The Miracle

I absolutely loved that album when it first came out. It was the soundtrack to the summer of '89 for me! The amount of times I played the Breakthru video as well (in front of my friends too, as they too had to appreciate the magnificence - if they didn't, there was obviously something wrong with them).

But that was back in the days when I used to think that Radio Gaga still sounded current (which wasn't too bad considering Radio Gaga was 5 years old by that point), but bare in mind that my knowledge of current music back then didn't include - or rather, I didn't care for at the time - the growing alternative scene that was to dominate by the early 90's and continue throughout the next decade. No, my knowledge of current music outside of Queen consisted of crap like Kylie Minogue, Stock Aitken Waterman and Snap. Not that I liked it then, and it goes without saying that I still don't now (in fact, unlike most people who seem to think of Kylie Minogue as a sweet princess or whatever, I consider her to be a horrid little narcissist, but that's going off topic).
Anyway,that was when I was in my last years of school, and my music tastes would expand in the years ahead... although, I never got away from Queen - or at least, not for very long anyway, not even during the Red Hot Chilli Pepper / Guns n Roses / Nirvana years, or discovering the back catalogues of groups like The Beatles and Black Sabbath.

However, in recent years, The Miracle is the Queen album I listen to the least (well, along with Flash and Hot Space... and A Kind of Magic). I still listen to The Works, I've always thought that album was cool in an 80's kind of way (I'm aware not everyone feels the same about that album). And Innuendo has bucket loads of atmosphere - I don't see me ever tiring of that.

But the Miracle is an odd one for me these days. Rather than it being the best thing ever, like it used to be, it's aged poorly, I've heard it to death, and the production isn't that great either. And I don't even look at the album cover in the same way as I used to either. Once, that was cutting edge stuff, now, it's a bit embarrassing. It's as though the pendulum has swung the other way.... and got stuck. And that's that.

Does anyone feel the same about The Miracle?

That's the Magic about Queen...A couple years ago I wouldn't care much about The Miracle....Out of the blue, The Miracle is all that I listen to over the past couple of weeks. There's a reason we still talk about these things today...Doesn't matter how we look at the Queen catalog, they were fantastic... Think Freddie's Voice and Brian's unbelievable guitar sound together... Very difficult to find such a dynamic combination in any other band...Maybe Zeppelin but I'm still Queen all the way...I could listen to Brian tuning the Guitar and Freddie singing the alphabet.

I think it's very well produced and extremely well performed, but I'm not too fond of its songwriting with a few exceptions. Some moments are genius, but others are really sub-par and, sure, depending on our tastes, we could say the same about nearly every album, so it's definitely a biased opinion.

Whenever posts of this ilk come along, it causes me to look anew at the album or song in question and consequently revitalise my interest in it which usually lasts for a good while.
Ta very much.

The Miracle had a defiant Freddie singing about his hard partying ways and not coming to terms with his eventual fate with lines such as 'we had a swordfight in somebody's face' which he tamed down before recording to food fight. It's powerful in that sense. He had one of the rawist AIDS metaphors ever when he sings about the big bad fucker with a fist as big as your head...you know the rest of the lyrics but thats why I love that album the attitude going in..Innuendo is a far superior piece but the optimism decreased dramatically

Yeah, Miracle was the first album getting released after I became a Queen fan (around 1987). There was no internet so I was surprised when I went to the record store and suddenly found the "I Want It All" vinyl maxi.......then the album was released and I can`t explain the feelings I had back then. Something special. The first new album!!!!
I still listen to it sometimes (of course I will do that right NOW after I read this thread!!!).
It might not be a great Album - but did Queen ever do great Albums??? In my opinium their albums always have been a mix between classic songs and crap - sometimes great crap. I do not like their early 70s stuff, so don`t mention ANATO, I don`t listen to that anymore, it`s easily not my kind of music, I`m a child of the 80s....

I miss that times, the magic of cd singles, b-sides (omg, when I first heard My Life Has Been Saved...).........

Today I nearly don`t care about new Queen released. They did too much wrong. They disappointed me too many times....

10 years ago the release of "Let Me in Your Heart Again" would have been a big sensation, I wouldn`t have been able too sleep 5 days before it`s release.....but.....I can`t get the same feelings working like they were back in that days of `89...Too bad for that great song.......

Do you feel the same, guys?

Yeah, Party and Khashoggi's Ship are really a lot more powerful than they appear on the surface. I'm convinced Freddie sings 'Who said that my BODY was all over', even if it's listed as 'party' - the following line, 'Well I'm in pretty good shape' seems to confirm it pretty well, as does the demo lyric which was changed before final version: 'No-one loves my body' instead of 'No-one stops my party'.

If Party and Khasoggi's Ship are Fred's final words about his lifestyle then it really shows had poor his songwriting had become by 1989. Both songs are trashy and messy , with terrible lyrics. Was It All Worth It is much better though.

[QUOTE] [b]Holly2003 wrote:[/b]

If Party and Khasoggi's Ship are Fred's final words about his lifestyle then it really shows had poor his songwriting had become by 1991. Both songs are trashy and messy , with terrible lyrics. Was It All Worth It is much better though.[/QUOTE]

1991?

It's my least favourite album now. Not keen on most of the songs and the production is quite terrible. I Want It All had come out the previous month and I loved that so it was a huge disappointment to hear the final album largely devoid of rock. I do remember feeling worried when I heard Was It All Worth It because the band had been away for three years at this point and WIAWI sounded like a swansong. I thought it was a hint that the band were about to break up, especially as no tour followed. If only it had been that simple. :(

[QUOTE] [b]The Fairy King wrote:[/b]

[QUOTE] [b]Holly2003 wrote:[/b]

If Party and Khasoggi's Ship are Fred's final words about his lifestyle then it really shows had poor his songwriting had become by 1991. Both songs are trashy and messy , with terrible lyrics. Was It All Worth It is much better though.[/QUOTE]

1991?[/QUOTE]

I don't know what you mean (whistles innocently) :p

[QUOTE] [b]Holly2003 wrote:[/b]

If Party and Khasoggi's Ship are Fred's final words about his lifestyle then it really shows had poor his songwriting had become by 1989. Both songs are trashy and messy , with terrible lyrics. Was It All Worth It is much better though.[/QUOTE]

It is what it is I guess. The songwriting overall at that point was a shadow of Queen's earlier work, but it's all we've got from that point in time, so it's still worth considering in relation to what was going on in their lives. It makes songs like Party and Khasshogi's more interesting, but still by no means particularly good.

The Miracle showed some glimpses of their early prowess, after the dreadful albums Hot Space, The Works and A Kind Of Magic.

Highlights:

Khashoggi's Ship (first time Maylor let it rip properly on an album since 79/80)

I Want It All (for the same reason)

Invisible Man (both Taylor and May showing that they still had great chops)

Breakthru (just a great, uplifting song)

Was It All Worth It (Maiden meets Dragon Attack in the backing track with Freddie delivering some of his most difficult vocal lines ever (several belts two semitones above TSMGO/WWTLF).

/ \
" dreadful HS, WKS, AKOM" ?!!!
We're from different planets I think.

[QUOTE] [b]Holly2003 wrote:[/b]

If Party and Khasoggi's Ship are Fred's final words about his lifestyle then it really shows had poor his songwriting had become by 1989. Both songs are trashy and messy , with terrible lyrics. Was It All Worth It is much better though.[/QUOTE]
i think the album is fun, but lazy...and whenever i drag it out, it seldom stays around for longer than one play