UMUR "Sheer Heart Attack" is the 3rd full-length studio album by UK rock act Queen. The album was released through EMI/Parlophone (Europe) and Elektra/Hollywood Records (US) in November 1974, only seven months after the release of "Queen II (1974)".

There´s no questioning the band were on a creative high in those years and producing two releases as brilliant as "Queen II" and "Sheer Heart Attack" in under a year is quite the achivement in my book. Musically "Sheer Heart Attack" pretty much continue down the theatrical rock road of "Queen II" but with an occasionally added more hard rocking edge (not that "Queen II" didn´t have a couple of really hard rocking moments too). "Brighton Rock" and especially the fast-paced proto metal track "Stone Cold Crazy" are examples of Queen when they rock out. The latter mentioned has one of the most infectiously hard edged rock/metal riffs I have ever heard. Pure metallic joy.

Like most of Queen´s releases, "Sheer Heart Attack" is of a quite eclectic nature and in addition to the hard rocking tracks, the album feautures both epic, theatrical, progressive and ballad type elements. Everything is delivered with great skill both instrumentally and vocally. The powerful and organic sound production further enhances the listening experience.

"Sheer Heart Attack" was the album that provided international mainstream popularity to Queen. The first two albums had mostly provided them with UK success but the success of the "Killer Queen" single and a high chart placement for the album itself in both the UK and the US, gave them the last boost. "Sheer Heart Attack" is an excellent release by Queen and I fully understand why it was a success upon release. I think the flow of the album could have been slightly better with a couple of better tracks placements, but it´s really a minor issue and a 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR As the title suggests, "Queen II" is the 2nd full-length studio album by UK rock act Queen. The album was released through Parlophone/Elektra in March 1974.

The music on the album sits somewhere between theatrical rock, progressive rock and hard rock. A really eclectic mix of music styles and ideas. The musicianship is outstanding throughout the album. Convincing and adventurous instrumental delivery by all involved and "out of this world" vocals by lead vocalist Freddie Mercury. His lead vocals are flat out fantastic, but it´s the multi layered harmony vocals that really put the icing on the cake. The only other group I can think of who did something just nearly as flamboyant and challenging around the same time is 10cc (I guess I should mention Gentle Giant too). When you add to that a powerful organic sound production and very well written compositions such as "Father to Son", "White Queen (As it Began)", "Ogre Battle", "The March of the Black Queen" and "Seven Seas of Rhye" it all come together nicely and form a rare and unique musical experience. The Roger Taylor led "The Loser in the End" is a real hard rocker and somewhat different from the other material on the album, but it´s a real treat to my ears.

While I enjoyed the debut album by Queen, that album completely pales in comparison with "Queen II". "Queen II" has a great flow and a vision, a musical red thread so to speak. If you like your rock delivered with a theatrical paatos and a progressive edge "Queen II" is a great release and I think a 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "Queen" is the self-titled debut full-length studio album by UK rock/hard rock act Queen. The album was released through EMI (UK) and Elektra Records (US) in July 1973.

One of the things I noticed upon first listen was the contagious energy and great musicianship on the album. The energy level is very well examplified by the opening track "Keep Yourself Alive" but most tracks have a great energy level (just take a listen to the Roger Taylor led "Modern Times Rock & Roll"). Queen are very skilled musicians and it´s apparent already this early in their career. The vocals by Freddie Mercury are strong and distinct. The music is pretty hard rocking but there are more sensitive sections in the songs too. While the basic instrumentation is bass, guitar and drums there are also piano on the album which at times gives the music a grander and more epic sound. A song like "My Fairy King" is an example of that. The music borders progressive rock on several occasions but isn´t really that. It´s more an epic form of hard rock. The production is powerful and relatively raw.

Queen is a good debut album and if the songs had stood out a bit more I would probably have given a 4 star rating but there are not enough highlight here to warrant that IMO. a 3.5 star (70%) rating is well deserved though and all in all this is a very impressive debut album by a now legendary band.

