The Works (Queen album) 19 November 1984, and promotional copies were indeed pressed ("QUEEN 5") and sent out (b/w "Keep Passing the Open Windows"), but the band opted for a Christmas single ("Thank God It's Christmas"). The fifth track on "The Works", "Machines (Or 'Back to Humans')", came about as an idea by Taylor, and May collaborated with him and finished it. Producer Reinhold Mack programmed the synth-"demolition" using a Fairlight CMI II Sampler, and the song is sung as a duet between a double-tracked Mercury (singing in harmony with himself), and a robotic Taylor (using a Roland VP330 Vocoder). The instrumental remix of
Christmas Gift (album) release. The French edition was released on October 22, three weeks before the Japanese release. Christmas Gift was also simultaneously released in France as a part of a 3CD set called Kokia Collection. The album also featured 2006's 2008's and The Voice, and featured a cover similar to the Christmas Gift photoshoot cover. The album reached #56 on the Japanese Oricon albums charts, selling 3,000 copies. CDJournal called the album a "Christmas song selection you can enjoy with your family." The French and Japanese versions were released with different track orders. The Japanese version also had a bonus track, "Remember