The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 539

Number 539

Queen

"Killer Queen"

(1974)
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Genre:Rock

Mii on Wii

Gazza here .... also known as Bowling King! Poozer crowbarred has let me graciously !$^*%#^ (whatever) write about the one and only supergrup QUEEN. Frag the Led Heads and their one and only reunion concert. Lucky them, its not if we can dig up ole Freddy Mercury and plonk his bones on Wembly Stadium and perform isit? One would imagine in a coupla hundred years they can DNA Mercury and grow a new one in a test tube. Hmmm .... sort of like a Thermometer!
Killer Queen is a killer track although personally i prefer "Tie Ya Mother Down" now theres a knees up. By the way, here are some facts for crowbarred to stick in his pipe since he loves rubbing his precious Beatles in my ^&%*&^$$ face ..... Queen was voted in 2007 by the BBC as being the "Best British Band Of All Time". Also in 1999 by Music Of The Millennium "The band was voted the greatest band in music history" and lastly, in 2005 - The band's performance at Live Aid is voted two times by a large selection of musicians and critics to be the greatest live show of all time by Queen! Fraggin' bliss ~ Gazza

art by LillyKitten

Queen II was a breakthrough in terms of power and ambition, but Queen's third album Sheer Heart Attack was where the band started to gel. It followed quickly on the heels of the second record - just by a matter of months; it was the second album they released in 1974 - but it feels like it had a longer incubation period, so great is the progress here. Which isn't quite to say that Sheer Heart Attack is flawless - it still has a tendency to meander, sometimes within a song itself, as when the killer opening "Brighton Rock" suddenly veers into long stretches of Brian May solo guitar - but all these detours do not distract from the overall album, they're in many ways the key to the record itself: it's the sound of Queen stretching their wings and as they learn how to soar to the clouds.
art by st-solid-snake

There's a genuine excitement in hearing all the elements to Queen's sound fall into place here, as the music grows grander and catchier without sacrificing their brutal, hard attack. One of the great strengths of the album is how all four members find their voice as songwriters, penning hooks that are big, bold, and insistent and crafting them in songs that work as cohesive entities instead of flourishes of ideas. This is evident not just in "Killer Queen" - the first, best flourishing of Freddie Mercury's vaudevillian camp - but also on the pummeling "Stone Cold Crazy," a frenzied piece of jagged metal that's all the more exciting because it has a real melodic hook. Those hooks are threaded throughout the record, on both the ballads and the other rockers, but it isn't just that this is poppier, it's that they're able to execute their drama with flair and style.

Queen Crest

There are still references to mystical worlds ("Lily of the Valley," "In the Lap of Gods") but there's not the fantasy does not overwhelm as it did on the first two records; the theatricality is now wielded on everyday affairs, which ironically makes them sound larger than life. And this sense of scale, combined with the heavy guitars, pop hooks and theatrical style, marks the true unveiling of Queen, making Sheer Heart Attack as the moment where they truly came into their own. ~ [Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide]

What does Brian May think about Killer Queen?

Brian May

'Killer Queen' was the turning point. It was the song that best summed up our kind of music, and a big hit, and we desperately needed it as a mark of something successful happening for us... I was always very happy with this song. The whole record was made in a very craftsmanlike manner. I still enjoy listening to it because there's a lot to listen to, but it never gets cluttered. There's always space for all the little ideas to come through. And of course I like the solo, with that three-part section, where each part has its own voice. What can say? It's vintage Queen. The first time I heard Freddie playing that song, I was lying in my room in Rockfield [a residential recording studio in Wales], feeling very sick. After Queen's first American tour I had hepatitis, and then I had very bad stomach problems and I had to be operated on. So I remember just lying there, hearing Freddie play this really great song and feeling sad, because I thought, 'I can't even get out of bed to participate in this. Maybe the group will have to go on without me.' No one could figure out what was wrong with me. But then I did go into the hospital and I got fixed up, thank God. And when I came out again, we were able to finish off 'Killer Queen.' They left some space for me and I did the solo. I had strong feelings about one of the harmony bits in the chorus, so we had another go at that too.~ [Source:Wikipedia]

Side note:Mercury commented that the influences he received for the track included early Beatles records, Beach Boys and (lyrically) Noel Coward. He wrote the lyrics first before adding the complex musical arrangements. The recording features elaborate 4-part vocal harmonies (particularly in the choruses, and also providing backing parts in the verses), and also an elaborate multitracked guitar solo by Brian May.

For more Queen see Number 805, Number 799 & Number 747
For the Beatles see Number 947, 894 & 587

For Led Zeppelin see Number 957 & Number 577

For Beach Boys see Number 714, 641, 576 & 560

What does Rolling Stone think about Queen?

Queen—on the record and on the jacket, too—makes no concessions to moderation. This quartet, bejeweled and mascaraed, projects a correspondingly shrill surliness in its dramatically technologized rock & roll. And Queen makes unusually crisp, dense recordings — the group's three albums vibrate with multilayered electric guitars and unearthly overdubbed vocal harmonies (which have the unfortunate tendency to sound at times like Uriah Heep's). But there's more to Queen than rouge and chrome. The group's main writers, singer Freddie Mercury and guitarist Brian May, work in a sophisticated, glib style and the material's wittiness lifts the ponderously thick music like flaps on a jumbo jet. On Sheer Heart Attack, "Killer Queen" (which would seem from the title to be a sonic blitzkrieg) and "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" are 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.

I don't know how May and his band have managed to escape the attention of the American rock audience for so long, but Silk Torpedo should change that. And Freeway Madness and Parachute (both now deleted) will surely be regarded as two-dollar bin finds once the word gets out on this superior band. The Pretty Things have refined risk taking into an accessible style, and they take their chances with as much confidence, ease and effectiveness as any band now working in British rock. [Source:RS 186]

For Uriah Heep see Number 922

Artist Fact File

Name:Queen........................Related to³:No-one

Yrs Active:1970 to 1991...........Site:www.queenonline.com

Best Song¹:Bohemian Rhapsody......#1fan:www.queenworld.com

Best Album²:Sheer Heart Attack....Grammy Awards:0

Albums Sold:300 Million +.........Next best thing:Van Halen

¹Number of downloads WINMX ²Artistdirect choice ³Associated acts or collaborations

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at Number (Thermometer??) and the Album ranked at Number (Not even)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 73.9 out of 108 pts