Sheer Heart Attack

Queen is one of those bands that I don't understand the infatuation with. Did they have good songs, yes they did, but I cannot say there is a single album of theirs that is good let alone great. Most of their albums have a couple good songs and that is the extent of them. This album is a great example of that with Killer Queen being a good song that is surrounded by too many songs that are forgettable. I settled on this album being a 5/10 or 6/10 overall and gave it 3 stars.

its not the best queen, but even the worst queen is still queen (and it has killer queen!)

An incredible album. So glad to be finally diving deeper into Queen's catalog. Like so many, I've just been familiar with the hits. Thankfully, their talent spans across all of their music, not just the anthems. Amazing music all round here. In the Lap of the Gods Revisited was my fav song and first listen of the album. Killer Queen and Birghton Rock were my other highlights

I can’t believe I have never listened to this album, and I fucking love queen. I only knew two songs previously both bangers “Brighton rock” thank you baby driver, and “ Killer Queen” a song that me and my best friend can and will belt out with the totality of our lungs. I really liked this album and also the transition between “Tenement Funster”, “Flick of the wrist” and “Lily of the valley” was amazing. Just with each song I enjoy this album more and more. I would say this is so close to 5 stars for me, but I will give it a 4.5/5.

Somehow, this is both Queen's most representative album and yet not their best work. Still, I have no real complaints, as Queen's C game is better than most bands' A game.

Hard to find a single weak spot here!

Production on this is exceptional (as I'm sure most all Queen albums are). Have no idea how you write songs like this, let alone bring them forth with such interesting production choices. Queen is all over the place, like each song has several portions, moments, phases, and they often take place in rapid succession. I don't know how they do it but I do know they're fuckin' genius. Look forward to listening to more Queen. One of a kind band.

Besser als s zweite

listened to this in the car growing up. one of the rare albums i heard my dad play. banger.

I already see songs that I'm amped to hear again. This wasn't my Go-To album for Queen. A Night at the Opera was on rotation at my childhood home. So this predates that. Killer Queen may be the best song on the album, but I'm reminded that Stone Cold Crazy was an inspiration to early NWOBHM artists and those that came after, with thrash metal covers from Metallica. An album that is actually better An album that highly exceeds my high expectations. Sad I didn't have this in my life earlier!

It's fine. Queen is Queen, you know what you're getting, and when it works its tremendous, it just felt like a lot of uninteresting songs

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Cracking. First time listen.

Good, not great. A couple of gems and an unknown classics (Lap of the gods)

They never got better than this. Okay, a couple of tracks on side 2 …ahem… misfire slightly but this still a 5 star album

I don't know that there's been a better guitarist brought into this world than Brian May. He really shines here. Did he invent the chugga chugga? Maybe not, maybe it was Ritchie Blackmore or Tommy Iommi. But my god what a joy and treasure Mr May is. Listened to this twice yesterday just because I didn't get enough the first time around.

Some gems on here. The beginning of their sound.

I enjoyed it his album but it didn’t blow me away I liked night at the opera a little more Tenement funster was pretty fun and it sounded just like I’m in love with my car 3/5 Favorites: killer queen, tenement funster, in the lap of the gods

At some point, the Queen switch in my brain flicked and I realised the music was not that good, and so having to listen to a whole album’s an interesting challenge. It’s sort of this weird mush of some of the worst streaks of hard rock and glam rock and other 70s fun, with curious (negative) songwriting and weird excessive instrumentals and all the rest. Very tired of it long before the end of the 38 minutes. Crazy to think this is the album that popped off for the consensus pick on a classic rock band for the whole family, but again, I’m switch-flicked.

its mid, some of the songs were good and some were horrible.

A solid rock and roll effort! Love this LP and this band!

I wasn’t as familiar with this album as I am with their other records, but it’s Queen, so I won’t quibble with this one making the list.

I had only heard one song on this before but really liked the album.

Nicenice

Unfamiliar with this album but loved it. Killer queen was great on first listen but I've heard that song before. Lots of piano. Vocals, even beyond FM sound so characteristic. How did they get that effect?

Klasyk!!!

Might be my favorite Queen album. I expected a little less from this one, but with its mix of different sounds in each of the songs, I enjoyed its differences and wasn't bored by the end.

Like every Queen album, you have some genuinely incredible songs surrounded by some true dogshit

Аче пиздатый альбом На дипперпл похоже оч

A real revelation of the 1001 albums is that Queen’s albums are not good

Pretty decent album. The songs that stood out to me the most were Killer Queen and Misfire but overall i enjoyed a lot of the songs on this album :)

Not my favorite Queen album but it still has some decent songs.

Very different from what I was expecting from Queen. Some more psychedelic rock sections from Brian May and interesting song structures. Amazing vocals as always and a solid album

7/10

Enjoyable, though there are some songs that don't particularly stand out.

Will update the review

Closing track is really good, besides that, only killer queen stands out 2.5

Langweilig

the who lepsze

enjoyed it, campy and inoffensive

Going into this, Killer Queen was the only track I had heard before. Overall I was pleasantly surprised and ended up really liking most of the album. It was a bit more hard rock than expected and instrumentation was excellent.

killer queen best song and best villain ability otherwise decent album

So spectacular in scope and composition. These guys were incredible, even back when the sound quality itself was lesser.

It feels like every modern song in one album

This is the best Queen album for sure.

Spoiler alert: "Sheer Heart Attack" isn't on this album, and wouldn't be released until three albums later on "News of the World." This is a clever reference to that one scene in "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" where Yoshikage Kira asks why Sheer Heart Attack is taking so long. I'm not the biggest fan of pre-Bohemian Rhapsody Queen, but "Sheer Heart Attack" allows me to enjoy this era of the band through the additions it makes to the Queen formula. There's still the heavy, fantastical hard rock of their first two releases, but now with a notable increase in studio polish and overdubs to make them as bombastic and larger-than-life as they were always meant to be. The most obvious example of this comes from the vocal overdubs to create this operatic sound, which can be found in tracks like "Flick of the Wrist" and the album's biggest hit, "Killer Queen." The album also has a much more cohesive feel than before, with the second side having a very satisfying flow from track to track. It's not quite enough to convince a non-believer, but there's enough great things going for this album that a whippersnapper like myself can sit down with this album and have a good time. Favorite Tracks: Killer Queen, Flick of the Wrist, Now I'm Here, In the Lap of the Gods (original and reprise), Bring Back That Leroy Brown Grade: B+

Early yet-to-be-polished Queen! I enjoyed but it started to drag.

Excellent pop rock. They have a unique way of mixing some quite heavy rock sounds with some kinda out there experimental elements and yet keeping a pop sensibility that keeps things super accessible. There is something quite Beatles about the songwriting. I wish I'd given it a more focused listen but my day didn't work out that way.

Queen was my first love, the band that made me love music as a teenager and sent me down the path of being a music nerd many years ago. This is one of their masterpieces, a fiery record that's glammy and heavy at the same time without sounding kitschy or insincere.

Disappointed. 2/5

Queen always excellent, even if that album is probably not their best.

It’s Queen. Another band I like some songs of but wouldn’t say I’m a fan. It was ok. It was Queen.

Queen is one of those bands that I’ve only ever heard their greatest greatest hits. But this was pretty decent

I really fucking hate this band. The more I listen to their goofy musicianship and freddy's admittedly great voice, the more I hate

“Brighton Rock” slaps you on the face. It's a frantic assault on the senses. A quick-paced rock tune with high-pitched falsetto vocals shifting into harmonies that seem to fill every soundwave available before… everything drops away to leave us alone with Brian May for three full minutes of incredibly inventive guitar work. Ok, so maybe not alone, as Roger Taylor does dip in and out to accompany him with some rhythm, but this is May’s showpiece and showstopper. His blazing guitar work pans from left to right as he begins to harmonise with the echoes of his previous notes. Mind-blowing stuff, so ahead of its time, and still today uniquely a Brian May sound. It’s a pretty good way to start an album. And from that straight into “Killer Queen”. A much more concise and coherent song, it feels like it’s from a different universe than “Brighton Rock”. Mercury takes the complexities of the vocal harmonies to another level, while coupling them with a simple, catchy melody. May’s guitar harmonies mirror the vocal harmonies, creating yet another level of harmonics. Yes, I’m going to use the word “harmony” a lot in a Queen review. One of my favourite moments is when May’s guitar unexpectedly snarls like an angry cat right at the line “playful as a pussycat”. That’s a perfect example of the juxtaposition of styles on the album. I’m not hugely knowledgeable about Queen’s history, but having already had the previous Queen II, and knowing that “A Night at the Opera” is the album that would come next, this feels like a sort of bridge between the prog-heavy world of Queen II and the more theatrical, polished, and stylistically wide-ranging Queen that we’ll get in “A Night at the Opera” and onwards. The medley of “Tenement Funster” to “Flick Of The Wrist” to “Lily Of The Valley” feels very much like a hangover from Queen II. Not that they’re not enjoyable tunes, but they definitely feel like they come from that previous world. Elsewhere, though, the album keeps pulling in different directions. “Now I’m Here” is a much more direct rock song, while “Stone Cold Crazy” is two minutes of absolute chaos, running at a pace that feels like a precursor to speed metal. “Bring Back That Leroy Brown” is theatrical, ridiculous and completely different again, but somehow still sounds unmistakably like them. Ultimately, Sheer Heart Attack sounds to me like Queen moving in every direction possible to find their sound, and instead settling on not settling. That’s what worked best for them. The heavier, more progressive side of Queen II is still there, but now it sits beside pop, vaudeville, ballads and straight-up hard rock without much concern for whether any of it belongs together. By the time the album closes with “In The Lap Of The Gods… Revisited”, with its huge crowd-ready singalong, you can hear the band they’re about to become.

Not their best, but it’s still a Queen album.

I remember the first time that I saw Freddie Mercury on Top of the Pops, with long hair, a fur jacket and half a microphone singing Killer Queen. It was thrilling and transgressive in a way that I couldn’t articulate at that age, but it felt like the future. I didn’t listen to the rest of the album until I was much older, but it still brings back the same feelings. This was the album where Queen perfected their sound, particularly Brian May’s unique guitar, but all of them were firing on all cylinders. There’s a lot going on here, with a mischievous sense of humour in the opening of Brighton Rock and the jaunty Leroy Brown, combined with some of the hardest rock that Queen ever produced. It’s sometimes overlooked in the Queen discography, falling between Queen II and Night at The Opera, but I think it’s one of my favorites that never grows old. Listening to Now I’m Here on headphones this morning was still a spine tingling experience to hear Freddie’s voice coming from different directions of the soundscape, and as with all of the studio tricks on this album was one they managed to pull off in live gigs too. Dynamite with a laser beam-tastic!

What an opening, Brighton Rock's sharp and dagger-like guitar and then fades away to one of the greatest songs ever. Queen effortlessly mix beautiful piano with emotional guitar that is almost speaking to us.

I’m finding that I’m less of a Queen fan than I realized. When looking at this track list, I thought this could be my favorite Queen album. It lines up with my tastes the best and there are well known songs with the most notable being Killer Queen. Stone Cold Crazy is another big one. The first half of the album is pretty decent, but otherwise it’s a mixed bag and tonally all over the place. The second half is atrocious and I couldn’t wait for it to end. I’m hoping to be done with Queen outside of this project.

4.65

Probably on of their better albums

A transitional record with some remarkable songs. Queen finding thier way towards Night and Day high points. Worthy of a listen. 3.5

Another 10/10 iconic album.

Nope, Queen are still really annoying. A handful of tunes that are half good, but also half bad. Awful lyrics, some good riffs, and stylistic choices that are all over the place, quality-wise.

Back to back Queen. I did enjoy this more pop rock oriented album more. Stone Cold Crazy and Killer Queen are classics. 3.5/5.

At its worst, Queen is a completely insufferable band, but Sheer Heart Attack is only annoying at times. Still, 39 minutes is way more than necessary. I will never listen to this again.

Queen's hardest rocking album is a showcase for Brian May's inimitable guitar style. Favorite track: Killer Queen

Songs are super upbeat and fast. Freddie is main vocals but the whole group is harmonizing throughout. Eccentric. It’s a fun listen.

Queen – Sheer Heart Attack (1974) On Day 273, the timing of this spin felt almost poetic landing right around the one-year anniversary of when I first dove into Queen’s discography and sparked my deeper hunger for rock music. Back then, "Killer Queen" immediately caught my ear, but experiencing the full scope of this record made it crystal clear why Queen became the definitive gateway band for me. Freddie Mercury’s angelic, choir-like vocal power paired with their theatrical, opera-level production values never ceases to amaze. Standout tracks like the electrifying guitar work on "Brighton Rock," the furious, proto-thrash velocity of "Stone Cold Crazy," and the menacing brilliance of "Flick of the Wrist" make the entire tracklist soar. A magnificent, full-circle listen. An undeniable 5/5.

Queen has so many killer songs I usually question why I'm not a bigger fan of them. Then I listen to a full album and remember why. So much forgettable stuff, but the good stuff is really fuckin good

Still a classic

Queen are not my cup of tea but I recognise they are good. This album was incredibly Queen.

Amazing.

Dramatisk. Ikke alt er innertier for meg. KQ er peak.

A solid Queen record. Not their best work, but it’s Queen so that’s a pretty high bar lol

As someone who feels like they hates Queen this is kinda good. RYM: N Saved a song: N

First listened in 2023. Fiery and passionate glam rock record that foreshadows some of the band's trippier moments. Key tracks: Brighton Rock, Killer Queen

I was never a huge 'Queen' guy, though I appreciate the musicality and energy that Mercury brings to the tracks. I was only particularily captivated by the standout track 'Killer Queen,' although this album has amazing breadth in the genres it covers, from the slow , emotional 'Lily of the Valley,' to the opera-esque "In the lap of the gods" and all the way to the Honkey-tonk in "Bring back that leroy brown." Impressive if nothing else. Just not a personal fan of the songs, and I wouldn't find myself coming back to them. 👑👑👑

I wasn't looking forward to another Queen album, but Sheer Heart Attack ended up being my favourite of the three on the list. It's still not a great album, but it did enough to just about get a four.

Think I enjoyed this more than Night at the Opera. The highs weren’t as high but it was way more cohesive and way less self indulgent.

Queen is a singles-band. I don't fond their albums to contain a lot of songs better than the ones I already know. Solid album though.

Daniel

Queen is yet another band where they're so big everyone has heard a large number of their hits yet I had never dedicated a listen to any of their albums in full, but this was about what I expected with them. A very solid album with great Freddie Mercury vocals and my personal highlight here, the wailing guitars here especially in solos. Oh my lord those guitars sound gave me pure euphoria. Lots of interesting sounds on here that should clash sonically but all work together to make this a great album. Like Stone Cold Crazy as a random faster and heavier should not work surround by everything else here but it flows so well and is easily my favorite song here after having only really heard the Metallica cover.

does nothing for me

I don't prefer Queen.

Not one of my favourite Queen albums, but it's pretty good, and I do love Queen. Killer Queen is one of their best. In the Lap of the Gods isn't a good enough track to get a reprise. Most of the album's pretty fluffy, though I'm a Tenement Funster apologist, so I may well be sick in the head.

Of the three Queen LPs that I still own this is my favourite. A couple of tracks on side two could be left out but otherwise it’s a solid lively rock/pop record I never tire of hearing. As on other early ones I used to read the “no synthesizers” comment they famously wrote on the on back of the sleeves and think “So what!” as I took their album off the turntable and replaced it with the latest ELP! All good stuff anyway with some great guitar work often sounding like synthesizers - which was actually the point of these comments.

Its all just a bit too much and not very coherent as an album. The record seems to be the band members individually vying for attention with the result just being a bit of a mess.

Funny how a Queen record is like a Queen best of, in that it feels like a bunch of random songs thrown together, I guess the downside of having everyone writing songs. There's some absolute nonsense on here, but some of the Mercury-penned stuff is nice, and the weirdo Roger Deacon track 'Misfire' is an extremely slight but fun diversion. Also, 'Tenement Funster' is a terrible song, but an INCREDIBLE name.

Still not a huge Queen fan, but this album has great transitions.

Very queeny. Like the instrumentals and the lead by mercury. The vocal chords are a bit cheesy from time to time.

yess another queen album i couldnt be happier! I believe all Queen albums are at least a 4 star due to the sheer amount of talent within the band. Amazing vocal by multiple members. Instrumental wise incredibly strong, great guitar omg Brian. He also looks like a glazed donut in the album cover iykyk. Glam Rock will always be famous.

It did not save my review from yesterday. That's annoying. Anyway, it was something along the lines of: I have not listened to a lot of Common but I like this and I should listen to more Common. This doesn't quite rate as 4 stars for me but I like it more than I like a lot of my 3-star stuff. (I didn't even notice Kanye was on this until reading about the album later, but that's not too surprising - I don't know his music very well either.)

The polished sheen of Queen can be seen on their faces on the album's cover and heard from the first track of Sheer Heart Attack on through to the last. It might be that this is their strongest album when taken as a whole and not based on the singles alone. It doesn't have the god-tier eternal mega hits that everyone has heard, it just has the radio hits that fit the rest of the record like a glove. There's something refined about the way they rock on this record that you'll either love or hate. Maybe it's not reckless and raw enough for you, or maybe the clarity and drama expressed while maintaining total control will impress. For me, this record is among their best.

Publicly, Freddie was not gay at this point. But like, look at that album cover. How were there not signs?

Freddie has an amazing voice and some of the compositions in this album were great, but I was also bored at times.

I was starting to wonder where is Queen on this list, and then I get this album that wasn’t what typically everyone thinks when they hear Queen. But I liked it. I’m not really a big fan, but this album was really fine. Favourite tracks: Killer Queen, Stone Cold Crazy, Brighton Rock, She Makes Me

Now THAT'S the type of album I expected to hear from Queen.

Killer queen is prob my favourite song from them! Great album!

I have always felt mild dislike for Queen.