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A Night at the Opera is a rock album by British band Queen originally released in 1975. The album was recorded at Trident Sarm, Roundhouse, Olympic, Rockfield, Scorpio and Lansdowne Studios, United Kingdom, and engineered by Mike Stone.
It was originally released by EMI in the UK and Elektra Records in the US, and re-released in the US on Hollywood Records in September of 1991. The album peaked at #4 in the US and has recently been certified Triple Platinum (three million copies sold) in the US.
The album, along with the follow-up album "A Day At The Races" in 1976, takes its name from the Marx Bros. movie of the same name.
"Death On Two Legs" was written by Mercury about their former manager and Trident Studios co-owner Norman Sheffield, though the dedication was removed to avoid legal issues. Queen never felt Sheffield gave them the promotional or financial support, so ties were cut before the "Opera" recording sessions began.
"'39" holds the interesting distinction of being the 39th album track originally released on a Queen album. It tells the story of a man who travels from Earth to colonize a new world and experiences the phenomenom of Einstien's Special Theory of Relativity (which states that time slows down the closer you get to the speed of light). As such, he ages only one year as the Earth ages about 100 years, so his family and loved one are long dead upon his return, though their descendants survive.
"The Prophet's Song" was written after a dream May had about Moses and the great Biblical flood.
"Love Of My Life" would become a live standard for Queen in a new acoustic version, where the audience would join in and sing word for word and note for note. Often, Freddie would stop singing and let them take over, conducting them like an orchestra (the later albums "Live Killers" and "Live At Wembley" are great examples of this).
Track listing
- Death On Two Legs (Dedicated To...) - (Mercury) - 3:43
- Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon (Mercury) - 1:07
- I'm In Love With My Car - (Taylor) - 3:05
- You're My Best Friend - (Deacon) - 2:52
- '39 - (May) - 3:31
- Sweet Lady - (May) - 4:03
- Seaside Rendezvous - (Mercury) - 2:15
- The Prophet's Song - (May) - 8:21
- Love Of My Life - (Mercury) - 3:39
- Good Company - (May) - 3:23
- Bohemian Rhapsody - (Mercury) - 6:00
- God Save The Queen - (Arr. May) - 1:18
Personnel
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