Stephen The first time I'm attracted to this album is because of 'Tie Your Mother Down' which was covered by Lynch Mob, a band of George Lynch after his departure from Dokken. I admit I never been a huge fan of Queen but this album is basically lovable with perhaps only couple of duds. Queen's original version of 'Tie' is excellent but I still prefer Mob's version because it's heavier and rougher. Both are awesome and different though.

The second biggest single, 'Somebody To Love', is classic, karaoke hit, and beautiful. Together with 'Take Your Breath Away' are the pinnacles of 'A Day At The Races'. This latter ballad, which was written and performed for the first time live by Mercury even before it's recorded, is an enchanting piano piece, the melodies are simple but haunting, this song is so great it chills me to the bone. 'Long Away' is a nice easy listening track with Brian May on vocal; 'The Millionaire Waltz' is acrobatic and complex and showcasing Mercury's difficult falsetto performance.

'You And I' is a poppish piano driven radio track, I love this one, and 'Good Old Fashioned Love' is a simple but effective track too. However there are two dreadful tracks here which was totally avoidable, 'White Man' and 'Drowse'. Brian May's tribute to Japanese fans, 'Teo Toriatte' is a tender song but very average, luckily it's the best among the three weakest tune.

I like this album a lot, I know some fans dislike it, but nevermind since I truly feel that it has loads of great songs inside. Great and enjoyable stuff!

Warthur A notch better than News of the World solely because it contains no songs as turgid and lifeless as We Are the Champions or We Will Rock You, or as doggone lazy as Sheer Heart Attack, Jazz is still a miserably cynical Queen album which leads off with a half-hearted attempt to revive the heaviness of their early days disguised by a botched attempt to imitate Middle Eastern music (Mustapha), but otherwise contains a clutch of moronic clap-along tracks that remain inexplicably popular to this day (Don't Stop Me Now, Fat Bottomed Girls, Bicycle Race) and a whole heap of utterly forgettable filler.

The hits are fun enough to sing along to on a karaoke night but aren't exactly satisfying listening material if you aren't drunk and singing along with a crowd of friends. Not even alcohol can improve the filler material. Only the Queen-obsessed should touch this one.

Kingcrimsonprog I have seen a few other Queen DVDs and have a penchant for concert Blu Rays in general so I had high expectations going into this. Queen Rock Montreal not only lived up to my expectations but in many areas exceeded them. Not only is the concert filmed just before the synthesizers-period, with the band absolutely playing the hell out of their instruments, but the technical aspects of the concert recording are top notch too, leaving the whole thing great in all departments.

The sound quality is absolutely superb, crystal clear and very big, which really brings to attention all the skill and virtuosity with which Queen played the gig, and that's not just the mix but the recording quality itself too.

The video, which is of course excellent in the main concert, has been scrutinized and cleaned up on the original 35mm prints before being re-scanned for maximum quality, there is even a fairly detailed description of the process in the linear notes. Consequently, the concert looks amazing and clear in a way no other Queen concert does as of yet.

In terms of the concert itself, there is no question of quality whatsoever. Queen are absolutely electric and deliver a wide array of some of their hardest and heaviest material in about as energetic and impressive a performance as has been captured on film, and mix it up with a few quieter numbers for balance and variety, leaving a full and complete Queen concert experience.

The band don't even just stick to the big radio hits either, playing material such as 'Dragon Attack,' 'Get Down Make Love,' and 'Sheer Heart Attack,' that you wouldn't necessarily expect in with the 'Bohemian Rhapsody,' and 'Under Pressure,' level songs.

The highlights for me were the excellent performance of 'I'm In Love With My Car,' with Roger both singing masterfully and nailing the drum fills to perfection as well as their fast and hard rendition of early number 'Keep Yourself Alive.'

The band's performance is excellent, the track listing is excellent and the audio visual quality is excellent. What more could you possibly ask for in a concert Blu Ray ?

In terms of extras, you get commentary from Brian and Roger, A hilariously bad 80s TV special on Queen, An interesting rehearsal/interview for Live Aid and of course the excellent Live Aid performance itself, which doesn't even require describing it is that well regarded.

Overall I highly recommend this product, I enjoy a lot of Live Concert DVDs and Blu Rays and this is definitely one of the finest I've come across, especially if you like the harder rock side of Queen.