Track Listing

1. Death on two legs
2. Lazing on a Sunday afternoon
3. You're my best friend
4. I'm in love with my car
5. Sweet lady
6. Seaside rendezvous
7. Good company
8. '39
9. Prophet's song
10. Love of my life
11. Bohemian rhapsody
12. God save the Queen

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57562 in Music
• Released on: 1993-09-27
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
One of the most preposterous albums ever made, A Night at the Opera also remains one of the most popular. While it is difficult to completely dislike a record that successfully introduced the phrase "Scaramouche! Scaramouche! Will you do the fandango?" into the popular lexicon, it is harder still to understand quite what Queen were thinking of when they made this. Whether or not Queen were fully aware of their own absurdity remains a moot point. However, if one can find the hefty psychic hooks and pulleys necessary to suspend this much disbelief, A Night at the Opera is a perversely enjoyable record. The awesomely daft and supremely catchy "Bohemian Rhapsody" aside, it contains the almost equally risible excursions "The Prophet's Song" and "39", a couple of the irresistibly amusing headbanger numbers that Queen could write in their sleep ("Death On Two Legs") and the very possibly heartfelt pop ballad "You're My Best Friend". Immortally baffling, like the pyramids. Yet also enjoyably compelling. --Andrew Mueller

From Amazon.com
Nothing succeeds like excess--at least that's the case with Queen's breakthrough commercial smash, A Night at the Opera. On one level, the title is a reference to the band's operatic pretensions, best in evidence here on the classic "Bohemian Rhapsody," which was championed by headbangers a generation before being revived by the Wayne's World set. Of course, A Night at the Opera is also the title of a Marx Brothers movie, and the reference isn't lost on Queen, which seldom scaled the heights of rock pomp without a knowing wink. The album is remembered for its meticulously produced bombast, but the truth is that there's a wide variety of material on display here, from the gorgeous piano-based "You're My Best Friend" and the McCartneyesque "39," to the music-hall-style "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" and the pedal-to-the-metal rockers "Death on Two Legs" and "I'm in Love with My Car." A Night at the Opera is viewed by most as the quintessential Queen album, and justifiably so. --Daniel Durchholz

CD Description
Though they began their career practicing an artier, more theatrical variant on the Led Zeppelin heavy rock sound, Queen was always capable of much more. Ultimately, Freddie and the boys were popsters at heart, and capable ones to boot. A NIGHT AT THE OPERA is where they begin to show their eclecticism and compositional facility. The album title is probablya reference to the FM rock anthem "Bohemian Rhapsody", which begins as an existential ballad before moving into a mock-operatic section featuring scores of overdubbed Freddie Mercurys.
"Rhapsody" is just the tip of the iceberg here. "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" is a music hall ditty that owes a debt to the Kinks. "'39" is a surprisingly poignant folk-rocker written and sung by Brian May. "You're My Best Friend"is pure '70s AM melodic pop. Queen even ventures into vaudeville territory (given Mercury's show biz leanings, not as much of a stretch as one might think) on the fatalistic, old-timey "Good Company". There are several souped-up rockers here as well, but it's A NIGHT AT THE OPERA's winning stylistic experimentation that makes it a milestone in Queen history.

Customer Reviews

Made for DVD Audio - perfect for Sunday Afternoons
I already have four copies of this album in various formats but I just had to experience it in 5.1 Surround Sound DTS. I was not dissapointed, and neither will you be when you hear the new mix presented here. This album was recorded over 25 years ago but it's almost as though they knew that technology would one day be available to allow the listener to experience the music as they had originally intended. While this album sounds great in normal stereo the new multi channel mix makes an old album sound like new, and listening to it again is almost like hearing it for the first time.

Queen fans will know how meticulous Queen were with their studio recordings, with layer after layer of sound being added to create a depth and sound like no other band at the time. Two channel stereo can disguise some of this hard work as the speakers struggle to seperate out all that is going on at any one time. This new mix solves this problem by splitting the sound and sending each vocal or instrument through a seperate speaker where appropriate, giving unbelievable clarity particularly to such an old recording.

There are parts of this album, which many like me will know note for note, word for word, from beginning to end, which suddenly show you something new, something you haven't heard before. But of course you have - it's just that sometimes the sound has been buried so deep that it doesn't stand out until it is seperated and sent to you via a particular speaker.

Every song sounds great and has something new to offer to new and old listeners alike, although some tracks are particularly noteworthy. The Prophets Song is the standout track for me, with the multi-layered vocal completely immersing you in surround sound. I'm in Love With My Car and '39 also offer a completely new experience with the clarity offering new sounds previously buried.

In addition to the sound quality the whole DVD Audio experience has a lot to offer. The lyrics to the tracks appear on screen as you listen, even changing page at exactly the right time, offering those with Kareoke tendancies a barrel of fun. Also included is the video to Bohemian Rhapsody, the forefather to all pop videos.

My only criticism is on two points. The first may be the limitations of my DVD Video player, which is the Sony DAVS500. The whole album sounded great, but the odd track was very heavy on the 'bass', and my system does not allow me to adjust the bass or treble. Perhaps this would not be a problem on a DVD Audio player. Secondly, the scope for additional features to be included on a DVD Audio disc are immense, with a normal album only taking up half (if not less) of the space available. This album offers little additional content other than the video. I guess this expectation of extra features comes from being fed a diet of massive extras on DVD movies these days. (How about an audio commentary from Brian May (he likes to talk a lot), explaining the recording processes used and some anecdotes about studio sessions and radio reactions at the time).

On balance though the small niggles are that - small, and the benefits offered by the new mix make this an essential item for any music fan who has a DVD Audio player or home cinema system.

I have been wondering where music will go from the standard CD format. The jump from Vinly and Tape to CD was a big one that offered huge benefits in quality and durability, so the next jump must also offer something big, not just a tweak of an existing format, such as minidisc. I wondered if the future was MP3, but while this has many benefits, I can't see the industry as a whole supporting it due to copyright issues. I now believe that I have found the next 'format jump' - DVD Audio. Old albums can be remixed to sound like new, and new albums could be recorded with the six channels of sound in mind.

I look forward to owning more albums on this format and hope that the powers that be will soon add to the current limited list of available titles.

"And this is where the Gallileo's come in Dear!"
I grew up with Queen from the age of 7 years, after first hearing 'The Seven Seas Of Rhye' on the radio one Sunday afternoon whilst helping my Dad wash his car. From then on, I ate, drank, slept and breathed their studio output and live performances until every aspect of their music became etched upon my memory. If you said I was obsessed with this band then you'd be right on the nail!

I'm 35 now, my tastes have changed a little but I still hold Queen in very high regard. The are without doubt, one of the most pioneering bands ever. Their live shows had to be seen (and heard) to be be believed. My two young daughters are now hooked, as I was all those years ago. This is a nice thing to see in the 'Pop Idol' age we now live in.

The prospect of hearing Night At The Opera again from a new listening perspective was an exciting one. After all, this new DVD-Audio release of NATO was re-constructed by Brian May and the album's original producer, Roy Thomas Baker. I have to say, I wasn't disappointed one little bit.

Two of the stand-out tracks on the album are obviously 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and 'The Prophet Song'. With their multi-layered vocals and guitars, they were almost made for surround sound and I couldn't help selecting them first before listening to the rest of the album. Although extremely impressive (you can imagine how the middle section of 'The Prophet Song' takes you to another place!), it's also surprising how many of the other tracks blossom in their new surroundings.

'Love Of My Life' is particularly stunning as the harp and vocals literally wash over you, filling the room with a warm glow. I remember being devastated when Freddie passed away, almost as though a large chunk of my childhood had been annihilated. Hearing him on this release is almost like having him back again, only this time, he's actually recording the vocals live in your living room! Every nuance and characterization of his voice can be heard quite clearly, as it was meant to be. This is perhaps, for me, is the crowning glory of the album. It's testament indeed to Freddie's highly unique voice and vocal delivery.

'Good Company' is another number that shines brightly on the DVD-A release. Amazingly, Brain May recorded all of the 'wind instruments' on this track with guitars, one note at a time! Well, all his hard work is now showcased brilliantly in this format, as the different 'instruments' attack your senses from all corners of the room. As you can well imagine, 'Seaside Rendevous' and 'Lazing On A Sunday' are similarly wonderful in their delivery, especially the special authentic brass and vocal effects that are peppered throughout the tracks. '39' takes on a whole new meaning too, sounding extremely lush and giving the acoustic guitars great separation and a sense of space.

Before closing, I must add that I listened to the album on a standard DVD player in 5.1 sound, not a dedicated DVD-Audio player. Now that would be a trip. If you're a Queen fan with a surround sound set-up, why are you still reading this review when you should be hitting the 1-Click button? This release is a "must-have" for you.

As Freddie would have no doubt exclaimed; Magnifico Dears!

Probably the best DVD-Audio title available and here's why :
This really is a whole new audio listening experience. Possibly a novelty and we don't really know whether DVD-Audio will take off but.... Queen - A Night At The Opera is ideal for any fans of Queen or appreciator's of good music.

I'm not Queens biggest fan by any means but I do like a lot of there earlier stuff, it seems a lot more fun for a start. A Night at the Opera is a classic album and one of Queen's best. I didn't particularly buy this album for Bohemian Rhapsody, it was for the Prophet's Song and You're My Best Friend as well. I wasn't disappointed.

The tracks are great, displaying a real range, and a diversity of Queen's song-writing abilities. Freddie Mercury's dramatic influence shines through with Bohemian Rhapsody and (the slightly camp) Seaside Rendezvous.

Now, I should mention the sound, I don't possess a DVD-Audio player (very few do) but I do have a good setup to play Dolby Digital and DTS surround. There isn't a Dolby Digital track on here so make sure you're receiver can accept DTS sound. Multi-channel sound isn't really useful to a lot of written songs and studio recorded music but A Night at The Opera does really lend itself to surround. The way the vocals are layered on the Prophets Song and Bohemian Rhapsody work well in this format. It really is something you have to listen to and is a good purchase for any audio enthusiast!