Queen’s “Jazz” Still Among Greatest Rock Albums After 40 Years

By CHRISTOPHER KASPEROWICZ

The year was 1978 and Queen was sitting atop the world as one of the greatest rock bands around. With hit albums coming out one year after next, Freddie Mercury and Brian May couldn’t go wrong.

It started in 1975 with the album “A Night at the Opera” which featured the greatest Queen_1984_012 (1)known Queen song to date, “Bohemian Rhapsody.”  In 1976, it was a “A Day at the Races,” including such hits as “Tie Your Mother Down” and “Somebody to Love.” The next year it was “News of the World,” the album that included the greatest anthem in rock history “We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions.”

It was in 1978, however, that Queen revolutionized there sound and aimed for a different style of music. They cut right to the chase with the album’s name: Jazz. And the album is still among the greatest tunes after 40 years.

Queen_Jazz

“This album changed the way I listen to music,” said Ray Parente, 23, of Brooklyn, New York. “It may have come way before my time, will it will impact the way I listen and the way I play.”

The first song on the album is “Mustapha,” an “up tempo Arabic rocker,” according to Circus magazine. Most didn’t know this at the time, but Freddie Mercury was a native of Turkey, and the lyrics of the song are written in that language. How about that for changing it up?

The rest of the album consisted of twelve hits, highlighted by “Fat Bottomed Girls,” “Bicycle Race,” and “Don’t Stop Me Now.”

“You opened up that album and all we saw was the fold out… at least 100 naked girls on bicycles. They surely made the world go ’round, alright,” said Steve Gajdzisz, a Jersey City musician. “Seriously, nobody listened to the album right after they opened it up. They were busy for lack of another word. But that song really got ya pumped up, man.”

FreddieMercurySinging1977Bicycle Race” was a song comparable to “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel. The song addressed political issues, world events, and even pop culture at a rapid melodic pace. The song makes references to religion, Peter Pan, and Watergate, to just name a few of the crazy lyrical oddities. The most intriguing part of the song however, must be the actual bike bells they used during the bridge, a segment of a song that changes pace with the rhythm.

“I remember looking at my friends and saying what the hell is going on? I love it,” Gajdzisz said.

The greatest song on the album, what would end up on any Queen’s Greatest Hits record or collection of Rock and Roll’s Greatest Ballad’s would be “Don’t Stop Me Now.” This song, much like Bohemian Rhapsody starts of so slow and beautiful, lyrically, and musically. It then dives into a true rock ballad.

“Whenever I need a boost, I put this song on,” said Robert Bothe, of Maplewood, New Jersey. “It’s so hard to pick but Don’t Stop Me Now might be my favorite Queen song of all time.”

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1 Comment

  1. The strongest feature in this article is definitely the quotes, as the passionate words from fans definitely drive home your points that the album is still beloved 40 years later. However, I think it could still benefit from some aspect of newsworthiness. Is Queen doing anything, are there any honors or celebrations? While interesting it reads more like a track by track rather than reporting on an event or occurrence, which would add to the story and help to include readers who aren’t necessarily huge Queen fans.

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