A Day at the Races (album)
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A Day at the Races is the fifth album by British rock group Queen, released in December 1976. It was the band's first completely self-produced album, and the first not to feature producer Roy Thomas Baker. Recorded at Sarm East, The Manor and Wessex Studios in England, A Day at the Races was engineered by Mike Stone. The title of the album followed suit with its predecessor A Night at the Opera in taking its name from a film by the Marx Brothers.
In recent years, a number of publications have cited A Day at the Races as one of the band's finest works. The album peaked at #1 in the UK, Japan and the Netherlands. It reached #5 on the US Billboard 200 and was Queen's fifth album to ship gold in the US, and subsequently reached platinum status in the same country.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tie Your Mother Down" | Brian May | 4:48 |
| 2. | "You Take My Breath Away" | Freddie Mercury | 5:09 |
| 3. | "Long Away" | May | 3:34 |
| 4. | "The Millionaire Waltz" | Mercury | 4:54 |
| 5. | "You and I" | John Deacon | 3:25 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Somebody to Love" | Mercury | 4:56 |
| 7. | "White Man" | May | 4:59 |
| 8. | "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" | Mercury | 2:54 |
| 9. | "Drowse" | Roger Taylor | 3:45 |
| 10. | "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" | May | 5:50 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Tie Your Mother Down (1991 Bonus Remix By Matt Wallace)" | 3:44 |
| 12. | "Somebody to Love (1991 Bonus Remix By Randy Badazz)" | 5:00 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tie Your Mother Down (Backing Track Mix 2011)" | 3:48 |
| 2. | "Somebody to Love (Live at Milton Keynes, June 1982)" | 7:55 |
| 3. | "You Take My Breath Away (Live in Hyde Park, September 1976)" | 3:06 |
| 4. | "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy (Top of the Pops, July 1977)" | 2:51 |
| 5. | "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together) (HD Mix)" | 4:47 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | "You Take My Breath Away (Live at Earls Court '77)" | |
| 7. | "Tie Your Mother Down (Live at Milton Keynes '82)" | |
| 8. | "Somebody to Love" |
Reception and legacy
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| Circus | (mixed)[2] |
| Q | [3] |
| Rolling Stone | (unfavourable)[4] |
| George Starostin | (9/10)[5] |
| The Washington Post | (favourable)[6] |
| Winnipeg Free Press | (favourable)[7] |
The Washington Post described A Day at the Races as "a judicious blend of heavy metal rockers and classically influenced, almost operatic, torch songs."[6] The Winnipeg Free Press was also appreciative, writing, "Races is a reconfirmation of Queen's position as the best of the third wave of English rock groups."[7] Circus offered a mixed review, writing, "With A Day at the Races, they've deserted art-rock entirely. They're silly now. And wondrously shameless."[2] Lifelong Queen detractor Dave Marsh, writing in Rolling Stone, was less appreciative, describing Freddie Mercury as possessing a merely "passable pop voice", and concluding, "Queen will probably top the charts until one or the other of its leaders grows restless and spins off another version."[4]
Allmusic awarded the album 3.5/5 stars, naming singles "Tie Your Mother Down" and "Somebody to Love", along with ballad "You Take My Breath Away", as the best tracks on the record, and saying it marked a point where Queen "entered a new phase, where they're globe-conquering titans instead of underdogs on the make".[1] while Q awarded it 4/5 stars, writing, "The breadth of its ambition remains ever impressive, as do tracks such as May's stomping 'Tie Your Mother Down' and Mercury's baroque one-two, 'Somebody To Love' and 'Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy'."[3] George Starostin wrote, "considering that it does have its fair share of undisputable classics and that the boys' songwriting and arranging are still at an all-time high, I give it a nine with no remorse."[5]
In 2006, a national BBC poll saw A Day at the Races voted the 67th greatest album of all time.[8] The same year, in a worldwide Guinness and NME poll to find the "Greatest 100 Albums of All Time", A Day at the Races was voted #87.[9] It was also featured in Classic Rock and Metal Hammer's "The 200 Greatest Albums of the 70s," being listed as one of the 20 greatest albums of 1976.[10] Out ranked it No. 20 of 100 in a poll of "more than 100 actors, comedians, musicians, writers, critics, performance artists, label reps, and DJs, asking each to list the 10 albums that left the most indelible impressions on their lives."[11] In the 1987 edition of the The World Critics List, the BBC's Peter Powell ranked A Day at the Races the 6th greatest album of all time,[12] and Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times included the record in his "The Great albums" in 2006.[13]
Song information
Tie Your Mother Down
"Tie Your Mother Down" was written in Tenerife, when May was working on his PhD in Astronomy in early 1968.[14] He wrote it on Spanish guitar and thought he'd change the title and chorus later on, but Mercury liked it and they kept it that way.[14]
The song is preceded by a one-minute instrumental intro using a Shepard tone harmonium figure, which is actually a reprise of the ending of "Teo Torriatte": this was intended to create a "circle" in the album, typical, for example, of Pink Floyd's albums. The ascending scale was created by recording a descending scale on a harmonium and playing it backwards for the record. The main theme of the intro is the same as that of "White Man." A music video was made for the song, directed by Bruce Gowers, based on a performance clip shot at Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York in February 1977 during the band's US arena headlining tour.[15] After its release in 1976, the song was played by Queen on every subsequent tour.[16]
You Take My Breath Away
"You Take My Breath Away" was written by Mercury and based on the harmonic minor scale. All of the vocals and piano were done by him, and he performed it by himself at Hyde Park before recording it. There is a vocal interlude between this song and the next one that begins with a wash of vocals (repeating the words "take my breath") created by echoes (of a multitracked Mercury) regenerating in reverse, which gradually evolves into the repeated phrase "you take my (breath away)" and reintegrates into the next track, "Long Away".
