Songs

Side One

1. Brighton Rock

   "Brighton Rock" was written by Brian May during the Queen II sessions, but was not recorded at that time, as the group felt it would not fit with the rest of the album.[23] Lyrically, it tells the story of two young lovers named Jenny and Jimmy, who meet in Brighton on a public holiday.[24] Mods travelling to Brighton on bank holidays was a popular narrative at the time, as in The Who's Quadrophenia.[25] Jenny cannot linger because she is afraid her mother will find out "how I spent my holiday", but afterwards "writes a letter every day"; Jimmy, who was eager on the day, responds that he is afraid of discovery by "my lady".

2. Killer Queen

   "Killer Queen" was the band's first international hit single.[28][29] It is one of the few songs written by Freddie Mercury for which he wrote the lyrics, which are about a high class prostitute, before the music. The band initially recorded tracks for the song without May, because he was recovering in hospital from a duodenal ulcer, leaving spaces for him to fill when he was better. Mercury played a jangle piano as well as a grand piano on the recording. After it charted as a single, the band performed the song on Top of the Pops.

   

3. Tenement Funster

   Roger Taylor wrote "Tenement Funster" about youth and rebellion and sang lead vocals, while John Deacon played the song's prominent acoustic guitar parts in May's absence. It segues into Mercury's "Flick of the Wrist" (which was released, along with "Killer Queen", as a double A-sided single), and then into a softer, piano-based Mercury song, "Lily of the Valley", making the three songs a medley.[30]

   

4. Flick of the Wrist

   "Flick of the Wrist" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as a double A-side with "Killer Queen" in the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, the United States and most other territories. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack.Freddie Mercury explained that the unpleasant character in the song was not based on anyone in particular: "I wrote it as a sort of tongue-in-cheek story about the con-men and rip-off artists we're always running into. Our manager would like to think it's about him, but it's not.

   

5. Lily of the Valley

   "Lily of the Valley" is a song by British rock band Queen. It was written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, who also plays the piano and provides all the vocals on the track. It was originally featured on Queen's third album, Sheer Heart Attack, released in 1974, and is one of the album's few ballads. In 1975, "Lily of the Valley" was released as the B-side of different singles in the U.K. and the United States. The U.K. single was "Now I'm Here", and the U.S. single was a reissue of "Keep Yourself Alive".[1] For the former release the first measure of the song was excised to avoid the cross-fade with "Flick of the Wrist"

6. Now I'm Here

   "Now I'm Here" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by lead guitarist Brian May, it was the sixth song on their third album, Sheer Heart Attack (1974). The song is noted for its hard riff and vocal harmonies. In the UK, the song reached #11 on the charts when released as a single in 1975.[5] The song was a live favourite, performed at virtually every concert from late 1974 to 1986.The song draws on May's fond experiences of the band's US tour earlier in 1974. Mott the Hoople, whom Queen was supporting, are referenced in the line: Down in the city, just Hoople and me. It also appeared on the 1981 compilation album Greatest Hits and the 1997 compilation album Queen Rocks.

   

Side Two

7. In the Lap of the Gods

   "In the Lap of the Gods" was written by Mercury and featured multiple vocal overdubs from himself and Roger Taylor. It features one of the highest notes on the album, sung by Taylor. Other than the name, it is completely unrelated to In the Lap of the Gods...Revisited.

   

8. Stone Cold Crazy

   "Stone Cold Crazy" was one of the earliest tracks that Queen performed live, and had several different arrangements before being recorded for Sheer Heart Attack. No band member was able to remember who had written the lyrics when the album was released, so they shared the writing credit, the first of their songs to do so. The lyrics deal with gangsters and include a reference to Al Capone. The track has a fast tempo and heavy distortion, presaging speed metal.[32] Music magazine Q described "Stone Cold Crazy" as "thrash metal before the term was invented".[33] The song was played live at almost every Queen concert between 1974 and 1978.[34][35][36][37] Metallica covered the song as their contribution to the 1990 compilation album Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary. This cover version was later used as a B-side of their "Enter Sandman" single and subsequently won a Grammy Award; it also appeared on their covers/B-sides album Garage Inc.

9. Dear Friends

   "Dear Friends" is a ballad written by May and sung by Mercury.

10. Misfire

    "Misfire" was John Deacon's first individual composition for the band, and featured him playing most of the guitar parts on the track.

11. Bring Back That Leroy Brown

    The title of "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" alludes to the then-recent hit "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce, who had died in a plane crash the previous year. Written by Mercury, "Bring Back That Leroy Brown" features him playing grand piano and jangle piano, as well as doing multiple vocal overdubs. May plays a short section on ukulele-banjo, and Deacon plays a line on the double bass. DRUM! Magazine has commended Taylor's drum work on the song, calling it a good example of his versatility: "It really shows off Taylor’s versatility. He nails dozens of kicks throughout this fast and tricky song and proves that he could’ve been a big band drummer or ably fit into any theatrical pit band if Queen hadn’t worked out so well for him. Honky-tonk piano, upright bass, ukulele-banjo, and a smokin' drummer all add up to a rollicking good time."[38]

12. She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettoes)

    "She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettoes)" was written and sung by May with him and Deacon playing acoustic guitars. Its finale features what May referred to as "New York nightmare sounds", which include NYC police vehicle sirens and deep-breathing sounds.

13. In the Lap of the Gods...Revisited

    "In the Lap of the Gods...Revisited" was Mercury's first attempt to write a song that the audience would sing along to, similar to the later, and more successful, "We Are the Champions". It was one of Queen's set-closers from 1974 to 1977. During the 1986 Magic tour, it was performed again in a medley, where it segued into "Seven Seas of Rhye".