'A Night At The Opera' by Queen

Next time you have the opportunity, listen to ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. Really listen to it, rather than letting it play in the background. If ever a song was dulled by over-familiarity, it’s this one. Listen carefully, and it’s an incredibly clever song. Imagine what it would have been like to hear when it was first written. It’s extravagant, silly, well crafted. It’s a microcosm of the album as a whole.

It kicks off with ‘Death On Two Legs’, a remarkable slice of vitriol directed at the band’s former manager, before sliding abruptly into ‘Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon’ which is a brief throw-away music-hall sounding number. Rarely has an album started with such a contrast. The third track, Roger Taylor’s ‘I’m In Love With My Car’ is a great illustration of Taylor’s limitations as a songwriter and vocalist. The opening couplet (‘The machine of a dream, such a clean machine’) is a good indication of what’s to follow, though he redeems himself later with the line ‘Told my girl, I had to forget her, rather buy me a new carburettor’. Genius or idiocy? You decide. John Deacons ‘You’re My Best Friend’, in contrast, is a sign of a serious songwriting talent hiding behind the bass guitar.

Brian May’s ‘39’ is a folky song about space exploration – a line which would sound strange discussing most albums. ‘Sweet Lady’, however, is a tiresome load of sub-heavy-metal which is the only boring track of the album. ‘Seaside Rendezvous’ ends the first half of the album, characterised by a vocalised brass section from Mercury and Taylor.

The second half starts with ‘Prophet Song’, an epic slice of prog that Muse would chew their arms off to have written. It’s eight minutes long on it’s own, then it segues into ‘Love Of My Life’ – another baffling juxtaposition that somehow works beautifully. ‘Good Company’ follows, and deserves a special mention for Brian May’s guitar work. Truly the man is a genius player. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ brings the album to it’s climax, and then a suitably bombastic version of ‘God Save The Queen’ brings it to a close.

‘A Night At The Opera’ is not an album that would appeal to everyone – it is frequently daft, even ridiculous, but it’s sheer inventiveness is deserving of respect at very least. Queen would arguably never be this creative (or indeed, good) again.