? Welcome to the greatest/most horrible band of the 20th century. They did and wanted it all. Yet, so much of Queen's music is still under-recognized even by people who know and love the hits." Bohemian Rhapsody is the jewel in the crown here, and one of the most unlikely of iconic rock songs. Is it Freddie Quicksilver bringing ballet to the masses (according to the possibly apocryphal encounter between Freddie and Sid Vicious), or a barely disguised metaphor for Freddie coming out ("mama, I just killed a man", except maybe not "killed"?) Doesn't matter! We're all singing along and banging our heads! I was recently at a grungy bar on a Saturday night, when the manager climbed up on the bar to lead a very raucous sing-along of Bohemian Rhapsody. You better believe everyone knew all the words. And The Prophet's Song still blows my mind. It's a crazy, over-top-top, bombastic, proggy, weird, rockin', idiosyncratic, occasionally silly, wondrous feast. Fifty bazillion stars.

4/7/22 The easiest 5 I’ve given yet! Such a fun album with the perfect blend of theatrics and talent. Excellent guitar as well! Really enjoyed every song in the album and the ending was amazing! Favorite song: Bohemian Rhapsody Favorite new song: ‘39

One of Queen's best. Not much else to say

Top of the heap

Not much that can be said. Brilliant.

Love this album, this is exactly what I was hoping for in this project— I really only knew the hits. I know this is one my dad probably wore the vinyl out of when he was in high school

Good album. I know so many of the queen songs on it but have never listened to the full album.

Heh, you'll have a hard time finding a Queen album for which I will *not* give 5 stars. This is NOT that album. 5 stars.

Echt een aantal pareltjes op dit album.

A great album with a contender for best song ever almost at the end.

Woot. Queens good.

I was blown away by the scope of this album. It's probably best known for its two epics, but that summary ignores the depth and breadth of the rest of its offerings. What other rock project contains a hate song for a former manager, a Bowie-esque space folk song, and a combination Dixieland/ukulele number? All of the experiments work. I have a tendency to reduce Bohemian Rhapsody to a product of Wayne's World fame, and I'm definitely guilty of taking it for granted due to its overexposure. A fresh listen reaffirms its status as a masterpiece, and the thing of it is, it's not out of place on the album. The whole thing is a work of art. Best track: Bohemian Rhapsody

great start!

So I bought my first records when I was 12 in the mid-70’s, and “A Night At The Opera” & “A Day At The Races” were early additions to the collections, and have always been a fan of Queen… This is a spectacular album, and really enjoyed the diversity of music throughout the tracks – and it was produced with exceptional audio quality, which always scores points in my book… So many great tracks – especially on Side 1, and the best IMO were – “Death On Two Legs” – 6-stars out of 7… Great revenge track about their former Trident Studios manager… “Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon” – 4-stars out of 7… Fun little ditty with a lot packed into this 1:08 track… “I’m In Love With My Car” – 5-stars out of 7… Enjoyed the power and guitar work on this one… “You’re My Best Friend” – 7-stars out of 7… Staple on the soundtrack of the 70’s – absolute classic… “39” – 5-stars out of 7… Always one of my deep cut favs, and finally got to see it performed live in 2022 when we did a spur of the moment weekend trip to Minneapolis to see Queen & Adam Lambert perform – highly recommend by the way… “Love Of My Life” – 4-stars out of 7… This version is a bit over-produced, as I prefer the stripped-down version they used to play live – but a really unique, and well-written track… “Bohemian Rhapsody” – 7-stars out of 7… Loved this one from the first listen, and one of the foundational tracks in the rock canon… Only compliant was the dead spot at the end of Side 1, and beginning of Side 2, as everything from “Sweet Lady” though to “The Prophet’s Song”, are nowhere near as good as everything that preceded it on this album… Also – “Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon” was a perfect alternative track, and they really didn’t need to add 2 more shanty’s (i.e. “Seaside” & “Good Company”) as that was really a bit much… Would probably give this a 4.50 if I could, as there is so much goodness here, but the dead spot in the middle, and a few too many “shanty” tunes – keeps it from registering as a 5 for me… Awesome album, from one of the true originals – highly recommend!

This is a top-tier 3/5 album, always fun, the preponderance of oddball song-shapes almost incidental to the record’s pleasures, the vocal and guitar fireworking, the pointed daftness, and the hugeness of the production. This contains maybe two and a half very good songs (and one and a half are BR), but I’m not sure that matters.

There are very few things I dislike more than the marriage of rock music and cabaret/music hall. …and I say that as a Kinks fan. This record is excellently produced, which distracts from A Night at the Opera’s haughty cabaret-rock. Musically, however, Queen has never really been for me.

“Mamaaaaa, uwu” - Freddie Mercury

I’ve always been a tounge in cheek Aueen hater, but this album didn’t do much to change that. The 2 famous songs are great, BH might be one of the best songs ever, but I don’t really love the rest of it, which is a common theme for a lot of Queen I’ve found. Controversial 2

As much as I like some of their songs individually, I’ve never been that much of a Queen guy, and I tend to find their albums pretty grating. This is no exception.

Queen's problem is that their good songs are overplayed and their deep cuts are an embarrassment to music.

terrible

Pretentious crap

I tried but had to bail before the end. Overblown and frankly a mess - 39 doesn't sound like it should be on any album, never mind this one. Too much guitar, too little melody.

