Download    File this one under “bizarre”… but fascinating.  “Bohemian Rhapsody” has no chorus, but is a “suite” of music consisting of 5 separate sections: the intro, the ballad, the opera, hard rock, and a reflective coda – all in the space of six minutes.  Written by Freddie Mercury with the band Queen, it’s a song you either love or vehemently hate.  Personally, I could go either way… but a trio of singers in Texas requested backups to it and this is the best I can do.

The intro is gorgeous – 4 part harmony like nobody’s business.  The ballad section has nice piano and tells a story of our hero killing a man and informing his mother “it doesn’t really matter” (oh…okay). The operatic passage (the Mamma Mia part) is quite thrilling and again with the wonderful harmony.  I always think of  the movie “Wayne’s World” when I hear the hard rock suddenly come out of nowhere.  Then it’s a sweet, soul-searching ending that belies the inherent violence of the song.  It’s a journey through one man’s psyche that showcases innocence, loneliness, and utter acceptance of the inevitable – death.  Pardon me if I wax philosophical but, damn… this song is dynamic!

It’s also extremely difficult to play.  The piano part was no problem, but when you try to add intricate vocal harmonies (at least what sorta-kinda sounds like vocals) and distorted guitars and kettledrums, well…. it gets challenging.  Hope Texas likes this one – I know we’ll never attempt to perform it.