![]() ![]() Looking back, it seems obvious that “A Night at the Opera” and “A Day at the Races” were almost companion pieces, not only coming back to back as they did, but also it’s easy to link up certain songs from the two albums as cut from the same cloth. Over the years, this has become one of my favorite Queen tracks.ġ0. The song became an in-concert favorite, with Mercury often letting the crowd take over in singalong fashion. It wasn’t until seeing the song performed live, in an even more-stripped down acoustic version featuring just Mercury and Brian May that it really grew on me. Honestly, I wasn’t that enthralled with this song on my many listens of “A Night at the Opera” when it was first released. “Love of My Life” (from “A Night at the Opera”)Īs documented in the “Bohemian Rhapsody” film, Freddie Mercury wrote this song for his then-girlfriend, and lifelong best friend, Mary Austin. This song is the subject of some ribbing in the film, but it ended up being the B side to the “Bohemian Rhapsody” single, so in addition to Taylor’s thrill at hearing his radials squeal, he also heard the “ka-ching” of accelerated publishing royalty profits.ġ1. Taylor’s voice, with a bit of a rasp, is intrinsic to the Queen sound - most prominently as a background vocalist, but occasionally in the lead slot as well, as evidenced here. “I’m in Love With My Car” (from “A Night at the Opera”)ĭrummer Roger Taylor penned this classic rocker about a man’s feel for his automobile. Bonus points for the science fiction lyrical angle.ġ2. May has a fantastic voice of his own, but how do you compete with Mercury? Still, I’m not quite sure which version I prefer. ![]() This beautiful acoustic song about a sci-fi mission gone awry due to time dilation from Einstein’s Theory of Relativity was sung by guitarist Brian May on the album, but Freddie Mercury took over vocals live when the band would perform this song as part of an acoustic set. This song has a great melody, a catchy tune and some of Mercury’s most pure vocals. “You and I” (from “A Day at the Races”)īassist John Deacon ended up writing some of the best songs Queen ever recorded. I never saw the boys again, but I still love “Mustapha.”ġ4. Instead of offering thanks, one of the boys leaned in and exclaimed, “You might want to think about listening to better music!” before slamming the door and running off. As I dropped the boys at school a few minutes later, they hurriedly piled out of the car. ![]() I was hoping that the ensuing track, “Fat Bottomed Girls,” would restore my rock street cred, but alas, it was too late. (Kids don’t try this at home!) As we left the gas station, I pushed in Queen’s “Jazz” cassette, which opens with “Mustapha.” I admit to being slightly self-conscious as I glanced over at my temporary passengers and could tell they were quite incredulous over my choice of music. One morning, while purchasing gas for my 30-minute drive to college, I was approached by a couple teenage boys asking for a ride to the local high school. I purchased the cassette tape of this album when it came out in 1978. ![]()
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