Queen II vs. A Night At The Opera

ANATO. No contest. Good Company on its own leaves everything from QII in its wake, even the magnificent MotBQ. Good Company is one of the reasons so many guitarists and musicians have a very deep respect for Brian.

Queen II, no doubt.

[QUOTE] [b]Holly2003 wrote:[/b]
ANATO. No contest. Good Company on its own leaves everything from QII in its wake, even the magnificent MotBQ. Good Company is one of the reasons so many guitarists and musicians have a very deep respect for Brian.[/QUOTE]
^ what he said.

[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]
But aside from personal taste, what does Queen II have that A Night At The Opera doesn't have? I've always wanted to hear a good answer to this one..[/QUOTE]

Roger's screaming on Queen II :-)

Just throwing out my opinion...definitely Queen II

I think this would be my top 5: Queen II, Innuendo, A Day at the Races, A Night at the Opera, Queen

To those who are saying Sheer Heart Attack: I don't like that one very much. Side 1 is excellent, Side 2 has too much filler. Dear Friends, Misfire and Bring Back That Leroy Brown bore me, and even She Makes Me is one of Brian's weaker songs

[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]
But aside from personal taste, what does Queen II have that A Night At The Opera doesn't have? I've always wanted to hear a good answer to this one..[/QUOTE]

The harpsichord

Whoa, I just realized something...according to the poll for favorite Queen album, Queen II has a lead on ANatO by about a hundred votes. In fact, Q2's closest rival is not that, but Queen I, which only trails by three points.

Interesting...

Queen II is a masterpiece. I've grown to appreciate it more and more over the years since I first head it in August 1985. To be honest it kind of scared me at the time as I was only 16. It's dark and complex. It's Tolkien in ways. And I often wonder how the hell the band conceived it from start to finish. It's a huge leap from the debut. A work of pure confidence and mastery. I can hear The Beach Boys being blended with art rock. The new 2011 remaster, opens up the soundstage so the listener can get into the cave and see the monster. It's dynamic, warped, amazing and stunning. No other rock band could have done this and I believe no rock band ever will sound like this. Ever! Forget the downloading for one has to have the artwork whether it's LP or CD. Mp3 just won't cut it on this masterpiece, so why cheapen the experience? Is Queen II better than A Night At The Opera? No! No! No! No! No! No! No! Oh Mama Mia! Mama Mia!

Both are excellent albums, but in my opinion "Queen II" pips it to the post!!!!!

[QUOTE] [b]brians wig wrote:[/b]

No contest.
Queen II everytime.
It's just a shame that it sounds a bit muffled in comparison, but I suppose that's down to the numerous overdubs and the 16 track limitation of the equipment.
I do wonder if a brand new remix from that multitrack would sort that problem out, though i guess they won't want to do that (assuming they have all the tapes)

Bob. Can I just say you're wrong. In every sense. Can I? Please? No? Sod it anyway. You're wrong IN EVERY SENSE: Queen II is a far superior collection of songs to ANATO and regardless of how intricate and masterful Good Company is it still sucks. Of all the songs on that album, THAT'S the one I skip!!!!![/QUOTE]

I Love Queen II. it's a masterpiece with so many layers to discover. The March of the black Queen is a wonderful track.
As an overall album, it fulfills more what i look for on a Queen record.
However maybe sometimes i get bored of listen that song all over again always but Bohemian Rhapsody is THE Queen song of all times, and its on ANATO.
Anato production is overall better than Queen II, and you have :

- Heavy passioned songs (Death on Two Legs)
- Wonderful fun at the level of Killer Queen (Seaside Rendezvous)
- Complex layered songs with a taste of Queen II (The Prophet Song)
- THE Love Ballad (Love of My Life)
- Brian Harmonizations (GSTQ, Good Company)
- And the Queen MultiStyle song, the one that started all (Bo Rhap)

Queen II is very close:

- Heavy passioned songs (Ogre Battle)
- Complex layered songs (The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke)
- Intense ballads (White Queen, Nevermore)
- Brian Harmonizations (Procession)
- MultiStyle song (The March of the Black Queen)

But it misses the fun vaudeville songs, the perfect recording/production (Queen II sounds a little dark and flat in comparison), and of course it misses Bo Rhap.

anato's production is not better than II.
II had the kitchen sink thrown at it - it was RTB at his best (apart from some weak drum sounds)
opera on the other hand sounds incredibly muddy in places - there's keyboards drowning out guitars and vice-versa - unless you've heard the 5:1 dvd-a version
you'll not understand how good opera could sound

for me, i prefer ANATO, but QII is brilhant too

Queen II, but I think I like A Day at the Races even more...