***** After the success of <a href="/Q/Queen/Discography/Night_At_The_Opera,_A/"><i>A Night At The Opera</i></a>, the Queen fans had high expectations for their next release. After roughly a year, Queen released <i>A day at the races</i> which, as a companion album, continued much of the experimental styles and sound of the previous album.<br /> <br/> Sadly, this album have more or less been in the shadows of its predecessor.<br /><br/> <h5>Album Tracks:</h5> <b>1. Tie Your Mother Down</b><br /> Where the live versions and quite a few of the compilation version starts with the hard riffs from Brian Mays guitar, the original album version have a orchestral intro which can be found several places (in various forms and styles) later in the album. <br> Tie Your Mother Down reached #49 on the <i>Billboard Pop Singles Chart</i> in 1977.<br /> <br /> <b>2. You Take My Breath Away</b><br /> One of the most harmonic tracks on the album. Not very surprisingly, this song is about love, and the chorus/piano arrangment with a slight touch of an electric guitar works out pretty good. This tender ballad is one of my favorites. Sadly, it was never released as a single.<br /> <br /> <b>3. Long Away</b><br /> "Normal" rock tune (featuring Brian May on lead vocals) which clearly fits the album, but lacks much of the distinct sound and chorus that many of the other Queen hits have. If I heard this song on the radio, my bets would probably be closer to <a href="http://musicmoz.org/Bands_and_Artists/E/Eagles,_The/">The Eagles</a> than Queen.<br /><br /> <b>4. The Millionaire Waltz</b><br /> A playful piano, electric guitar riffs with a clear reference to classical music, a cheerful and allmost theatrical vocal track and matching chorus makes this a classy Freddie Mercury song.<br /><br /> <b>5. You And I</b><br /> Between two powerful and experimental tracks, this classic, straightforward Pop Rock song works almost as a lunch break. Still, Queen performs the song with a musical quality level that many other artists is unable to even think of.<br /> <br /> <b>6. Somebody To Love</b><br /> Even trying to describe this song to Queen fans would probably be an insult. One interesting fact about this monster hit is that the gospel choir that so nicely fits Freddie Mercurys vocals consists of only the band members, recorded on several tracks. This song is indeed hard to sing, and thats probably the reason why it havent been performed much in concerts.<br /> <br /> <b>7. White Man</b><br /> Serious and heavy song about the immigration and conflicts between Indians and the newcomers in what was known as the New World.<br /> <br /> <b>8. Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy</b><br /> Quick, humorous and melodic song which shows Freddie Mercurys cheerful side.<br /> <br /> <br />Both <i>A Day At The Races</i> and the companion album <a href="/Bands_and_Artists/Q/Queen/Discography/Night_At_The_Opera,_A/"><i>A Night At The Opera</i></a> are named after movies by the American comedians The Marx Brothers. magne MusicMoz