I'm a big fan of Jazz; it's much less plodding than News of the World and the songs are very energetic. I think it sounds great in terms of production, certainly better than what they did with mack, that Austrian dance producer. Let Me Entertain You and Dead on Time are great rockers and Jealousy is a stunning ballad. I don't think Roger Taylor's songs are that bad. Fun it is a a good stab at disco and More of That jazz sounds great with those strange guitar effects.
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Posts in chronological order
First of all, I still appreciate the poster!!
Moving on...in the ancient days of stone tablets and 8-tracks, a good ol' 90 minute tape had 22 1/2 minutes per track. Side two of 'Jazz' runs around 24 minutes.
Something had to be deleted, so I chose 'Fun It'. Made for a better segue from 'Dreamer's Ball' to 'Leaving Home'.
In more advanced times, that's still the running order of one of my tapes.
Another has 'Jealousy' and 'Fun It' flip-flopped. It makes each side sound more consistant. The first LP in which I thought the running order should have been changed. I can't argue against LMEY opening either side one or two, but there's too much Pavlovian in me to think of 'Mustapha' not opening the album. They always did start with something unique (other than 'Hot Space'). You gotta give them credit for having the balls to begin with this. And it does work.
I agree that ending it with 'Don't Stop Me Now' probably would have been a good idea.
We've got a young friend who, due to computer programming, grew up listening to the 70s albums with all the songs in alphabetical order. Envision
BRace / DOTime / DSMNow / DBall / FBG / Fun It
IYCBThem / IOSDays / Jealousy / LHAEasy / LMEYou /
MOTJazz / Mustapha
Would love to hear this album remixed, with the percussion sounding more like SHA. And, perhaps, FBG single version, but with the album version ending.
I thought that '7 Days' was the lamest track that they'd ever released up to that point. Comparing it now to some of the later synth tracks, it's actually quite good.
Thinking back, I remember how irritated I was that the album did not include the lyrics. Or the times for the songs. Anyone here spend one listen jotting down the times while keenly observing a wall or desk clock? Oh, the youth of today, how lucky they are.
Moving on...in the ancient days of stone tablets and 8-tracks, a good ol' 90 minute tape had 22 1/2 minutes per track. Side two of 'Jazz' runs around 24 minutes.
Something had to be deleted, so I chose 'Fun It'. Made for a better segue from 'Dreamer's Ball' to 'Leaving Home'.
In more advanced times, that's still the running order of one of my tapes.
Another has 'Jealousy' and 'Fun It' flip-flopped. It makes each side sound more consistant. The first LP in which I thought the running order should have been changed. I can't argue against LMEY opening either side one or two, but there's too much Pavlovian in me to think of 'Mustapha' not opening the album. They always did start with something unique (other than 'Hot Space'). You gotta give them credit for having the balls to begin with this. And it does work.
I agree that ending it with 'Don't Stop Me Now' probably would have been a good idea.
We've got a young friend who, due to computer programming, grew up listening to the 70s albums with all the songs in alphabetical order. Envision
BRace / DOTime / DSMNow / DBall / FBG / Fun It
IYCBThem / IOSDays / Jealousy / LHAEasy / LMEYou /
MOTJazz / Mustapha
Would love to hear this album remixed, with the percussion sounding more like SHA. And, perhaps, FBG single version, but with the album version ending.
I thought that '7 Days' was the lamest track that they'd ever released up to that point. Comparing it now to some of the later synth tracks, it's actually quite good.
Thinking back, I remember how irritated I was that the album did not include the lyrics. Or the times for the songs. Anyone here spend one listen jotting down the times while keenly observing a wall or desk clock? Oh, the youth of today, how lucky they are.
I think that 'Jazz' started a transition time on Queen music but it's an interesting album. It has one of my John's favourites (If You Can Beat Them) and I agree that the drum sound is not as great as the previous albums even on 'Queen I' (which Roger was never happy with the drum sound) is better. I really think that 'Entertain you', 'Dead an Time' and 'Fat Bottomed Girls' should sound much more rocker with a better drum sound...
I also think that if would be better if 'Rock You/Champions' close 'News of the world'. IMO I think those are songs that you do not expect to hear on the beggining of a recording.
I also think that if would be better if 'Rock You/Champions' close 'News of the world'. IMO I think those are songs that you do not expect to hear on the beggining of a recording.
