Aside from being one of the internationally beloved rock bands of all time, Queen were quite innovative in their use of technological advancements in music production to express their varied musical interests and phenomenal creativity. Such experimentation is quite prominent on what is arguably their most acclaimed album: 1975’s A Night at the Opera. Here, on several tracks, they meld modern rock with older kinds of music – from opera to skiffle and so on.
“Good Company,” penned by guitarist/vocalist Brian May, evokes the atmospheres of Great Depression Dixieland and traditional jazz, underlined by a “Genuine Aloha” Banjo ukelele. Impressively, May recreated an entire brass section using four different guitars and small amplifiers. “It took ages and ages,” explained May. “I listened to a lot of traditional jazz music when I was young, so I tried to get the phrasing as it would be if it were played by that instrument.”
(As an added bonus, the song includes a carefully reproduced, old-fashioned record skip towards the end.)
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