| Sheer Heart Attack | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 8 November 1974 (1974-11-08) | |||
| Recorded | 7 July – 22 October 1974 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:41 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
| |||
| Queen chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Sheer Heart Attack | ||||
| ||||
Sheer Heart Attack is the third studio album by the Britishrock bandQueen, released on 8 November 1974 byEMI Records in the United Kingdom and byElektra Records in the United States. Departing from theprogressive themes featured on their first two albums, the album featured more pop-centric and conventional rock tracks and marked a step towards the "classic" Queen sound.[2] It was produced by the band andRoy Thomas Baker, and launched Queen to mainstream popularity in the UK and throughout the world.
The album's first single "Killer Queen" reached number two on theUK singles chart and provided the band with their first top 20 hit in the US, peaking at number 12 on theBillboard Hot 100.Sheer Heart Attack was the first Queen album to hit the US top 20, peaking at number 12 on theBillboard Top LPs & Tape Chart in 1975. It has been acknowledged for containing "a wealth of outstandinghard rock guitar tracks".[3] Retrospectively, it has been listed by multiple publications as one of the band's best works and has been deemed an essentialglam rock album.[4]
"Nobody knew we were going to be told we had two weeks to writeSheer Heart Attack. And we had to – it was only thing we could do. Brian was in hospital."
After completing theirsecond album, Queen embarked on theirQueen II Tour as a support act forMott the Hoople. After touring extensively throughout the UK, the two groups decided to tour together in the US, marking Queen's first tour in the country. The bands would remain on friendly terms for the rest of their career, withIan Hunter performing "All the Young Dudes" at theFreddie Mercury Tribute Concert.[6] Queen played their first US show on 16 April 1974 in Denver, Colorado,[7] as a support, whichFreddie Mercury reportedly disliked, saying: "Being support is one of the most traumatic experiences of my life".[5] At the climax of the tour in Boston,Brian May was discovered to have hepatitis, possibly from the use of a contaminated needle during vaccinations the group received before travelling to Australia.[7] The remainder of the tour was subsequently cancelled and Queen flew back home, where May was hospitalised.[8]
In June, the band gathered together atTrident Studios to start rehearsing material for the album. Koh Hasebe interviewed Mercury,Roger Taylor andJohn Deacon when they were rehearsing on 13 June.[9] At the beginning of July, May joined them for rehearsals. The band were just preparing to record, and on 7 July, they trekked three and a half hours to get to theRockfield Studios inWales,[10] where they would record ten backing tracks, finishing on 28 July.[11] At the start of August, work shifted toWessex Sound Studios. Work there would not last long, however, as May, who was starting to feel uneasy, went to a specialist clinic on 2 August. He collapsed at the clinic, as a result of aduodenal ulcer,[12] and would be operated on the following day, but discharged from the hospital soon after so he could recover at home.[12] While the band were overdubbing at Wessex, May booked studio time atAIR Studios, where he recorded "Dear Friends" and "She Makes Me".[13] In the meantime, Taylor and Deacon made an appearance at anEMI/Radio Luxembourg motor rally atBrands Hatch on 11 August.[14] By late August, May was working with the band again, and the rest of the band would add their parts to the songs he had recorded. There was still one song that needed to be recorded as the band worked into September, and that was "Now I'm Here". They recorded the backing track for this one at Wessex, and saved the rest to be completed during the mixing sessions.[15]
Mixing commenced in the middle of September. The band were still overdubbing at this point, so they hired someone to deliver tapes from recording studio to mixing studio via motorcycle. The heart of the mixing sessions took place at Trident Studios, and one or two days was spent mixing each of the majority of the songs. "Brighton Rock", on the other hand, took four days to mix, with six hours' worth of different mixes created during that time. Each song was mixed in little edited sections that were about fifteen to twenty seconds in length.[16] At this point, Trident had just installed a 24-track machine in their studio that had been around since 1972, but was not functioning until 1974.[17] In fact, the album was Trident's first 24-track project. Even though Trident had expanded their recording flexibility by eight tracks, this was still not enough to be able to mix each track individually. "Bring Back That Leroy Brown", for example, had 70 vocal tracks and had to be mixed down to work with the 24-track mixer.[16]
On 20 September, it was announced the band were attempting to secure a release date for the album of 1 November, though it seemed unlikely that they would be finished in time to meet that deadline.[18] They mixed "Now I'm Here", which was the last thing to be mixed, on 22 October. May did an interview the next day (which was published on 26 October) that explained what finishing the album was like.[19] In total, the band used four different studios in the making ofSheer Heart Attack: most of the backing tracks were recorded at Rockfield, two backing tracks and some guitar overdubs were recorded at AIR Studios, most of the overdubs and one backing track were recorded at Wessex, and the mixing was done at Trident.
