Track Listing

1. Mustapha
2. Fat Bottomed Girls
3. Jealousy
4. Bicycle Race
5. If You Can't Beat Them
6. Let Me Entertain You
7. Dead On Time
8. In Only Seven Days
9. Dreamers Ball
10. Fun It
11. Leaving Home Ain't Easy
12. Don't Stop Me Now
13. More Of That Jazz

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19325 in Music
• Released on: 1994-02-07
• Number of discs: 1

CD Description
In 1978, all eyes were on Queen as they released the follow-up to their monster global hit NEWS OF THE WORLD. Predictably, JAZZ didn't achieve the massive commercial success of it's predecessor, but in aesthetic terms, it's a solid statement, and a marked progression of the band's musical vision. Though the band was already well into their "eclectic" mode by this time, the stylistic ventures the band takes on this album bring them even further afield from the heavy rock they're best known for.
Freddie Mercury kicks things off with"Mustapha", a nod to his Middle Eastern origins. Queen exhibits a ribald sense of humour on "Fat Bottomed Girls". Mercury indulges his Broadway tendencies to the hilt on "IF You Can't Beat Them" and "Don't Stop Me Now", which sound like they could have come from some obscure '50s musical. The jazzy"Dreamer's Ball" and the mellow, romantic "In Only Seven Days" provide welcome contrast. Amid all this eclecticism, though, the standout tracks are the propulsive rockers "Let Me Entertain You" (whose promise they fulfil) and "Dead on Time".

Customer Reviews

The last great Queen album!
I love this album! Has to be THE most overlooked Queen album! Remember when Queen albums sounded like they'd spent ages writing 'em and the songs weren't just bashed out on a synth? This is the last one! The ensuing 'Game' with its hollow sounding production (even 'Save Me' sounded washed-out compared to the single mix!)was for me, a massive let-down after Jazz and its predecessor, the titanic News of the World...
Anyway! What has Jazz got?-the lot! Great songs, great production (Roy Thomas Baker!) and the classic Queen quirkiness. 'Mustapha' starts off sounding like a 'Game' song, then Brian's gorgeous guitar comes crashing in and all fears are banished! Fat Bottomed Girls has extended May riffery transforming the track from its single incarnation to a self-respecting rocker. 'Jealousy' is a bit of vintage Mercury (RIP)swoonery..what a gorgeous song! At this point I must mention Deacon's 'In Only Seven Days'...surely the best and most poignant holiday romance song ever penned! Absolute perfection; rather than using synths, May orchestrates away in the background, Fred laments for all he is worth, and the final, 'Oh so sad, alone' lyric leaves you imagining the bereft vacationer's plight!A classic!
May is on form...'Dead on Time' Rocks! And this is the album with the seminal and wonderful 'Don't Stop Me Now'. Another classic.
'If You Can't Beat Them' is a melodic multi-layered Deacon-penned rocker with a brilliant phase-shifted outro section. 'Let Me Entertain You' is here too! Not to mention others such as the wistful 'Leaving Home Ain't Easy', a May corker with vintage lush-sounding Queen vocal harmonies. Wow. If you like Queen get this classic! I never could understand why this album has been so overlooked!

The end of an era
Queen’s 7th studio album really is the end of an era, being the last album of the 70’s, and the last album before the arrival of new producer Mack, synthesizers, drum machines, Freddie’s moustache and other horrors of the 1980’s. As usual with Queen’s golden period 1970’s output there’s a huge amount of genre-hopping on display (though oddly enough no actual jazz), great musicianship and massive layering of vocals and instruments on the production. The only slight downside here is the mix which is far too aggressive with the volume, and by trying to give the guitars huge impact at certain points certain moments are unnaturally quiet in the mix e.g.: the opening of ‘Let Me Entertain You’, or ‘Mustapha’ – if you’re not aware of this and have your volume set at what appears to be a correct volume you may well blow your speakers when the guitar kicks in after a couple of minutes!

After a surprisingly subdued showing on ‘News of the World’ Freddie returns to songwriting dominance on this album, with the ridiculously up-beat ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ and the ridiculous yet infectious ‘Bicycle Race’. ‘Let Me Entertain You’ is more of a straight-forward rocker, and obviously best intended for a live audience, but the real hidden gem here is the ballad ‘Jealousy’, which must have been a strong contender for a single release. The oddest track on the album meanwhile is the opener ‘Mustapha’, as Freddie starts with what sounds like a Middle Eastern call to prayer and the song ends up as a bizarre but heavy rock track.

Brian’s songs are uniformly strong, with the gorgeously sleazy ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ possibly topped by the frantic high-speed rocker ‘Dead On Time’. ‘Dreamer’s Ball’ is one of Queen’s tongue in cheek old-fashioned musical pastiche’s, while ‘Leaving Home Ain’t Easy’ (which Brian also provides lead vocals for) is a heartrending song that must rank amongst Brian’s best tunes.

John Deacon provides a top quality pair of tracks with the brief but gorgeous holiday romance song ‘In Only Seven Days’ and the less expected rock of ‘If You Can’t Beat Them’.

Sadly Roger Taylor provides what is the closest this album has to a weak track with the disco song (anticipating the 80’s) ‘Fun It’ – the main guitar riff is actually very good but the lyrics are so gormless (“Just shaking the soles of your feet…”) that it’s difficult to take it seriously. Thankfully Roger comes good with the album closer ‘More Of That Jazz’, a moody track dominated by an addictive guitar line.

‘Jazz’ may not be quite up to the level of ‘A Night At The Opera’ but it is certainly up there with the rest of Queen’s top ‘70’s albums, and for some bizarre reason is often overlooked. Queen would make some good albums in the 80’s, but ‘Jazz’ is the last GREAT one.

Mixed Bag
Queen demonstrate their diversity again as the mix of blues, rock, and even country, written by four unique talents who contribute equally comes together in an album that has much to heap praise on.

However, some tracks are more equal than others and sadly Roger doesn't do much to win over his doubters with some average writing and his drumming having little influence throughout this album (much better would come from him later).

Highlights naturally include the singles (F-B Girls, Bicycle Race, Dont Stop Me Now) but the ballads get most praise from this album - "Jealousy" is a well-delivered Mercury track whislt "In Only Seven Days" is another Deacon narrative classic.

Not as raw and energetic as the earlier albums and lacking the memorable production and polish that would be the trademark of later albums "Jazz" often falls between the two stools but is surprisingly accessible if you already own a few Queen albums and want to explore further.