3:43
A Night At the Opera, 1976
Written by Freddy Mercury
This operatic kiss-off, remarkably caustic for being the opening track on an album, was directed at Queen's original manager and their label Trident Records. The manager sued for defamation, thus establishing his connection to the song (the Streisand effect), and Queen settled out of court. This track is superb both musically and lyrically. It's starts with weird space-age noises, then brings in a gradually more aggressive piano line, then guitars start up a sort of rock tango, until it's practically heavy metal. And those wonderful Queen harmonies! And those lyrics, up there with any Dylan hit job: "You're a sewer rat decaying in a cesspool of pride / Should be made unemployed / Then make yourself null and void."
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