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''A Night at the Opera'' was not reviewed by the UK music magazines when it came out, but upon its release in the US four months later Kris Nicholson of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' said that although they share other heavy metal groups' penchant for "manipulating dynamics", Queen are an elite act in the genre and set themselves apart by incorporating "unlikely effects: acoustic piano, harp, acapella vocals, no synthesisers. Coupled with good songs."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Nicholson |first=Kris |title=Queen: ''A Night at the Opera'' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/a-night-at-the-opera-19760408 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |issue=210 |pages=76–77 |date=8 April 1976}}</ref> [[Robert Christgau]], writing in ''[[The Village Voice]]'', felt that the album "doesn't actually botch any of a half-dozen arty-to-heavy 'eclectic' modes ... and achieves a parodic tone often enough to suggest more than meets the ear. Maybe if they come up with a coherent masterwork I'll figure out what that more is."<ref name="Christgau">{{cite news |last=Christgau |first=Robert |authorlink=Robert Christgau |title=Christgau's Consumer Guide |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv3-76.php |newspaper=[[The Village Voice]] |location=New York |date=1 March 1976 |accessdate=2 February 2018}}</ref> The ''[[Winnipeg Free Press]]'' wrote: "The group's potential is practically limitless, indicating that Queen is destined to finally take its place among the small handful of truly major acts working in rock today."<ref name="winnipeg">[http://www.queenarchives.com/index.php?title=Queen_-_01-24-1976_-_A_Night_At_The_Opera_-_Winnipeg_Free_Press A Night At The Opera] Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 4 August 2011</ref> |
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''A Night at the Opera'' was not reviewed by the UK music magazines when it came out, but upon its release in the US four months later. Kris Nicholson of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' said that although they share other heavy metal groups' penchant for "manipulating dynamics", Queen are an elite act in the genre and set themselves apart by incorporating "unlikely effects: acoustic piano, harp, acapella vocals, no synthesisers. Coupled with good songs. Queen's obviously the strongest contender in its field."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Nicholson |first=Kris |title=Queen: ''A Night at the Opera'' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/a-night-at-the-opera-19760408 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |issue=210 |pages=76–77 |date=8 April 1976}}</ref> [[Robert Christgau]], writing in ''[[The Village Voice]]'', felt that the album "doesn't actually botch any of a half-dozen arty-to-heavy 'eclectic' modes ... and achieves a parodic tone often enough to suggest more than meets the ear. Maybe if they come up with a coherent masterwork I'll figure out what that more is."<ref name="Christgau">{{cite news |last=Christgau |first=Robert |authorlink=Robert Christgau |title=Christgau's Consumer Guide |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv3-76.php |newspaper=[[The Village Voice]] |location=New York |date=1 March 1976 |accessdate=2 February 2018}}</ref> The ''[[Winnipeg Free Press]]'' wrote: "The group's potential is practically limitless, indicating that Queen is destined to finally take its place among the small handful of truly major acts working in rock today."<ref name="winnipeg">[http://www.queenarchives.com/index.php?title=Queen_-_01-24-1976_-_A_Night_At_The_Opera_-_Winnipeg_Free_Press A Night At The Opera] Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 4 August 2011</ref> |
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In a retrospective review for [[AllMusic]], [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] called the album "a self-consciously ridiculous and overblown hard rock masterpiece" and "[[progressive rock|prog rock]] with a sense of humour as well as dynamics". Erlewine felt that Queen "never bettered their approach anywhere else".<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |authorlink=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=Queen – ''A Night at the Opera'' |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-night-at-the-opera-mw0000391519 |publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> Progressive rock historian Stephen Lambe has disputed that the album itself is progressive rock in his book ''Citizens of Hope and Glory: The Story of Progressive Rock''. He wrote: "While far from progressive rock, it was the band's most grandiose and ambitious album yet, full of great songwriting and prog influences." He said the album was "a neat symbol of the furthest reach of the progressive rock movement".<ref>{{cite book |last=Lambe |first=Stephen |title=Citizens of Hope and Glory: The Story of Progressive Rock |date=2013 |publisher=Amberley Publishing |location=The Hill, Stroud |isbn=978-1-4456-0737-5 |page=58 |edition=2nd |url=https://books.google.com/?id=hwnXAwAAQBAJ&lpg=PT58&pg=PT58#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=25 August 2015}}</ref> |
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In a retrospective review for [[AllMusic]], [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] called the album "a self-consciously ridiculous and overblown hard rock masterpiece" and "[[progressive rock|prog rock]] with a sense of humour as well as dynamics". Erlewine felt that Queen "never bettered their approach anywhere else".<ref name="AllMusic">{{cite web |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |authorlink=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=Queen – ''A Night at the Opera'' |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-night-at-the-opera-mw0000391519 |publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> Progressive rock historian Stephen Lambe has disputed that the album itself is progressive rock in his book ''Citizens of Hope and Glory: The Story of Progressive Rock''. He wrote: "While far from progressive rock, it was the band's most grandiose and ambitious album yet, full of great songwriting and prog influences." He said the album was "a neat symbol of the furthest reach of the progressive rock movement".<ref>{{cite book |last=Lambe |first=Stephen |title=Citizens of Hope and Glory: The Story of Progressive Rock |date=2013 |publisher=Amberley Publishing |location=The Hill, Stroud |isbn=978-1-4456-0737-5 |page=58 |edition=2nd |url=https://books.google.com/?id=hwnXAwAAQBAJ&lpg=PT58&pg=PT58#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=25 August 2015}}</ref> |