Hello Friends,
We're celebrating another Mum's day like we do every year on Vinyl in the Valley with a little Queen on the turntable.
Queen - "News of the World" (1977) - Elektra Records
This is Queen's sixth LP and captures the band at the height of their powers.
Opening with the one-two punch of "We Are The Champions" / "We Will Rock You" one quickly realizes that they don't make them like this anymore! Overused and overplayed? Yes. A little bit on the overly-dramatic side? Definitely. Even so, if these two songs don't get you pumped up for the rest of the record, you might need to have your pulse checked!
"Sheer Heart Attack" is a leftover track from the 1974 album of the same name. Sounds as if its either punk-influenced or the band's reaction to the burgeoning punk movement.
"All Dead, All Dead" is Brian May's gentle ode to his dead cat featuring some great Freddie Mercury piano playing.
And speaking of which, no one could pull off a power ballad quite like Freddie Mercury and the boys could as evidenced on the album's second single, "Spread Your Wings".
"Sheer Heart Attack" is a leftover track from the 1974 album of the same name. Sounds as if its either punk-influenced or the band's reaction to the burgeoning punk movement.
"All Dead, All Dead" is Brian May's gentle ode to his dead cat featuring some great Freddie Mercury piano playing.
And speaking of which, no one could pull off a power ballad quite like Freddie Mercury and the boys could as evidenced on the album's second single, "Spread Your Wings".
Side One concludes with drummer Roger Taylor's funky, "Fight From the Inside". Its not quite disco, but a definite precursor to their 1980 megahit, "Another One Bites the Dust".
Side Two kicks off with the incredibly sleazy (but not very good) Mercury-penned "Get Down, Make Love". If you took a quick shower after this song (and we wouldn't blame you) and you returned during Brian May's "Sleeping On the Sidewalk" you might think someone switched records on you and you were now listening to early ZZ Top. Nope, its Queen doing their best ZZ Top impression on a rags-to-riches rock & roll shuffle!
Bassist John Deacon composed "Who Needs You" featuring some fine Spanish-guitar picking courtesy of Deacon and May. Sweet and nostalgic-sounding.
"Its Late" is the band at their best! Grinding Brian May guitars backed by a driving rhythm section; Mercury's sneering operatic vocals and the familiar four part harmony on the chorus. Although it sounds triumphant as fuck, the lyrics (written by May) seem to be about a recent break-up and are actually quite melancholy.
Which brings us to the last track, "My Melancholy Blues"-- a quiet and jazzy end to another great Queen album!
From arena rock to punk to gospel to disco to to ZZ Top to jazz, News of the World is a fine album but we can't help but noticing that it lacks some of the cohesion that that the band's prior two albums (A Night at the Opera / A Day at the Races) had. Longtime Queen producer, Roy Thomas Baker, would return to produce their next LP, Jazz.
Fun Fact: Tiki T. used to be scared of this album cover as a kid!** What a dope!
RATING: 4 Sheer Heart Attacks out of 5
** The album's artwork was based on a painting ("Please.. .Fix it, Daddy?") by the amazing sci-fi artist, Frank Kelly Freas.
** The album's artwork was based on a painting ("Please.. .Fix it, Daddy?") by the amazing sci-fi artist, Frank Kelly Freas.
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