Long Away
"Long Away" was composed and sung by May. He used a Burns Double Six 12-string electric guitar for the rhythm parts instead of his Red Special. May had wanted to use a Rickenbacker because he admired John Lennon, but did not get along well with the thin neck of the instrument.
The Millionaire Waltz
"The Millionaire Waltz" was written by Mercury about John Reid (Queen and Elton John's manager at the time).[14] It is another multi-key and multi-metre song like "Bohemian Rhapsody", using abrupt arrangement changes and including May doing multi-tracked guitar choirs. It features a noteworthy example of John Deacon's 'lead bass' playing.
The song "Niech Żyje Bal (Long Live the Party)", performed by Polish singer Maryla Rodowicz and released as an award-winning single in Poland in 1985, contains a waltz-like bridge which, although implementing different melody, is inspired and arranged similarly to May's multilayered "Millionaire Waltz" middle solo.
You and I
"You and I" is John Deacon's song on the album. It features him on acoustic guitar and Mercury playing Elton John-esque piano parts. The song was never played live.
Somebody to Love
"Somebody to Love" is the hit single of the album. Written by Mercury, the song was inspired by gospel music, especially that of Aretha Franklin, and Mercury, May and Taylor multi-tracked their voices to create a 100-voice gospel choir.[14]
Like "Bohemian Rhapsody", the major hit from Queen's previous album, this song has a complex layering of vocal tracks, this time based on a gospel choir arrangement. The lyrics, especially combined with the gospel influence, create a song about faith, desperation and soul-searching; the singer questions both the lack of love experienced in his life and the role and existence of God.[17] Staying true to Queen's guitar-driven style, it was also filled with intricate harmony parts and a solo by May.[17] Mercury recorded a wide range of notes, going from a G#2 (in the last choral verse) to a Ab5 (at the peak of his melisma on "ooh" over the choir break). It went to #2 on the UK charts and #13 on the US singles chart.[18][19]
White Man
"White Man" was written by May about the suffering of Native Americans at the hands of European immigrants. Its riff was used for the album intro, similarly to "Father To Son" and "Procession" some years before. This song would be the focal point for a Freddie Mercury vocal solo on the A Day at the Races Tour and serve as both a Mercury vocal solo spot and a Brian May guitar solo spot on the 1977–78 News of the World tour. The song is one of Queen's heaviest works, thematically and musically. On the later 2005 Return of the Champions Tour and the later 2008 Tour the riff to "White Man" was used as an introduction to Fat Bottomed Girls".
Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy
"Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" was written by Mercury. It starts with a piano and vocal introduction by Mercury, then continues, with the bass and drums adding on, at the start of the chorus. The second verse is sung, followed by another chorus. At this point, the drums, bass and guitar drop out, which then leads into the bridge, sung by Mercury and Mike Stone. Following the Brian May guitar solo, another verse is sung, and then the chorus ends the track.
Multi-tracked vocals enhanced the song as well as May's guitar choirs. The song was once performed live on Top of the Pops in June 1977, with Roger Taylor singing Stone's part. Most of the track was a concert staple on the band's A Day at the Races Tour and News of the World Tour.[20][21]
Drowse
"Drowse" was Roger Taylor's song in 6/8 having him playing rhythm guitar and timpani and doing all of the vocals. May played slide guitar during this and "Tie Your Mother Down" (the second guitar solo in the middle of the song). Taylor's song on the previous album, "I'm In Love With My Car", was also in 6/8.