The album noticeably shifts away from theprogressive rock themes of its predecessors, and has been categorised ashard rock[3][20][21] andglam rock.[4][22][23] TheDaily Vault described it as "an important transition album" because it showcased "what the band would soon become while giving a nod to their hard-rock past,"[21] whileStephen Thomas Erlewine ofAllMusic observed that, although there are still references to the fantasy themes of their earlier works, particularly on "In the Lap of the Gods" and "Lily of the Valley", "the fantasy does not overwhelm as it did on the first two records".[2]
"Killer Queen" was written in a single night, which contrasts with the, as Mercury put it, "ages" it took to write "The March of the Black Queen".[5] "Brighton Rock" was written during the making ofQueen II; "Stone Cold Crazy" had its genesis in Mercury's pre-Queen bandWreckage; and Mercury wrote "Flick of the Wrist" during May's illness-induced absence. As it included the first song written byJohn Deacon that Queen recorded ("Misfire") alongside tracks written by the other members of the band,Sheer Heart Attack was the first of the group's albums to contain at least one song written by each member; "Stone Cold Crazy" was the band's first song for which all four members shared the writing credit.
"Brighton Rock" was written byBrian May during theQueen II sessions, but was not recorded at that time, as the group felt it would not fit with the rest of the album.[24] Lyrically, it tells the story of two young lovers named Jenny and Jimmy, who meet inBrighton on apublic holiday.[25]Mods travelling to Brighton on bank holidays was a popular narrative at the time, as inthe Who'sQuadrophenia.[26]
The song includes a three-minute unaccompanied guitar solo interlude,[25] which makes extensive use ofdelay to build up guitar harmony andcontrapuntal melodic lines. It grew out of May's experimentation with anEchoplex unit while he attempted to recreate his guitar orchestrations for live performances of "Son and Daughter". He had made modifications to the original unit so he could change the delay times, and ran each echo through a separate amplifier to avoid interference.[27]
The studio version of the solo only contains one "main" guitar and one "echoed" guitar for a short section, but, live, May would usually split his guitar signal into one "main" and two "echoed" guitars, with each going to a separate bank of amplifiers. In concert, the solo has been performed as part of "Brighton Rock", in a medley with another song, or as a standalone piece. For example, May performed some of it at theclosing ceremony of the2012 Summer Olympics in London.[28] Considered one of May's finest solos,[25]Guitar World ranked it No. 41 on their list of the100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time.[27]
At the very start of this song you can hear the sound of a Carousel. This was taken from a sound effects album called "Authentic Sound Effects Volume 1" originally released in 1960.[29]
"Killer Queen" was written byFreddie Mercury and was the band's first international hit single.[30][31] Mercury played ajangle piano as well as agrand piano on the recording. After it charted as a single, the band performed the song onTop of the Pops.
Roger Taylor wrote "Tenement Funster" about youth and rebellion and sang lead vocals, whileJohn Deacon played the song's prominent acoustic guitar parts in May's absence. It segues into Mercury's "Flick of the Wrist" (which was released, along with "Killer Queen", as a double A-sided single), and then into a softer, piano-based Mercury song, "Lily of the Valley", making the three songs continuous.[32]
"Now I'm Here" was written by May while hospitalised, and recalls the group's early tour supportingMott the Hoople. It was recorded during the last week of the sessions for the album, with May playing piano.[33]
"In the Lap of the Gods" was written by Mercury and featured multiple vocal overdubs from himself and Roger Taylor. It features one of the highest notes on the album, sung by Taylor.[citation needed]
"Stone Cold Crazy" was one of the earliest tracks that Queen performed live, and had several different arrangements before being recorded forSheer Heart Attack. No band member was able to remember who had written the lyrics when the album was released, so they shared the writing credit, the first of their songs to do so. The lyrics deal with gangsters and include a reference toAl Capone. The track has a fast tempo and heavy distortion, presagingspeed metal.[34] Music magazineQ described "Stone Cold Crazy" as "thrash metal before the term was invented",[35] although this was not the first song in the style of "proto-thrash", withDeep Purple's "Hard Lovin' Man" predating it by four years.[36] The song was played live at almost every Queen concert between 1974 and 1978 and also in the cut version during European leg of The Works Tour in 1984.[37][38][39][40][41]
Metallica covered the song as their contribution to the 1990 compilation albumRubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary. This cover version won aGrammy Award in 1991; it also appeared on the band's compilationGarage Inc.
