Built around a skiffle ukelele tune with a philosophical message about friends and lovers and the importance of keeping good company is probably the best example of Brian May's orchestrated gutiar army concept. While the song treads the same acoustic May led shuffle as 39, this has such a range of guitar sounds it has to be broken down.
It starts off with a trio of guitars pinging off in a a row of ascending frequencies, like a set of delayed arpeggios played in three rising octaves; it sounds like an old call signal or a TV Station Ident and functions as a motif or reoccurring break before returning to the skiffle.
Then around the 30 second mark, some syrupy flute like flutters enter and scampers around the edges of the song. The crystal clear bell tone of May's fills are fluid yet tactile. Then around 50 seconds the flute diddles are temporarily replaced by some rather spongy wah wah gasbag guitar fills chomping away in jazzy walking lines. Another run through of the 'radio station ident' delayed arpeggios, also known as a bell effect occurs ending at 1:08 in a particularly deliciously clean, triple tracked guitar scream; wrangled presumably with a very low gain tone setting so only the signal blares out with zero noise or ambiance; just a vacuum clean ghostly guitar shriek from the tracked guitars that if it wasn't for the pure distortion would mimic Roger Taylor's infamous "AAHHS" falsettos.
The scruffy ukulele verse returns with the slap dash drums, some 'Flash Gordon/Procession/God Save the Queen' styled grand triple octave Court of the King processional guitar lines descend for this verse. Finally the group harmonies, dominated by Freddie deep velvet accent, appear for the first time, they segue in with their typical hushed 'lounge lizard' cabaret style, however it has occurred to me the undulating tone of their cooing vocals oohing and aahing matches the drawl of May's slushy/slurpy old timey clarinet licks, like a vocal reproduction of some of the Red Special. The way May could make his sleek guitar mimic the shrieks, oohs, aahhs of Mercury and Taylor's velvety vocals was very fitting.
A hyper phased bridge resembles everyone from Deep Purple Strange Kind of Woman to Rush's Fly By the Night, however right in the middle of it at 2.22, a piercing guitar with high pitch plays a pan flute type of doodle. As 2.40 approaches we descend into Brian May's own personal one man studio Dixieland Jazz band as he heaps different guitar sounds to replicate different 1920s Trad jazz, Big Band instruments on are ears. The slinky clarinet is a clear toned guitar playing a very fluid sustain like the flutes of earlier, except instead of little prancing riffs they play bawdy long figures. Around 2.56 an elephantine trombone bawls in, clearly achieved by sliding a note down the guitar's bass string, dragged with immense pressure and possibly detuned or slowed down to get the big, huffy brassiness.
Among the baritone trombone bray of one guitar, buried deep beneath the clarinet and flutes are some guitars piping in with the chirpy Dixieland horns parts, clearly played out by more high ptiched, clean guitars.
The Steamboat Willie-esque tin whistle pip at the end is the crackly 1920s jazz band cherry on top!
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