A Night At The Opera (30th Anniversary Collectors Edition CD & DVD) - Queen CD + DVD Review

Queen

CD + DVD Review

'Killer' Queen release from 1975 gets a dust-down and some 21 century polishing in the studio. A fitting tribute, to an album that was 'made' in the studio by producer and 'fifth member' Roy Thomas Baker.

A Night At The Opera was the album that effectively made Queen the legends they are today. It made Queen the hottest commercial rock band of the year, and put them up at the top alongside Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Taking the title from a Marx Brothers film (as they did with A Day At The Races), at the time, it was the most expensive album ever made. Hours and hours were spent in the studio perfecting the songs - and as they proudly confessed there were 'no synths' used at any stage.

It opened up a new era for the highly educated quartet, as they progressed from a guitar-based hard rock band that famously pushed their musical boundaries to the limit, by introducing opera and theatre into their flourishing repertoire. It was their fourth chart album in less than two years, and their first number one. Crucially, it signalled a new found freedom in terms of musical expression. Recorded over three weeks, starting on August 24 1975 at Rockfield Studios near Monmouth south Wales, the single and centre piece - Bohemian Rhapsody - containing a pseudo-operatic midsection written by Freddie Mercury, lasted a monumental 5 minutes 55 seconds. Released on 31 October '75, it was a ground breaking and record breaking single which remained in the charts for 17 weeks, nine at number 1.

In places it has 180 vocal overdubs. Apparently, it was so over-dubbed, you could see through the tape. Producer Roy Thomas Baker did a remarkable job. Of all the pop songs that have made it to number one - it has all the key elements of dynamics, rare in popular music, particular singles. There's no chorus; there's an a capella and heavy metal section all rolled into one masterpiece, which took 84 hours to complete.

It was also accompanied by a promotional video that set the bench mark, which no doubt helped the sales of the album.

You're My Best Friend is arguably their best' pop' song ever. Torch song, Love Of My Live, is neatly dropped into the opus, again standing the test of time. A daring seaside jaunt Lazing On is sandwiched between two thumping rockers. They also had the audacity to do a country take with a harmony fuelled '39. At 8 mins plus The Prophet's Song had no competition at the time, with its lengthy close and counter harmonies, juxtaposed by rock riffs, genteel harp and piano.

Overall, Queen challenged the public's senses and sensibilities. It was profound, fun, pompous, and outrageous - most of all, it changed the face of popular rock music in the '70s. Apart from some amazing music, they all embarked on some mind-boggling vocal gymnastics.

Thirty years on, A Night At The Opera still shines as one of the greatest albums of all time, simply because of its timelessness. They collectively set-out to make it their Sgt.Peppers - and achieved it - as Good Company gives a healthy nod to The Beatles.

The DVD features original singles videos plus 10 new ones, all with archive audio commentary by Queen.

A must for everyone.

Elly Roberts