Jazz (Queen album)
| Jazz | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Queen | ||||
| Released | 10 November 1978 | |||
| Recorded | July – October 1978 | |||
| Studio | Mountain Studios, Montreux and Super Bear Studios, Berre-les-Alpes, France | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 44:44 | |||
| Label |
EMI, Parlophone (Europe) Elektra (1978), Hollywood (1991) (USA) |
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| Producer | Queen and Roy Thomas Baker | |||
| Queen chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Jazz | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Chicago Tribune |  |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
| The Guardian | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Uncut | |
| The Village Voice | C+ |
Jazz is the seventh studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 10 November 1978. Roy Thomas Baker temporarily reunited with the band and became their producer; it was three years since he co-produced their 1975 album A Night at the Opera, but this album also was the last he co-produced for the band. The album's varying musical styles were alternately praised and criticised. It reached #2 in the UK Albums Chart and #6 on the US Billboard 200. Jazz has sold over 5 million copies to date.
Jazz was the first Queen album recorded outside the UK. Included in the liner notes is the humorous attribution "Thunderbolt courtesy of God", referring to the crash of thunder heard at the end of "Dead on Time," which Brian May recorded with a portable audio recorder during a thunderstorm. The album artwork was suggested by Roger Taylor, who previously saw a similar design painted on the Berlin Wall.
"Mustapha" is a song written by Freddie Mercury. It was released as a single in 1979.
The lyrics consist of English, Arabic, Persian and possibly a number of invented words. Some understandable words are "Mustapha", "Ibrahim" and the phrases "Allah, Allah, Allah we'll pray for you", "salaam alaykum" and "alaykum salaam".
In live performances, such as the performance on Live Killers, Mercury would often sing the opening vocals of "Mustapha" in place of the complex introduction to "Bohemian Rhapsody", going from "Allah, we'll pray for you" to "Mama, just killed a man...". However, sometimes the band performed an almost full version of the song, with Mercury at the piano.
"Fat Bottomed Girls" was written by Brian May with lead vocals shared by Mercury and May, who sings lead on the chorus. On stage Mercury sang the entire song, with Roger Taylor and May doing harmonies. Both guitar and bass are played in drop-D tuning for this song, a rarity for Queen.
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