The Greatest Song of All Time: Reimagining Bohemian Rhapsody

Produced and Mixed by Warren Huart

When it comes to iconic songs, few can rival the brilliance of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. This six-minute opus is a masterclass in songwriting and production, blending rock, opera, and balladry in a way that has captivated audiences for nearly half a century. It’s not just a song, it’s a journey. For me, it’s more than that. Bohemian Rhapsody has always been my favourite song. Nothing else comes close. So when the opportunity arose to produce and mix a tribute version, I knew this would be as much a passion project as a technical challenge.

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTJsNAT-NCw

Download the multitracks and mix it for yourself: https://producelikeapro.lpages.co/bohemian-rhapsody-multitracks-form/

Getting Started: The Heart of the Song

The original track, released in 1975 on A Night at the Opera, broke every rule in the book. It had no chorus, no clear genre boundaries, and no guarantee of radio success. Yet it became a global phenomenon. Freddie Mercury’s vision, Brian May’s precision, Roger Taylor’s explosive energy, and John Deacon’s understated elegance all came together to create something truly immortal.

My connection to Bohemian Rhapsody began early. One Christmas, my father, a devout classical and jazz purist with an encyclopaedic ear, handed me A Night at the Opera and simply said, “This is worthy.” Coming from him, that was high praise indeed. He heard something in Queen’s ambitious arrangements, the layered harmonies, the precision and theatre that resonated with the same reverence he had for Mahler, Coltrane, and Mingus. That moment cemented the album, and especially Bohemian Rhapsody, as sacred in my musical universe.

Meet the Team

This tribute brought together a group of world-class musicians, each with a profound respect for Queen’s legacy:

• Marc Martel, the voice that brought Freddie’s spirit back to life. Famously selected by Queen to front their official tribute projects, Marc recorded vocals on a Lauten Eden mic, giving a rich, U47-like tone. He needed no tuning, just a bit of de-essing and serial compression to bring his incredible performance to the front.
• Pete Riley, one of the UK’s premier session drummers and educators. Pete brought technical mastery and musical sensitivity to the drum tracks. He also meticulously tuned and dampened the drums to match the tone and feel of Roger Taylor’s 1975 kit, and played a Yamaha Recording Custom kit through Daking pres with minimal EQ or compression.
• Tony Franklin, “The Fretless Monster,” known for his work with The Firm, Blue Murder, and Jimmy Page. Tony brought his signature tone and powerful phrasing. As he shared, hearing John Deacon’s bass line on a transistor radio at 13 changed his life. He tracked the part with a DI and amp blend, but I opted to reamp and sculpt the midrange-heavy tone John Deacon was known for.
• Jamie Humphries, a virtuoso guitarist who has performed with Brian May and in We Will Rock You. Jamie recreated and reinterpreted the guitar parts using a Red Special replica and the iconic Digitech Brian May Signature Pedal, with preset morphing and out-of-phase switching. His knowledge of Brian’s tone chain and phrasing was invaluable.
• Steve Maggiora, keyboardist and vocalist with Toto, contributed piano and layered backing vocals. He used Lauten mics and a clever multi-mic setup that included a shower mic for natural room reverb, blending close and ambient sounds into the piano part.

Vocal Harmonies: A Layered Approach

In the original, the vocal harmonies were famously bounced and layered across 24-track tape, reaching up to 180 overdubs. For our version, we recorded Steve and Marc separately. Steve sang full background stacks remotely, and I used Waves Sync VX to align a few key phrases to Marc’s lead.

Marc's harmonies, however, were left untouched. He nailed the Galileo high harmonies and operatic dynamics with remarkable precision. We kept the vocal mix natural — tight but not artificially aligned. As I noted in the mix breakdown, I avoided vocal-align plugins to retain that musical looseness, opting instead for individual de-essers on layered parts.

The operatic section, a mix engineer’s Everest, came together in stereo stems with 16+ layers from Marc and secondary support from Steve. I balanced Steve’s stack slightly lower in the mix to give Marc the foreground and to echo Freddie’s dominant presence in the original. The result was rich, textured, and faithful.

Rhythm Section: Getting It Right at the Source

Pete's drum performance was spot on. He used minimal mics and tuned the kit for clarity and punch. I applied little EQ. The kicks had natural air and weight, and were grouped through a simple bus with some 350 Hz cut, 3.5 kHz presence, and tape emulation via the UAD A800 set to 15 IPS.

Tom work in the operatic breakdown was a highlight. We kept the tuning open and lively, enhancing the performance with just subtle gate and plate reverb. No parallel compression was used, and the room mics were massaged with LoFi saturation to smooth cymbal transients. An Abbey Road reverb plate and stock D-Verb added ambience.

Tony’s bass tone was all about channeling John Deacon: mid-forward, melodic, compressed. I used R-Bass, MV2, an A800, and surgical EQ to get that blend of presence and warmth. No multiband compression was needed. I deliberately let the bass breathe, allowing its melodic counterpoint to shine.

Guitar Magic

Jamie approached the guitars with reverence and boldness. From the soaring solo to the thunderous post-opera riff, he used the Digitech Brian May pedal to emulate both the AC30 and Deacy amp sounds. I kept the processing minimal, riding the faders old-school for dynamics and leaning into Jamie’s performance.

Automation played a big role here. As I learned working with Steven Tyler, sometimes you push a guitar or vocal up far louder than you think is reasonable. It’s in the drama of those moments where a mix becomes alive. Jamie’s parts benefited from that hands-on energy.

Piano and Final Elements

Steve printed multiple takes and mic positions, including a shower room mic for natural reverb. I used the Abbey Road TG12345 for EQ, rolling off low end and adding a slight top boost. The piano was treated with subtle compression and a stock plate verb to sit it just right.

Mastering

To complete the project, I brought in Adam Ayan, who also masters Queen’s catalogue. His final mastering pass glued everything together with the grace and polish this tribute deserved. Having Adam involved gave the entire project a finishing touch of authenticity and excellence.

Conclusion: A Song for the Ages

Bohemian Rhapsody is more than a song. It’s a universe. A six-minute opera disguised as a single. A reminder that music can be fearless, theatrical, and completely uncompromising, and still connect with millions.

Producing and mixing this version was an emotional and creative high point for me. Everyone involved brought their love, respect, and talent to the project. I hope our version inspires listeners, not only to revisit Queen’s masterpiece, but to fall in love with the process of making music that means something.

Thank you to everyone who contributed. Thank you to Queen. And thank you, Dad, for putting that record in my hands.

Nothing really matters to me... except this.

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTJsNAT-NCw

Download the multitracks and mix it for yourself: https://producelikeapro.lpages.co/bohemian-rhapsody-multitracks-form/