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# [[She Makes Me (Stormtrooper In Stilettoes)]] | # [[She Makes Me (Stormtrooper In Stilettoes)]] | ||
# [[In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited]] | # [[In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited]] | ||
- | # [[Stone Cold Crazy | + | # [[Stone Cold Crazy]] (remix) |
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Revision as of 19:46, 31 July 2011
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
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