Sheer Heart Attack

Musically speaking, the hyper-diversity that Queen became known for pretty much was born on this disc. Ragtime, proto-speed/thrash metal, Caribbean-style music, ballads, opera-rock, show tune-infused rock - and more can be found on this musical smorgasbord. "Brighton Rock" starts this off on an energetic note. Carnival noises open up the track, before Brian's thrashy riffing kicks in. Then, the chorus' feature Freddie Mercury hitting those high notes, as he teeters back and forth between feminine falsettos and masculine voicings, as he portrays both the male and female characters in this little love tale. Later, there's an extended section showcasing Brian May's guitar theatrics. I really believe it was here that the seeds of thrash metal were planted. Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page and Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi weren't even thrashing on their instruments before, or at the time of this release. As you listen to some of the crunchy, thrashy riffing on this track, you easily are reminded of the thrashing techniques later metal bands like Metallica and Megadeth incorporated into their music (and ironically enough, both bands were influenced by Queen.)

"Killer Queen" is a popular number, which many should be familiar with: a balance of elegance and raunch. That balance was pretty much Queen's dazzling forte. "Tenement Funster" is written and sung by drummer Roger Taylor. Some may be bothered by the vocal switching, and the overall raspy tone of Roger's voice. But, the track rocks out fairly well. "Flick of The Wrist" features some ominous, mad scientist-like vocal delivery from Freddie Mercury, as well as featuring some of his most daring and risque lyrics. "Lily of The Valley" is one of Queen's (or Freddie Mercury's) most beautiful ballads. Freddie in particular gets to show off that gorgeous, elegant, Arabianesque voice of his, and "Now I'm Here" shouldn't require much of an explanation.

"In The Lap of The Gods" points to some of the features that would be found on the following album, _A Night At The Opera_. An operatic and fairly bizarre track, the dynamics & tempos are changing rapidly and abruptly (as to be expected from Queen.) It opens up with some high-pitched wailing from drummer Roger Taylor, while plowing through a great amount of notes played out in a grand, bombastic and ominous manner, which are later followed by vocal tricks from Freddie, and an eventual collapse into a straightforward, but elegant and sophisticated rock track. "Stone Cold Crazy" features some more proto-speed/thrash metal pyrotechnics from Brian May (Metallica would cover this song on their 1991 self-titled album.) This was also the first track in which all four members of Queen collaborated, which was pretty neat, given most of the time, the members wrote their songs separately. "Dear Friends" is a melancholic piano and voice track. The poignant power of this track is only increased because it was the closing track found on _Five Live_, as it could be interpreted as Freddie's sentiments from above, or at least that's the way it seems after hearing it on that album. Of course, Brian May was the one who wrote the track. "Misfire" is like a Caribbean-infused number written and almost entirely played by bassist John Deacon (he plays nearly all the guitars on here.) "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" is a quirky ragtime-rock track. Brian plays the ukelele on this one. Musically, "She Makes Me" sounds like the prototype to early 80s teen heartthrob music. I don't mean this in a bad way, as to me it shows off another side of Queen's multi-faceted genius, and "In The Lap of The Gods...Revisited" caps off the album nicely as a hard rock anthem, featuring a nice chorus to hum to. It ends with a neat explosion effect.

Queen's brilliance should not be overlooked or underestimated. Absolutely essential listening for music fans and Queen fans.


A natural progression for a group on the rise to the top   August 10, 1998
Barry Knobel (Melbourne, Australia)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

If you're a fan of Queen's flamboyant mixture of hard rock and exquisite melodic diversity, then this album is hard to surpass. It rocks out from the very beginning, with Freddie's falsetto punctuations backed by Brian May's hyperactive ultra-heavy guitar stylings on "Brighton Rock" - a favourite when played live, always good as a showcase for May's extended improvisation. Then you get the hit single "Killer Queen" and you know you're in for one helluva good record. The medley that follows "Tenement - Flick - Lily" shows Queen at their best, merging one genre of music seemlessly into the next. "Now I'm Here" brings us back to the good-old heavy rock they excelled at, and you can hear them during the outchoruses propelling themselves on, a la Stones ('go go go Little Queenie'). The album gets even more diverse as it goes along, ranging from melodramatic opera (In The Lap Of The Gods I) to outright heavy metal (Stone Cold Crazy! , incidentally covered by Metallica in 1991 as an homage to Queen), followed by an even more eclectic mix of styles - check out "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" for Queen's own nod to the Andrew Sisters and such. The album continues with Brian's tender and emotionally stirring march "She Makes Me" (backed by the 'Stormtroopers In Stilletos'), and finishes off with Freddie's rousing singalong "In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited"). All in all, a fantastic effort from those glam-rock gods - a natural progression from the outstanding "Queen II", and a logical precursor to the ever-popular "A Night At The Opera". A true Queen gem: definitely for Queen fans, or for anyone who's out for a good musical box around the ears.


Classic Queen   April 26, 2001
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

This right here is classic Queen, Sheer Heart Attack is without a doubt their best album of all time, not one bad song, not one note out of place. Freddie Mercury's amazing, Brian May's guitar playing is fantastic, and the rhythm section of John Decon and Roger Taylor is great. The masterpiece opens with a masterpiece, Brighton Rock. In my opinion that's one of their best songs ever, everything about it is perfect, especially the guitar solo. One of their signature songs Killer Queen is next, I'm sure you've heard this song before. Tenement Funster is a great song sung by drummer Roger Taylor. Flick of the Wrist is a piano based song with great guitar, great background vocals, and Freddie's vocals are excellent. Lily of the Valley is a short ballad, it's actually really good too. Now I'm Here is another one of Queen's rockin signature songs, so there's nothing really to be said about this song besides the point that it's great. In the Lap of the Gods is another amazing song displaying the talents of the band. It also shows their ability to write extremely beautiful pieces of music and it shows how great Freddie Mercury's voice really was. Stone Cold Crazy is pure metal, it is heavy fast and the band sounds great. Brian May's solo is something to be remembered. Dear Friends is a delicate minute long ballad, featuring Freddie on piano and the band supplying background vocals. Misfire is John Decon's song in the sense that he played almost all of the guitars on it, it shows how talented and underrated he wa as a musician. Bring Back that Leroy Brown is a 40's style swing song, showing Queen's versitility as a band. She Makes Me is an upbeat acoustic song, it's actually very good. In the Lap of the Gods...Revisited is another excellent song. Then on the remastered version there is a remix of Stone Cold Crazy but it sounds the same as the original so it's nothing special. Sheer Heart Attack is a classic album that everyone must own.


Sheer Heart Attack (1974)   February 22, 2005
Mr. S. St Thomas (UK)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

I rarely write a song by song review, but this album, which is most definitely my favourite Queen album, I can find enough to say about each song to warrant such a review.

1.Brighton Rock
May's opening track is one I listened to I don't know how many times. He is deservedly acclaimed as one of rock's premiere guitarists, and this song is a display of how good this guy will always be. Though it's not one of his orchestrated multi-tracked guitar turns, Brighton Rock shows how much Queen owed to Brian May and his talent, his inventiveness, and his 'sheer' playing ability. If only all bands had a guitarist this adept at approaching the instrument. Even Zeppelin.

2. Killer Queen
Mercury's timeless Queen standard probably has had more said about it than I could possibly add. One of its best moments is again, Brian May's orchestrated guitar solo. It's pretty amazing that in live versions, what he could play of it sounded equally as good, if not better. But here you have much of what Brian May is reknowned for, incredibly arranged multiple guitar solos, with a signature sound all his own, recorded for someone else's song. And that's what a band should be about. With Mercury's songwriting talent, what better is there than having Brian May contributing an incredible, and serving guitar solo to make the song 10x better?

3. Tenement Funster
Roger Taylor Appreciation Fan Club Alert. As said in another review, Roger Taylor is my favourite member of Queen, and this song is probably my second favourite Taylor song in their catalogue after 'Fight From The Inside' (1977). He comes from behind the drumkit to play rhythm guitar on this track, and the whole song 'rocks'. That May was not bothered that the drummer wanted to play guitar as well is cool enough, and later John Deacon didn't mind not playing bass on some Taylor tracks, and that's very cool. It meant that in Queen you could do what you liked to do, and unless it was absolutely horrible, no one minded. Truly what most bands should strive for, 'partnership'.Great vocal as usual from Taylor as well.

4. Flick of the Wrist
Probably one of Mercury's most underrated songs, and always one of my favourites from him. Again, an incredible guitar solo from Brian May, probably one of my favourites along with 'Dragon Attack' from 1980's 'The Game'. The Queen vocal harmonies of Mercury/Taylor and May (if that is the case on this song) were never better. If it's just Mercury, wow!

5. Lily of the Valley
Fading in from 'Flick', Lily is one of those sentimental Mercury songs that always has a soft spot in my heart from me. Vocally beautiful and melancholy, one of Mercury's best ballads. If not long enough in time.

6. Now I'm Here
May's song became a Queen Live standard, and the studio version is every bit as good. Again displaying May's guitar talents, Now I'm Here is typical 70's glam, but done 10x time better than what Glam sometimes got. One of my favourite songs from this album, not knowing how many times I've truly played it.

7. In the Lap of the Gods
Stunning vocals from Roger Taylor on this one (known for doing the amazingly high harmonies on 1975's 'Bohemian Rhapsody'). This vocal tour de'force is reminiscent of Queen II, but with more gravitas and experience behind it. It's half Oklahoma, Wizard of Oz, Wagnerian Opera. Truly an underrated Queen/Freddie Mercury song.

8. Stone Cold Crazy
Band composition, which is the first time for them as a group. Excellent song throughout. Too short!

9. Dear Friends
Beautiful Brian May song, which he became increasingly good at. If there is a sentimental Queen band member, its Brian May. Completely opposite his ''rocker'' style, May writes beautiful ballads.

10. Misfire
John Deacon's first composition for a Queen album, which is way too short. What needs to be said here is that if Queen has people good at something, there best pop song writer is John Deacon. He just has an amazing talent for Pop Music, writing incredibly catchy songs, which would later give Queen their hugest hit (even though it was quite reminiscent of CHIC). I have a vague memory of hearing this on radio, or I had heard it before I ever bought the album. Deacon is Queen's pop merchant, and this would be the first indication of his talent at this.