Interesting thread. I always loved Mustapha as an opener because if you were a fan at the time and putting the vinyl on the turntable for the first time with a Queen album, you could prepare to be a bit shocked. Hearing the openings of songs like Brighton Rock, WWRY, Mustapha, Staying Power, and Radio Ga Ga were definitely WTF? moments for me, as they were sounds and styles Queen hadn't incorporated before. Good thoughts all round on the production values, interesting to hear knowledgeable opinions.
I don't know why the production was iffy on this album. Maybe the boys didn't need to bring Roy back.
I like all the songs on it apart from More Of That Jazz.
I always think that Let Me Entertain you is too tame and theres not enough energy in it. It was always better live.
I like all the songs on it apart from More Of That Jazz.
I always think that Let Me Entertain you is too tame and theres not enough energy in it. It was always better live.
Jeesss, I simply adore Fun It!
Best bit by far: put on those headphones and listen to Rogers voice on "That's the only soul you'll ever meet", especially "only"!
Other genius bits:
- Freddie's "can't you see" and "groove on out" and Brians guitar going with those lines.
- Just before the end of this underrated gem, and right after that annyoning keyboardish whizzle-kinda sound (y'know what I mean), on 3m22 Brians guitar getting back into groove... genius!
Cheerz,
H.M.S.
Best bit by far: put on those headphones and listen to Rogers voice on "That's the only soul you'll ever meet", especially "only"!
Other genius bits:
- Freddie's "can't you see" and "groove on out" and Brians guitar going with those lines.
- Just before the end of this underrated gem, and right after that annyoning keyboardish whizzle-kinda sound (y'know what I mean), on 3m22 Brians guitar getting back into groove... genius!
Cheerz,
H.M.S.
I agree with most of the posts, very interesting because I also like JAZZ very much. It's not my Queen Fav but I like it better than all 80s albums.
One thing about Mustapha: When I started to listen to Queen (back then JAZZ was the latest album!) I wasn't too good at English, so I think the "stupid" Lyrics of that song didn't irritate me because I never cared about the lyrics anyway. They could have sung in Chinese, they still would have been my favourite band.
And one very clear fact about the album: Every song was much better when done live. That indicates clearly that something with the production as well as the dedication of the band members to studio work at that time was somehow weak.
Bye,
Nummer2
One thing about Mustapha: When I started to listen to Queen (back then JAZZ was the latest album!) I wasn't too good at English, so I think the "stupid" Lyrics of that song didn't irritate me because I never cared about the lyrics anyway. They could have sung in Chinese, they still would have been my favourite band.
And one very clear fact about the album: Every song was much better when done live. That indicates clearly that something with the production as well as the dedication of the band members to studio work at that time was somehow weak.
Bye,
Nummer2
jazz is a great album, but they made a few mistakes in the process. First of all my least two favorite songs on the album are "more of that jazz" (horrible song) and "fun it" they have 13 tracks and could easily threw "more of that jazz" in the trash bin, but, "fun it" was at least a decent enough song to keep. The album should have ended with the classic "don't stop me now" also, Some people like to say the album should have opened with "let me entertain you" that might have worked, but in my opinion the brilliant "mustafa" was the perfect choice for that slot. people tend to forget that mustafa was a fan favorite in the late seventies, you could hear proof of that on live killer's.
Anybody know where the album title came from?
I don't think the drums were the problem with the sound (the drum roll at the end of the second verse of FBG is awesome), but I think the whole thing sounded dry. The comment about the studio version of LMEY was spot on - live it was lethal, but it just sounds flat on the record. There's no ambient sound on the album, save for the thunderclap!
That said, when I was a kid I loved the album. The diversity from track to track blew my mind. Mustafa may not be best song ever written, but it sure stopped you cold when you threw the record (remember those?) on the turntable. Yeah, Roger's songs were a drag, but otherwise the guys were knocking out some solid tunes in a short amount of time and tearing them up on stage. A great time for Queen, and a good album.
I don't think the drums were the problem with the sound (the drum roll at the end of the second verse of FBG is awesome), but I think the whole thing sounded dry. The comment about the studio version of LMEY was spot on - live it was lethal, but it just sounds flat on the record. There's no ambient sound on the album, save for the thunderclap!
That said, when I was a kid I loved the album. The diversity from track to track blew my mind. Mustafa may not be best song ever written, but it sure stopped you cold when you threw the record (remember those?) on the turntable. Yeah, Roger's songs were a drag, but otherwise the guys were knocking out some solid tunes in a short amount of time and tearing them up on stage. A great time for Queen, and a good album.
According to Brian circa 1978, Roger saw the word 'Jazz' painted on a wall in Berlin and thought it looked powerful.