Influences And Recollections of a Musical Mind

I have this persistent memory that the first time I heard Queen was on AM radio on the way to middle school. The song was Killer Queen and it simply mesmerized me from the first time I heard it. Freddie Mercury’s voice, the magical tone of Brian May’s guitar, the insanely catchy hook of the chorus (indeed, the entire song), and just the blend of all the elements coalescing into that SOUND that was uniquely Queen. The album Sheer Heart attack was released late in 1974, just before my 13th birthday. That was the year my love for rock music just shot into the stratosphere and never came down. I love the diversity of Sheer Heart Attack. It has some killer hard rock stuff (Brighton Rock, Now I’m Here, Stone Cold Crazy, Flick Of The Wrist), anthems (Killer Queen, In The Lap Of The Gods…Revisited), and off the wall (Bring Back That Leroy Brown, In The Lap Of The Gods, She Makes Me (Stormtrooper In Stilettos). The production on this album highlighted all the elements that made Queen so magnificent…the vocals (both lead and harmonies…oh, the harmonies!), guitars, drums, and did I mention vocals? This was the album where Queen became a global superpower, where they found their signature sound…Queen had arrived!

Written By Braddon S. Williams