| fofum 28.09.2014 11:36 |
I hadn't given this album much of an airing in years but I listened to it on holiday recently and was amazed how vibrant and textured the first side is. Party and Khashoggi's ship make for a great one-two punch at the start of the album... It has at least three splendid singles (Yes, I'm counting The Invisible Man) and some well produced filler on the second side. I do think that Was It All Worth It strives to be epic and falls way short but it's still a nice closer (Discounting the bonus material on some CD releases). I'm pleased it wasn't their last outing (Too lightweight perhaps... certainly in terms of tone, minus Scandal) but I think it's a far better album than A Kind Of Magic. The singles may not be quite as strong, and the music videos weren't the best around this time, but it's a solid addition to the catalogue. Anyone place it near the top in terms of Queen albums? I'd certainly have it in the top half. |
| pittrek 28.09.2014 12:11 |
Underrated? I don't agree with you. My personal rating Party - 0/10 Khashoggi's Ship - 2/10 The Miracle - 2/10 I Want It All - 7/10 The Invisible Man - 2/10 ( actually album version 2/10, extended version 0/10 only because I don't want to give it a negative rating, video version 5/10, demo version 6/10) Breakthru - 6/10 Rain Must Fall - 0/10 Scandal - 7/10 My Baby Does Me - 0/10 Was It All Worth It - 9/10 All together 3.5/10 I think the weakness of this album is the fact that it's "unbalanced" (hope that's the correct word). I mean it has 2 wonderful songs (Scandal, Was It All Worth It), 2 fine rockers (I Want It All, Breaktrhru), but the rest is just half-finished (The Miracle, Khashoggi's Ship) or simply crap. It sounds like a first album of a new band, which it basically is from a certain point of view. The guys didn't see each other for more than 2 years so they basically had to learn how to enjoy playing together again, I guess that's the reason why they included songs which were basically jam sessions. Sorry, not an album for me. My "top half" as you called it is reserved for the first 5 albums. But the beauty lies in the fact that everybody has a different opinion :) |
| fofum 28.09.2014 12:30 |
You're giving the song The Miracle 2 out of 10? Wow! I can't make a case for it being in the band's top tier of work but there's a lot to recommend here. Sure, The Invisible Man (The 12" is awful) isn't one of their must have single releases, but it's a fun, lively little number that I enjoyed immensely when I was a kid. I'd say that there are 2 filler songs on this album, and we all know which ones those are, right? I think the track listing is a problem. I Want It All should have opened the album. Party should have opened side two, but... nah, I'm sticking to my guns. This is a solid outing from the boys. I'd say the title track is one of their most imaginatively arranged songs and even though it is covered in five types of cheese it is still a beautiful song. Horses for courses I guess. Now, the cover... that is hard to defend. |
| pittrek 28.09.2014 12:44 |
Actually I love the cover and I was surprised that it made to various "worst album covers" lists. It was really innovative for 1989 and it looks visually interesting even now in 2014. The SONG Miracle - it really sounds to me like it's something just "half finished". You know, like they said to themselves at one point - "OK, let's leave it this way and we'll polish it later" but they never actually got to the polishing part. The structure is problematic for me too - it's like Freddie wanted to do a cheesy 80's pop song, but Brian wanted something more rock oriented - I don't know, I'm just guessing. The main part of it sounds like a completely random 80's tune, then in the end it starts to get faster and heavier, but the fast and heavy part suddenly stops before it actually managed to develop into something and is crossfaded with another cheesy 80's tune ... I don't know, I just don't like the structure of the song and the fact that the majority of it sounds like a completely random 80's band who hired Freddie as their guest singer. Well even when it was maybe their intention :) I don't know, maybe it would help if they'd cut off the ending completely |
| Kuijpy 28.09.2014 13:24 |
Party - 5/10 Khashoggi's Ship - 5/10 The Miracle - 8/10 (Love the guitar part at the end) I Want It All - 6/10 (Rocks Version 9/10) The Invisible Man - 4/10 (Video Edit 8/100 Breakthru - 7/10 Rain Must Fall - 4/10 Scandal - 8/10 My Baby Does Me - 3/10 Was It All Worth It - 10/10 (the Best! Must have been a single instead of The Invisible Man) |
| dysan 28.09.2014 14:08 |
I love the album. It's a weird mix though and agree with the points about the tracklist (a problem with many Queen albums). 10 songs seems a bit thin, but I do count in the bonus material on the original CD too as that formed part of how I first heard the album. Hang On In There is fun (although sounds unfinished like some other key tracks here). I guess Queen's sound didn't translate well in to the contemporary 1989 pop landscape. I do remember IWIA premiering on the radio and it being hailed as a return to their 70s sound (Mark Goodier on Radio1!). MBDM is one of the worst songs Queen have done, but I really do think WIAWI is one of the best. I love TIM and Breakthru but I never understood why until I read that Unofficial Queen book a couple of years ago when The Miracle (song) is called 'the maddest song on their maddest album'. Looking at the collection objectively I think it's a really bonkers album - sooooo Queen. May is playing like a man half his age and they're all having fun. It's an 8 / 10 for me. |
| Mr.QueenFan 28.09.2014 14:27 |
It certainly isn't underrated by me. It's a mixed album, with great pop and Rock songs. The Miracle song is one of the best songs ever written by Freddie. The chord progression is just heaven, and Brian has stated in the past that this song is a good exemple of Freddie's sense of melody. Pure heaven! Here's the backing track (real Queen music). One of the most beautiful backing tracks i have ever heard. Enjoy! link One of my favorites from this album is "Kashoggi's ship". A great rocker! |
| OhioBobcat555 28.09.2014 15:03 |
The Miracle and AKOM are both IMHO, HORRIBLE. While just about everything else Queen did were close to great to classic. The Miracle has a few really good songs and the rest just remind of cheap, 80's time capsule cheese. It's such a waste from great musicians. The cheesy sound effects and syntheisizers really ruin it but there are a few songs on there that simply seem like B side material at best. When the two songs are added to the album (Chinese Torture and Hang on in There)... the album seems a little more complete and listenable. I actually enjoy those two tracks significantly more than about 4 or 5 tracks on the album. The Invisible Man just sounds God awful. One of Queen's worst moments. |
| dysan 28.09.2014 15:05 |
I've always liked Hijack My Heart too. I can't let 12 year old me down but will admit that it's a bit duff :) |
| MercurialFreddie 28.09.2014 15:09 |
Hasn't Freddie or Roger stated that they recorded about 40 songs during the Miracle recording sessions ? If we would exchange A Winter's tale and Too much love will kill you, I Guess we're falling out (finished) // Affairs (finished) with 3 weak tracks from the Miracle then it would be a very good album. My Baby does me is the only track which I didn't like upon my first listening of the whole album and it didn't change, I still don't like it and to my ears it is the most un-Queenish track. It really sounds like an idea or demo but not a finished proper track. Of course the track itself contributes to the variety of the album. They did not play safe and tried something else (genre-wise). |
| Holly2003 28.09.2014 15:34 |
I wouldn;t be as harsh as you but overall I think you're spot on. I;m glad I;m not the only one who thinks the first two tracks are little better than jam sessions. Chinese Torture is possibly the worst song Queen ever released. It's like listening to a cat going under a steamroller.
pittrek wrote: Underrated? I don't agree with you. My personal rating Party - 0/10 Khashoggi's Ship - 2/10 The Miracle - 2/10 I Want It All - 7/10 The Invisible Man - 2/10 ( actually album version 2/10, extended version 0/10 only because I don't want to give it a negative rating, video version 5/10, demo version 6/10) Breakthru - 6/10 Rain Must Fall - 0/10 Scandal - 7/10 My Baby Does Me - 0/10 Was It All Worth It - 9/10 All together 3.5/10 I think the weakness of this album is the fact that it's "unbalanced" (hope that's the correct word). I mean it has 2 wonderful songs (Scandal, Was It All Worth It), 2 fine rockers (I Want It All, Breaktrhru), but the rest is just half-finished (The Miracle, Khashoggi's Ship) or simply crap. It sounds like a first album of a new band, which it basically is from a certain point of view. The guys didn't see each other for more than 2 years so they basically had to learn how to enjoy playing together again, I guess that's the reason why they included songs which were basically jam sessions. Sorry, not an album for me. My "top half" as you called it is reserved for the first 5 albums. But the beauty lies in the fact that everybody has a different opinion :) |
| flash00. 28.09.2014 15:37 |
The Miracle album is one of my favourite albums, Party and Kashoggi's Ship are absolute crap songs but the rest are great songs, The Miracle song like someone stated it's one of Freddie's best songs of the 80's his voice sounds incredible and Scandal is a great song I think the 12in version is far better though, The Miracle album is a good strong album with some of there best videos for single releases etc. I remember back then how the album cover was state of the art graphics. |
| fofum 28.09.2014 15:40 |
