Bohemian Rhapsody

[SysTaMatIcS]

"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song written by Freddie Mercury and originally recorded by the band Queen for their 1975 album A Night at the Opera of the modern music video. The song was included in all of Queen's subsequent . The song is in the style of a rock opera, and has a very unusual musical structure for a piece of popular music (it has no chorus, instead consisting of various different sections including an a cappella and heavy metal part). Despite this, it was released as a single and became a huge commercial success. In addition, the song is widely hailed as Queen's magnum opus, and it marked a decisive point in the band's career and setting them on the way to become one of the world's most popular music groups. The single was accompanied by what is generally cited as a groundbreaking music video (then termed a "promotional video") which helped establish the visual languagelive concert performances and still enjoys great popularity around the world.


The song was recorded over three weeks by the band and producer Roy Thomas Baker. Recording began at Rockfield Studio 1 near Monmouth on August 24, 1975, after a 3-week rehearsal period in Herefordshire. During the making of the track, a further four studios – Roundhouse, SARM (East), Scorpion, and Wessex – were used. According to some band members, Mercury had worked out the entire song in his head and directed the band through the song.

Brian May, Mercury and Roger Taylor sang their vocal parts continually for ten to twelve hours a day, resulting in 200 separate overdubs. Since the studios of the time only offered 24-track analogue tape, it was necessary for May, Mercury and Taylor to overdub themselves many times, and "bounce" these down to successive sub mixes. In the end, eighth generation tapes were being used. The tapes had passed over the recording heads so many times the normally opaque tapes could be seen through, as the oxide layer was beginning to wear off. The various sections of tape containing the desired sub mixes would have to be cut with razor blades and reassembled together in the correct sequence using adhesive tape, a process known as splicing.

[this is the way they recorded music back then??]


A backing track of the grand piano (Mercury), bass guitar (John Deacon) and drums (Taylor) was recorded first. The band used many instruments to produce the song, including a Fender Precision Electric Bass, May's Red Special electric guitar, Ludwig Drums, timpani and a Paiste Gong. Mercury used a Bechstein "Concert" Grand Piano, the same he'd later play in both the promotional video and the UK Tour. When it was finished it was the most expensive single ever made and remains one of the most elaborate recordings in music history.

When Mercury wanted to release the single in 1975, it had been suggested to him that, at 5 minutes and 55 seconds, it was far too long and would thus never be a hit.


But Mercury gave a copy of the single to friend and London DJ Kenny Everett, informing him (with a wink and a nod) that it was for him personally, and that he must never play it on air. Mercury's plan worked, as Everett did just the opposite, teasing his listeners by playing bits and pieces of the song throughout his show. Ultimately, Everett would go on to play the song as many as fourteen times in a single day. From then on, every major radio station played the song in full. The track proved popular and was released with "I'm in Love with My Car" as the B-side.[Smart dude]

From the time "Bohemian Rhapsody" was released to the public, there has been speculation regarding the meaning behind the song's lyrics. One common misconception is that the song is a first-person account of someone with AIDS, even though it was written more than a decade before Freddie Mercury contracted HIV, and seven years before HIV was even recognized as a virus. Some believe the lyrics are about a suicidal murderer hunted by demons, or depict the events just preceding an execution, pointing to Albert Camus's novel The Stranger as a probable source of inspiration. Some even believe the lyrics were only written to fit with the music, and have no meaning at all. As evidence, Kenny Everett quoted Mercury as claiming the lyrics were simply "random rhyming nonsense.

Mercury was famously evasive when asked about the song's meaning. Unlike the other members of Queen, who often talked about the inspiration behind the songs they had written, Mercury disliked analysing his own material, and preferred listeners to construct their own personal interpretations. What is known is that the song had an especially personal connection for Mercury, which was confirmed by the band's other members. Following the single's release, Mercury was quoted as saying:
“ It's one of those songs which has such a fantasy feel about it. I think people should just listen to it, think about it, and then make up their own minds as to what it says to them...'Bohemian Rhapsody' didn't just come out of thin air. I did a bit of research although it was tongue-in-cheek and mock opera. Why not? ” However when the band released a Greatest Hits cassette in Iran a leaflet in farsi was included with translation and explanations of the lyrics. There Queen states that "Bohemian Rhapsody" is about a young man who has accidentally killed someone and, like Faust, sold his soul to the devil. On the night before his execution he calls for God in Arabic, "Bismillah", and with the help of angels regains his soul from Shaitan.

The song is composed of six distinct sections: introduction, ballad, guitar solo, opera, rock and an outro. This format, replete with abrupt changes in style, tone, and tempo, was unusual to rock music at the time. An embryonic version of this style was done by Queen themselves in "My Fairy King". That song, along with "Liar" and "March of the Black Queen", was also written by Mercury, and all three are noted for their musical similarities to "Bohemian Rhapsody.

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i suggest to read the parts of the song and abt the vid ...