11. Bring Back That Leroy Brown
If only McCartney understood what could be done with songs reminiscent of a bygone era, songs like 'Honey Pie', 'You Gave Me The Answer' wouldn't be as 'quaint' or 'corny' as they are, when compared to what Queen could do with the genre, like this song and 1975's 'Seaside Rendevous'. This is what happens when you let as much creativity that went into those songs artists of long ago wrote (like Duke Ellington, Count Basie etc.)show up in your tributes to that era and style. It makes a great song, one that has so much 'talent' going into it, that you don't care it sounds like it came from 1930. The background vocals on this song are amazing, as is the musical arrangement by all 4. McCartney should have listened to a Queen album and Freddie Mercury before going back once again to the 1930's and 1940's.

12. She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettoes)
One of my other favourites from this album. A pretty obscure Brian May song, by what I guess is Queen standards. I've always loved this song and its moodiness, its off-chord ending, and the way May sings it. By far he had 'the gentlest voice' of the three main singers, which also lends to his 'softer side' as a balladeer. I don't know how many times I've listened to this one either. Tons.

13. In the Lap of the Gods...Revisited
A totally different version of the earlier song, and one I like just as much. Another underrated Mercury gem.

If you're going to buy a Queen album, please get this one. Track after track its just one of their best, most inventive, and successful efforts. And showed how much of a 'team' they were in presenting what Queen was about.



Balance Is Spilled All Over Sheer Heart Attack   June 9, 2005
Nick Mackler (Canada)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

A big turning point came for Queen with the release of Sheer Heart Attack, eventually leading them to superstardom with the follow up to this effort with A Night At The Opera. A more sophisticated approach compared to the 2 previous albums(both great by the way), Sheer Heart Attack works so well in so many aspects. The musicality to begin with reaches a new level on this album, with the band finding numerous diverse songs ranging from tongue and cheek pop joy, to short metal powerhouses, to 2 part lyrical choir-like melodies.

An achievement that deserves enormous acclaim but will never get the full on respect it deserves, Sheer Heart Attack balances the songwriting differentials of the 4 members of Queen so well. As always, Queen finds a way to begin the album with a most intriguing tune, in this case coming from the energetic fiesta of Brighton Rock. Brian May seems to simply be the king of writing the perfect album opener, as he has done so on several other albums with the likes of songs such as Keep Yourself Alive, Father To Son, We Will Rock You and Tie Your Mother Down respectively. The insatiable, glorious melody of Killer Queen makes for some outstanding listening, with Freddie shining on lyrical deliveries, almost sounding as if he's obsessed with the song itself. Roger Taylor shows that he continues to improve his songwriting skills, this time unleashing onto us Tenement Funster, a great rocker indeed. Very similar to I'm In Love With My Car, Taylor offers exceptional drums to go along with the raspy lyrical delivery. Flick Of The Wrist has an incredible piano introduction, breaking into another rocker, with dark lyrical passion to begin the song. The chorus has a sing-a-long feel to it, accompanied by classic guitar riffs from Brian May. Lily Of The Valley has a deep emotional aspect to it, with Freddie Mercury singing in his most melodic tone of voice in this superb ballad. Now I'm Here is quite simply an ultimate rock classic, featuring a smashing introduction into a fiery rock track. In The Lap Of The Gods is a beautiful song, with background harmonies worked so effectively with tremendous production. It is mind boggling to think that Queen were able to produce the kind of work they did in the 70s without the use of synthesizer machinery. Stone Cold Crazy follows this up nicely, forcing down speedy guitar riffs into your ears with Mercury at top speed on the lyrics. A fast action metal song with an awesome chorus and a very smooth guitar solo coming in about 40 seconds through the song. Dear Friends, a rather simple song, short and well executed. Misfire sees John Deacon take his shots as a songwriter, contributing a rather effective pop song, however falling short when looked upon against the track listing. Bring Back That Leroy Brown was most likely an experimental song, working very well, and branching out on A Night At The Opera, maybe influencing Mercury to write songs like Seaside Rendezvous and Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon. The chorus is catchy and repetitive. She Makes Me, has a very smooth electric guitar strum, but falls short lyrically. Nevertheless, finds its place amongst the group of songs. In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisted has a more balladic feel to it at the beginning than the original, and is a completely different song. However, offers rock phases throughout the second half, backed up very nicely by the ensemble singing. The remix of Stone Cold Crazy doesn't offer the listener enough of a variation.

Overall, although I'm writing this review after listening to the album only three times, I would be truthful to say this is my favourite Queen album. A great deal of diversity, complexity and balance in the album makes it an instant success, offering Queen fans with a piece of all the styles(all original) that made this group sensational. On top of this album, I highly recommend Queen's other 70s works, specifically Queen I and II, A Night At The Opera and A Day At The Races. I've heard good things about News Of The World and Jazz but don't own them myself. I can't understand why their classic albums don't receive classic treatment. Well, I guess it's understandable. They're Queen.