The Works

Queen: Brian May (vocals, guitar); Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano); Roger Taylor (vocals, drums); John Deacon (bass). Additional personnel: Fred Mandel (piano, synthesizer, programming). Recorded at the Record Plant, Los Angeles and Musicland Studios, Munich from August 1983-January 1984. Personnel: Brian May (vocals, guitar, banjo, keyboards); Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano); Roger Taylor (vocals, drums); John Deacon (guitar); Fred Mandel (piano, synthesizer). Unknown Contributor Roles: Fred Mandel; Queen. With their previous album (HOT SPACE) confusing many of their fans, Queen had something to prove on THE WORKS. The band definitely succeeded at getting back on track–THE WORKS was one of the best rock releases of 1984, featuring the worldwide smash “Radio GaGa” and reintroducing their fans to Queen’s classic sound. THE WORKS spawned a total of four U.K. top ten singles, confirming that Queen had returned from their short hiatus in fine form. Almost all of the elements you’ve come to expect from a classic Queen release are present on here. “I Want To Break Free” and “It’s A Hard Life” are instantly addictive pop-rock. “Tear It Up” is a straight-ahead rocker and “Machines (Back To Humans)” is a successful electronic rock experiment. And as on the majority of latter-day Queen albums, there are a few politically charged tunes. “Hammer To Fall,” became an instant concert favorite with it’s merger of melodic hard rock and a sing-a-long chorus, but the lyrics deal with the impending danger of nuclear build-up. The other, “Is This The World We Created?,” consists of just vocals with acoustic guitar accompaniment, and closes the otherwise upbeat album on a somber note.