Bo Rap, has there been any other group to compose a song like this?

I don't think I have ever heard any song that has the operatic theme like Bo Rap.

Has anyone heard anything from a different group that is comparable?

a song that has some similarity like bo rhap for me is music by john miles. it's been divided into different sections.

In the late 60's and early/mid 70's there were quite a few UK rock bands that were flirting with classical music.

I don't know how it got started (maybe with The Beatles and George Martin's quasi-classical string arrangements?) but as early as 1967 we got Procol Harum's big hit A Whiter Shade of Pale with a strong Bach influence. Later in the same year The Moody Blues released their Days of Future Passed album that was recorded with full symphony orchestra.

In 1969 King Crimson released their In The Court Of The Crimson King LP which truly marked the birth of progressive rock. Prog rock flourished in the early/mid 70's and a big part of this was combining classical elements with rock music. Lots of bands were doing this: Renaissance, Barclay James Harvest, Yes, Electric Light Orchestra to name just a few.

So, to answer the question, NO, i don't think there are any song like Bohemian Rhapsody, BUT BoRhap was definitely part of the genre that was established long before Queen had done anything. They just pushed it a little further, and dared to put it out as a lead single...and the rest is history. :)

Radiohead - Paranoid Android?

There hasn't been any song like it before or since. But the same can be said about nearly every good song ever.

excellent post ^^^

this is spot on. there were dozens of groundbreakers in the 60s/early70s - which helped and inspired Queen,
when i say "helped" i mean they took risks - which made taking further risk/pushing the limits more accessible.
as for "inspired" - queen made no secret of who inspired them.

for me: albums like - revolver, ogdens nut gone flake, abbey road, court of the crimson king, meddle, led zep I & II, hawkwind's first lp, badfinger - no matter what, deep purple - in rock, traffic - john barleycorn must die and Yes - the yes album and fragile - made it very easy for Queen's "experimental generation" - which included newer bands like Genesis to try new things.

in fairness, Queen's pushing the boundaries made it easier for the newer bands coming along - like Kansas, Styx, magnum, lone star, journey, leppard and maiden

Extreme - Everything Under The Sun
It's section with three songs - Rise'n Shine, Am I Ever Gonna Change and Who Cares?.
It was released on album Three Sides To Every Story.
It's epic music...
link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88CHZ0KBCdU


Let's Get Drung And Be Somebody
http://youtube.com/user/Valmont_Games

if you're just looking for songs with three (or more) distinctive parts there are better examples than Extreme

Wings - Band on The Run
ELO - Mr Blue Sky
10cc - I'm Mandy (fly me)
Eagles - The Last Resort
Genesis - The Musical Box
Led Zep - In The Light
and several Meatloaf songs

Beach Boys had GV, Beatles had ADitL.

The reason why Bo Rhap was even suggested as a single to begin with is that it had commercial potential, both because its melody and powerful harmonies, and because a lot of hit singles in 1975 Britain had loads of backing vocals (all of the No 1 tracks except for one).

It wasn't the most obvious hit, but it wasn't 'that' strange and risky either... of course, they like to tell the story that nobody wanted it as a single and all that because it sounds more impressive and generates more sympathy and admiration. That's showbiz, after all.

More sympathy? Are you serious? Freddie stood out as a person NEVER looking for sympathy, even during the time of his terrible illness. I think you underestimate him here. Other bands, like the Beatles might have tried classical arrangements, but no-one pushed it so far and as bravely as them. Paranoid Android is the closest thing that comes to my mind, but it happened years after the Queen single.

Sympathy's not just feeling bad for a person with a terminal illness. It's also things like 'woahhhh they had to fight everyone in the music business to get it released!', as opposed to 'yeah, they released it and the record company approved it.'

This, again, is showbiz, people like heroic Messianic stories of death and resurrection, of people opposing it, of the song being rescued from the deadly realms of not even being album filler to a triumphal beatification as a masterpiece of unparalleled proportions.

People dig that shit, and that's why the same story's been told to death about songs, films, etc. The Eagles say the same about Hotel California ... nobody wanted it as a single except for Henley, the label deemed it too long, they wanted them to edit it, but they were firm and then they had the last laugh. Livin' on a Prayer was almost discarded (or was it YGLABN?), Yesterday was a leftover from earlier years with a reworked title and new lyrics... granted, some parts of some of those stories are more likely true, but they've been edited and carefully rehearsed to fit the rule of cool and make them sound more impressive.

That doesn't make Bo Rhap or any of those songs any less of a masterpiece, but they're masterpieces for what they really are, not for what PR (and I don't mean Paul Rodgers) make them appear to be for a gullible public.

[QUOTE] [b]k-m wrote:[/b]
Other bands, like the Beatles might have tried classical arrangements, but no-one pushed it so far and as bravely as them. Paranoid Android is the closest thing that comes to my mind, but it happened years after the Queen single.[/QUOTE]
and what about Deep Purple's "concerto for group and orchestra" ???? does that not push the classical arrangement thing enough for you? or do you conveniently forget that BECAUSE it predates Bo Rhap by FIVE years and kinda makes your argument void?

Purple dabbled in and out of bach and beethoven loads...but YOu also ignore that.

the Toys - A Lover's Concerto - top5 hit 1965!!!! was a Bach minuet
the beatles - eleanor rigby
carole king - tapestry
the move - night of fear
the nice - america

and if you want to really think about this properly...Manfred Mann's Earthband released a whole album of classical influenced/arranged music "solar fire" in 1973 - two years BEFORE Bo Rhap....with a single "Joybringer" reaching the UK top 10...

and how about John Mile's "Music"...just a couple of months AFTER Bo Rhap - a huge hit ...and much more classically arranged than Bo Rhap
same applies to eric carmen - all by myself (one of the most world-wide known songs of all time) is a Rachmaninov arrangement - yes that SAME Rachmaninov that Freddie loved so much!!!

Sparks stuck out a couple of hit singles that could've layed the groundwork for BR - This Town Ain't Big Enough and Get In The Swing.

I agree with the posts above that Queen certainly weren't the first, but certainly the best at the over the top.

..and let's not forget Focus...who brought classical arrangements and symphonic rock to the masses
for 5 consecutive albums and two UK/USA/Europe hit singles BEFORE Bo/Rhap/ANATO was released.

Moving Waves & Focus 3 are excellent albums which some of the "queen pushed the boundaries first" brigade, would do well to listen to

Jaws was the first blockbuster IIRC. But it doesn't mean it was the first film. Eagles' GH was the first platinum album IIRC, but it doesn't mean it was the first album ever.

Bo Rhap was the first (and possibly only) No 1 hit single to feature a ballad section, an opera section and a rock section, but it doesn't mean, at all, that it was the first piece combining (or in this case, alternating) popular and art music. Not even the first Queen piece to do so.

Same with the whole video thing...