"Dear Friends" is a ballad written by May and sung by Mercury.
"Misfire" wasJohn Deacon's first individual composition for the band, and featured him playing the guitar solo and all guitar parts on the track except for some parts at the end of the song, in which Brian's Red Special becomes more prominent.
The title of "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" alludes to the then-recent hit "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" by American singer-songwriterJim Croce, who had died in a plane crash the previous year. Written by Mercury, "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" features him playing grand piano and jangle piano, as well as doing multiple vocal overdubs. May plays a short section onukulele-banjo, and Deacon plays a line on thedouble bass. DRUM! Magazine commended Taylor's drum work on the song: "It really shows off Taylor’s versatility. He nails dozens of kicks throughout this fast and tricky song and proves that he could’ve been a big band drummer or ably fit into any theatrical pit band if Queen hadn’t worked out so well for him. Honky-tonk piano, upright bass, ukulele-banjo, and a smokin' drummer all add up to a rollicking good time."[42]
"She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettoes)" was written and sung by May with him and Deacon playing acoustic guitars.
"In the Lap of the Gods...Revisited" was one of Queen's set-closers from 1974 to 1977. During the 1986Magic tour, it was performed again in a medley, where it segued into "Seven Seas of Rhye".
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Daily Vault | B+[21] |
| Backseat Mafia | 8.5/10[43] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [44] |
| MusicHound Rock | [45] |
| Pitchfork Media | 9/10[46] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[47] |
| Q | [48] |
| Record Collector | [48] |
| Uncut | [48] |
At the time of its release,NME called the album: "A feast. No duffers, and four songs that will just run and run: 'Killer Queen', 'Flick of the Wrist', 'Now I'm Here', and 'In the Lap of the Gods...Revisited'."[49] TheWinnipeg Free Press commended "Brian May's multi-tracked guitar, Freddie Mercury's stunning vocalising and Roy Thomas Baker's dynamic production work", calling the album "a no-holds barred, full-scale attack on the senses".[50]Circus referred to the album as "perhaps the heaviest, rockingest assault on these shores we've enjoyed in some time".[51]Rolling Stone awarded the album a positive rating of 3 stars and wrote: "If it's hard to love, it's hard not to admire: this band is skilled, after all, and it dares."[52]John Mendelsohn, however, was unimpressed, writing: "I hunted all over both sides of this latest album for something, anything, even remotely as magnificent as 'Keep Yourself Alive' or 'Father to Son', only to end up empty-eared and bawling."[51] As 1974 drew to a close, the album was ranked byDisc as the third best of the year[53] and tied for 24th place onNME's end-of-year list.[54]
In a review for theChicago Tribune, Greg Kot awards the album a generally positive rating of 2 and a half stars, while noting that this album was where "...the songs became more concise"[55]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Chicago Tribune | [56] |
| Rolling Stone | "Sheer Heart Attack".Rolling Stone. 8 May 1975. |
In a retrospective review,AllMusic said that "the theatricality is now wielded on everyday affairs, which ironically makes them sound larger than life. And this sense of scale, combined with the heavy guitars, pop hooks, and theatrical style, marks the true unveiling of Queen, makingSheer Heart Attack as [sic] the moment where they truly came into their own."[2]Q called the record "indispensable" and "one of the great pop/rock admixtures of the '70s".[48]Pitchfork wrote: "Sheer Heart Attack not only improves on every aspect of their sound suggested by the first two records, but delivers some of the finest music of their career ... this is the band at the height of its powers."[46] Jon Bryan ofBackseat Mafia described it as "the first album where Queen got it unarguably right", noting that "such obvious arrogance suited them".[43]
Benjamin Ray of theDaily Vault felt that "Queen somehow manages to sound like every rock band of the 70s on here, includingRush,Zeppelin and evenUriah Heep." He noted the difference was that "Queen actually tries to be pretentious and bombastic, and often they are so over the top one can't help but be entertained", finally concluding that it was "their most fun and showcases everything they did right."[21] TheBBC wrote: "they stretched contemporary production methods to their very limit with multi-layered vocals and guitars and Freddie's vaudevillian streak finally emerged ... this was the album that finally saw Queen find their true voice."[57] Rock historian Paul Fowles wrote thatSheer Heart Attack "saw the band become increasingly focused on the emerging cult figure of Mercury" and his "unique brand of rock theater", especially on the single "Killer Queen".[58]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die | United Kingdom | 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[59] | 2005 | * |
