A Day at the Races (album)
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| A Day at the Races | ||
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| Missing image Queen_A_Day_at_the_Races.jpg A Day at the Races | ||
| LP by Queen | ||
| Released | Friday 10th December 1976 | |
| Recorded | July to November 1976 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 44 min 24 sec | |
| Record label | EMI (UK), Hollywood Records (US) | |
| Producer | Queen and Mike Stone | |
| Queen Chronology | ||
| A Night at the Opera (1975) | A Day at the Races (1976) | News of the World (1977) |
A Day at the Races is a rock album by British band Queen originally released in 1976. The album was recorded at Sarm West and Wessex Studios, United Kingdom, and engineeed by Mike Stone.
The title of the album was a reference to the band's immediately preceding album, A Night at the Opera. While the earlier album presumably took its name from the operatic themes of the song "Bohemian Rhapsody," both A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races were also titles of films by the Marx Brothers.
"Tie Your Mother Down" was written by Brian May, who wrote the title only as a guide to the guitar riff. When he played it for the band, Mercury told him the lyric was perfect and not to change it. May completed the song by expanding on the theme of teenage rebellion against in the in-laws. The Times newspaper would then call it, "Sheer bloody poetry!"
The mumbled lyrics at the end of "Drowse" are Roger Taylor saying, "I think I'll be Clint Eastwood; Jimi Hendrix, he was good. Let's try William The Conqueror. Now, who else do I like?"
A Day at the Races hit #5 on the US Album Charts and was Queen's first US album to ship Gold. It is currently listed at Platinum in sales.
| Contents |
Track listing
- Tie Your Mother Down - (May) - 4:47 *
- You Take My Breath Away - (Mercury) - 5:08
- Long Away - (May)- 3:33 *
- The Millionaire Waltz (Mercury) - 4:54
- You And I - (Deacon) - 3:25
- Somebody To Love - (Mercury) - 4:56 *
- White Man - (May) - 4:59
- Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy - (Mercury) - 2:54 *
- Drowse (Taylor) - 3:45
- Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together) (May) - 5:57 *
(*Singles)
Singles
- Somebody to Love, one of Queen's greatest songs, was released in the UK November 18, 1976 and reached number 2. A good example of Queen's multi-layered vocal arrangments.
- Tie Your Mother Down released in the UK March 4, 1977 and reached a disappointing no. 31.
- Long Away
- Teo Torriatte
Personnel
- Freddie Mercury - vocals, piano
- Brian May - lead guitar, vocals
- John Deacon - bass
- Roger Taylor - drums, vocals
- No synths!
Singles
- "Somebody to Love"/"White Man" - Elektra E45362; released December 10, 1976
- "Tie Your Mother Down"/"Drowse" - Elektra E45385; released March, 1977
- "Long Away"/"You And I" - Elektra E45412; released June 10, 1977
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Pop Albums | 5 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | "Somebody to Love" | Pop Singles | 13 |
| 1977 | "Tie Your Mother Down" | Pop Singles | 49 |