| Sheer Heart Attack |
 |
| Sheer Heart Attack, 1974 |
| Released |
1 November 1974 (UK),
12 November 1974 (US) |
| Recorded |
July - September 1974 at Trident, AIR, Wessex, and Rockfield Studios |
| Length |
38:58 |
| Label |
EMI |
| Producer(s) |
Queen and Roy Thomas Baker |
| Queen chronology |
|
|
After a six-night stand at Uris Theatre in May 1974, Brian May started to feel a strange new sensation that he had not felt before. Unfortunately, it wasn't the rock 'n' roll cliché, like the feeling one gets when one reaches a new audience with ones music; it was the early stages of hepatitis, brought on by a dirty needle from inoculations necessary prior to the band's Australian shows earlier in the year. With an ailing guitarist and all plans of their first US tour supporting Mott the Hoople scuttled, the band flew back home and decided what their future would be while Brian recovered.
It would seem that the plans meant to jump full-on into recording their next album, an unplanned but necessary LP in order to remain in the public eye. With basic sessions starting at Trident Studios in July 1974, Queen were reduced to a trio, with John occasionally deputizing on guitar as well as his normal bass duties. As a result, the trio made the most of their time, and no idea was too crazy to explore, which might explain why John's first songwriting contribution, Misfire, was recorded. Thirteen songs were written and recorded, with Freddie taking on the lion's share: six were written by him, while four were penned by Brian. John and Roger each wrote one, and Stone Cold Crazy was credited as a four-way composition, though it had started off as a Wreckage song, written by Freddie.
As if Queen II hadn't been experimental enough, the band shifted into new territories with this new album, leaving behind the conceptual themes of the predecessor but allowing themselves enough freedom to try new things. In addition to hard rock, the band also explored glam rock (Tenement Funster), early heavy metal (Stone Cold Crazy), music hall (Bring Back That Leroy Brown), arena rock (In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited), and bubblegum pop (Killer Queen, Misfire). Two stately ballads, Freddie's Lily Of The Valley and Brian's Dear Friends, were also present, as is expected on any Queen album. More instruments were also introduced, with the album's rear sleeve running a virtual laundry list of everything except the kitchen sink (they would throw that in for A Night At The Opera): John played almost all guitars on his own composition, most of the acoustic guitars on other songs, and double bass on Bring Back That Leroy Brown; Brian plucked at a ukulele-banjo on Bring Back That Leroy Brown as well as pounding away on a piano on Now I'm Here and Dear Friends; Freddie played Hammond organ on Now I'm Here and jangle piano on Killer Queen and Bring Back That Leroy Brown.
Of course, it was up to Roy Thomas Baker to make sure that all of this made sense, and with Brian out of commission for a good portion of the sessions (in a stroke of bad luck, after recovering enough from hepatitis, he was stricken with yet more health problems, this time a duodenal ulcer that would often send him running to the studio toilet), a lot of gaps were left in which the recovering guitarist would need to add his parts. It was a herculean effort that was pulled off effortlessly; the dream team of Baker and engineer Mike Stone would make their final mark to Queen's recording history on the following album, A Night At The Opera.
With all of the finishing touches placed on the album, as well as another iconic album sleeve by Mick Rock, Sheer Heart Attack was released to an unsuspecting public in November 1974, hot on the heels of the Killer Queen / Flick Of The Wrist single, which had done exceedingly well in the UK charts, reaching #2 and staying in the Top Twenty for ages. Most surprisingly, the single charted in the US, becoming the band's first chart entry, reaching #12 and paving the way for further successes, though the States were skipped over for the follow-up single, Now I'm Here, which peaked at a respectable #11 in the UK. As for the album, it reached #2 in the UK and #12 in the US. In 1991, the album was reissued on CD in the US, where it received a fairly standard remix of Stone Cold Crazy; no additional material was recorded during the sessions, except for an early, unusable demo of the title track (written by Roger, it would later appear on News Of The World).
Tracklists
|
2011 Universal Records CD
- Brighton Rock
- Killer Queen
- Tenement Funster
- Flick Of The Wrist
- Lily Of The Valley
- Now I'm Here
- In The Lap Of The Gods
- Stone Cold Crazy
- Dear Friends
- Misfire
- Bring Back That Leroy Brown
- She Makes Me (Stormtrooper In Stilettoes)
- In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited
- Now I'm Here (live version, Hammersmith Odeon, December 1975)
- Flick Of The Wrist (BBC version, October 1974)
- Tenement Funster (BBC version, October 1974)
- Bring Back That Leroy Brown (a cappella mix)
- In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited (live version, Wembley Stadium, July 1986)
- iTunes-exclusive bonus videos:
- Killer Queen (Top Of The Pops version 2, 1974)
- Stone Cold Crazy (live version, Rainbow Theatre, November 1974)
- Now I'm Here (live version, Montreal Forum, November 1981)
|
Credits
-
- Roger Taylor - drums, percussion, vocals, screams, lead vocals on Tenement Funster
- Freddie Mercury - vocals, piano, organ on Now I'm Here, jangle piano on Killer Queen and Bring Back That Leroy Brown, vocal extravaganzas
- John Deacon - bass guitar, double bass on Bring Back That Leroy Brown, acoustic guitar on Tenement Funster, In The Lap Of The Gods, Misfire, and She Makes Me (Stormtrooper In Stilettoes), almost all guitars on Misfire
- Brian May - guitars, vocals, piano on Now I'm Here and Dear Friends, genuine George Formy ukulele-banjo on Bring Back That Leroy Brown, lead vocals on She Makes Me (Stormtrooper In Stilettoes), guitar orchestrations
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Charts
| Country
| Release date
| First appearance in charts
| Peak position
| Chart run
| Weeks in chart
| Additional comments
|
| UK
| -
| 23 November 1974
| 2
| 6-2-3-3-11-11-13-11-7-11-5-5-5-7-7-8-10-26-26-28-44-39-49-38-43
| 25 to date
| 12 weeks in Top 10
|
| UK
| -
| 6 December 1975 (1st re-entry)
| 12
| 56-0-42-56-56-59-30-12-13-15-18-20-26-21-16-23-34-16-31-59
| 19
| 44 weeks to date
|
| UK
| -
| 18 September 1976 (2nd re-entry)
| 49
| 49-0-58
| 2
| 46 to date
|
| USA
| -
| 14 December 1974
| 12
| 153-124-111-100-89-89-98-109-96-85-75-75-69-61-51-41-31-
24-21-17-13-12-12-19-28-37-47-66-84-107-107-169
| 32
| -
|
| Japan
| -
| -
| 24
| -
| 34
| -
|
| Italy
| -
| -
| 6
| -
| -
| -
|
| Netherlands
| -
| -
| DNC
| -
| -
| -
|
- Information supplied by Fedepeti, 24 August 2004
Singles
Queen Talks
- Freddie Mercury - November 1974, Melody Maker
- "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. All the lights and paraphernalia are only there to enhance what we do. I think we're good writers - and we want to play good music, no matter how much of a slagging we get. The music is the most important factor. This is our first headline tour, and the buzz has got around, without any support from the media. I suppose they like to find their own bands, and we've been too quick for them. You see, when we started out, we wanted to try for the best. The best management, the best record deal, we didn't want any compromise, and we didn't want to get ripped-off. So far, it has paid off. In America, we've broken the ice already. As you know, we started a tour there last year, supporting Mott The Hoople, but Brian was taken ill and we had to come back. But we had a top thirty album hit there. We've undertaken a huge project, but it's all good fun."
Reviews
- Winnipeg Free Press
- The more I listen to Sheer Heart Attack, the third album from Queen, the more I realize bow much I under-rated it a few months back when it was first released. Side one in particular is a delight, with Brian May's multi-tracked guitar, Freddie Mercury's stunning vocalizing and Roy Thomas Baker's dynamic production work teaming up in a no-holds barred, full-scale attack on the senses.
- Additional Reviews
Sleeves
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