In retrospect, A Day at the Races, as a whole, is a much better, tighter, more focused album than A Night at the Opera. Where the latter had it's outstanding moments like Bohemian Rhapsody, I'm in Love with my Car, and Prophet's Song, it was severley hampered by meaningless filler songs and one of the worst overall songs Queen ever did (Sweet Lady). A Day at the Races doesn't contain any of Queen's biggest hits (save Somebody to Love), but the material is executed better, the excessess have been refined, and there isn't a true clunker on the album (a feat that Queen didn't accomplish too often).

Kicking things off is probably their best early-period rocker, the hilarious (if not a wee bit disturbing) Tie your Mother Down. After that, the subject matter is much the same as A Night at the Opera, Brian May contributes his McCartney homage 'Long Away', and Roger Taylor turns in one of his best vocal performances on the meandering, slow-burning 'Drowse'. Mercury takes the rest, and he delivers one of his most inspiried vocal performances on the gospel-tinged Somebody to Love as well as the simply beautiful album closer 'Teo Torratie'. 'Good old Fashioned Lover Boy' manages to finally show Queen focusing the lighthearted, high-society style into a single, irresistable song, as opposed to album filler (such as Seaside Rendevous and Good Company from ANotA), and You and I is an almost Elton John style radio-ready piano ballad.

And if this wasn't enough, this is one of the few re-released Queen albums where the remixes are actually better than the original songs, especially 'Tie Your Mother Down', which the production is cleaned up tenfold, making for a much better listen. A Day at the Races deserves to be in any Queen fans collection, there's no 'Bohemian Rhapsody' here (although Somebody to Love comes close) but there's certainly none of the filler that plauged all Queen releases previous (saving Queen II). Every song here's a winner.

One of my all-time favorite albums
Though many fans probably prefer "A Night At The Opera", I like "A Day At The Races" more (though both are stellar albums). Again, a diverse selection of tracks showcases the different songwriting styles and musical tastes of the band members, but despite how different they are, they all somehow fit together to form a fantastic album. And on a personal note, thank you Queen for recording this album -- it brings back a lot of good memories (in much the same way that Roger reminisces in "Drowse").

Another gem from Queen
Queen's fifth album A Day at the Races was released in December of 1976. This album is the perfect sequel to its predecessor, 1975's A Night at the Opera! Guitarist Brian May's hard rocker Tie Your Mother Down kicks off the album. The track features a killer intro(which is repeated at album's end) and is a great rocker which peaked at #51 in the US. Frontman Freddie Mercury's vocal masterpiece You Take My Breath Away follows and is a great vocal and piano track. Brian steps out in front on the next track Long Away which was a great rocker and was the third single from Races released here in the US. Next comes Freddie's The Millionare Waltz which featured one of the greatest guitar solos in rock. The first half ends with the pop-rocker You and I, written by bassist John Deacon. The second half of the album kicks off with the first single, Somebody to Love. The track is the Bohemian Rhapsody of this album. Freddie wrote this one and has a great backing vocal and the song peaked at #11 in early 1977. Brian's hard rocker White Man follows and is a great rocker. Freddie's odd and campy Good Old Fashoined Lover Boy follows and is a great song which was a British Top 30 hit. Drummer Roger Taylor's rocker Drowse follows and features great slide guitar work from Brian and Roger ripping some great rhythm guitar work and a great vocal from Rog doing both harmonies. This album closes with Teo Torriate(Let Us Cling Together) which has the chorus partially sung in Japanese and Brian wrote this after Queen's first successful tour of Japan. When released, this album peaked at #5 and was the band's second Platinum album in a row and second masterpiece. This album is highly recommended!

Third jewel in Queen's quadruple crown
Queen's fifth album A Day at the Races was released in December of 1976. This album is the perfect sequel to its predecessor, 1975's A Night at the Opera! Guitarist Brian May's hard rocker Tie Your Mother Down kicks off the album. The track features a killer intro(which is repeated at album's end) and is a great rocker which peaked at #51 in the US. Frontman Freddie Mercury's vocal masterpiece You Take My Breath Away follows and is a great vocal and piano track. Brian steps out in front on the next track Long Away which was a great rocker and was the third single from Races released here in the US. Next comes Freddie's The Millionare Waltz which featured one of the greatest guitar solos in rock. The first half ends with the pop-rocker You and I, written by bassist John Deacon. The second half of the album kicks off with the first single, Somebody to Love. The track is the Bohemian Rhapsody of this album. Freddie wrote this one and has a great backing vocal and the song peaked at #11 in early 1977. Brian's hard rocker White Man follows and is a great rocker. Freddie's odd and campy Good Old Fashoined Lover Boy follows and is a great song which was a British Top 30 hit. Drummer Roger Taylor's rocker Drowse follows and features great slide guitar work from Brian and Roger ripping some great rhythm guitar work and a great vocal from Rog doing both harmonies. This album closes with Teo Torriate(Let Us Cling Together) which has the chorus partially sung in Japanese and Brian wrote this after Queen's first successful tour of Japan. When released, this album peaked at #5 and was the band's second Platinum album in a row and second masterpiece. This album is highly recommended!
Both regal and raunchy, Queen was at the height of its powers in the mid-70s, riding the soaring vocals of Freddie Mercury, the ringing guitar crunch of Brian May and the band's shameless theatrical flourishes. Coming so quickly after the band's A Night At the Opera opus, this 1976 album works hard at repeating the same hit-making elements, down to the matching cover art. If A Day At the Races lacks the same level of pop tunesmanship, there is still energy in these tracks, particularly in the rocking "Tie Your Mother Down" and the emotional "Somebody to Love," which set a blueprint for future ballads by the band. --Steve Appleford
Japanese Version featuring a Limited Edition LP Style Slipcase for Initial Pressing Only.