Having previously revealed the songs that paved the way for "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "A Night At the Opera," in exclusive new interviews for Queen The Greatest, Roger Taylor and Brian May reveal how the technical experiences on the band's first three albums enabled them to realise their outrageous ambitions for their make-or-break fourth album, "A Night At The Opera."
For Queen, the recording studio was an instrument in its own right. And while the young band were forced to toe the line while creating 1973's debut album at Trident Studios, their expanding popularity gave them more control on each record - culminating in the unbound experimentation of 1975's "A Night At The Opera."
Now, as that classic fourth album celebrates its 50th anniversary with a new celebratory clear-vinyl reissue, this week's episode of Queen The Greatest shares further exclusive new interviews in which May and Taylor recall how the band's early studio experiences shaped their identity.
"Really, I think Queen II was the first time we were allowed a certain amount of freedom in the studio, whereas with the first album we weren't", says Taylor, "so basically it sounds better and more like the way we wanted it to sound. I don't think its perfect by a long way, but we were building our confidence in the studio. It had a lot more light and shade."
As Brian affirms, the shifting balance of power can be heard in the ambitious soundscapes of 1974's "Queen II." "I've always been a big advocate of that album because I think it was a giant step. We're going from a band that is hardly allowed in the studio - except a few hours in dead time - to a band that actually has studio time. We can indulge ourselves. We can experiment, and we make a giant leap with painting pictures on the canvas of the tapes on Queen II. I love that album."
By contrast, Roger recalls the band largely dialling back the production on third album "Sheer Heart Attack", released in November 1974. "In general, that was a hard-hitting, more simplified album. And, in my opinion, that was to its credit. The songs were good, they weren't too long, weren't over-elaborate. It was more stuff we could actually play live without getting too much into studio trickery."
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