Following the disappointing commercial performance of the dance-oriented Hot Space in 1982, Queen took 1983 off to get refocused and work on a follow-up that would put the band back on track.
While the songwriting had definitely improved on the resulting The Works in 1984, the album sonically lacked the punch of such earlier releases as News of the World and The Game (strangely, Hot Space even had a better overall sound).
Although the album only peaked at number 23 on the U.S.
album charts, it was a Top Ten hit in just about every other area of the world, producing the huge single "Radio Ga Ga." Three other tracks were hits in Queen's native England -- the uplifting "I Want to Break Free," the love song "It's a Hard Life," and the politically conscious rocker "Hammer to Fall," which dealt with the danger of nuclear weapons.
Other highlights included the '50s-sounding "Man on the Prowl," the electronic experiment "Machines," the thunderous "Tear It Up," and a touching acoustic ballad, "Is This the World We Created...?" Perhaps with a more straight-ahead production (and a U.S.
tour), The Works would have landed Queen back on the top of the charts stateside.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radio Ga Ga | Queen | Play | 05:49 | 0 MB | 34 MB |
| 2 | Tear It UpBrian May | Queen | Play | 03:28 | 0 MB | 22 MB |
| 3 | It's a Hard LifeFreddie Mercury | Queen | Play | 04:08 | 0 MB | 24 MB |
| 4 | Man on the ProwlFreddie Mercury | Queen | Play | 03:28 | 0 MB | 23 MB |
| 5 | Machines (Or 'Back to Humans')Brian May | Queen | Play | 05:10 | 0 MB | 32 MB |
| 6 | I Want to Break FreeDeacon | Queen | Play | 03:21 | 0 MB | 21 MB |
| 7 | Keep Passing the Open WindowsFreddie Mercury | Queen | Play | 05:22 | 0 MB | 35 MB |
| 8 | Hammer to FallBrian May | Queen | Play | 04:28 | 0 MB | 30 MB |
| 9 | Is This The World We Created... | Queen | Play | 02:16 | 0 MB | 10 MB |
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| 37 mins | 236 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adam Ayan | Mastering |
| 2 | Jim Beach | Management |
| 3 | Michael Beiriger | Engineer |
| 4 | Gregg Brooks | Sleeve Notes |
| 5 | Deacon | Composer |
| 6 | John Deacon | Composer |
| 7 | Ed Delena | Assistant |
| 8 | Kris Fredriksson | Audio Restoration, Audio Supervisor |
| 9 | Nick Froome | Engineer |
| 10 | George Hurrell | Photography |
| 11 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 12 | Joshua J. MacRae | Audio Supervisor, Mixing |
| 13 | Fred Mandel | Piano, Programming, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Arrangements |
| 14 | Brian May | Composer, Executive Producer |
| 15 | Freddie Mercury | Composer |
| 16 | Nigel Mills | Engineer |
| 17 | Queen | Primary Artist, Producer |
| 18 | Justin Shirley-Smith | Audio Supervisor, Mixing |
| 19 | Bill Smith | Sleeve Design |
| 20 | Gary Taylor | Sleeve Notes |
| 21 | Roger Taylor | Composer, Executive Producer |
| 22 | Stefan Wissnet | Assistant |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |