Maps of Music

Sheer Heart Attack (1974)

Where the lyrics of Sheer Heart Attack take you, and where it was really made.

Most of the backing tracks were not recorded in London but at Rockfield Studios in Wales, where the band trekked over three and a half hours to get there.

Key places

Backing tracks recorded in Wales (1974)

Recording site Rockfield Studios — The band travelled to Rockfield Studios in Wales on 7 July 1974 and recorded most of the backing tracks there. The work finished on 28 July. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Overdubs at Wessex (1974)

Recording site Wessex Sound Studios — Work shifted to Wessex Sound Studios at the start of August 1974. Most of the overdubs and one backing track were recorded there. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Brian May's solo sessions at AIR (1974)

Recording site AIR Studios — While the band overdubbed at Wessex, May booked time at AIR Studios. He recorded two songs there, including Dear Friends, and some guitar overdubs were made at the studio. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Mixing at Trident (1974)

Recording site Trident Studios — The heart of the mixing sessions took place at Trident Studios. Each of most songs was mixed over one or two days. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Sheer Heart Attack: third studio album by the British rock band Queen
• Released 8 November 1974 by EMI Records in the UK and Elektra Records in the US
• Produced by the band and Roy Thomas Baker
• Moved away from the progressive themes of the first two albums
• Pop-centric, conventional rock tracks; a step toward the "classic" Queen sound
• Launched Queen to mainstream popularity in the UK and throughout the world

Background

• Queen toured as support act for Mott the Hoople after their second album, the Queen II Tour
• The two groups toured together in the US, Queen's first tour there
• At the climax of the US tour in Boston, Brian May was found to have hepatitis; the remaining dates were cancelled
• In June 1974 the band gathered at Trident Studios to start rehearsing material for the album
• Mixing began in mid-September; a 1 November release looked unlikely
• "Now I'm Here", the last song to be mixed, was finished on 22 October

Recording

• Four studios were used: Rockfield for most backing tracks, AIR for two backing tracks and some guitar overdubs, Wessex for most overdubs and one backing track, Trident for mixing
• Rockfield sessions began on 7 July 1974 and the ten backing tracks were finished on 28 July
• Wessex became the main studio from early August, but work there was cut short
• Brian May collapsed at a clinic in August from a duodenal ulcer and recovered at home after surgery
• May recorded "Dear Friends" and "She Makes Me" at AIR while the band overdubbed at Wessex
• Trident had just installed a 24-track machine; this album was its first 24-track project

Cover

• Sleeve design by Queen
• Art direction and photography by Mick Rock

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970 by Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals).
• John Deacon (bass) joined in February 1971, completing the classic line-up.
• Mercury suggested the name "Queen".
• Early works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal, later expanding into arena rock and pop rock.

Members

• Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano, 1970–1991, died 1991).
• Brian May (guitar, vocals, 1970–present).
• Roger Taylor (drums, vocals, 1970–present).
• John Deacon (bass, 1971–1997, retired).
• Paul Rodgers (vocals, 2004–2009) and Adam Lambert (vocals, 2011–present) toured as "Queen +".

Career

• First UK chart hit with Queen II (1974); international success with A Night at the Opera (1975) and "Bohemian Rhapsody", which topped the UK chart for nine weeks.
• News of the World (1977) contained "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions", now sports anthems.
• Greatest Hits (1981) is the best-selling album in UK chart history.
• Live Aid performance (1985) is ranked among the greatest in rock history.
• Estimated record sales of 250–300 million, one of the world's best-selling music artists.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001; received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 and the Polar Music Prize in 2025.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone gave the album 3 stars, a positive rating
• Q called the record "indispensable" and one of the great pop/rock admixtures of the 70s
• NME called it a feast with four songs that would run and run
• The Winnipeg Free Press praised Brian May's multi-tracked guitar, Freddie Mercury's vocals and Roy Thomas Baker's production
• Circus called it perhaps the heaviest, rockingest assault on these shores in some time

Reappraisal

• AllMusic called it the moment Queen truly came into their own
• Pitchfork wrote that it improves on every aspect of the sound suggested by the first two records
• The BBC said this was the album that finally saw Queen find their true voice

Records

• "Killer Queen" reached number 2 on the UK singles chart
• The single gave the band their first top 20 hit in the US, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100
• First Queen album to reach the US top 20, peaking at number 12 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape Chart in 1975
• Ranked by Disc as the third best album of 1974

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• "Killer Queen" was written in a single night, which contrasts with the ages it took Mercury to write "The March of the Black Queen".
• "Brighton Rock" was written during the Queen II sessions but not recorded then, because the group felt it did not fit the rest of the album.
• The title "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" alludes to the then-recent hit "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" by Jim Croce, who had died in a plane crash the year before.
• The opening carousel sound of "Brighton Rock" was taken from a sound effects album first released in 1960.
• Mixing of "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" had to work around 70 vocal tracks, which had to be mixed down to fit the 24-track mixer.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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