I remember the first time I saw the Miracle cover in 1991 and at 10 years of age I was just blown away! It was one of the major triggers for me to become a graphic designer. Though a very 80s cover it still remains to be one of my favourites.
Amazon · Member since
I would have to say Queen II, followed by in joint second spot NOTW, The Miracle & Innuendo. Truth be told, all of Queen's album covers are pretty good (although I'm less than thrilled with The Game and The Works.)
Thistle · Member since
Inside Cover of Queen II Innuendo NOTW Made In Heaven
leto · Member since
My favorite is "Made In Heaven" vinyl edition !
ITSM · Member since
A Night at the Opera A Day at the Races
News of the World The Miracle Innuendo
Live Killers Live at Wembley '86
andreas_mercury · Member since
the cosmos rocks was very underrated cover, the album sucked but cover was genius
sharoncooper · Member since
Iremember growing up in the seventies up in my room listening to Queen. I had about 6 albums at the time. My favorites were Queen2 Queen and A day at the races,and Anight at the opera.I would play them everyday. I felt peaceful and full of joy. I still feel peaceful when I listen to them. They still put asmile on my face some 35yrs latter.
sharoncooper · Member since
oops!!!!my favorite album covers are Anight at the opera, Aday at the races, And queen2.
92Funny · Member since
The Miracle
GratefulFan · Member since
Big Fat Fanny wrote: The Miracle. Doesn't anyone else like it?
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If by "like it" you mean "find it creepy and weird", then a big YES! from me. ;)
bigV · Member since
splicksplack wrote: I've just remembered a personal story about The Miracle cover. In the late eighties I was the manager of a print/copy shop in Shepherd's Bush, London. We had one of the first good quality colour photocopiers (a Canon if you're interested). I happened to notice one of the jobs waiting to be done. 4 face pictures of each Queen band member. Over the next few weeks a guy came in with variations of the pics - basically different stages that ended up as the "joined heads" on The Miracle cover (and the eyes on the back). I (naughtily) kept a private copy of the pictures as they progressed. I had, at this time, lost interest in the band so when I briefly went to Liverpool to work about 3 years later I gave the pics to my old mate Jim Jenkins. The original photos, before any re-touching, were very rough. The pics were unforgiving and they had pretty bad complextions. Freddie in particular looked like he'd been right "on one" the night before. I've just checked the cover credits and it states that the "Paintbox" designer was Richard Baker, so I guess that was the guy that popped into the shop.
What a cool story! :)
V.
rhyeking · Member since
I like all the studio album covers, as they're each distinctive and represent well the motivations behind their respective albums.
Queen - Seemingly an image of a performer (Freddie) triumphantly on stage, beyond which the darkness pierced by massive spotlight. Moody and regal in shades of purple, black and white. The back cover is like looking at an old lost photo album.
Queen II - One of the most striking album covers ever. Shadowy and mysterious while still evoking style and grandeur. It also represents the themes of Black and White continued throughout the album's music and inner sleeve artwork.
Sheer Heart Attack - Another striking cover, with the band dishevelled and cool-looking. I can't explain why this cover works for me, but it does. I guess Mick Rock was just that great a photographer!
A Night At The Opera - Pure class. A clean depiction of the Queen logo, the entire graphic scheme has all the subtle touches of an opera programme, as if we're about to experience a Verdi or Wagner epic.
A Day At The Races - Visually the polar opposite of "Opera," where that was clean and classy, this artwork is rough and not taking itself nearly as seriously. It reflects, though, that musically, the band is going to camp out on the plateau it reach one album earlier before moving on in other directions.
News Of The World - The boldness of the cover reflects the bold change in direction. The giant robot holds the dead band, still decked out their clean white silk. This is the end of the truly theatrical period (we're now entering the leather and less-pretentious era).
Jazz - The Op Art cover tells us we're in for something a bit different here. The inner sleeve photo shows us the band opening themselves freely to examination in the studio. The free poster tells us that even though this may be a side of Queen we're not used to, hot damn, there's plenty here you're gonna love!
The Game - The zenith of the leather era, laid back and cool.
Flash Gordon - A Motion Picture Soundtrack album, this cover is less about promoting Queen and all about promoting the movie, with it's comic book logo, red on bright yellow. The back cover features an angry Flash through a fish-eye lens and the inner artwork features nice action shots of the band and the characters.
Hot Space - Bright and colourful, like the lights of an early '80s dance club (some would say garish). Like Jazz, this art is unapologetic about what it's about to deliver to the listener.
The Works - The front cover: a black, white and grey photo of the band, a stark contrast to the previous album. The glam is gone, the leather is gone and the band is here to work, ladies and gentlemen. On the back, the gears and cogs of machinery, reflecting one of the themes of the album, which are: industry, the loss of humanity in a cold (cold war) world, computers and a longing for things of a by-gone age.
A Kind Of Magic - This artwork promises nothing more than a fun time, with doodly magic shapes and character, including the band, dancing around the sleeve.
The Miracle - Yes, the blended faces are striking on the front (and the blended eyes mildly disconcerting on the back), but there's a bit more going on there. The bright blue sky and the fluffy clouds This is a new day for Queen, a new era of presenting a united, optimistic front to the world.
Innuendo - The Gandville illustrations here reflect the dark humour of the band's situation, bolding going forward in the face of a harsh reality. It's Theatre of the Absurd, whimsical and cutting at the same time, daring us to peak behind the curtain to what we might never have imagined: that the magic onstage is nothing compared the madness backstage.
Made In Heaven (sunset) - the cold blue sky and the shadow of Freddie Mercury, fist forever raised, echoing the triumphant pose of the fist album, though now the sun is set. What lays before him: the lake, the mountain, the swan, is a beautiful spectacle we all hope awaits us at the end of our journey. The back, respectfully giving Freddie his last bow, is the rest of the band, still feeling the warm light on their face even as the darkness falls around them.
Made In Heaven (sunrise) - As true as the sun must set, it also must rise and there is hope in that.
The Cosmos Rocks - The universe was created by the Big Bang. Brian, Paul and Roger had a great view!