Caviar and cigarettes, well versed in etiquette

Queen - Sheer Heart Attack - 1974

I've always thought this was, probably, one of the strangest Queen albums. Recorded just a few months after their previous one, it is quite an evolutionary step that belies the short incubation period.

They start moving away from the fantasy world, and more into pop/rock, and into what would be their definite sound.
It's also, of course, the album that would give them their first high ranking singles, the classic, whimsical and brilliant "Killer Queen".
It's a great album, and one that I enjoy immensely listening to. It's the last one they released before making it really big with "Bohemian Rhapsody" and while it's gained a lot of recognition in more recent years, it was practically unknown when I was growing up.
There's one thing that, while I can't say I don't like, strikes me as a bit different than any other Queen's albums, and it's the fact that at times it would almost seem like Brian and Freddie were each of them doing their own thing. While they always had their own style, in every other album you can hear more the participation of the other: Freddie would come up with his almost vaudeville kinds of songs, but there would be a lot of Brian's solos, harder guitars, etc. The same goes for Brian's songs, which would have harder rock elements that somehow would be coloured by Freddie's singing and creativity.
Here that seems toned down, for the most part. Brian opens and closes what used to be the Side A with really hard rockers like "Brighton Rock" and "Now I'm here", and they are pure Brian. Freddie's songs would not surprise in an alternative version of the Cabaret soundtrack and many of them have little participation from Brian. Now, don't get me wrong, I love all these songs, and they make for an incredibly varied album. It's not even criticism, it's an observation from listening to it now.

And as I've been doing with all Queen albums so far, today it's Roger Taylor's turn. He's one of the most talented (and probably also underrated) drummers in rock music, and one hell of a singer, to boot. I think I'm only now fully realising how much he contributed to the vocal harmonies of the band, how present his raspy but high-pitched, and quite unique, voice was, and how fundamental it was for the sound of the band.
And, on top of that, his compositions were always a plus to every Queen album. I always found his songs to be quirky, strange, with lyrics that somehow always seemed to be a bit rebellious, which of course I found very appealing as a teenager, and I still do.
I was about to give this entry the title "My new purple shoes", which is the opening line of his song, "Tenement Funster". "Killer Queen" ended up winning because, well,  "Killer Queen".

• Just in case, this album does not contain the song called "Sheer Heart Attack". It was originally written for this album, but never got finished until 1977. 
• The opening track, "Brighton Rock", tells the story of Jenny and Jimmy and "how they spent their holiday". The Jenny parts are sung in such a high falsetto that is borderline annoying. It also has one of the longest guitar solos in Queen history. The live versions would also feature quite a long drums solo.
• This is the first album to feature a song written by John Deacon, which is "Misfire". It's a really cool pop song. Deacon always knew how to write those. 
• It also is the first album to feature a song written by the four of them, "Stone Cold Crazy", which is pure madness and would be brilliantly covered by Metallica years later. 
• Nobody knows who "Flick of the Wrist", written by Mercury, was about. It sure seems to be someone he was not too happy about. It's not quite as venomous as "Death on two Legs" would be in their next albums, but it comes pretty close. It's one of my favourite songs in the album. 
• While I mentioned that Brian and Freddie's styles seemed more separated here, "Killer Queen" has a beautiful guitar solo. Brian was very ill during the recording of the album, and had to be hospitalised a couple of times. He remembers feeling very sad because he would hear the song but couldn't participate on it. Eventually, he got his health problems fixed and came back. About it, he says: "When I came out, we were able to finish 'Killer Queen'. They left some space for me and I did the solo." I always loved their sense of friendship.
• Of course, I'm going to put "Killer Queen" here, that's granted. But because that's not enough, and because I wrote about Roger, and because "Tenement Funster/Flick of the Wrist/Lily of the Valley" are a medley, I'm putting the three of them. 
• By the way, Dream Theater made a cover of the medley. I had half a mind to post it as a Bonus Track, but it's way too similar to the original, and I far prefer Roger and Freddie in vocals to LaBrie. 

You know it ain't easy

The Sweet - Desolation Boulevard - 1974

Shortly after the release of their previous album (seems like people recorded a lot in '74), The Sweet was at it again.
There's not much I can say about this album that, basically, I haven't said already. This one seems more of an effort for a rockier sound but, at the same time, it's a bit less fun than their previous one. The singles, "The Six Teens" and "Fox on the Run" are really cool, but most of the material is filler. Mind you, I'm talking about the UK version of the album. In the US, this album would be released one year later and it would contain some of the best tracks from both this one and Sweet F.A., and that is really a lot of fun.

• There's an over 8 minute version of "The Man with the Golden Arm", from the 1955 eponymous movie. It has a very long drum solo and I'm not really sure why they did it. It's weird and not too good.
• One of the singles is "Fox on the Run", which is a cool song that, to me, sounded a lot like something Kiss would do. There's a surprise in the Bonus Tracks for all of you (well, it was a surprise for me).
• There's also a cover of The Who's "My Generation". It's more tolerable than their other cover, but also quite a carbon copy of the original, which always seems a bit pointless to me. 
• Because I didn't with last album, because it's my favourite song by them, and because it's instant cheer and happiness, here comes "Ballroom Blitz".

Bonus Track

• During these years, Scorpions, or some of them, had a side project called The Hunter. They released a single containing two songs by The Sweet: "Action" and "Fox on the Run". Actually it's "Fuchs geh voran". In German. Their cover is pretty good, actually!