Maps of Music

A Night at the Opera (1975)

Where the lyrics of A Night at the Opera take you, and where it was really made.

Queen recorded almost nothing at Trident Studios, the studio they had just left: the only song cut there was God Save the Queen.

Key places

The only album track recorded at Trident (1974)

Recording site Trident Studios — God Save the Queen was the only song on the album recorded at Trident, shortly before the band's Sheer Heart Attack tour. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Rockfield in summer 1975 (1975)

Recording site Rockfield Studios — The group worked at Rockfield in Monmouthshire from August to September 1975, during the early part of recording. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

One of the studios for the final sessions (1975)

Recording site Lansdowne (London) — Lansdowne was one of the studios the group used for the remaining sessions, which lasted until November 1975. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Sarm Studios in the final sessions (1975)

Recording site Sarm Studios (London) — Sarm Studios was one of the London studios used for the remaining sessions, which lasted until November 1975. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Roundhouse in the final sessions (1975)

Recording site Roundhouse (London) — The Roundhouse was one of the London studios used for the remaining sessions, which lasted until November 1975. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Scorpio Sound in the final sessions (1975)

Recording site Scorpio Sound (London) — Scorpio Sound was one of the London studios used for the remaining sessions, which lasted until November 1975. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Olympic Sound Studios in the final sessions (1975)

Recording site Olympic Studios — Olympic Sound Studios was one of the studios used for the remaining sessions, which lasted until November 1975. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Fourth studio album by the British rock band Queen
• Released 28 November 1975 by EMI Records in the UK and Elektra Records in the US
• Produced by Roy Thomas Baker and Queen
• Reportedly the most expensive album ever recorded at the time of its release
• Title taken from the Marx Brothers film of the same name
• Recorded at various studios over a four-month period in 1975

Background

• Previous album Sheer Heart Attack (1974) brought commercial success and mainstream attention
• Contract with Trident Studios meant the band received almost none of the money from earlier albums
• Trident paid the band £60 a week
• Bassist John Deacon was refused a £4,000 cash advance by manager Norman Sheffield for a house deposit
• This frustration led Mercury to write Death on Two Legs, the opening track
• Queen ended the Trident deal and signed directly with EMI in the UK and Elektra in North America
• Adviser Reid, who became their new manager, told the band to make the best record they could

Recording

• Produced with Roy Thomas Baker and engineer Mike Stone; the last time they worked with Baker until 1978's Jazz
• Gary Langan, then 19, was promoted to assistant engineer
• Recorded on 24-track tape, unlike the 16-track tape used on their first three albums
• Vocal harmonies split by range: May low, Mercury middle, Taylor high; Deacon did not sing
• A month of rehearsals in a barn at what would become Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey, summer 1975
• Three-week writing and rehearsal session in a rented house near Kington, Herefordshire
• August to September 1975 at Rockfield in Monmouthshire; remaining sessions to November at other London studios

Cover

• Cover artwork shows the band logo, designed by Mercury, on a white background
• The next album, A Day at the Races, used a similar design on a black background

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970 by Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals).
• John Deacon (bass) joined in February 1971, completing the classic line-up.
• Mercury suggested the name "Queen".
• Early works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal, later expanding into arena rock and pop rock.

Members

• Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano, 1970–1991, died 1991).
• Brian May (guitar, vocals, 1970–present).
• Roger Taylor (drums, vocals, 1970–present).
• John Deacon (bass, 1971–1997, retired).
• Paul Rodgers (vocals, 2004–2009) and Adam Lambert (vocals, 2011–present) toured as "Queen +".

Career

• First UK chart hit with Queen II (1974); international success with A Night at the Opera (1975) and "Bohemian Rhapsody", which topped the UK chart for nine weeks.
• News of the World (1977) contained "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions", now sports anthems.
• Greatest Hits (1981) is the best-selling album in UK chart history.
• Live Aid performance (1985) is ranked among the greatest in rock history.
• Estimated record sales of 250–300 million, one of the world's best-selling music artists.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001; received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 and the Polar Music Prize in 2025.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Contemporary reviews were positive, praising the production and the range of musical themes
• Reviews also credited the album with establishing Queen as worldwide superstars
• NME's Tony Stewart saw it as a consolidation of the previous album's success and named Sweet Lady as the weak track
• Melody Maker's Harry Doherty called the album easily their best work to date
• Record Mirror & Disc's Ray Fox-Cumming reviewed it from a single listening at a press playback and named three highlights
• Sounds' Phil Sutcliffe gave the album a five-star review
• Rolling Stone's Kris Nicholson placed Queen among the elite acts of heavy metal, citing unusual effects such as acoustic piano and harp
• The Village Voice's Robert Christgau felt the album handled a half-dozen eclectic modes without botching any of them

Reappraisal

• AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine called it a self-consciously ridiculous and overblown hard rock masterpiece
• Progressive rock historian Stephen Lambe disputed that the album is progressive rock, calling it a symbol of the movement's furthest reach
• Q's Paul Rees wrote that it is British rock's greatest extravagance
• BBC Music's Chris Jones wrote that it remains their finest hour
• Uncut's review of the 2011 reissue said the album secured itself instant classic status
• Pitchfork's Dominique Leone wrote that the album was Queen at the top of the mountain

Records

• Topped the UK Albums Chart for four non-consecutive weeks, Queen's first UK number-one album
• Peaked at number four on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart
• Became the band's first Platinum-certified album in the US
• Its lead single Bohemian Rhapsody became the band's first UK number-one song
• Bohemian Rhapsody received two Grammy nominations in 1977
• Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2018
• Rolling Stone ranked it 230th in 2003, 231st in 2012 and 128th in 2020 on its 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The revving at the end of I'm in Love with My Car was recorded from Taylor's then-current car, an Alfa Romeo.
• Management initially refused to release Bohemian Rhapsody as a single, until Kenny Everett played a copy on his show 14 times and audience demand forced EMI to release it.
• Groucho Marx, the star of the film that gave the album its title, later invited the band to his Los Angeles home in March 1977.
• After hearing a playback at Trident Studios around the time of release, Norman Sheffield sued the band and the label for defamation, which ended in an out-of-court settlement.
• The album was completed a week before the tour, which led to a 36-hour mixing session.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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