Well Jazz was the first Queen album I got on vinyl in 1979 when I was 6 or 7. I played it so much that (after a few years) I got sick of it, and ended up liking the other albums better anyway, so I never bought it on CD til now. I always viewed the earlier albums as much more groundbreaking, but Jazz is much better than what I gave it credit for.
Some of the songs could have been classics if they had just had better lyrics ("If You Can't Beat Them", "In Only Seven Days") but I just love the melodies and the way the instruments and vocals sound. I couldn't get enough of "If You Can't Beat Them" even though the lyrics are a little cheesy :)
The Fat Bottomed Girls intro glitch isn't on this Hollyweird CD (bought in Iowa), and I don't think it was on my friend's Jazz CD that he bought 10 years ago also in Iowa. I still am used to the single edit of Fat Bottomed Girls though, since I had the 45 first, and still feel that amazement I felt when I played the album version through headphones for the first time and heard all the extra parts. I didn't know anything about "stereo" at the time, so the extra guitar solo at the beginning that's in one speaker was the coolest thing I'd ever heard :) I love how Brian just sort of teases before getting to the main part of the song, then it goes back to both speakers. I also really like the bonus remix of FBG with the slightly different harmonies and the slightly different guitar solo...I was listening to it and got pulled over for speeding in my truck (just a warning though) :)
Let's see...I listened to "Dead On Time" on repeat for about an hour while driving to another town...forgot how good that song is. I did the same with "More Of That Jazz" which I think is underrated. It's a very sort of visual "minimalistic" song and I love how the guitar sounds in it. I'm a filmmaker, so I think visual (and am thus a big Pink Floyd fan also). At the beginning of "More Of That Jazz" I picture several slowly rotating psychadelic computer graphics melding in and out with each other, a little bit like the motors in a clock. And this probably sounds disturbing, but I think it would be a great soundtrack to a film where the main character is committing suicide toward the end for some reason. Instead of the "medley" part of the song, he'd have flashbacks to previous spots in the movie, then I visualize him doing a sort of triple flip off a large cliff in slow motion at different angles (toward the end of the song...the "no more...no more..." part). Then it all ends sort of anti-climatically in black with the drums at the end of the song. But that's just me :)
Anyway I thought I would just listen to it a couple times then shelve it, but I've been listening to it for a few weeks in my truck and still really like it. Originally it was just for nostalgia but I think it's quite a musically complex album, even though I consider it Queen's "fun" album :)
Oh yeah - some useless trivia I think I noticed: Is the thunder sound-effect at the end of Dead On Time the same as used at the beginning of Live Killers? Oh and I like finally owning the Bicycle Race poster which my mom wouldn't let me send for :)
My favorite, too! I can always go back to Jazz, like going back to Mother. (a variation of Roger's quote in Champions of the World) Dead on Time still sounds as fresh as a daisy.
Leaving Home ain't Easy, Mustapha, Fat Bottomed Girls (after listening to the Greatest Hits version it sounded very, very different), Dead on Time and 'In Only Seven Days'.
Quite enjoy that album.
Shows the strength of this album that nobody has yet mentioned Don't Stop Me Now, one of their finest and most famous numbers.
A great album, but not THE greatest - which, as I'm sure you are all aware of by now, is A Day At The Races.
Oh here's something else I noticed after buying the CD (is it on the Trainspotting guide?)....
Okay listen to the following section on "Fat Bottomed Girls" (toward the end):
"Fat bottomed girls you make the rockin' world go 'round,
Yeah,
Fat bottomed girls you make the rockin' world go round...get on your bikes and ride."
The word "Yeah" is mixed differently on the album version than the single version. On the single version Freddie is mixed louder, while on the album version Brian's guitar overpowers Freddie.
I now recall always anticipating which version it would be before hearing it, but never really paid attention. My records were really scratched so I guess I thought I was hearing things before.
Hey goinback (and anyone else with both vinyl and CD versions) - I feel there's a marked difference in sound quality & dynamics on Mustapha between vinyl and CD. I think the contrast between soft/loud sections on the vinyl is much greater, whereas the CD kind of "normalizes" the 2 sections so they're not as noticeably different. Do you notice that, too?
Yes! You can hear a definite difference on both. Moreso on either the Japanese remastered CD or 24K gold CD (you can turn it up and the sound's amazing). The sheer force of Fred's voice always stuns me!
goinback wrote:
on "Fat Bottomed Girls" (toward the end):
The word "Yeah" is mixed differently on the album version than the single version. On the single version Freddie is mixed louder, while on the album version Brian's guitar overpowers Freddie.
You are correct. I can't believe I've never noticed before. Whenever I get a new version of the Jazz CD, I like to personally recreate the single version to add as a bonus track on my listening copy. My edits may be perfect, but now it turns out the mix is different... thanks a lot! :P