Classic Albums: Queen – The Making of A Night At The Opera (2006)
Written and directed by Marc Lawrence

The Classic Albums series tends to go one way or another: it either presents a pretty revelatory look at a great or neglected album, or it offers up an infomercial for an album everyone already knows inside and out. The entry on Queen's A Night At the Opera falls into the latter category: it's warm and fuzzy, reminds you of all your favorite moments on the record … and ultimately says next to nothing about the album, its creation, or the band who made it.

Now, even the shallow approach to this record is enjoyable, if meaningless. Classic Albums takes us song by song through the album, with misty-eyed, self-congratulatory comments from those who were there (although John Deacon is notably absent). Everyone agrees that the record was "seminal," groundbreaking, innovative, etcetera, etcetera. It's overly reverent, but that's the way it goes when people start dissecting widely beloved albums.

The only real revelation is when Brian May goes back to the master tapes and showcases the Dixieland "band" pseudo-horn guitar parts of "Good Company." But otherwise Classic Albums doesn't pull back the curtain at all … it might as well be a very tasteful video installation in the "Queen Museum."

Review by Funny Puzzle