Roy Thomas Baker

Okay so In the Lap of the Gods is the first track on side two of the band's third album and it's not to be confused with what became Lap of the Gods Revisited which we'll come on to later which is probably more well known of the song, the two songs.

The song was written by Freddie Mercury and produced by Roy Thomas Baker and sound engineer Mike Stone.

The opening bars of the track showcase the amazing falsetto talents of Roger Taylor.

The producer Roy Thomas Baker used a technique which manipulates Freddie's vocals in a way that enables the original note to be raised or lowered just as one can descend or gut the keyboard or a piano.

The voice retains the same note that can be accompanied by the same piano chords but with several octaves of difference.

The phrase, in the lap of the gods, has its roots in Homer's Laud when Otomidon, Achilles' charioteer in the Trojan War, to describe the battle's outcome.

... it'd be my dad, for sure.

But even if you think about Wheel in the Sky, right? What's interesting is Roy Thomas Baker produced that record, who had produced Queen.

Right.

And when I worked with Roy, um, about 20 years ago, God rest his soul, he's gone now, um, I said to Roy, like, that sound that's in the Wheel in the Sky, that's, the sound of that chorus.

So the original record was essentially an independent release.

After Elektra signed Motley Crue, the album was remixed under the supervision of legendary Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker.

The track order changed, Stick to Your Guns disappeared, and even the artwork was altered.

The original leather mix... is therefore noticeably different from the version most people grew up hearing.

With all of our normal people doing their normal things recorded in Mountain Studios in Montreux in July of 78.

And it looks like it was finished up in Super Bear Studios in September of 78, produced by Queen and Roy Thomas.

Baker, now this is John Deacon's second contribution to the album, which I'm sure we listened to the other one, but I don't remember it.

But this, it's kind of reminiscent to You're My Best Friend, apparently.

And nowhere was that more heard than on our song of the day, Bohemian Rhapsody.

Now, we have to give some credit to the group's producer, Roy Thomas Baker.

He was the one who helped layer the complex operatic harmonies that Freddie composed.

because it was not just Freddie's lead vocals that made this song special.

They recorded five of their own songs, Liar, Keep Yourself Alive, Great King Rat, The Night Comes Down, and Jesus.

During the recording, producers John Anthony and Roy Thomas Baker visited the band.

The two were taken with Keep Yourself Alive and began promoting the band, uh, to several record companies.

So promoter Ken Testee managed to attract the interest of Charisma Records, who offered Queen an advance of around 25,000.

of the Valley is the fifth track on side one of the band's third album, Sheer Heart Attack.

The song was written by Freddie Mercury and produced by Roy Thomas Baker and engineered by Mike Stone.

The song harkens back to the lyrics of the band's first two albums where mythology was a recurring source of inspiration for Freddie.

The song sounds like a short lullaby which makes for a momentary pause in the middle of an album that's filled with a propulsive sense of energy.

Frederick Mercury, if that is his real name, at four minutes and eight seconds, with all of our usual guys doing our usual thing, recorded in Trident Studios in London from June to November of 1972.

Roy Thomas Baker, John Anthony, and Queen producing, and then a bevy of sound engineers.

But...

I'll tell you what I didn't know, and I'm just learning this now.

The album was recorded between January and June of 1970 at Trident Studios and Island Records' Basing Street Studios in London.

The band is credited as producers on the album, but considering it was engineered by Roy Thomas Baker, who would go on to become a legendary producer, I'm sure he had a lot to contribute to the sound of this album.

All four band members receive writing credit on the song, Rogers, Kirk, Kossoff, and Frazier, and the track is performed by Paul Kossoff on guitar, Simon Kirk on drums, Andy Frazier on bass, and Paul Rogers on vocals.

The song opens with Simon Kirk laying down a simple, straightforward beat.