SHEER HEART ATTACK

Sheer Heart Attack is in my opinion the least good among the band's first five albums (before they turned towards arena rock with their disappointing sixth album News Of The World). Compared to the masterpieces Queen II and A Night At The Opera, Sheer Heart Attack appears slightly disjointed and scattered. The very distinctive guitar improvisation on Brighton Rock is great, but I tend to like it more live than on a studio album. Great to listen to, but not up to the ultra high standards set by the previous album, or the subsequent one.

Killer Queen follows, and this song takes Queen in a new, more commercial, direction. And indeed, it became a big hit. Don't get me wrong, I like the song. Indeed, I like almost all Queen songs of the 70's and many from the 80's and 90's too as I am, after all, a big fan of the band. But the ability to combine strong variation with a coherent whole was even better achieved with Queen II and A Night At The Opera.

Roger Taylor's Tenement Funster is actually one of his best songs ever, a good Rock number - not much more, but nothing less either. Flick of the Wrist and Lily of the Valley are two beautiful piano based ballads that flow into each other in typical Queen style, for me one of the highlights of this album. Now I'm Here is up next, you probably know it. It has become a definitive live favourite and mainstay of the band's live set for many years.

Short and funny tracks like Misfire and Bring Back That Leroy Brown shows the band having fun with different styles. But they are not quite perfectly incorporated into the album as a whole. Similar songs like Funny How Love Is and Good Company from Queen II and A Night At The Opera respectively, had been better accommodated into those albums. Misfire and Bring Back That Leroy Brown are a bit too silly and far out even by Queen standards!

Another excellent Queen album, but not a masterpiece this time.

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