Sheer Heart Attack
Released on 8th November 1974
Recorded between July and September 1974 at Rockfield (Monmouth, Wales), Wessex (London), Air (London) and Trident (London)
Produced by Queen & Roy Thomas Baker
Engineered by Mike Stone
Music, Lyrics & Arrangements by Brian May, Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor & John Deacon
Queen Are:
Brian May: Guitar, Vocals, Piano, Banjo
Roger Taylor: Percussion, Vocals
John Deacon: Bass, Guitar, Double-Bass
Freddie Mercury: Vocals, Piano, Organ
Trivia:
First album with all four writing songs
First album with upright piano (aka 'jangle')
First album with double-bass (played by John)
First album with a song credited to the four band members (Stone Cold Crazy)
Unlike the previous albums, which had been almost entirely written beforehand (only My Fairy King and Funny How Love Is had been partially developed in the studio), ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ is mostly a commissioned album: the lads had two weeks to write their material, and the fact Brian was sick with hepatitis urged the others to work without him for the beginnings of the sessions.
Although the band complained they were apparently broke, this was quite an expensive album, it has to be said. The public usually considers it to be less complex than ‘II’, but that’s not the case: actually there are several arrangements which are notably more complicated yet somehow they manage to be more accessible at the same time.
Songwriting Overview:
Only three songs off the album were reportedly not written in the aforementioned two-week period. Those are Stone Cold Crazy (a song Freddie had written for Wreckage, now reworked and credited to the four band-members), Brighton Rock (written by Brian for ‘II’) and Now I’m Here (done in the last week).
Freddie was again the dominant songwriter, being responsible for over half the album material; also, for the second time, he got the lead single (Killer Queen, which peaked at #2 in the UK). While most of his numbers in the debut album had been written at the guitar, both ‘II’ and this one have more piano-orientated compositions, although guitar-driven songs still appear.
Brian added four numbers here, two of which have electric guitar as main instrument, another of which is acoustic and the other is piano-led. Roger and John contributed with one song each, making it the first album where all band members contributed creatively.
Timelines:
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Feature
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1973 or before
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1974
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1975 or after
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Ternary metre by Freddie
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Jesus (1971)
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In The Lap Of The Gods … Revisited
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We Are The Champions (1975)
Somebody To Love (1976)
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Vaudeville/music-hall influences
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The March Of The Black Queen (1973 – only the coda)
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Bring Back That Leroy Brown
Killer Queen
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Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon (1975)
Seaside Rendezvous (1975)
Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy (1976)
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Opening track written by Brian
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Keep Yourself Alive (1972)
Procession (1973)
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Brighton Rock
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Tie Your Mother Down (1976)
We Will Rock You (1977)
Flash’s Theme (1980)
One Vision (1986, co-written)
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John Deacon playing acoustic guitar
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Funny How Love Is (1973)
Father To Son (1973, probably)
Loser In The End (1973, probably)
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Misfire (electric guitars too)
In The Lap Of The Gods
Tenement Funster (probably)
She Makes Me (probably)
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You And I (1976)
Spread Your Wings (1977)
Who Needs You (1977)
In Only Seven Days (1978)
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Operatic Influences
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My Fairy King (1971-1972)
The March Of The Black Queen (1973)
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In The Lap Of The Gods
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Bohemian Rhapsody (1975)
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Closing track written by Freddie
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Seven Seas Of Rhye (1972 and 1973)
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In The Lap Of The Gods … Revisited
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My Melancholy Blues (1977)
Under Pressure (1982, co-written)
Is This The World We Created (1984, co-written)
Princes Of The Universe (1986)
Was It All Worth It (1988)
It’s A Beautiful Day … Reprise (1995)
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Main Influences:
- The Beatles: Killer Queen in particular. This album is one of the most Beatle-esque, which is reflected in its variety (it’s hard to find three songs in the same genre here).
- Glam Rock: Queen had toured with Mott the Hopple before recording this album, and the impact is notable, especially in Now I’m Here. Rog’s Tenement Funster was a target of comparison with T-Rex as well.
- Jimi Hendrix: Quite noticeable in some solos.
Instrumentation & Arrangements:
- Freddie: Piano, Jangle Piano, Organ
- Brian: Electric Guitars, Piano, Ukelele-Banjo
- Roger: Drums, Percussion
- John: Bass, Electric Guitars, Acoustic Guitars, Double Bass