 QUEEN
Sheer Heart Attack
Hollywood Records 1974
www.queenonline.com
What’s the 4-1-1?
Queen recorded and released their third album in late 1974. Here's when
Queen started to come around full circle. The band had proven their musical
potential on their first two albums, which tanked commercially despite
having some damn good music on them. The band knew if they didn't score
a really big pop hit, their career might be over before it even got started.
And in the form of "Killer Queen," one of the singles to be released from
this record, the band won over audiences all over the world - it was their
first big American hit, as well.
The band also won over fans of hard rock
and heavy metal with the fast and furious number, "Stone Cold Crazy."
John Deacon, the band's bass player, makes his songwriting debut with Queen
on "Misfire." And let's not forget Brian May's masterpiece, "Brighton
Rock!"
Once again the band created an album filled with excellent songs - with
every member of the band writing at least one. And this time, they had
some commercial successes to show for it!
Really, my complaints with this album are very small. There's the standard
complaint I have of most Queen albums - many of the songs are short,
complex, and underdeveloped in comparison to most of the other pieces
on the album.
Likewise, this album was the transitional point between the band's earlier,
gloomy hard rock sound, and their latter-seventies sound. As such, it's
less accessible to the listener than some of the stuff that followed.
The Verdict
Ultimately, Sheer Heart Attack is a rock and roll masterpiece. The
band really began to come around full circle with this album. No
Queen fan's collection is complete without this album, which definitely
stands as one of the band's finest works.
Did You Know?
On the album cover, Roger Taylor was not satisfied with the way his hair looked.
To make up for this, hair extensions were used.
Rating:  out
of 5
Related Reviews:
Queen - Flashback Reviews
Queen - Stone Cold Classics
Queen + Paul Rogers - Return of the Champions
-- Darth Kommissar
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