Queen "A night at the opera" poll

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Sear, Dec 16, 2020.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Vaughan

    Vaughan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Essex, UK
    It just never felt that way to me. It's an album that stands still. Tie Your Mother Down is Death for Two Legs, Prophet's Song is White Man, Best Friend is Somebody to Love, and so on. It just didn't move things on. There was a lot of excitement about Night at the Opera, forward momentum, so I expected more. In fact, for me, Queen topped out at Night of the Opera, and it was a path downwards after that. They had some good songs of course, but as an album band they became a vehicle to plug some tracks around the hits.

    You could, but I'd no agree. Opera was clearly a level beyond anything that came before. They had mastered the studio, and were able to use it as a tool like never before. Prior to that they were a rock band with some intricacies. With Opera it was full blown rock cabaret. Night at the Opera is an experience, imo. It hangs together like a movie, feels epic. Nothing they did before got to that level (and keep in mind, Sheer Heart Attack is my favorite overall). It was a road to maturation - and Opera was that.
     
    Andrew Russe likes this.
  2. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    My poll seems to be missing the option to vote "2/5" or "1/5"! :shh:
     
  3. Ernold

    Ernold Look up the number

    Location:
    Adrift
    Really not seeing any significant links between those songs, and if they qualify as carbon copies, then so too are several songs on SHA or Queen II, and you could go on and on making endless links between tracks from their entire career. In fact, there are many Queen songs that are vastly more similar to each other than the ones you've listed there.

    I hear more new ideas on Races than Opera. ANATO simply draws together concepts they'd already tried on the previous two albums.
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2020
    Zach Johnson and KAJ1971 like this.
  4. Sordel

    Sordel Forum Resident

    Location:
    Switzerland
    As It Should :whistle:
     
    Miles1968 and Man at C&A like this.
  5. Vaughan

    Vaughan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Essex, UK
    Fair enough, I think the similarities are obvious - but if you feel differently it's all good. Did I really use the words "carbon copies"?
     
  6. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I guess I get the point the OP wanted to make... but honestly, it still seems kinda lame.

    I wouldn't have voted. I own the album but haven't played it enough to have a firm opinion of it.

    But unless the OP is afraid people will pick 1/5 or 2/5 just to troll, what's the issue?
     
    mr.dave and Man at C&A like this.
  7. Ernold

    Ernold Look up the number

    Location:
    Adrift
    No, to be fair, you did not. Apologies.

    But if Somebody to Love and You're My Best Friend are somehow strongly linked, when they sound nothing much alike, then really I don't know where you are coming from. Tie Your Mother Down and Death on Two Legs? Nah, sorry. They are all mid-70s Queen tracks, with Freddie Mercury on lead vocals. That's really about it.
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2020
    Ludger likes this.
  8. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    For certain, it's OK to dislike an album or artist, each to their own and all that, but anyone who'd vote an album as well played, wrote, arranged and varied as this 1 out of 5 is just showing their ignorance and nothing more.
     
  9. Ernold

    Ernold Look up the number

    Location:
    Adrift
    Like it or not, there are people out there who really can't stand Queen at all. It's common for these people to proudly say that everything Queen did was rubbish. I think they're totally wrong, but they do exist.
     
  10. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I think it's fair enough not wanting to entertain those types. No matter how acclaimed or influential an album is, be it Beatles, Floyd, Bowie, Zep etc, there's always some contrarian cloth eared fool who gives it 1/5 or votes it 'bad'. A genuine open minded music fan wouldn't do this.
     
    KAJ1971 likes this.
  11. Ernold

    Ernold Look up the number

    Location:
    Adrift
    People overstate things for emphasis.

    And, as I said, there are people out there who really seem to hate Queen.
     
  12. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    That's fair enough and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. But there's no need for them to waste time on a band they dislike. To not be able to recognise high quality musicianship, talent, versatility and originality, even if they don't like the music, is ignorant to me. It's also disrespectful.
     
  13. Ernold

    Ernold Look up the number

    Location:
    Adrift
    I agree, but for years it was very fashionable among a certain type of listener to completely disparage Queen.

    I think there are people who haven't quite noticed that that fashion has long since passed.
     
    Man at C&A likes this.
  14. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    not A masterpiece, but surely queen's 'masterpiece'.

    a couple of clunkers for sure.
     
  15. Ernold

    Ernold Look up the number

    Location:
    Adrift
    I think there are at least two other albums by Queen that are better.
     
    Rufus rag likes this.
  16. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Maybe, but this poll removes even the "fair" option, and that seems close-minded.

    For instance, in polls for "Pet Sounds" - one of the most praised albums of all-time - I'd give it a 2/5 because the album never resonated with me and I don't agree with the praise.

    I know it's got the quality to keep me from calling it "poor" but a 2/5 is the best I could to for my personal view of the album, and I'd be left out of that equation in a similar setup.

    Anyway, these polls are just supposed to be for fun, so even if a few people 1/5 the album, what's the harm?

    Make the vote public and you can shout them down by name! :D
     
    Man at C&A and carlwm like this.
  17. Ernold

    Ernold Look up the number

    Location:
    Adrift
    Even though Tie Your Mother Down was written before Death on Two Legs?

    This 'Races copies/mirrors Opera' argument just doesn't hold much weight. As I say, you may as well claim that Opera copies/mirrors Sheer Heart Attack. Oooh, look - Death on Two Legs is Flick of the Wrist. Love of My Life is Lily of the Valley. Seaside Rendezvous is Leroy Brown, etc.
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2020
    Man at C&A likes this.
  18. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    totally understandable.
     
    Man at C&A likes this.
  19. Rufus rag

    Rufus rag Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Correct!
     
    Man at C&A likes this.
  20. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    Totally agree! Cut that middle section down big time and make the song more concise and it could have been one of their best, IMO.
     
    Man at C&A likes this.
  21. Zach Johnson

    Zach Johnson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, Ontario
    I really don't hear any similarities between those tracks, especially the latter two comparisons, but I guess different people can hear different things.

    As others have pointed out, tracks on ANATO could also be compared to previous songs (Death on Two Legs to Flick of the Wrist, Seaside Rendezvous to Leroy Brown, Bohemian Rhapsody to March of the Black Queen or My Fairy King, etc.).
     
    Man at C&A and Ernold like this.
  22. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I agree with all this, 2/5 is what I'd be giving albums I just don't like even though there's clear talent and creativity.
     
  23. Ernold

    Ernold Look up the number

    Location:
    Adrift
    Yes, it was I who pointed out the comparisons between Opera tracks and earlier songs.

    It's a pity, in some ways, that the band used a Marx Brothers title again, and a similar cover design. For these reasons alone, people are intent on seeing the two albums as 'twins', ignoring the fact that the actual material on each record isn't any more similar than the songs on Opera are to the songs on Sheer Heart Attack. I've even heard some people, who really should know better, say that Somebody to Love is another version of Bo Rhap, which is pure nonsense.
     
    Zach Johnson likes this.
  24. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I love The Prophet's Song, but it's not a favourite. It falls into 'look what we can do' ahead of songwriting in the middle.
     
    George Co-Stanza and Ernold like this.
  25. Ernold

    Ernold Look up the number

    Location:
    Adrift
    The Prophet's Song is one of the very few times that I feel genuinely bored listening to Queen.

    They released some crappy songs throughout their career, but they were very rarely dull. They managed to achieve that on TPS, though. It's also very pretentious.

    One of the chief reasons why, for me, Opera is clearly flawed.
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2020
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine