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SIGHTS & SOUNDS
DVD
by Tom Lounges
QUEEN
“The Making Of A Night At The Opera”
(Eagle Rock / Eagle Vision)
(100-Minutes)
www.eaglerockent.com
The folks over at Eagle Vision have for some time now, been
releasing high quality looks “behind-the-scenes” at the recording
process of rock’s greatest albums.
As a record collector and hard core classic rock fan, I have always
appreciated their efforts and diligence.
And this peek back to 1975’s A Night At The Opera by Brit-pomp rockers,
Queen, is one of the best yet.
Did you know that A Night At The Opera –– which brought together opera,
pop, hard rock and UK folk music –– was one of the most expensive albums
to make of its time? And that Queen were a not yet a bankable superstar
act when they undertook the financial risk to make this wholly unique
LP?
And given the current reformation of Queen with fill-in frontman Paul
Rodgers, the timing could not be better for this release and the impact
it could have on fans too young to remember the original Queen and the
outrageous (and outrageously talented) Freddy Mercury.
Adding to the quality here is the hands-on involvement of Queen members
Brian May and Roger Taylor and original A Night At The Opera LP producer
Roy Thomas Baker.
Together these guys take a fan through the track by track creation of
the epic 12 songs on group’s fourth studio album – the one that thrust
them into superstardom thanks to the inclusion of the hit single,
“Bohemian Rhapsody.”
As with past “The Making Of...” Eagle Vision DVDs, the story of this
album and it’s importance to the band and to rock history at large – is
related through both archival and newly-shot footage, coupled by
interviews detailing first hand experience and memories from those were
there.
Aside from May, Taylor and Baker dialoguing, there’s also interview
footage with a mixed bag of veteran rockers like Ian Hunter of Mott The
Hoopla (who Queen opened for on their first ever tour), Aerosmith’s Joe
Perry and some insightful chatter from music biz mogul Jac Holzman.
There is a good deal of footage here never before seen, some classic
video snippets and some mighty tasty unplugged live performances of a
few A Night At The Opera tunes to boot.
The historical value aside, the best part of watching this DVD is seeing
Freddy once again in his prime, and at a point where he was reinventing
progressive rock and setting the bar a notch or two higher for all who
followed.
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