Sheer Heart Attack

Name(s): Sheer Heart Attack
Release Date(s): November 8, 1974

Sheer Heart Attack (SHA) is a great album, and one of Queen‘s few that to feel like a cohesive whole instead of an arbitrary song collection. A little more heavy on the balladry and piano than other Queen records, which is why I don’t prefer it to A Night at the Opera or Queen II, but I still like it a lot.

“Brighton Rock” is a near-instrumental song that is still interesting through Brian May’s variety of unique guitar effects on his custom-made Red Special. The intro and outro with Freddie Mercury simulating a conversation between a male and female lover as both genders is an extremely impressive highlight of SHA. “Killer Queen” is a vaudevillian-inspired rocker that I’d imagine everyone is familiar with by now, and it remains my favorite Queen song to this day.

“Flick of the Wrist” is a menacing rocker with a great hook and clever lyrics that seem to be directed at Norman Sheffield, the band’s manager at the time who was absolutely loathed by the group (further documented on “Death on Two Legs,” the opener to A Night at the Opera). “In the Lap of the Gods” is a short but impressive prog-ballad. “Stone Cold Crazy” is a quick, toe-tapping, rockabilly-like track where Mercury plays an insane man fantasizing of being Al Capone, shooting innocent bystanders with a Tommy gun. If there’s one thing Queen are never without, it’s their sense of humor.

Sheer Heart Attack Verdict

And that’s only noting my favorite songs. Or not, as I didn’t get to touch “Now I’m Here” or “Bring Back That Leroy Brown,” but maybe I’ll write more about this album another day. Sheer Heart Attack is Queen at their greatest progressive rock-influence and almost as eclectic and captivating as their legendary follow-up album. Recommended.