The whole album is a whimsical mix of pop, heavy rock, and even music hall.

In 1975, A Night at the Opera (ANATO) was the fourth studio album released by Queen. Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Roger Taylor (vocals, drums), John Deacon (bass guitar), and Brian May (lead guitar, vocals) had the ingenuity and ideas to move beyond what people previously heard from other famous bands at the time. The television, most certainly.While having massive chart successes with a mix of pop and disco-infused singles, Queen always pictured themselves as an authentic rock band. And you don't hear about it from some 20-something former VJ, but straight from the horse's mouth, in this case the record label exec. Another high point for me is the scene covering the the pitch to the record label to get it to accept the release of 'Bohemian Rhapsody' (all 5'55' of it!) as a single. Once you watch this program, you will know, as I did not, just how the band was able to create the highly and intricately layered background operatic vocals for which Queen would be known worldwide in the future. The unimaginable amount of work to which all of the band members dedicated themselves in bringing 'A Night at the Opera' to life may astound you (personally, I wonder if the same amount of time and hard work would be possible today). Yeah, yeah, so what makes this so special? For me, the high point in this fascinating documentary was the concentration on the complex and very intricate creative and musical processes that went along with the genesis of each song.

Some of the interviews are devoted to outside 'experts' (critics, journalists, etc.), but the majority of those people interviewed were either involved directly or indirectly in the production, sales or promotion of Queen's music. It sets the record straight on several levels-the musicians, their songwriting, producing an LP, and choosing the singles-and this all from the mouths of Brian & Roger, their former producers, managers, and so on. Thank goodness the show is not a Freddie Mercury hagiography, nor an 'oh wasn't it better back then' hour. Of course, interviews abound, both with Brian May and Roger Taylor (John Deacon has retired completely from the entertainment industry). This program was recently broadcast on French television, and I was absolutely amazed at its quality.

A night at the opera album