17th
HOLD STEADY REFERENCE/NAMEDROP SONG #19:
Queen - The Prophet’s Song (A Night at the Opera; 1975, EMI)
“I’ve been trying to get people to call me Freddie Mercury.” - Knuckles
Still no deep analysis on this one. At least not yet.
Song selection was on account of the awesome display of many Freddies in the a cappella canon during the bridge (better than the many Freddies in Bohemian Rhapsody, in my opinion). Also because this is my favorite Queen song. So there.
Some interesting facts about A Night at the Opera:
1) Bohemian Rhapsody was released as a single before the album had been completed, with some overdubs, mixes and mastering remaining. This is not altogether unusual, except that it was released only three weeks in advance of the album. Queen’s manager, Roy Thomas Baker, intentionally leaked the song to radio in a ploy to force their label to release the song unedited. Needless to say, the ploy worked.
2) At the time of its release, it was the most expensive album ever produced.
3) Despite the near-consensus that it is Queen’s masterpiece, both News of the World (due to We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions) and The Game (due to Another One Bites the Dust) have sold more copies in the US.
4) When George Michael used to busk on the London Underground, he would sing ‘39. (Hey, you gotta have faith.)
5) Queen has only performed Bohemian Rhapsody live in its entirety once. Vocals were provided by the London cast of the musical We Will Rock You. Freddie had been dead for over 10 years by this time.
