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Sheer Heart Attack

Queen - Sheer Heart Attack Audio CD

A fair review of the Queen "Sheer Heart Attack" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Queen reviews here, or go back to the Queen tabs.

Band: Queen
Title: Sheer Heart Attack
Rating:

Release Date: 1991-03-05
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Brighton Rock 2: Killer Queen 3: Tenement Funster 4: Flick of the Wrist 5: Lily of the Valley 6: Now I'm Here 7: In the Lap of the Gods 8: Stone Cold Crazy 9: Dear Friends 10: Misfire 11: Bring Back That Leroy Brown 12: She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettoes) 13: In the Lap of the Gods...Revisited 14: Stone Cold Crazy [1991 Bonus Remix by Michael Wagener][*]

Majestic And Fun
This was the last of their albums recorded on 16-track. After the elaborate "Queen II", Queen simplified their sound and rocked harder than ever on "Sheer Heart Attack". Their acclaimed masterwork and follow-up "A Night At The Opera" benefitted from having 24 tracks to work with.

Producer Roy Thomas Baker was into "big" productions at the time - almost like a British Phil Spector. During these years he focused mainly on Queen and Denmark's superstar rock band Gasolin'. Both groups had 5 albums produced by him, and he was a major factor in their success.

This album yielded their first international hit single "Killer Queen", and it's still my favorite song they've ever done. The entire first half is just one Queen classic after another, but it's the second half that makes this my most played disc by them. The whole "In The Lap Of The Gods" suite is thrilling. They virtually invented speed-metal on "Stone Cold Crazy", and the vaudeville/music hall influences exhibited on "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" are a pure delight. The suite segues and flows beautifully, and is majestic and fun. Mercury and May are in top form.

For a rocking good time, you can't do better than Queen's "Sheer Heart Attack".
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Queen's Beast CD
It sounds so great, and it came in perfect condition as well as in less time than expected. This cd is absolutely amazing. Amazon did a great job with this, and if you love Queen as much as I do, you will fall in love with this album. It is amazing. .

Definitive Queen Release
The opening song, "Brighton Rock" showcases Mercury's alternating falsetto (for the female part) and strong middle register (male part) for this call and reply. This release is the definitive Queen disk, which is strong but lacks some of the more pompous releases the followed. The single, "Killer Queen" is a classic Mercury cut, with a brilliant lead break by May. "Tenement Funster" is rocker penned and sung by the drummer, Roger Taylor, which segues seamlessly into "Flick of the Wrist" where Mercury's voice soars. There is a short piano ditty, "Lily of the Valley" which runs immediately into a great May song, "Now I'm Here", which pays deference to both Mott the Hoople ("Down in the city just Hoople and me" and their billing as an opener for Mott at the Uris theatre on Broadway, NYC) and Chuck Berry ("Go go go little Queenie" at the end of the song). The second side kicks off with "In the Lap of the Gods", which runs directly into the siren that starts "Stone Cold Crazy". There are some interesting songs that follow "Bring Back Leroy Brown", which features a ukelele break by May near the end. The release concludes with "In the Lap of the Gods (revisited)" which was a live showcase of Mercury's voice. Great stuff that differentiates Queen from their contemporaries, that is a must to own.

Two masterpieces in one year

For masterpiece this truly is. Quite how Queen managed to produce another masterpiece after Queen II beggars belief, when some bands faff around for 3 years producing a half decent album. It expands on Queen II, whilst keeping the incredible dynamics of their truly unique sound. No other band at the time sounded like Queen - no hard rock act, no prog rock act, no pop rock act, no glam rock act. Queen incorporate all those "rock" sounds - and more - into their repertoire and sound like. . . er well. . . Queen. If they had influences, then they were swamped and surpassed by the sheer talent on this record.

I've said this before on my review of Queen II but no other band knew how to take a hard rock sound and and use the dynamics to create such an unbelievable and amazing presence. People think "Bo Rhap" was almost a bit of a novelty in its classical pretensions, but early Queen to my untrained ear is a band taking all the light and shade of classical music and pumping it through a rock adrenaline rush.

If anything the hit "Killer Queen" is a throwaway track. Just listen to the majestic pyrotechnics of "Brighton Rock" or the truly sublime ballads and it puts everything else in perspective. Freddie's voice is magnificent, Brian May's guitar playing like nothing else and the ensemble playing mind-blowing.

I have a huge soft spot for early Queen it must be said - not too keen on the later power pop stuff - and this album absolutely hits home.

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One of Queen's Best
You will be well rewarded if you add this gem to your collection rather than settling for some slipshod 'best of Queen' assemblage. This was one of the three albums that seriously put Queen on the map. It's albums like this that put Queen in the arenas to begin with.

I originally bought this on the strength of the single "Killer Queen". I loved top 40. But the album had a life of its own and followed me as I grew up into FM rock / album rock. That's not to say it's perfect; it's not. It's just more perfect than most of the albums released that year. Initially I didn't play the album much based on the fact that side one had a few weak songs sequenced in key positions. The keepers are "Killer Queen", "Now I'm Here", and most days "Brighton Rock" is in there too.

Side two is where this gem kicked into gear. Highlights are "Stone Cold Crazy", John Deacon's first songwriting star "Misfire", and the album-closer "Lap of the Gods (revisited). But everything else on the original side two is worth downloading as well, at least a 4 on a scale of 5. You will quickly recognize the quality and variety delivered during the prime years of Queen's power.

You may find better versions of "Brighton Rock" on live bootlegs (I recall a favorite being from the King Bisquit Hour circa 1977), and you may be able to a few of this album's better songs on various best ofs, but to understand Queen's impact on the decade you'll want this album, Queen II, and A Night At The Opera, all five star albums. Count all three of these Queen albums among the best 100 rock albums of the 1970s.

You can see a complete list of all Queen discography, or go back to the Queen tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.