A Day at the Races (album) - Definition

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
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'd like to be Clint Eastwood; Jimmy Hendrix, he was great. I really like William The Conquerer. Now, who else do I like?"

Track listing

1. Tie Your Mother Down - (May) - 4:47
2. You Take My Breath Away - (Mercury) - 5:08
3. Long Away - (May)- 3:33
4. The Millionaire Waltz (Mercury) - 4:54
5. You And I - (Deacon) - 3:25
6. Somebody To Love - (Mercury) - 4:56
7. White Man - (May) - 4:59
8. Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy - (Mercury) - 2:54
9. Drowse (Taylor) - 3:45
10. Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together) (May) - 5:57

Personnel

• Freddie Mercury - vocals, piano
• Brian May - lead guitar, vocals
• John Deacon - bass
• Roger Taylor - drums, vocals
• No synths!