Awful.Awful.Awful.

I love these early albums of queen. Such concept and wit and flamboyance. Beautiful arrangements and songs. Mercury’s voice is so good on this album (too)

This album speaks for itself. I loved the creative audio effects in The Prophet’s Song, like Freddie with a delay effect singing in a way that he harmonized with himself multiple times over, and the section shortly after using panning to create a push-and-pull effect between the left and right acapella “groups”. Freddie Mercury is the GOAT.

The Beatles do stuff like "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" and get called geniuses; Queen do it and they get called other names.

Unlike many of their edgy rockin’ and tumblin’ UK contemporaries, Queen is not afraid to revel in the absurd, theatrical, Monty Python-esque side of the British way of life. Drawing inspiration from the pomposity of opera and music hall tunes, Freddie Mercury swings and swaggers his way to a near masterpiece of an album. Brian May sounds like a legit magician on the guitar at times, experimenting with which had never been exploited in a rock environment. There’s an argument to be made that this is where metal guitar’s interest with classical music began.

I had never listened to this album, but I know half of the songs. This is what I'm talking about! This is exactly the type of album that should be on this list. So great.

Is this a masterpiece concept album? Yes it definitely is. Does it belong in the 1001 albums? Yes it definitely does. Will I ever listen to it again? No probably not. PS: God Save The Queen as the closing track was a masterstroke

Just an amazing album and bohemian rhapsody is just sounds phenomenal on this recording.

The prophet’s song🤘🏻

LISTENED TO THUS 2992 TIMES AND ITS PERFECT .

So difficult to go wrong with Queen because vocals are amazing, melodies are great, and instrumentals are great.

Perfect.

Phenomenal album.

Absolutely majestic af

This is Queen at their most Queen, meandering though bombastic, ridiculous, camp, and pure rock there is never a dull moment (although some moments might be a bit odd). Highlights include Death on Two Legs, ‘39, Prophet Song, and Love of My Life plus the more well know songs I’d still give it 5 starts even if it didn’t have Bohemian Rhapsody in it.

Queen is undefeated

Absolute legend. Feels blossomingly rich and absolutely deep. Cool.

Great tunes from start to finish. Need a few listen through to appreciate all elements

The epitome of an album, of legendary status. Delivers what it promises: an operatic, experimental, rocking musical experience.

great album

Epic!!!

Y'all already K N O W how queen makes me feel.

A perfect album, front to back. They really nailed down their sound on this album, one of my favorites. 5/5

Perfect album for being productive, was wrapping presents. favourite song is love of my life 5/5

Perfect album.

I have this album on CD, vinyl and MP3 and I know it very well. It is one of my favorite Queen albums and one of my favorite albums from any artist. Five stars easily.

Pure gold

How could it be anything else

I mean it's Queen I knew it would be amazing.

Over the top silliness. No notes.

love this Queen period - hard rock, vaudeville, operatic & pop another one in my LP collection

Much better than the last album I had. There's many great songs known and less known. My favourite is "Good Company". The ones sung by Brian May are underrated. Everyone knows "Bohemian Rhapsody", even those without taste. 5 stars for "A Night at the Opera".

Allein schon für Bohemian Rhapsody 5 Sterne. Aber auch der Rest ist durchaus hörenswert. 5/5

A masterpiece that shows what variety Queen could produce. I enjoy Jazz and The Works more, but album is no slouch.

Just an amazing Queen album highlighting how special Freddy Mercury really was. The a capella interlude in The Prophet's Song is mesmerizing along with the singles make this a fun album to listen to end to end. Unfortunate there are just a couple songs that fall completely flat. A 4.5 that I'll nudge to 5.

Absolutely love the album. Freddie’s voice is always mesmerizing

Pretty much every track is good (or great), weird, or confusing - many are two or more of those things. In a less charitable mood I would probably dock a point for Boh Rap (the most over-played and over-rated song in the history of the UK), but I had (somehow) not actually heard it for a while before today. Even the relentless cash-grabbing and fame-hungering of May & Taylor can't (quite) tarnish the legacy of Fred and John

Best ever

Is this the real life, or is it just fantasy? No, this is just one of the greatest albums of all time. I don't recall ever seeing a song with a billion plays on Spotify, much less 2.5 billion. Wow, just wow!

Listened to the album many times since I bought my first copy on 8-track. One of the top handful of albums ever made. The diversity of sights, sounds and smells on this album are breathtaking. Brian May's diverse guitar work sparkles throughout. Death on Two Legs alone displays a variety of guitar styles that no other rock guitarist uses. Freddie's voice was coming into it's own, but the use of harmonies with Brian and Roger are unique and underrated. This album more than any other is what this list is made for. Everyone should hear this album before they die.

I can't think of another band with the range--and stubborn bravery to express that range--as Queen, and this album epitomizes that range. Ballads (both sweet and sad), rock, operatic pieces, ragtime, harmonization, vocal roundels. All superbly done and expressed by the entire band. This is *definitely* an album that belongs on this list (even defines this list), and I didn't really want the next day's album to come up because I was still enjoying this one too much.

An outstanding album full or sensational hits. Some of Queen's greatest work - and there's a lot of it!

Simply one of the greatest albums of all time

Great album some bangers on it