| Classic Rock | United Kingdom | The 100 Greatest British Rock Albums Ever[60] | 2006 | 28 |
| The 200 Greatest Albums of the 70's (20 greatest of 1974)[61] | 2006 | * | ||
| Kerrang! | United Kingdom | Poll: The 100 Best British Rock Albums Ever[62] | 2005 | 8 |
| The 100 Greatest Rock Albums Ever[63] | 2007 | 45 | ||
| Mojo | United Kingdom | 100 Greatest Guitar Albums[64] | 2002 | 72 |
| 70 of the Greatest Albums of the 70's[65] | 2006 | * | ||
| The 100 Records That Changed the World[66] | 2007 | 88 | ||
| NME | United Kingdom | Poll: Greatest 100 Albums of All Time[67] | 2006 | 63 |
| Radio Caroline | United Kingdom | Poll: Top 100 Albums[68] | 1977 | 50 |
| Trouser Press | United States | Best Albums of the 1970s[69] | 1980 | * |
| Virgin | United Kingdom | Poll: All Time Album Top 1000 Albums[70] | 2000 | 492 |
| Rock Hard | Germany | The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time[71] | 2005 | 308 |
| * denotes an unranked list | ||||
The album is very varied, we took it to extreme I suppose, but we are very interested in studio techniques and wanted to use what was available. We learnt a lot about technique while we were making the first two albums. Of course there has been some criticism, and the constructive criticism has been very good for us. But to be frank I'm not that keen on the British music press, and they've been pretty unfair to us. I feel that up and coming journalists, by the large, put themselves above the artists. They've certainly been under a misconception about us. We've been called a supermarket hype. But if you see us up on a stage, that's what we're all about. We are basically a rock band.
— Freddie Mercury[51]
On 8 November 2010, record companyUniversal Music announced that a remastered and expanded reissue of the album would be released in May 2011, as part of a new deal between Queen and Universal Music, which meant the band's association withEMI Records would come to an end after almost 40 years. Queen's entire studio catalogue was reissued in 2011.
All lead vocals byFreddie Mercury unless noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Brighton Rock" | Brian May | Mercury with May | 5:08 |
| 2. | "Killer Queen" | Mercury | 3:01 | |
| 3. | "Tenement Funster" | Roger Taylor | Taylor | 2:48 |
| 4. | "Flick of the Wrist" | Mercury | 3:19 | |
| 5. | "Lily of the Valley" | Mercury | 1:43 | |
| 6. | "Now I'm Here" | May | 4:10 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "In the Lap of the Gods" | Mercury | 3:20 | |
| 8. | "Stone Cold Crazy" |
| 2:12 | |
| 9. | "Dear Friends" | May | 1:07 | |
| 10. | "Misfire" | Deacon | 1:50 | |
| 11. | "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" | Mercury | 2:13 | |
| 12. | "She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettoes)" | May | May | 4:08 |
| 13. | "In the Lap of the Gods...Revisited" | Mercury | 3:42 | |
| Total length: | 38:41 | |||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Stone Cold Crazy" (1991 bonus remix byMichael Wagener) | 2:12 |
| Total length: | 40:53 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Now I'm Here" (live at Hammersmith Odeon, December 1975) | 4:27 |
| 2. | "Flick Of The Wrist" (BBC session, October 1974) | 3:26 |
| 3. | "Tenement Funster" (BBC session, October 1974) | 2:59 |
| 4. | "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" (a cappella mix 2011) | 2:18 |
| 5. | "In the Lap of the Gods...Revisited" (live at Wembley Stadium, July 1986) | 2:35 |
| Total length: | 15:45 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Killer Queen" (Top of the Pops, Version 2) | |
| 2. | "Stone Cold Crazy" (live at the Rainbow 1974) | |
| 3. | "Now I'm Here" (live at the Forum, Montreal 1981) |
Personnel taken fromSheer Heart Attack liner notes.[72]
Queen
Production
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[88] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Japan (RIAJ)[89] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| Poland (ZPAV)[90] 2008Agora SA album reissue | Platinum | 20,000* |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[91] | Gold | 30,000[91] |
| Sweden (GLF)[92] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[93] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[94] | Gold | 500,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
{{cite book}}:|author= has generic name (help)Sheer Heart Attack showcases what the band would soon become while giving a nod to their hard-rock past...
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
