• Home
  • About
  • Music
  • Contact
  • Falling A Records
  • Miniatures 2020
  • Falling A shop
  • Archive
Barry Lamb
BL

Definitive moments in the musical landscape of a noise architect #4 Queen - Sheer Heart Attack

8/11/1974

0 Comments

 
Picture

Queen - Sheer Heart Attack 
The first time I heard Queen, I wasn't particularly impressed. It was a Top Of The Pops appearance. I don't remember the song but I can remember how they were visually. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable. I was probably about 9 or 10 years old at the time. 

My dad had introduced me to some rock music. Although a jazz enthusiast, he had a soft spot for Van Der Graaf Generator, he also quite liked The Who and one or two others. I was beginning to wake up to rock music in secondary school. Peter Ashby began to introduce me to the world of progressive rock and heavy rock, some of our other school friends were into the likes of Pink Floyd, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin (usually those with older brothers). I asked one of those friends to put an album on one side of a C90 cassette. I forget which album it was. I think it may have been 24 Carat Purple (a Deep Purple compilation). The person in question put "Sheer Heart Attack" by Queen on the other side of the cassette and I have to say it completely had me from the word go. 

Everything from the production to the catchiness of some of the songs to the hard rock riffs just completely captivated me and to this day is the Queen album that stands out as the jewel in the crown of their body of work. I know that many would single out "A Night At The Opera" which is also an outstanding album but for me this was the first album that had all of the ingredients of Queen's great strengths and absolutely no filler. It is one of those rare albums where every track leaves me wanting more. "Brighton Rock" remains one of my all time favourite rock tracks and the medley of "Tenement Funster", "Flick Of The Wrist" and "Lily Of The Valley" is simply majestic.

Definitely the most perfectly balanced album in Queens catalogue. The album was released in 1974 and probably I heard it in 1975 for the first time, not long before "Bohemian Rhapsody" was released by which time they already had me and my mind was about to blown again when "A Night At The Opera" would appear. 

I know they had some great moments after that and became one of the biggest rock bands on the planet but in doing so, as is often the case they lost some of their charm and magic. I still have a lot of affection for this album. 

0 Comments
    Picture

    Archive

    These pages represent my best attempt at a musical journal, travelogue, archive record of my musical landscape and everything I have been involved in over the years. It features celebrated projects to undeveloped ideas, sketchpad moments, memories and general stuff that has been part of my creative endeavours and the Falling A Records story. I am attempting to place things in chronological order though as time passes and I trawl the crates in my loft, I am discovering that my record keeping has been quite vague at times. Please feel free to interact and correct where necessary. The page also serves as the archive page for the website and is where we post our various announcements etc.,
    It's very much a work in progress. 

    "a work of art is never finished, it is merely abandoned" 

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    May 2017
    December 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    June 2014
    April 2014
    January 2014
    September 2013
    June 2013
    February 2012
    October 2011
    September 2011
    March 2011
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    June 2009
    April 2009
    April 2008
    November 2007
    July 2007
    May 2007
    January 2006
    July 2004
    May 2004
    April 2004
    March 2004
    February 2004
    May 1983
    December 1982
    August 1982
    June 1980
    October 1978
    August 1978
    December 1977
    November 1974
    December 1969
    October 1961
    March 1959

    Categories

    All
    Archive
    Cassette Culture
    Catalogue
    Clacton Years
    Cloud Quartet
    Definitive Moments In The Musical Landscape Of A Noise Architect
    Dynamite Vision Years
    Falling A Archive
    Influences
    Jazz
    Musical
    Music Press
    Rock Against Racism
    Social Media
    Stone Premonitions
    Synth Pop
    The Insane Picnic

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly