Jazz (Queen album)

Jazz is the seventh studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 10 November 1978 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records in the United States. Produced by Roy Thomas Baker, the album artwork was suggested by Roger Taylor, who previously saw a similar design painted on the Berlin Wall.^[1] 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 worldwide.

Song information

"Mustapha"

"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"

"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.

"Jealousy"

"Jealousy" was penned by Mercury and features May playing his Hairfred acoustic guitar. The guitar had been given a replacement hardwood bridge, chiselled flat, with a small piece of fret wire placed between it and the strings, which lay gently above. The strings produce the "buzzing" effect of a sitar.^[2] This effect had already been used on "White Queen (As It Began)", from Queen II. All vocals were recorded by Mercury.

"Bicycle Race"

"Bicycle Race" is a complex composition by Mercury. It features several modulations, unusual chord functions, a metre change (4/4 to 6/8 and back), and a programmatic section (a race of guitars emulating the bicycle race).

"If You Can't Beat Them"

"If You Can't Beat Them" is another hard rock composition by John Deacon and a live favourite for the band in the late 1970s. It is one of the few songs by Deacon where May plays all the guitars and contains a guitar solo of over two minutes, making it one of the longest guitar solos in a Queen song.

"Let Me Entertain You"

"Let Me Entertain You" was written by Mercury, directed towards the audience. The line "we'll sing to you in Japanese" is a reference to May's Teo Torriatte, from A Day at the Races. The song also contains a reference to their record labels at the time (Elektra and EMI Records) with the line "With Elektra and EMI we'll show you where it's at". The idea of a guitar riff in parallel sixths was re-used later in the Innuendo track, "The Hitman".

"Dead on Time"

"Dead on Time", written by May, features some of the fastest and most aggressive guitar work by its author, as well as intense drumming by Taylor. The song contains two high belts by lead singer Freddie Mercury that top at C#5. Performed at high tempo for Queen, it was considered by fans to be an ideal live number, but was curiously never played in concert; May would only incorporate snippets of it in his guitar solos during the Jazz Tour.

The song resembles "Keep Yourself Alive" from Queen's self-titled debut album. In the last chorus, the words "keep yourself alive" are sung, and in the lyrics attached to the album, those words are written in capitals.

The song ends with the sound of a thunderbolt, followed by Mercury screaming "You're dead!" The thunderbolt was actually recorded by May on a portable recorder during a vicious thunderstorm. The album's liner notes credit the thunderbolt to God.

"In Only Seven Days"

"In Only Seven Days" is Deacon's other songwriting contribution on the album, and shares similarities with one of his previous songs, "Spread Your Wings". Deacon also played acoustic and electric guitar on this song. It was the B-Side on "Don't Stop Me Now".

"Dreamer's Ball"

"Dreamer's Ball" is May's tribute to Elvis Presley, who died one year before the album was released. The arrangement for the concert version was completely different, with May and Taylor doing vocal brasses.

"Fun It"

"Fun It" is a funk track with a disco vibe by Taylor, where both he and Mercury shared the vocals. Taylor did the lead vocals, while Mercury was backup. Taylor used Syndrum pads and played most of the instruments. It can be seen as a precursor to "Another One Bites the Dust", especially with the intro of this track.

"Leaving Home Ain't Easy"

"Leaving Home Ain't Easy" is a ballad by May, who also sang all the vocals (lead and harmony). His voice was sped up for the bridge.

"Don't Stop Me Now"

"Don't Stop Me Now" was written by Mercury. It was a top ten hit single in the UK and is one of Queen's most famous songs. May's only input is a short guitar solo and backing vocals. The song was used in the now-famous bar scene of the motion picture Shaun of the Dead. In addition, the BBC show Top Gear named it the top song in a viewer poll of Top Ten driving songs.^[3] Google also used the song for their Google Doodle to commemorate Mercury's 65th birthday on 5 September 2011.^[4]

"More of That Jazz"

"More of That Jazz" is loop based and Taylor plays most instruments and sings all vocals, reaching some very high notes (peaking on an E5). The outro also contains short clips from many songs on the album, including "Dead on Time", "Bicycle Race", "Mustapha", "If You Can't Beat Them", "Fun It", and "Fat Bottomed Girls".

Alternative artwork

A bicycle race with nude women was held to promote the album and the "Fat Bottomed Girls"/"Bicycle Race" single.^[5] A poster of the start of the race was included with copies of the LP. In the US, in response to some retailers not wishing to stock the poster, a coupon was included in some copies so the poster could be ordered via mail instead. Copies which did contain the poster carried a promotional sticker stating so. A smaller portion of the poster image also used as an alternate single cover for "Bicycle Race."^[5]

Fold out included in album

A small version of the poster was included with the Crown Jewels box set.

Singles

Four singles were released from the album:

"Bicycle Race"/"Fat Bottomed Girls (edit)" – Elektra E45541; released December 1978.

"Bicycle Race" and "Fat Bottomed Girls" were released in 1978 as a double A-side; the band staged a famous nude, all-female bicycle race to promote the single. The bicycle race took place on 17 September 1978 at Wimbledon Stadium in London. The picture sleeve showed a rear view of one of the ladies on her bicycle, but a pair of red panties were painted on to avoid public outcry. Legend has it that the band borrowed the bicycles from a store ("Halfords", according to the liner notes), but upon returning them were informed that they would have to purchase all the seats, as they had been used in an improper manner (i.e. without clothing).

"Mustapha" was released in 1979 only in Bolivia, Spain, Yugoslavia and Germany. Its B-side was "Dead on Time" ("In Only Seven Days" in Yugoslavia).
"Don't Stop Me Now"/"More of That Jazz" – Elektra E46008; released February 1979.

"Don't Stop Me Now" was released in 1979; its B-side was "In Only Seven Days" ("More of That Jazz" in the US and Canada).

"Jealousy"/"Fun It" – Elektra E46039; released April 1979.

"Jealousy" was released in 1979 in the US, New Zealand, Brazil, USSR, and Canada; its B-side was "Fun It" ("Don't Stop Me Now" in USSR, on a blue flexi disc).

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[6]
Chicago Tribune	^[7]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[8]
The Guardian	^[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[10]
Uncut	^[11]
The Village Voice	C+^[12]

In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Dave Marsh panned Jazz as "more of the same dull pastiche" from Queen, who he said displayed "elitist notions" with some of their musical choices and lyrics. Marsh said "Fat Bottomed Girls" treated women "not as sex objects but as objects, period (the way the band regards people in general)".^[13] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said the record was not wholly bad, even finding "Bicycle Race" humorous, although he said Queen sounded like the band 10cc "with a spoke, or a pump, up their ass".^[12] Alexis Petridis later wrote in The Guardian, "Jazz was hysterical in every sense of the word, but the music press comprehensively failed to get the joke, particularly in the US".^[9]

2011 re-issue

On 8 November 2010, record company Universal Music announced a remastered and expanded reissue of the album set for release in March 2011. This was part of a new record deal between Queen and Universal Music, which meant Queen's association with EMI Records would come to an end after almost 40 years. All Queen albums were remastered and reissued in 2011. The deluxe edition contains five additional tracks on a separate EP. The second batch of albums (the band's middle five albums) was released in June 2011. The extra tracks included the single version of "Fat Bottomed Girls", an instrumental version of "Bicycle Race", a version of "Don't Stop Me Now" with "long lost guitars", a live version of "Let Me Entertain You", and an early acoustic take of "Dreamer's Ball".

The 2011 reissue corrected the tape glitch at the beginning of Fat Bottomed Girls which had been present on all previous compact disc editions of the album (as well as 1997 compilation album Queen Rocks), however it also added a previously unused kick-drum part to the track Jealousy, making the track sound drastically different from all previous releases.

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Mustapha"	Freddie Mercury	3:01
2.	"Fat Bottomed Girls"	Brian May	4:16
3.	"Jealousy"	Mercury	3:14
4.	"Bicycle Race"	Mercury	3:01
5.	"If You Can't Beat Them"	John Deacon	4:15
6.	"Let Me Entertain You"	Mercury	3:01

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"Dead on Time"	May	3:23
8.	"In Only Seven Days"	Deacon	2:30
9.	"Dreamer's Ball"	May	3:30
10.	"Fun It"	Roger Taylor	3:29
11.	"Leaving Home Ain't Easy"	May	3:15
12.	"Don't Stop Me Now"	Mercury	3:29
13.	"More of That Jazz"	Taylor	4:16

Bonus tracks (1991 Hollywood Records CD reissue)
No.	Title	Length
14.	"Fat Bottomed Girls" (1991 bonus remix by Brian Malouf)	4:22
15.	"Bicycle Race" (1991 bonus remix by Junior Vasquez)	4:59

2011 bonus EP
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Fat Bottomed Girls" (single version)	3:23
2.	"Bicycle Race" (instrumental)	3:09
3.	"Don't Stop Me Now" (with long-lost guitars)	3:34
4.	"Let Me Entertain You" (live in Montreal, November 1981)	2:48
5.	"Dreamers Ball" (early acoustic take, August 1978)	3:40

2011 iTunes bonus videos
No.	Title	Length
6.	"Bicycle Race" (promo video performance, 1978)
7.	"Fat Bottomed Girls" (live at Milton Keynes Bowl, 1982)
8.	"Let Me Entertain You" (live in Japan, 1979)

Personnel

Queen

Freddie Mercury – lead vocals (1-10, 12), backing vocals (1-7, 9, 12), piano (1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12)

Brian May – electric guitar (all but 3), backing vocals (2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12), acoustic guitar (3, 9), lead vocals (11)

Roger Taylor – drums (all tracks), backing vocals (4, 5, 7, 10, 12, 13), percussion (1, 12, 13), lead vocals (10, 13), electric guitar (10, 13), bass (10, 13)

John Deacon – bass (1-9, 11, 12), electric guitar (8), acoustic guitar (8)

Production

Geoff Workman – engineer

John Etchells – engineer

Tour

Chart positions

Chart (1978)	Peak position
Austrian Albums Chart^[14]	8
Canadian Albums Chart^[15]	13
Dutch Albums Chart^[16]	3
French Albums Chart^[17]	7
German Albums Chart^[18]	5
New Zealand Albums Chart^[19]	20
Norwegian Albums Chart^[20]	6
Swedish Albums Chart^[21]	6
UK Albums Chart^[22]	2
U.S. Billboard 200^[23]	6

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)^[24]	Gold	25,000^*
France (SNEP)^[25]	Gold	176,300^[26]
Germany (BVMI)^[27]	Gold	250,000^{^}
Netherlands (NVPI)^[28]	Platinum	100,000^{^}
Poland (ZPAV)^[29]	Platinum	20,000^*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)^[30]	Platinum	50,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[31]	Platinum	300,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[32]	Platinum	1,000,000^{^}
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^{^}shipments figures based on certification alone

References

↑ "Jazz". Queenonline.com.
↑ "Guitar Player magazine US Jan 83". www.brianmay.com.
↑ Queen win Top Gears Best Driving Song ever poll Queen Zone. Retrieved 1 January 2013
↑ Freddie Mercury Google doodle celebrates Queen singer's birthday. The Mirror. Retrieved 1 January 2013
1 2 Sixty-five naked women were perched atop bicycles rented from Halford's Cycles and sent racing around Wimbledon Stadium
↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/jazz-mw0000191373
↑ Kot, Greg (19 April 1992). "An 18-record, 80 Million-copy Odyssey". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 2248. ISBN 0857125958.
1 2 Petridis, Alexis (15 December 2011). "Queen: Jazz; The Game; Flash Gordon; Hot Space – review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
↑ "Queen: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
↑ "Queen – Jazz CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
1 2 Christgau, Robert (25 December 1978). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
↑ Marsh, Dave (8 February 1979). "Queen: Jazz". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
↑ Steffen Hung. "Queen – Jazz". austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
↑ "Results – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
↑ Steffen Hung. "Queen – Jazz". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste". Infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
↑ "charts.de". charts.de. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
↑ Steffen Hung. "Queen – Jazz". charts.org.nz. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
↑ Steffen Hung. "Queen – Jazz". norwegiancharts.com. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
↑ Steffen Hung. "Queen – Jazz". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
↑ "Queen". Officialcharts.com.
↑ "Queen". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
↑ "Austrian album certifications – Queen – Jazz" (in German). IFPI Austria. Enter Queen in the field Interpret. Enter Jazz in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
↑ "French album certifications – Queen – Jazz" (in French). InfoDisc. Select QUEEN and click OK
↑ "Les Albums Or :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Queen; 'Jazz')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
↑ "Dutch album certifications – Queen – Jazz" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers.
↑ "Polish album certifications – Queen – Jazz" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Queen; 'Jazz')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
↑ "British album certifications – Queen – Jazz". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Jazz in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
↑ "American album certifications – Queen – Jazz". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links

Queen official website: Discography: Jazz: includes lyrics of all non-bonus tracks except "Fat Bottomed Girls", "Don't Stop Me Now".
Jazz album versions at Discogs

Queen
Brian May Roger Taylor Freddie Mercury John Deacon
Studio albums	Queen Queen II Sheer Heart Attack A Night at the Opera A Day at the Races News of the World Jazz The Game Flash Gordon Hot Space The Works A Kind of Magic The Miracle Innuendo Made in Heaven
Live albums	Live Killers Live Magic At the Beeb Live at Wembley '86 Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl Queen Rock Montreal Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live in Budapest Live at the Rainbow '74 A Night at the Odeon – Hammersmith 1975 On Air
Compilations	Greatest Hits Greatest Hits II Classic Queen The 12" Collection Queen Rocks Greatest Hits III Stone Cold Classics The A–Z of Queen, Volume 1 Absolute Greatest Deep Cuts (Volume 1, 2, 3) Icon Queen Forever On Air
Additional albums	The Cosmos Rocks (with Paul Rodgers) Five Live (George Michael and Queen EP) (with George Michael)
Box sets	The Complete Works CD Single Box Box of Tricks Ultimate Queen The Crown Jewels The Platinum Collection The Singles Collection (Volume 1, 2, 3, 4) On Air
Videography	We Will Rock You Live In Rio Live In Budapest The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert Greatest Video Hits 1 Queen at Wembley Queen Rocks Greatest Video Hits 2 We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan Queen on Fire – Live at the Bowl Queen Rock Montreal Hungarian Rhapsody: Queen Live in Budapest Live at the Rainbow '74 A Night at the Odeon – Hammersmith 1975
Tours	Queen I Tour Queen II Tour Sheer Heart Attack Tour A Night at the Opera Tour Summer Gigs 1976 A Day at the Races Tour News of the World Tour Jazz Tour Crazy Tour The Game Tour Hot Space Tour The Works Tour The Magic Tour Queen + Paul Rodgers Tour (with Paul Rodgers) Rock the Cosmos Tour (with Paul Rodgers) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2012 (with Adam Lambert) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2014–2015 (with Adam Lambert) Queen + Adam Lambert 2016 Summer Festival Tour (with Adam Lambert) Queen + Adam Lambert Tour 2017–2018 (with Adam Lambert)
Related	Discography Awards Live performances Songs The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody Queen + Paul Rodgers Queen + Adam Lambert Queen & Adam Lambert Rock Big Ben Live Highlander Flash Gordon Larry Lurex Mike Grose Smile The Cross The Brian May Band One Night of Queen Queen: The eYe We Will Rock You We Will Rock You: 10th Anniversary Tour Queen at the Ballet Deacy Amp The Official International Queen Fan Club Mercury Phoenix Trust Queen Extravaganza Tour Mountain Studios Red Special Spike Edney Jim Beach John Reid List of "Bohemian Rhapsody" cover versions SingStar Queen Dragon Attack: A Tribute to Queen Stone Cold Queen: A Tribute Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen A Night at the Hip Hopera Bohemian Rhapsody (film)
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