Queen A Day at the Races
Studio Album, released in 1976
Songs / Tracks Listing
Side One
- Tie Your Mother Down (4:46)
2. You Take My Breath Away (4:40)
3. Long Away (3:55)
4. Millionaire Waltz (4:52)
5. You and I (3:23)
Side Two
1. Somebody to Love (4:57)
2. White Man (4:56)
3. Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy (2:54)
4. Drowse (3:41)
5. Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together) (5:51) )
Total Time 52:39
A Day at the Races was Queen’s 5th studio album. Following the mighty A Night at the Opera. This time Queen removed Roy Thomas Baker from the Producer’s chair, deciding to produce the album entirely on their own.
Side one begins with an the rocking ‘Tie Your Mother Down’ a song written by Brian May way back in 1968. Freddie Mercury’s aggressive vocals helps set the track’s harder edged theme. ‘You Take My Breath Away’ is a beautiful song, very typical Queen, with wonderful vocal harmonies and lyrics to melt the heart. Brian May sings lead on ‘Long Away’ possibly the most underrated track on the album and my personal favourite. ‘Millionaire Waltz’ has it all, a fantastic song with a piano/bass intro from Freddie and John Deacon, through to orchestrated May guitars and 30 seconds of Queen at their heaviest. A song filled with time-changes and wonder. ‘You and I’ closes the side. John Deacon’s offering to the album, a great little pop song which could easily have been a single.
Side Two kicks off with the classic ‘Somebody to Love’ a song covered by many but equalled by none. ‘White Man’ rocks us next, a serious song written by May about the suffering of the Native Americans at the hands of European immigrants. ‘Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy’ dances along and is quite a contrast to its predecessor. ‘Drowse’, a Roger Taylor written and sung tune, contains what I feel is the best line on the album “Have my eggs poached for breakfast again….I guess” This track is quite tame for a Taylor song, yet it is still pretty powerful. ‘Teo Torriatto (Let Us Cling Together)’ closes the album. It is a May song written in tribute to their Japanese fans. With its chorus sung in Japanese it is one of only three songs by the band with a verse or chorus not sung in English (The other two being ‘Las Polabras de Amor’ and ‘Mustapha’)
So all in all a very good album and a great follow up to ‘A Night at the Opera’. Some say it is not as good, well I disagree. Again Queen have delivered an album filled with ‘moments’ and great, grown-up songs.
Peter Devine
