I think that holds the record. Ther's one bit in there which is sort or fairground effect in the background. I think there are three octaves for each part, and six parts. I'm not sure but there must be about 18 or 20 guitar tracks. It's a funny sound. It makes a peculiarly sort of rigis sound. I was really surprised. It sounded like a fairground organ.
Actually I’d like to say that Brian did do a very good job on the actual guitars. He’s really taken his guitar orchestration to its limits, I don’t know how he’s ever going to out do that one actually. And John played very good bass on that. I think it’s good and we’re patting ourselves on the back again. I really think it’s worked out well especially from the orchestration point of view. Because he’s really used his guitar in a different sort of way, I know he’s done lots of orchestrations before.
`The Millionaire Waltz' is quite outlandish, really. It's the kind of track I like to put on every album. Something way outside Queen's format.
It's comparable to `Bohemian Rhapsody', in the sense that it's an arranged, intricate number. There are several time-signature changes, though not quite so many vocal overdubs.
Brian has orchestrated it fully with guitars, like he's never done before. He goes from tubas to piccolos to cellos. It's taken weeks. Brian's very finicky. Anyway, this track is something that Queen has never done before-a Strauss waltz!
It's very out of the Queen format, really and we thought we'd like to do that on every album. I think I went a bit mad on this one. But it's turned out alright I think, it makes people laugh sometimes. I'd like to say that Brian did do a very good job on the actual guitars. He's really taken his guitar orchestration to its limits, I don't know how he's ever going to outdo that one actually, and John played very good bass on that. I think it's good and we're patting ourselves on the back again. I really think it's worked out well especially from the orchestration point of view, because he's really used his guitar in a different sort of way, I know he's done lots of orchestrations before.
There's so much overdubbing: we're creating orchestras and choirs and things. I think we took that as far as it can possibly be taken on A Day at the Races, if you listen to The Millionaire Waltz, that was a complete sort of orchestra, with all its sections and choirs and stuff and I don't think we can ever go any further than that in that direction.
Of course, a lot of my lyrics are tongue-in-cheek. I don't like being serious, because I tend to get too serious and drive me, and everyone around me, crazy. The lines “bring on the charge of the love brigade, there's spring in the air once again” in Millionaire Waltz are funny. It's so Julie Andrews.
I think that because some of the complexities of some of our songs the tag “overproduced” is one that is easily applied to Queen, but it's just not true. If you look at it intelligently, there are certain kinds of songs that need that kind of attention, just as there are others that don't. On A Day at the Races you can find both examples: Millionaire Waltz needed that layered effect whereas Take My Breath Away needed the sparseness that we gave it, just piano and vocal. What we don't want is anything second-rate. Our time in the studio is spent recording, recording, recording. We're in there pretty much by ourselves now that we're producing ourselves, and it takes a lot of time. A lot of the album actually expands and grows when we're in the studio. I don't think any of us ever want to look back on an album and say, “if only we'd done that it would have been better.” We want it right when we do it; if it means taking a long time, then we take a long time. I wanted an orchestrated sound, and Brian said that he was going to get his guitar to do all the orchestration. We set it out as though we'd hired an orchestra to come into the studio, and then Brian worked through each part - the cellos, the various other strings. It took a long time.
Some of A Day at the Races is a baroque masterpiece - mainly the stuff that I didn't write - and I feel very proud of it. One of my favourite tracks is The Millionaire Waltz, which was recently used in a ballet by the legendary French choreographer Maurice Bejart. It's a great choice because it is so rich in invention. It staggers me, the stuff that Freddie put into it. The bass lines are phenomenal, and listening to what I did on it I can't even remember how I arrived at all that stuff. Sometimes there are ten different things going on at once - different guitars, with different sounds, going different places.
Mike continued with us to even greater technical heights in the next album - A Day at the Races. Most people remember Somebody to Love, a skilful pastiche of a huge Gospel Choir made up of only three voices, Freddie, Roger and myself. Mike's expert ears and fingers kept all that in balance, with a magic “crystal” sparkle, but try listening to the less famous Millionaire Waltz from the same album, for an even more amazing painting in sound on a broad canvas - a beautiful example of Mike Stone's meticulous work.
A very orchestral track. There aren't a lot of drums, but when they do come in they are colossal, have a huge sound and sound like timpani.
I've worked with some great bass players and no one has quite had the same lyrical touch that John has. I think he's very underrated. I love what he played on The Millionaire Waltz.
That song wasn't terribly popular with the critics – which is probably why I like it – and you never hear it on the radio. The different layers are just wonderful. Freddie at his best.