Queen: The Complete Works (10 page)

The dearth of additional material was evident in 1991, when Hollywood Records reissued the album, and only a contemporary remix of ‘Stone Cold Crazy’ was released. (A far more exciting remix of that same song by Trent Reznor remained unreleased, apart from escaping on a promo disc called
Freakshow
.) The 2011 deluxe edition contained three useless additions (BBC run-throughs of ‘Tenement Funster’ and ‘Flick Of The Wrist’, and the July 1986 Wembley Stadium rendition of ‘In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited’) and two gems (a live recording of ‘Now I’m Here’ from the 1975 Christmas Eve Hammersmith Odeon concert, and an a cappella mix of ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’).

“God, the agony we went through to have those pictures taken,” Freddie exclaimed to
NME
in 1974 of the photo sessions for the album cover. “Can you imagine trying to convince the others to cover themselves in Vaseline and then have a hose of water turned on them? The end result is four members of the band looking decidedly unregal, tanned and healthy, and as drenched as if they’ve been sweating for a week ... Everyone was expecting some sort of cover. A
Queen III
cover, really, but this is completely new. It’s not that we’re changing altogether – it’s just a phase we are going through. We’re still as poncy as ever. We’re still the dandies we started out to be. We’re just showing people we’re not merely a load of poofs, that we are capable of other things.”

Mick Rock’s cover – certainly not as iconic as
Queen II
– shows the four band members lounging in close proximity to one another. Freddie is gazing off into the distance, seemingly transfixed by what lies ahead; Brian looks bemused, as if unable to take it all in; John rolls his eyes and smirks; Roger just looks stoned. Perhaps in an effort to share some of the spotlight with Freddie, Roger expressed displeasure with the way his hair looked and asked that hair extensions be provided. This is evident on outtakes of the cover shot, several of which also feature the band unable to keep straight faces. The final album cover, although decidedly rock ‘n’ roll, gives no real indication of the music within: the band have (temporarily) stepped out of their prog-rock exterior to deliver a photo that is very un-Queen-like and unpretentious. The back cover uses the same photograph, except that it’s smashed or cut into shards; the visual equivalent of a sheer heart attack.

The album was released in November 1974 after the runaway success of ‘Killer Queen’ the month before. The week before
Sheer Heart Attack
appeared in the UK, the band made their return to the British touring circuit, their first live shows since Brian’s health problems in May. The set list was restructured to accommodate the new album, prompting their audiences to rush out and buy it. The album rocketed to No. 2 in their home country, while the band made their first appearance in the US Top Twenty when the album peaked at No. 12, thanks, no doubt, to an extensive countrywide campaign in January 1975.

Reviews for the album were fairly complimentary, though there were the occasional ones in which jaded critics started to show their disdain for the band. In
Rolling Stone
, it was asserted that “Queen – on the record and on the jacket, too – makes no concessions to moderation ... If there’s no meaning (there isn’t), if nothing follows (it doesn’t), if you can’t dance to it (it would seem that you can’t),
Sheer Heart Attack
is still, like its two predecessors, a handsomely glossy construction.” ‘Killer Queen’ and ‘Bring Back That Leroy Brown’ were singled out as “surprisingly light showcases for Queen’s wit and vocal dexterity, calculated – like everything this band has ever done – to turn heads in surprise and wonder.” The review concluded with, “If it’s hard to love, it’s hard not to admire: this band is skilled, after all, and it dares.”

NME
proclaimed, “A feast. No duffers, and four songs that will just run and run: ‘Killer Queen’, ‘Flick Of The Wrist’, ‘Now I’m Here’ and ‘In The Lap Of The Gods...Revisited’. Even the track I don’t like, ‘Brighton Rock’, includes May’s Echoplex solo, still a vibrant, thrilling experience whether you hear it live or on record.” A review that ran in the
Associated Press
in America declared, “This is a testament not only to Queen’s immense talent, but to their versatility as well. Queen will be playing Madison Square Garden as headliners by the time their fourth album comes along.” Not quite: the band wouldn’t appear at that landmark venue until 5 February 1977, well after the release of
A Day At The Races
.

For Queen fans, the album marked the first in a series of unparalleled releases that were true to the band’s experimental nature while providing chart-friendly singles, a streak that would end with
News Of The World
three albums later. While most fans prefer
Queen II
or
A Day At The Races
, citing those albums as Queen’s finest, others consider
Sheer Heart Attack
to be the first time the band produced a completely flawless yet charming album from start to finish. It was a track record that would follow through to their next release as the band perfected the balance of pomp, circumstance and rock. And maybe a little opera for good measure...

A NIGHT AT THE OPERA

EMI EMTC 103, November 1975 [1]

Elektra 7E-1053, December 1975 [4]

EMI CDP 7 46207 2, December 1986

Hollywood HR 61065 2, September 1991

Parlophone CDPCSD 130, 1994

Hollywood 6 9286-01091-9, April 2002

Parlophone 7 24353 98309 3, August 2002

Parlophone 0 0946 3 38457 2 5, November 2005

Island Remasters 276 442 4, March 2011 [96]

‘Death On Two Legs (Dedicated to ......’ (3’43), ‘Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon’ (1’07), ‘I’m In Love With My Car’ (3’04), ‘You’re My Best Friend’ (2’51), ‘’39’ (3’30), ‘Sweet Lady’ (4’02), ‘Seaside Rendezvous’ (2’16), ‘The Prophets Song’ (8’19), ‘Love Of My Life’ (3’38), ‘Good Company’ (3’23), ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (5’53), ‘God Save The Queen’ (1’13)

Bonus tracks on 1991 Hollywood Records reissue
: ‘I’m In Love With My Car’ (
remix by Mike Shipley
) (3’26), ‘You’re My Best Friend’ (
remix by Matt Wallace
) (2’50)

Bonus tracks on 2011 Universal Records deluxe reissue
: ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ (
long-lost retake, July 1975
) (4’05), ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (
operatic section a cappella mix
) (1’04), ‘You’re My Best Friend’ (
isolated backing track mix
) (2’58), ‘I’m In Love With My Car’ (
guitar and vocal mix
) (3’20), ‘’39’ (
live version, Earl’s Court, June 1977
) (3’47), ‘Love Of My Life’ (
live single edit, 1979
) (3’43)

Bonus videos, 2011 iTunes-only editions
: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (
“no flames” promotional video
), ‘Seaside Rendezvous’ (
thirtieth anniversary collage
), ‘Love Of My Life’ (
live version, Milton Keynes Bowl, June 1982
)

Musicians
: John Deacon (
bass guitar, electric piano on ‘You’re My Best Friend’, upright bass on ‘’39’
), Brian May (
guitars, orchestral backdrops, vocals, lead vocals on ‘’39’ and ‘Good Company’, toy koto on ‘The Prophets Song’, orchestral harp on ‘Love Of My Life’, genuine ‘aloha’ ukulele (made in Japan) and guitar jazz band on ‘Good Company’, operatic vocals on ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
), Freddie Mercury (
vocals, vocals, Bechstein Debauchery, and more vocals, vocal orchestration of woodwinds on ‘Seaside Rendezvous’, operatic vocals on ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
), Roger Taylor (
drums, percussion, vocals, lead vocals on ‘I’m In Love With My Car’, bass drum and tambourine on ‘’39’, vocal orchestration of brass on ‘Seaside Rendezvous’, operatic vocals on ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, timpani on ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘God Save The Queen’
)

Recorded
: Sarm East Studios, Aldgate; Olympic Studios, Barnes; Rockfield Studios, Monmouth; Scorpio, Lansdowne and Roundhouse Studios, London, August– November 1975

Producers
: Queen and Roy Thomas Baker

“I think we knew we had something special. We said, ‘This can be our
Sgt. Pepper
.’ Or whatever.” A characteristically understated description of
A Night At The Opera
courtesy of Brian, from a 1991 interview with
Q
, yet still applicable to the album eventually released in November 1975. The success of
Sheer Heart Attack
hadn’t been a fluke; Queen were content to stick to their guns and continue putting out the high calibre of material that comprised their first three albums.

“I do enjoy the studio, yes,” Freddie told
Sounds
in 1976. “It’s the most strenuous part of my career. It’s so exhausting, mentally and physically. It drains you dry. I sometimes ask myself why I do it. After
Sheer Heart Attack
we were insane and said never again. And then look what happens! I think that is the basis of Queen actually. We were very, very meticulous. That has now become an obsession in a funny way, for want of a better word. It’s subconscious now, but we feel that we have to better that past standard we’ve created. Otherwise they’ll say, ‘God, look at what they did on
Sheer Heart Attack
and look at what they’re churning out now.’ And you have to supersede it for your own satisfaction.”

The album was born out of difficult situations, as most classics are: the band were hard up, despite their successes (“people thought we were driving around in limos,” Brian lamented in the late 1970s), and at the mercy of their managers, Barry and Norman Sheffield. With the worldwide success of ‘Killer Queen’, the band felt they weren’t being paid enough. When they first signed with Trident in 1972, they had each been given £20 a week, even though the Sheffields had originally insisted on only £15. It had increased a bit to £60 weekly by the time
Sheer Heart Attack
was released, but the band still wanted more of what they felt was rightfully theirs. The matter reached a head when John demanded a cash advance of £4000 so that he and his heavily pregnant wife Veronica (whom he had married in January 1975) could put a down-payment on a house. When he was coldly refused, the band started legal proceedings to sever all ties with Sheffield and Trident.

The first step was to abandon all recording at Trident. (While tensions had been building throughout the summer, relations were still decent enough on 2 July, when they entered Trident to rerecord an ultimately unreleased version of ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ for the American market.) They also hired a lawyer, Jim Beach, in December 1974, who initiated negotiations with Trident in an attempt to void Queen’s contractual obligations. Finally, after nearly nine months of lengthy parleys and arguments, deals were signed to free them from Trident absolutely. The band gained control of their back catalogue and their former publishing company, Feldman, was taken over by EMI. They were now signed up directly with EMI and Elektra, effectively removing Trident from the position of liaison, and were given free rein to acquire new management.

The two drawbacks were that Queen had to pay £100,000 to buy out their contracts and give Trident one per cent of their royalties on the next six albums; unfortunately, these included
A Night At The Opera
through to
The Game
, certainly the band’s most successful run. Additionally, a tour of America originally scheduled for September 1975 had to be cancelled because it had been organized by Jack Nelson (their US tour manager who was associated with Trident), despite the already booked venues and previously sold tickets. This was a major blow, given Roger’s claim in
Record Mirror
some months before that “we spent an awful lot of money on the last American tour and now we’ve been offered a good deal to go back and tour for about a month in August. We really must do it to replenish our funds. We simply can’t afford not to, so the album won’t be completed until after we get back.”

With funds running low, the band immediately started looking for new management, and three names were shortlisted: Led Zeppelin’s manager Peter Grant, who was very interested in having Queen under his wing but wanted them to be signed to his own Swan Song record label, which the band weren’t keen on; Peter Rudge, who was on tour with The Rolling Stones and couldn’t be contacted in time; and John Reid, who was managing Elton John and initially didn’t want to take on another band, but reconsidered when he learned it was Queen.

Don Arden, manager of Electric Light Orchestra, had met with the band during their early 1975 tour of America and offered them a very lucrative deal. They reluctantly declined because they were still in the process of negotiating their way out of Trident, but Arden spoke directly to Norman Sheffield and presented his offer to him. Trident agreed to his suggestions and the negotiations sped up, but by the time the band returned from Japan in May, these deals were scrapped by mutual agreement. Queen instead hired Reid.

Luckily, they managed to hold on to Roy Thomas Baker, and initial recording sessions took place at
Rockfield Studios in August 1975, with the backing tracks for most of the songs recorded then. Unlike previous albums, the band started from scratch this time and had little new material to work with; only portions of ‘The Prophets Song’, which had been started and subsequently abandoned during sessions for
Queen II
, had existed in some form prior to the sessions. However, it was difficult to deny that 1975 was a year of creativity for the band: inspired by their recent headlining tour to America (they were able to finish it this time) and Japan, they felt a sense of rejuvenation and excitement. They had passed the proverbial ‘third album’ litmus test, and were ready to prove to the world that they were going to be around for quite some time.

The ideas flowed abundantly as the band immersed themselves in the studios. Expanding on the previous two albums’ creed of experimentation, instruments were hired and attempted by all band members, and if there was a sound they couldn’t achieve without the aid of synthesizers or session musicians, Brian worked out ways to create it on his guitar. The song that was given the most attention was Freddie’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, which the others initially found to be both puzzling and amusing. Once they realized he was serious, they still had their reservations but, because Freddie was extremely confident about the song, they let him create whatever he wanted as they focused on their own songs. “We ran the tape through so many times it kept wearing out,” Brian said about the rough mix for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, often believed to be a myth but, in reality, true. “We transferred it in a hurry. Strange business – holding on to this elusive sound signal which gradually disappeared as we created it. Every time Freddie decided to add a few more ‘galileos’ we lost something too.”