ALBUM OF THE WEEK # 343 QUEEN - SHEER HEART ATTACK (1974)

[RJhog (Admin)]

Disclaimer: All info that does not reside in my brain is gathered from wikipedia.com (mostly because Jon can't stand it) unless otherwise noted.

We are about 6 years into this year's intended series and I haven't grown tired of it yet!  That puts us into 1974 and brings us to Queen's second release of that year, Sheer Heart Attack.  But as usual, let's first check in on some of the happenings at that time:

• The Miami Dolphins defeated the Minnesota Vikings 24-7 in the Super Bowl in January.
• The first issue of People Magazine was released in March.
• Carrie, Stephen King's first Novel, was published on April 5th.
• Later that same month, Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's career home run record.
• In September, President Ford pardoned President Nixon.
• And to close out the year, on December 30th, the last Japanese World War II soldier, Private Teruo Nakamura, surrenders.  That was 34 years after he began service in the Imperial Japanese Army.
• Kate Moss, Christian Bale, Gina Lynn (I bet Jon knows who she is), Derek Jeter and Chris Kyle were all born in 1974.
• In music, Kiss and Rush release their debut albums, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks join Fleetwood Mac and The Moody Blues, King Crimson and The Stooges all disband (although all three would reform at some point in the future).

And all of that brings us to the Album of the Week.  Sheer Heart Attack is Queen's third studio album.  It performed well on the charts, hitting number 2 in the U.K. and rising as high as number 12 in the U.S. It is certified Gold by the RIAA and has allegedly sold over 1,500,000 copies worldwide.  The big single from the album is Killer Queen, reaching number 12 in the U.S.  Now I'm Here was also released as a single.  It performed pretty well in the U.K. but didn't even sniff the charts in the United States.  

Sheer Heart Attack moved away from a progressive sound to a more straight up hard rock sound, though many influences shined through (for instance, Bring Back That Leroy Brown has a Vaudeville feel to me).  For me, this album is very good.  It shows just how great a guitar player Brian May is.  All you have to do is listen to the first track to figure that out.  As a matter of fact, that opener is one of my favorite Queen tracks.  Mercury moves with ease from falsetto to full voice, it's amazing to hear.  And Roger Taylor is an amazing drummer.  Again, just listen to the first track to hear what I'm talking about.  Plenty of excellent songs on this album.

You can pick up a remastered copy if for some reason you don't already own one for $10.99 on Amazon.  That's a good deal.

Iconic Song: Killer Queen

Side One:

1. Brighton Rock

2. Killer Queen

3. Tenement Funster

4. Flick of the Wrist

5. Lilly of the Valley

6. Now I'm Here

Side Two:

7. In The Lap of the Gods

8. Stone Cold Crazy

9. Dear Friends

10. Misfire

11. Bring Back That Leroy Brown

12. She Makes Me (Stormtrooper In Stilettos)

13. In The Lap of the Gods...Revisited

 

[Jon]

I have listened to this album many, many, MANY times and it's one hell of an album, chock full o' goodness from top to bottom. Get a big kick from tracks #3 and #12, but get a kick out of 'em all. I wonder what Dart would have said if he spotted a stormtrooper in stilettos......NOT THAT THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH IT.   

[Scott]

[Jon]

See?

[Scott]

Looks like I have some catching up to do...  crazy times since early December, can't seem to catch a break!  Good thing I own this and am familiar with it, not my favorite Queen album but far from the bottom!!!  The cover always makes me wonder if that's really Brian May, it barely looks him!

Brighton Rock is kind of a frenetic opener, not the most melodic tune, but still it feels cool, plus its been showcased in SHT before - just trust me it has!  Killer Queen may be the first song I ever heard from Queen, it was heavily played on the radio, still it was an odd track at the time.  Never heard anything like it and it felt like a novelty song.  Now days I love its playfulness and with hindsight being 20/20 its a great introduction for any youngster curious about this band.  Tenement Funster is one of Taylors better tracks - I too like the good things in life!  And this song is one of them...

May shreds on Flick of the Wrist, love the sound of that guitar, plus I recently featured it as a live track in SHT - just trust me it has!  Now I'm Here has made two appearances on SHT, both were done a good while back I believe it was my 1974 showcase and a by request playlist (if memory serves me correctly, and it usually does)

Stone Cold Crazy screams to be cranked up! Probably should have placed this in a "Crank Me Up" playlist! But I haven't done that one yet, hey wait a minute!  I've got an idea.... for later...

No other track off this album have been showcased on a SHT list, just trust me on this!

Dear Friends-Misfire-Bring Back That Leroy Brown are all quick hits!  Over before they had a chance to get good!  Stormtroopers in Stilettos, visionary's this band are!  Lucas must've stole the idea for his hapless dark side guards from this track sans the stilettos of course...  Interesting tune though, the drum production sounds like it was reused in Radio GaGa!  The Revisited Gods tune is interesting as well.  Love this album!!

I think the first Queen album I ever bought was Jazz - mostly because my brother had A Night At The Opera so I didn't need to buy that since I could steal it from his collection and play it whenever I wanted to...  But I digress...  Sheer Heart Attack came into my possession much later, but I'm sure glad I came to my senses and picked it up!