QUEEN 'NIGHT AT THE OPERA' ORIG UK 1st PRESS '75 ARCHIVE EMBOSSED COVER

	£		36
	$		48

>Nr Archive Copy<

Queen

'A Night At The Opera'

EMI, UK, 1975

EMTC 103

THEIR CROWNING glory...the album that really pushed it over the top elevating them from hard rock heroes to world wide mega stars. 'Bohemian Rhapsody' was mainly responsible for this acceleration of popularity, a track that pushed at the very boundaries of creativity causing a wave of adoration that has failed to evaporate even to this very day.

I saw the band in concert at the Hammesmith Odeon promoting this album and they were tremendous, feted in the music press as the next Led Zeppelin but they were always so much more than that. 'A Night At The Opera' is a milestone in recording techniques, the production (by Roy Thomas Baker) being incredibly advanced for the time giving each song a individual feeling and yet sitting proudly as a whole. Tracks suchs as 'Death On Two Legs', 'I'm In Love With My Car', 'Sweet Lady' and 'The Prophets Song' provide the blistering hard rock quotent, allowing Brian May to rip out some incredible riffs and solos whilst eslewhere the band dance on air with oddities and curios that actually enhance the bravado and bluster.

Chief amongst the lighter faire are 'Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon', the sea shanty '39' and 'Seaside Rendezvous' all helping to give the gift of brevity to what in lesser hands could've been an excersise in clumpy hard rock bluster. Even stuffy hard rocker 'The Prophet's Song' is blessed a brilliant accapella middle section, showcasing the bands flawless harmony vocals and a desire to take the track into areas not previously explored by any other band previosuly. Of course, 'Bohemian Rhapsody', remains the centre piece of the entire project but in a fair and just world that song should not be allowed to overshadow its accompanying support.

This is a near museum quality example - original issue embossed cover with super low 1st run matrix and the elusive 'Blair's' mastering engineer name scratched into both sides of the run off grooves. It doesn't get much better than this!

Inredible!

Pressing: EMI, UK, 1975

Vinyl: Super clean condition. Practically no signs of use. Just a few ultra hairlines due to sliding in and out of the cardboard inner sleeve. Grades as a top MINT-!

Cover: Again, no signs of use. Issued in a beautifully illustrated embossed gatefold cover. By virtue of the fact that its a bright white finish, these covers are impossible to find in nice condition. This one is superb - no blemishes, no dirt marks, no fingerprint/ageing, no storage wear and no grubbyness. Sharp corners, no dings, no bends, no ring wear, no split seams and no creases. Spine is stiff, straight and totally uncrushed. Tiny glue residue on front panel bottom right. Beautiful and impossible to find like this 37 years after release. Grades as MINT!

Inserts: Thick cardboard inner sleeve

Matrix:

1st Pressing

Side One: YAX 5063 - 4 Blair's

Side Two: YAX 5064 - 4 Blair's

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This is a vinyl album NOT a CD. No time wasters, nit pickers or deadbeats- retribution will be swift and mercyless. Bidders with very low feedback new to ebay are often deadbeats so please don't be surprised if I run a check on you in advance. All gradings are visual but may have been spot tested to double check. I very rarely list records that are in any way scratched- they go in the trash- and I will only list a scratched record if scarcity dictates otherwise but with full disclosure. Often vinyl display 'scuffs' which are surface marks (mostly caused by sliding in and out of the inner sleeve or careless handling) but NOT scratches and they do not have any effect on playback. If the vinyl has a scuff I will try and mention it. Even my Vg+ records are way better than most gradings on ebay- check my feedback for vindication.Gradings are cover/vinyl. All records are sold as-is that means no refunds or returns except in very rare circumstances. I am not a lending libary so don't ask for a refund (I've been burn't in the past with people buying records, taping or CD-Ring and then returning them and I've also had scratched records returned in place of clean albums). If you do not accept this rule then please don't bid. I accept Paypal, UK cheques/PO's. NO US checks or MO's. Insurance against loss or damage is not included and must be requested seperately if required. I will only refund you when I have received the refund, if any, from the Post Office which could take months. Payment must be received within 10 days- no excuses. Hey why not check out my other auctions and save with multiple postage. I list a fine selection of seventies leaning Prog, Psych, Hard Rock, Folk, AOR and Country Rock on a near weekly basis so make sure you check in regularly or you may miss some good and unusual stuff. Lastly feel free to get in touch if you have any specific wants. Thanks.