Sheer Heart Attack

Queen is absolutely my favorite band of all time. I think their worst album probably still gets 4 stars from me. SHA is by no means their worst, though. Brighton Rock - I loved this song before Baby Driver made it cool. The chord progression through the chorus always gives me the goosebumps, and May's guitar solo here, finally perfected from Queen II, is one of the top five solos HISTORY. Killer Queen - Their biggest "hit" from the album. Probably my least favorite track because of its ubiquitousness. How many times have I heard it? 10,000 at least. Still, it slaps. Tenement Funster - Roger Taylor tracks always get short shrift from Queen fans, but I have a soft spot for him. I love the youthful rebelliousness. The transition from this into Flick of the Wrist into Lily of the Valley is the best thing Queen *ever* did. Flick of the Wrist - Shades of their later Death on Two Legs piece. Angry, but still playful. The drums and, again, the guitar solo here really stand out. Lily of the Valley - A bold operatic piece that nearly always brings me to tears. Freddie shows off his vocals for truly the first time on the album. Tingly piano throughout. Now I'm Here - A song that cannot truly be appreciated without listening on headphones. Queen does a bunch of goofy name dropping here that is always funny. In the Lap of the Gods - Another headphone essential. Taylor shows off his insanely high range here. Kind of a Pink Floydy song. Stone Cold Crazy - I have heard this getting more radio play in the last few years, which I find interesting. It's a great, quick rocker that doesn't overstay its welcome. Dear Friends - A sad, mournful little piece that is gorgeous Misfire - A Middle-of-the-road Queen track. Its worst sin is being forgettable. Bring Back That Leroy Brown - A goofy, good-time skiffle song. All the different voices and rhythms make this one a real treat. She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettos) - The harmonies here are just perfection. The most underrated song on the album. In the Lap of the Gods Revisited - The better Lap song. Really shows off their arena sound a few years early. You can just hear audiences of thousands singing along. Love love love this album.

This is the album The Darkness wish they wrote

1/25 Incredible album from four guys who look straight out of JoJo's. Standout Tracks: Brighton Rock, Tenement Funster, Flick Of The Wrist, In The Lap Of The Gods, Stone Cold Crazy

Probably a 2.5. Rounded up because it's opened these mouldy cabbage ears to Queen as album-worthy. I'd say I hadn't considered that possibility before because they're victims of an enduringly popular greatest hits collection excpet no band with these sales can be called a victim. Find a better word and let me know. Killer Queen is still my favourite of all their songs, Bring Back That Leroy Brown is a hoot and the "Don't look back" but in Flick of the Wrist (about wanking, I hope) gets me pumped every time. Prog - pfft. This is just good ol' gay as fuck rock 'n' roll!

Lovely to see more of Queen than just their greatest hits. This feels like an insight into their more casual work, but it's still a stunning range of music.

I cannot believe I've never listened to this album and have always loved Queen. It's true rock and roll, with enchanting, rolling diddies. I can hear inspiration for other bands decades after them to come. Great job Queen. I love how each song has a different musical theme. That is SO my style. Some of the songs are just SILLY and I love it.

Behold a band with no soul. For Queen, showcasing a technical guitar solo or vocal gymnastics matters more than writing entertaining or moving songs. Beware a band having more fun playing than you are listening. It’s lifeless drivel.

Probably Queens best album. Full of different styles, dramatic vocals and searing guitar. Would listen to this every day.

Queen has such a diverse sound, and they don't really sound like anyone else either. A lot of the songs on this album presage what would come on their next album, A Night at the Opera. 4/5

It's crazy that these four guys all jizzed into the Queen's hole and 9 months later produced a royal, sweat-free, pizza hut dwelling definite non-nonce.

