One of the most celebrated albums of their career, Queen’s A Night At the Opera continues to bring
much joy and wonderment into the homes of many music lovers, both vintage and
modern. This ‘Classic Albums’ 2-disc edition celebrates the album’s 30th
anniversary and answers questions that many music lovers have wanted to know
including how the album got its name, what ‘‘39’ was really about, and how that
operatic section of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was achieved.
In case I haven’t
mentioned it or you haven’t pieced it together, I ABSOLUTELY ADORE QUEEN. They
are without a doubt my favourite band and I’ve been listening to them from a
very young age. Freddie’s voice, Brian’s guitar, Roger’s drumming, and John’s
bass make up the soundtrack to my childhood and I would not be the person I am
today without them. I find it particularly wonderful that many modern music
listeners are fans of Queen as well. Back in their day, Queen were seen as an
acquired taste, being artistic and experimental: this album being a testament to
that, and they were famously booed off the stage when they supported Aerosmith.
But over time, the brilliance of this band has come to be universally
acknowledged and celebrated and I think it’s a really beautiful thing to see
teenagers and youths sing along whenever some of the classic tracks come on.
May the universe bless this day and age for people who would rather listen to
the music from 30-50 years ago than what’s on the radio!
One of the most
celebrated albums of their career, Queen’s A
Night At the Opera continues to bring much joy and wonderment into the
homes of many music lovers, both vintage and modern. This ‘Classic Albums’
2-disc edition celebrates the album’s 30th anniversary and answers
questions that many music lovers have wanted to know including how the album
got its name, what ‘‘39’ was really about, and how that operatic section of
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was achieved.
Disc one of this show consists of a multitude
of artists, colleagues, presenters, engineers, and journalists providing commentary
on each track of the album; telling us all little anecdotes, opinions,
explanations, and history of each song. It’s here that I discovered that ‘’39’,
a folk sounding song written by Brian May, is actually about volunteers leaving
Earth and travelling through space to find new worlds. It’s when you discover
stuff that like that you listen to the song with a whole new ear and I
personally think it’s really fascinating to see how suddenly the whole way in
which you listen to a song can be altered. I’m also fascinated by the fact that
I never even pieced that song together; I just listened to the descriptive
lyrics and thought they were nice. Oops.
On the first disc, it’s important too
to watch the special features as they harbour further description, history,
explanation, and anecdotes from Brian May and Roger Taylor. Case in point, the
story about how the album got its name, which is a freaking cool story it has
to be said.
Filled with interviews, vintage footage, accolades, anecdotes,
history, and explanations, Classic Albums: Queen, A Night
At the Opera is a great little doco that both fans and music enthusiasts will
love.
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