The song is notable for being Taylor's first "soft" song, his previous compositions being usually the heaviest rock pieces of the album. Taylor sings octave lead vocals during the verses (except for the third and final verse).
Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)
"Teo Torriatte" was May's tribute to the Japanese fans.
The song is notable for having two choruses sung in Japanese; it is one of only three Queen songs (the others being "Las Palabras de Amor" from Hot Space and "Mustapha", from Jazz) in which an entire verse or chorus is sung in a language other than English. The song features a piano, a plastic piano, and a harmonium, all of which are played by May. It is the only point in the album in which Mercury does not play piano.
The album’s closing harmonium melody is also its opening melody; the sequence was attached to the beginning of "Tie Your Mother Down", the first track on the album. May described it as "a never-ending staircase", otherwise commonly known, musically, as a Shepard tone.
Singles
In the UK the first track to be released as a single was "Somebody to Love" on 12 November 1976 (EMI 2565), reaching #2. "Tie Your Mother Down" followed on 4 March 1977 (EMI 2593), reaching #1, and "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy" on 20 May 1977, reaching #17. In the US, "Somebody to Love" was released on 10 December 1976 (Elektra E45362) and reached #13. It was followed by "Tie Your Mother Down" (Elektra E45385) in March 1977, which reached #49. Both of these were released in Japan: in addition, "Teo Torriatte" was also released exclusively in Japan.
Personnel
- Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, piano
- Brian May - electric, slide and acoustic guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Long Away", piano, plastic piano, harmonium
- Roger Taylor - drums, percussion, backing vocals, lead vocals and rhythm guitar on "Drowse", timpani
- John Deacon - bass guitar, acoustic guitar on "You and I"
- Additional personnel
- Mike Stone - additional vocals on "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy"
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[22] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| Germany (BVMI)[23] | Gold | 250,000^ |
| Japan (Oricon Charts) | — | 135,000[24] |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[25] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[26] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Charts
Peak positions
|
Year-end charts
|
2011 Reissue
On 8 November 2010, record company Universal Music announced a remastered and expanded reissue of the album set for release in May 2011. This as part of a new record deal between Queen and Universal Music, which meant Queen's association with EMI would come to an end after almost 40 years. According to Universal Music, all Queen albums are to be remastered and reissued in 2011.
References
- ^ a b Allmusic review
- ^ a b Circus review (archived at queenarchives)
- ^ a b Q, September 1993, p.118: "The breadth of its ambition remains ever impressive, as do tracks such as May's stomping 'Tie Your Mother Down' and Mercury's baroque one-two, 'Somebody To Love' and 'Gold Old-Fashioned Lover Boy'."
- ^ a b Rolling Stone review (archived at queenarchives.com)
- ^ a b George Starostin review
- ^ a b Washington Post review (archived at queenarchives.com)
- ^ a b Winnipeg Free Press review (archived at queenarchives.com)
- ^ Top 100 Albums. BBC Radio 2. Broadcast 28 August 2006. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk
- ^ Guinness poll
- ^ Classic Rock/Metal Hammer, "The 200 Greatest Albums of the 70s", March 2006
- ^ Out: ""The 100 Greatest, Gayest Albums"
- ^ The World Critics List. 1987
- ^ Jim DeRogatis: "The Great albums"
- ^ a b c d A Day At The Races Queen Online. Retrieved 1 September 2011
- ^ 1977 A Day At The Races North American Tour Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 31 August 2011
- ^ Queen on tour Queen Concerts. Retrieved 10 July 2011
- ^ a b Queen: Somebody to Love Allmusic. Retrieved 6 July 2011
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Billboard Books
- ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited
- ^ Queen live on tour: A Day At The Races: Setlist Queen Concerts. Retrieved 31 August 2011
- ^ Queen live on tour: News Of The World: Setlist Queen Concerts. Retrieved 31 August 2011
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Queen – A Day at the Races". Music Canada.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Queen; 'A Day at the Races')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
- ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4871310779.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ id MUST BE PROVIDED for UK CERTIFICATION.
- ^ "American album certifications – Queen – A Day at the Races". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0646119176.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "austriancharts.at Queen – A Day at the Races" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- ^ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2012-04-01
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl Queen – A Day at the Races" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ "クイーン+ポール・ロジャース『伝説のロック・バンド、遂に復活！』". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. 14 September 2005. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ "charts.org.nz Queen – A Day at the Races" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com Queen – A Day at the Races" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com Queen – A Day at the Races" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ "Chart Stats - Queen – A Day at the Races" (PHP). UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "allmusic ((( A Day at the Races > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ "Album Search: Queen – A Day at the Races" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1977". RPM. 31 December 1977. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "1977年アルバム年間ヒットチャート" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Retrieved 3 March 2012.