Queen is possibly the most overrated and overplayed band in history

It was good revisiting Sheer Heart Attack again. I used to listen to this regularly as a teen on the way to and back from High School. There isn't much enthusiasm for Queen as there was back then but still can't fault a near-perfect album. I must say though that re-listenting to this after a few years has gained me a new love for the deeper cuts like Lily in the Valley and Bring Back That Leroy Brown. It's got two fantastic singles, a great guitar solo in a quirky opening number, a couple of song suites that go well and a perfectly fitting closer. None of the 13 songs overstay their welcome here. Behind A Night At The Opera, this is their best album.

This album is a whole ass fucking MOOD and I am loving every minute of it!!

Ahhhh Queen, always a delight. This is a solid collection of tunes that is so much *fun* to listen to, something I think is lacking even from better albums. Did you have a good time, and did it rock? Yes and YES. Stylistically the album is kind of all over the place, but the band makes it work for them. It has all the touches you expect from Queen, the sense of grandeur delivered with masterful musicianship, ethereal vocals and a bit of cheeky humor. The band moves rather effortlessly from full throated rockers like “Brighton Rock” and “Stone Cold Crazy” to delicate ballads like “Lily of the Valley” and “Dear Friends.” The perfect, hooky pop confection that is “Killer Queen” stands above them all. It’s a perfect song and there really isn’t another song like it, by any artist. The quality of the music is undeniable. Brian May's guitar is brilliant, existing on a technical level that few guitarists will ever approach. John Deacon and Roger Taylor are also in top form. The vocal arrangements are stunning, functioning as an instrument in their own right. Freddie Mercury is, of course, a force of nature. His charisma just crackles, elevating even the less interesting songs to a higher level. I also think the songs improve on repeated listening. I like the album better today than I did last night. Fave Songs: Killer Queen, In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited, Now I'm Here, Stone Cold Crazy, Lily of the Valley, Brighton Rock

I would buy this, no song that stood out as bad. Favorite songs were killer queen, stone cold crazy, now I’m here, flick of the wrist, and in the lap of the gods

One of my faves. I know it well but Nice to listen again

What can I say, it’s Queen 😊

One of my favourite albums ever!

Lmao, i keep forgetting that Queen was pretty much a wizard rock band in the early days.

One sound. Over and over again in different forms. Freddie harmonizing. Brian May twerdling up and down the fretboard. More harmonizing. A lyric about some imagined tragedy or yearning. A reference to a poem or historical event, or something vaguely satanic. And that sound again. Repeat.

I had a long review that the system has taken off me. In brief: This is sheer bloody magic. My second favourite Queen album, and on some days it’s no 1. As great as Freddie Roger and Brian are, John Deacon is the one who makes the album and the band great. His bass in killer queen is - just listen to the fastidious and precise bass line at the appropriate moment. Or the high slides in ‘In the lap of the gods (revisited.). Not that the others are lumps. Freddie’s singing in Brighton rock, where he goes from falsetto to chest voice seamlessly. Brian also knocks a note or two together in one of the great guitar solos of the rock era. Roger shows that in any other band he’d be the lead singer but his fills in now I’m here show just how brilliant he is as a drummer. The band basically invent thrash metal in stone cold crazy. Then give us music hall in bring back that Leroy brown. Maybe the greatest ending track in in the lap of the gods. I could go on for hours. Just listen to this. It is a major part of my musical dna. 6666666600000000 stars.

Queen needs no introduction, being one of the most popular pioneers of hard/glam rock. In 'Sheer Heart Attack', Queen enlists both uptempo and downtempo elements in its tracks, demonstrating their dynamic ability through intimate piano ballads like 'Lily Of The Valley' or anthem-worthy guitar arrangements and solos in 'Brighton Rock'. The proficiency and understanding of musical direction is highly apparent, with the album never losing its step lead by Freddie Mercury's energetic vocals.

One of Queen's greatest albums.

Queen! Not every song is a 5 but Queen is hard to beat.

This Queen album was new to me. The only song I knew was “Killer Queen” (a classic!). I loved it. Really nice early Queen that has a strong rock edge in the guitar solos (“Brighton Rock”) mixed in with some very prog-rock sounds all mixed together with Queen’s pure glam! “Killer Queen” is easy to identify as the big single off the album - it’s arrangements, little sound effect touches, and the way the instruments and the bands voices play together make it a no-brainer hit record. The big surprise was how much great Queen I have yet to discover. I loved the rock sound of “Tenement Funster” - this is a great song that joins with the two songs that follow into an incredible song trilogy. It has a more straight rock sound. Then it blends seamlessly into “Flick of the Wrist” that starts with a great piano interlude and takes things in a darker direction. This feels like more of a prog-rock song that blends seamlessly into “Lily of the Valley” which begins with ‘baby you’ve been had,’ a line from “Flick of the Wrist” that starts the third movement of this trio. This song is piano driven and a beautiful ending to this song trilogy. These three songs need to be listened to as a group to really appreciate, reminding us that there will always be a place for albums even in our digital future as the three songs are so much more when listened to together than they are as separate pieces. “Dear Friends” is a really sweet song of hope (in the best way). “Misfire” and its rhythm is so great! I love this song. Wow Wow Wow. And a love song subtitled “Stormtrooper in Stilettos”? I LOVE QUEEN! This album is spectacular Queen that brings me a lot of much needed joy and hope. Listening to it made me feel like I was listening to Queen for the first time again. So amazing! I will be coming back to this often!!!

A classic, with lovely less well known tracks like Tenement Funster.

I'm not entirely sure if this is the first (non-compilation) Queen album I've listened to in full. That said, I've listened to multiple Queen compilations up and down and there are a couple of their songs that I really love (none of them included here though). The majority of songs on this album are versatile, very good & interesting and the guitars as well as the singing of course are frequently fantastic. Some of the songs seem a bit overly dramatic. But it's well-executed enough to contribute to Queen's charm. Also, this album doesn't contain any of their really annoying and uninteresting/cheesy hits (which Queen also have a couple of... the horrendous We Are The Champions, Another One Bites The Dust and We Will Rock You come to mind... urgh). Instead, this album is straight-up quality - only In The Lap Of The Gods was sort of, uh, weird.

Queen is always great.

Obviously I love Queen so in my eyes every album is a 10

I think my favorite Queen album so far. I’m a sucker for good medleys. I really did enjoy it end to end.

Great album

Uno de los grandes de Queen, una maravilla.

Queen!

Very fun to listen to. A good mixture of high energy and interesting melodies. Lots of fun guitar solos. Only one traditionally popular song on here (Killer Queen), the rest were new to me but very good. Very solid album!

TOP

Always amazing.

Easy 5, every time.

First time hearing the whole album. Queen is undisputable.

props to this project for showing me how good Queen's non-Greatest Hits catalog is.

Classic Queen!

Never cared for Queen's Musical music. Not going to start now. (There's going to be more Queen, isn't there?)

I rather enjoy Queen, but feel this album is a bit on the overrated side. Killer Queen is a banger, but the rest I could potentially pass on. 3/5

A really solid Queen album. I definitely prefer the following 2 albums, but there are some belters here. It lacks cohesion and feels like a collection of songs rather than an album.

Brighton Rock and Killer Queen is a pretty great opening for the album! It's then followed by the incredibly bland Tenement Funster, sadly (while it's great the group operated quite democratically regards songwriting, it did mean some rubbish slipped through!) Flick of the Wrist is another song, and I didn't realise this, which is pretty damning. It's 50/50 so far. Lily of the Valley is camp as balls, and therefore ace. Then Now I'm Here is great fun too. Very Queen, and I think the variable quality is part and parcel. It's an album of brilliant ups and mediocre downs, which makes sense of Queen's reputation as a 'Best of' band.

Some absolute bangers on here and a bunch of hidden gems. Production seems a little thin but I guess that could be down to being exposed to much richer mixes in more recent times. Still a lot of fun!

I listened to my original vinyl copy of this album. I didn’t have Queen’s earlier stuff but recall this album had a new sound - glam rock as it’s called.  We now know they still had another gear or two to ramp up the glam. The liner notes give Freddie the credits for “vocal extravaganzas”. How 1974 is that? I don’t recall Killer Queen being in the recent(ish) Boh Rap movie which surprised me since it was a big hit. While I had this LP for 45 years, the vinyl is in great shape which means I didn’t play it much. Aside from Killer Q and Now I’m Here, I don’t really remember the other songs. I thought "Flick of the Wrist" was a vg song but it was like today was the first time I heard it. I appreciate the historical and transitional  significance of this LP for Queen but the fact I can’t remember 11 of the 13 tracks means I can’t justify a rating north of 3.

Freddy's tone on Brighton Rock isnt great. Killer queen is incredibly, duh. Stone Cold Crazy is a cool thrash piece. Bring Back Leroy Brown is wacky. some good tracks but it didnt really leave me with much as a whole

I can tell this is good, it just is not for me. It's not bad by any means. Just not for me.

Sheer Heart Attack I’ve always struggled with Queen, I periodically try but they just never click for me. I don’t mind them in small doses, and I like many of their big songs, myself drifting off when listening to them for any period of time, a bit like when you read a book that's hard going and realise you can’t recall the last 3 pages you’ve read. Maybe it’s the vaudevillian musical theatre aspect that I don’t like, but then there are other bands doing similar stuff that I do like, and generally I do appreciate a bit of kitchen sink over the topness. I think part of it is that I’m not that keen on Freddie’s voice, even though I know it’s technically very good, and that I find it hard to connect with their melodic style, but overall I get a sense of prissiness and fussiness from their music, particularly May’s guitar. Again I know it’s technically great but I really struggle to connect with it. Because of all that I didn’t find much of this particularly memorable or engaging. Killer Queen is obviously a very good song, and I quite liked Flick of the Wrist, Misfire and She Makes Me. Stone Cold Crazy and Bring back that Leroy Brown are not very good though. I can appreciate though that this must have sounded pretty different and exciting when it came out, but I think it and Queen are just not for me. Boring is perhaps too strong a word, I think it’s more that it’s just uninspiring and unengaging. 2 may be to harsh, but I can’t really imagine listening again. 👸👸 Playlist submission: Killer Queen

Yeah this was quite bad. Queen very much just a hits band, and even the big ones on this aren't all that...

Eh

Not so good

Yeah, prejudices reinforced. There's something about Queen's music, despite the talent involved, that leaves me totally cold, and apparently that's not going to change. I tried!

The earworms are the singles, the non-singles are not earworms. I don't like the earworms, though can concede their immaculate craft. Elsewhere it's all a bit hairy blokes in drag.

it's not bad, but i have a bit of a natural dislike for queen, imagine thinking this was cool during the time of punk

Ich mag Musicals nicht besonders

Freddie Mercury's voice is unlistenable. Brian May's beta vibes are rancid. I wish I could score it lower and tank the global rating

Never a huge fan of Queen.

What a shit album!

Can't be doing with it, respect for all the hard work and talent but all the musical theatrics are not my cup of tea.

Don't get the fuss for Queen. Apart from one or two songs, they are seriously overrated.

Should have saved time and money by putting killer queen on a 7”

No matter what the album is, Queen is still a bunch of tedious old arse.

Unbearable

Hates it, dull and overly glam at the same time.

not even queen killer could save this shite. Who knew photoshop existed in 1974, the glistening hunks on the cover of this album look nothing like the disfigured beasts that are in queen.

Unbearable

I guess the purpose of the album and by extension the band itself is to provide aural and operatic pop rock experiences. Unfortunately this ain't my thing and found little to no enjoyment here.

So many great songs on this album. I appreciate how the whole thing flows continually as well. There's a some silliness here and there, but mostly its a solid theatrical classic rock album.

Heavy grabs you and doesn’t let go, good stuff

Grew up with this album! And Freddy Mercurys voice is better than ever on this one

Stone Cold Crazy is Queen’s best damn song

A school friend made a cassette copy of Queen's Greatest Hits for me (with a couple of Black Sabbath tracks on the end to fill up the tape), which I played a lot during my teenage years. It is a terrific listen, but I couldn't afford to buy a lot of albums, so I didn't start collecting Queen albums until I started working in a record store and picking up second hand copies of their albums. I was introduced to Sheer Heart Attack by Andrew N. Andrew was a punk rock optometrist who was dating my friend Kate. He was pretty big on Husker Du and Fugazi and that kind of stuff, but wasn't dogmatic in his approach. He also had alive for some pretty cheesy 70s rock. The love of both 70s classic rock and punk rock became fashionable a few years later with grunge, and Andrew was fashion forward anticipating the aesthetic. He had a short-lived band that played a gig or two at the Sandringham Hotel in Newtown, and I remember him leading the whole bar in a singalong to Cheap Trick's Surrender. Awesome! And he loved Sheer Heart Attack. I only knew Killer Queen (from the aforementioned Greatest Hits), but Andrew extolled the virtues of this as Queen's most straight ahead hard rock album. The songs are shorter, heavier, less ornately arranged than most of their records, and it rocks hard. It still has the Queen features (lots of guitar and vocals overdubs), but the circumstances of its recording meant they didn't have time for prog-like suites with multiple sections. The lyrics are bit more straightforward and less fantasy based (even if still occasionally fantastical). And did I mention that it rocks hard? It has a bunch of their heaviest songs (Brighton Rock, Stone Cold Crazy, Flick of the Wrist, Tenement Funster). In fact, the novelty aberration of Leroy Brown aside, this is as close to a meat-and-potatos hard rock album that they would ever produce. Under Andrew's influence, I purchased a copy (second hand) and played it a tonne. It is still my favourite Queen album to play all the way through. Five stars, no notes. An aside re: Metallica's version of Stone Cold Crazy, which is almost a note-for-note copy, with a few "fucks" added for added spice. It doesn't surprise me that, of all the songs from the Elektra back catalogue, this is the song that Metallica would choose to cover for the label's 40th anniversary. People talk about James Hetfield's 'right hand of doom', his powerful and heavy rhythm playing. But you can hear how similar it is to Brian May's rhythm playing, which is not mentioned as much as his rightly praised fluid and harmonically rich lead playing. May has a strongly rhythmic metal rhythm style that you can hear across this whole record. Hetfield has plenty of other influences (cf. the whole New Wave of British Heavy Metal), but I'll bet anything that he was familiar with Queen as well.

Absolutely insane start for the album which lead to a killer single. As loved and good as they are they still dont get enough credit. This is their second best album in mu opinion whocj would be anyone elses best.

<3

Only two tracks on here didn’t get added to my library. Excellent album to just hit play and listen!

Really great rock album, and ahead of its time. I think later bands in the late 70's, early 80's bit this style. I can hear some Van Halen and a bit of Motley Crue in some of this, but then they slow it down with the ballad, Dear Friends. Then, out of the blue, they give you Bring Back That Leroy Brown. Great range here. Obviously, one of the best rock singers of all time. Based on the range and perfect execution, this album is an easy 5 for me.

queen. no fancy intros. everyone and their grandmother knows about how legendary this rock band is, and this painstakingly precise and theatrical rock album will blow your mind and speakers. there's just nobody on this planet that can write catchy melodies and riffs such as these.

very cool, most wonderful transitions. favs: killer queen, flick of the wrist, in the lap of the gods, misfire

Such a great album. Queen seems to be one of those bands that emerged at the same time as all the Rock and Roll greats but managed to stand out and be distinct. This album highlights their unique greatness perfectly.

I really liked this album. 5/5

I love this album. This is where the Queen formula — for lack of a better word — really comes into its own. All the elements... fantasy, careening guitars, exceptional vocals, vaudevillian escapes, pop sensibility, massive hooks, great tunes, the sheer grand scale of it all... come into play. Plus, the bonus tidbit of the title track showing up three albums later on News Of The World. I love it! Play it loud!

I love this album I love this album I love this album I love this album queen <3333 Killer Queen and in the lap of the gods revisited are my favorites from it

I mean it's queen! Great album, great songs

Two words: Brian May. I’ll be honest, I’ve always been a hits guy when it comes to Queen. Their more popular albums never really did it for me beyond the hits, so I never explored further. But I should have, because this is awesome. I’ve been missing out.

Coming into this album, I knew Killer Queen and Now I'm here. Both of those are fantastic, but I was equally impressed by the rest of the album. One thing queen does really well is showcase the talents of all of them. While Freddie is electric and shines the brightest, this album, and queen in general, do not work without Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacan being the quality of musicians that they are. In a Beatles-esque sense, the band works because everyone works together, and by all accounts they actually liked each other. While Freddie's time was cut short, it can't be denied that queen was a force in their day and albums like this are a big reason why. Even trying to be nit picky, I am struggling to find something in this album to criticize it for. I will be back for more.

Sheer Heart Attack is one of the Queen albums I've listened to the least and I don't know exactly why. I believe it was due to the lack of big hits like the subsequent albums, my teenage head didn't have the patience for the band's first 3 albums. Today I realize that it was a huge mistake. I was recently revisiting Queen's discography, which I hadn't listened to in a while. I felt I needed to do this because Queen was the first Rock band I ever heard when I was 10 years old, so I felt I needed this moment of nostalgia with myself. In fact, Sheer Heart Attack is the best of the first 3 albums. It counts Killer Queen and Brighton Rock as its main hits and I think the main characteristic that can be noted here is precisely the factor that makes Queen a different band from the others: Freddie Mercury, obviously. Without Freddie, Queen is an excellent hard rock band. With Freddie, Queen is one of the biggest and most spectacular bands of all time. That said, the main sound characteristic of this album is precisely this contrast between the heavy sound of an excellent Hard rock band, with the fierce and imposing subtlety of Freddie Mercury's voice. Anyway, Queen between 1974 and 1986 (with the exception of Flash Gordon and Hot Space) have my automatic 5 stars!

Great classic rock and I appreciated not having the usual Queen songs. Fresh album

Queen is the best. This one is not as well known but still amazing.

Great

I love it. having a three song medley of Tenement Funster, Flick of the Wrist and Lily Of The Valley for me at least is unheard of so I got kinda excited at hearing it they understood the assignment by letting THE Brian May do a guitar solo in basically every song I have heard many people in the past talk about how Queen is more of a 'singles' band as opposed to an album band, but I don't believe this should be categorised in that. weakest song probably She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettos) which seems to be reflected in the Spotify listens too but I still enjoyed it Freddie Mercury still imo the best voice of all time

Rock gods.

Classic group. Classic songs. A group that will last the ages. Songs today are as good as the day they were written.

Amazing. They sound like they were still figuring out their craft while showing us the future. Virtuosic playing by everyone in the band. What was to come from Queen is the only thing holding me back from 5 stars.

Great album, really enjoyed the deep cuts.

Wow, some untouched gold! Albums like this are exactly why I signed up for the album generator. Awesome. Killer guitar solo's and rhythm playing. Singing off the charts, not just from Freddie. Great hearing things that aren't snapped to a grid on pro tools and zero pitch correction. So organic it's beautiful.

Really enjoyed this queen truly are amazing

I love Queen

Fantastic - enough said

The album Sheer Heart Attack is a sonic tapestry of Queen's musical prowess, a masterpiece that transcends mere entertainment and elevates the listener to a higher plane of auditory consciousness.