JAZZ

'Jazz' is the seventh studio album of Queen that was released in 1978. The varying musical styles on the album were alternately praised and criticised. So, critical reaction upon its release wasn't particularly favourable. In recent years, reviews tend to be more favourable. For many fans, 'Jazz' became also a landmark in the musical career of the band. It's a fun album to listen to and it's equally as theatrical as Queen's mid 70's albums with many lively, beautiful and energetic songs. It represents the end of an era. 'Jazz' is in general considered the last of their classic studio albums.

'Jazz' has thirteen tracks. The first track 'Mustapha' written by Freddie Mercury was released as a single. On some versions the B side was 'Dead On Time' and on others was 'In Only Seven Days'. The single had different covers according to the different versions. It's a great song to open the album. The lyrics, I think, consist of English, Arabic, Persian and certainly a number of invented words. The second track 'Fat Bottomed Girls' written by Brian May was also released as a single with 'Bicycle Race'. It's a good rock song based on an open tuning guitar riff based in blues and hard rock. It has also a great choral work. This is a great song with a slight country touch and excellent vocal harmonies. The third track 'Jealousy' written by Freddie Mercury is another excellent song. We are in presence of a great classic and a typical ballad from the band that features Brian May playing the acoustic guitar. All vocals were performed by Freddie Mercury that shows an incredible vocal work. That explains why he was considered one of the greatest singers ever. The fourth track 'Bicycle Race' written by Freddie Mercury was, as I said before, released as a double A side single together with 'Fat Bottomed Girls'. It's another great song with a very unusual chord progression with several modulations and multi-tracked vocals and guitar harmonies. This is a brilliant short complex musical composition with beautiful harmonies. The fifth track 'If You Can't Beat Them' written by John Deacon is a hard rock composition, one of a live favourite for the band in the late of the 70's. It's one of my favourite songs from him. This is one of the few John Deacon's songs where Brian May plays all the guitars. It has one of his lengthiest guitar solos. Curiously, in some moments it reminds me Boston. The sixth track 'Let Me Entertain You' written by Freddie Mercury is a good rock song but belongs to the second part of the album, the less good part of it. From here the musical quality of the album decreases a bit. Still, this is also a good track. The seventh track 'Dead On Time' written by Brian May is similar to the previous track. It's a good rock song, with good lyrics, great guitar parts and complex melodies. Both songs are good, but I feel they are less good than the previous five. The eighth track 'In Only Seven Days' written by John Deacon is a nice song with good melody, good chorus and good musical atmosphere. Still, it's inferior to his other song. Somehow, it's a banal song and no wonder it became a forgettable song. The ninth track 'Dreamer's Ball' written by Brian May is another disappointing song. Probably, this was a Brain May's tribute to Elvis Presley, who died one year before. This is a song that personally tells me nothing, especially because I'm not a big fan of blues. The tenth track 'Fun It' written by Roger Taylor is the lowest point on the album and it's also one of the worst songs on any Queen's album. It seems the band wanted to produce a disco hit, and they even used a drum machine. This is the kind of songs that never should be part of this album. The eleventh track 'Leaving Home Ain't Easy' written by Brian May is a nice ballad where he sings all the vocals. It's a nice and pleasant acoustic guitar song with good harmonies but like some others, it's also a banal and forgettable song. The twelfth track 'Don't Stop Me Now' written by Freddie Mercury was another song chosen to be released as a single. It was the A side of the single 'In Only Seven Days' and the B side of 'More Of That Jazz'. This is another highlight on the album that fortunately brought back the great musical quality of the album. The thirteenth track 'More Of That Jazz' written by Roger Taylor is much better than his previous song. It's a very good song with acidic lyrics and great melody. One of the most interesting things of the song is the inclusion of short and abrupt musical passages from other songs on the album. It's a great song and an excellent final to the album.

Conclusion: As I wrote before 'Jazz' can be considered the last classic album of Queen and it can also be considered their last great album until the end of the 80's. In reality, it's an album that can oscillates between great songs such as 'Mustapha', 'Fat Bottomed Girls', 'Jealousy', 'Bicycle Race', 'If You Can't Beat Them' and 'Don't Stop Me Now' but it oscillates also between weak songs, especially 'Fun It'. I must confess that I had some hesitation with the rating to give to the album. This isn't really a well balanced album. The B side is less good than the A side, with some really weak songs. So, due to the A side be great and the last two songs on the B side, I decided to rate it with 4 stars. There's a great hard edge to this album. Perhaps you could call it a classic Queen. In general, you won't be disappointed with it.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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