I used to hate the cover... thought it looked a bit cheesy but looking at it now I think it's wonderful. Makes perfect sense too. This was Freddie's Dali period... he gets a mention in the title track. It's all very surreal. I think those that aren't in love with Party and Khashoggi's Ship are insane. There are about thirty little song ideas in there.... garbled up... seamlessly made. "This one's on me so let us do it just right..." That little melody alone is pure genius. The quieten down. Freddie sings it. A roll of thunder from Roger. Full steam! The way all the band members get a shout out on The Invisible Man. "Watch me now." Who are these people who think these songs are pieces of crap? Is it perfect? Far from it. But these are great tunes. The production doesn't always work for me. It should be far grittier, but instead it sounds clinical... digital. A winner for me though. |
| luthorn 28.09.2014 15:47 |
Breakthru and The Invisible Man videos is what introduced me to Queen. Quite a bit of nostalgia there. |
| ili 28.09.2014 15:52 |
In every Queen album there are 4-5 songs that I like too much and1-2 that I don't like at all or that I find very weak at the best. ( with the exceptions of Innuendo, Made in Heaven and ANATO - I like all the songs in those albums). That is the case for me with The Miracle as well. I ignored Party, Khashoggi's Ship and My Baby Does Me for many years. However I like Was It All Worth It, Scandal, The Miracle and Breakthru too much. As for I Want It All, I rank it as one of the top 3 Queen songs along with Innuendo and Bo Rap. I like the album version more than the single version. That is me of course but as a whole, I find The Miracle album very successful and actually the best album Queen released in the 80s, largely due to inclusion of I Want It All and Was It All Worth It. ( and yes those 2 songs IMHO are much better than all the singles from Under Pressure to Who Wants To Live Forever) |
| Rompez 28.09.2014 18:19 |
Possible inspiration for the cover art concept? link El Lissitzky 1929. |
| LucasDiego 28.09.2014 19:21 |
I love the miracle album, my favorites it's scandal and was it all worth it, and i like the b sides too |
| dysan 29.09.2014 02:06 |
Party - 3/10 Khashoggi's Ship - 4/10 The Miracle - 6/10 I Want It All - 5/10 The Invisible Man - 7/10 Breakthru - 7/10 Rain Must Fall - 6/10 Scandal - 6/10 My Baby Does Me - 0/10 Was It All Worth It - 9/10 Hang On In There - 7/10 Chinese Torture - 6/10 (sounds like a Flash Gordon outtake for some reason - a good thing!) Hijack My Heart - 6 / 10 (purely nostalgic) Stealin - 2 /10 My Life Has Been Saved 2 / 10 |
| Oscar J 29.09.2014 03:02 |
I love Khashoggi's ship. Not because the songwriting is great, because it surely isn't, but simply because the guys really let it rip in the end. I always skip RMF, MBDM and the Miracle. They just bore me to death. The rest of the album I find genuinely enjoyable though. After The Game, it's their best album of the 80's. |
| Supersonic_Man89 29.09.2014 03:25 |
I think i'm the only one in the world who likes My Baby Does Me. It's a nice chilled out song, about somebody who cares for someone deeply but feels she's not consistantly giving him the love back that he desires. Likes it i do. |
| john bodega 29.09.2014 04:22 |
Not gonna give them numbers, but I love a good album rating. Party - No Khashoggi's Ship - No The Miracle - Yes I Want It All - Yes The Invisible Man - Quietly yes when no one's paying attention. Breakthru - Yes Rain Must Fall - No Scandal - No My Baby Does Me - No Was It All Worth It - Yes I dunno how common this opinion is, but after Opera or Races, I don't think Queen put out a single album that I would've listened to from start to finish. I don't know if they saw themselves as an albums band (I do think they had a good handle on picking which songs flowed best) but there's too many 'meh' tracks in their catalogue for me to feel like their albums are meant to be experienced as such. And I fucking love Queen music, really. After a certain point in their career though, I just dunno if it's "turn the lights off, put headphones on and listen to this whole thing from start to finish" music. |
| tomchristie22 29.09.2014 05:35 |
What don't you like about Scandal? Just interested, since it's a high point on the album for most, by the look of it. I agree about full albums, except I usually listen all the way through News of the World and The Game. Innuendo is also very close. Yeah, they both have weaker points, but so do Queen II, SHA, ANATO and ADATR. |
| john bodega 29.09.2014 05:39 |
"What don't you like about Scandal?" It's just not that interesting. Freddie's oversinging doesn't do it for me on this track, and as much as I sympathise on the subject matter it's not something I want eating into my recreational listening time. Brian's guitar work is great though. |
| srnapranjic 29.09.2014 08:09 |
Was it all worth it is simply the best ever song by any artist....and scandal is in my queen top20.the album is good but i prefer innuendo |
| no_stairway 29.09.2014 08:12 |
Miracle the song is a masterpiece, brilliant. nice melody, beautiful arrangment, fantastic structure. absolutely amazing. and one of May's favourites. Miracle album is disballanced in some way, has it's high & low moments. And it doesn't perfectly sound - i don't like the way it was recorded and/or mixed. |
| Djdownsy 29.09.2014 08:46 |
Zebonka12 wrote: "What don't you like about Scandal?" It's just not that interesting. Freddie's oversinging doesn't do it for me on this track, and as much as I sympathise on the subject matter it's not something I want eating into my recreational listening time. Brian's guitar work is great though.Exactly how i feel. But I think the lyrics themselves are actually quite bad too. |
| YourValentine 29.09.2014 09:42 |
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| Pingfah 29.09.2014 09:46 |
It's about half brilliant, which is half as brilliant as most Queen albums, but twice as brilliant as most other bands albums. |
| gerry 29.09.2014 11:49 |
Hot Space is more fun to listen too than "The Miracle" album, & yes i am serious! "Breakthru", and "The Miracle" are ok songs but do not excite me, as much as "Back chat" or "Put out the fire" |
| Doga 29.09.2014 11:52 |
Was It All Worth It, I Want It All, Scandal and the Miracle (and Hang on in There) are wonderful tracks, To me, ''The Miracle'' has a very solid strong points and a very weak ones. |
| fofum 29.09.2014 13:27 |
The fact that the band knew they weren't going to be touring the album perhaps played a part in them making more adventurous songs like The Miracle. I doubt that would have translated particularly well to the stage. I remember being underwhelmed when I first heard the album, but I actually prefer it more now as I get older. Fred sounds fantastic... Brian is letting loose... I really do enjoy it now. Ssshhh... but I even like Stealin'. |
| Ouzy 29.09.2014 17:10 |
Interesting comments...this is one of my favourite Queen albums, i'm shocked to read some of the comments, but then again not so for those that loved the early 70's Queen sound. I love this album, I still play it now in my car, I just love it that much, except one track and that is The Invisible Man, which I really just cannot stand at all and wince when I hear it. Considering that this album was what 1988/89 and at that time I was aware that Freddie was quite unwell despite reassurances from someone I knew at the time that was friends with band members that told me he was just suffering from some minor illness, it sure is a 'Miracle' that Queen produced this album, and then a second miracle when Innuendo appeared.... |
| Saint Jiub 29.09.2014 17:25 |
The Miracle is in my top 5 (of 15) of Queen studio albums primarily because I love 4 songs which I rated 5 out of 5 (top 20% of Queen songs IMHO) Party - 3 Khashoggi's Ship - 5 - Love the "fighting spirit" The Miracle - 3 I Want It All - 4 The Invisible Man - 5 - Love the bass Breakthru - 5 - Always puts me in a better mood Rain Must Fall - 5 - Love the bass and percussion Scandal - 1 - Boring bass and lyrics - actually prefer more lively 12" My Baby Does Me - 2 Was It All Worth It - 4 |
| Jimmy Dean 29.09.2014 19:56 |
I believe this is Queen changing the formula. First time around - some good ideas thrown out there like the title track + I Want It All + Breakthru. Was It All Worth sounds like a band trying too hard... but coming out pretty good. The rest sound like ideas that were floating in the studio that no one really owned up to... and then sort of turned into something./.. like My Baby Does Me & the two first tracks.. they don't have that Queen workmanship. It's missing the usual perfectionism normally seen in their work. Innuendo took care of that. Each song sounds like a work of art... yes, even Delilah. Unfortunately, they decided to try this way too late. In fact, in Innuendo, the only song that sounds like filler is I Can't Live With You - and that was a pretty good one. |
| dysan 30.09.2014 02:16 |
Zebonka12: listening to a Queen album start to finish: Yes! That's the point though, accepting the one or 2 bad tunes too. Indeed, I've learnt to appreciate some of the lesser tracks when listening to them for the first time in years when I have one of those lovely 'listen all the way through sessions' :) Of the 2011 reissues I'd say The Miracle is the best from an extra's viewpoint. I guess that's just down to all the extra bsides issued at the times (although they missed one off FFS). THe package pleases me very much. Try swapping Hijack My Heart with MBDM and you have a classic ADATR style Roger song second to last. I loved HOIT at the time so much - and like the rest of the album because there are so many really weird, pronk (punk - prog) style flourishes. The guitar solo on Breakthru is nuts, and is that on Party etc. The awkward outro of The Miracle is divine. Really really creative! Also, the cover is pretty bad, but does freak me out as much as the back cover. That's disgusting! |
| Zamidoo 30.09.2014 05:16 |
One of the things I like about Queen is how they walked the fine line between success and failure in their songs and videos... there were very few 'safe' offerings, either as singles or other album tracks. That does mean that when something didn't work though, it could sound really awful, and a lot of 'The Miracle' does sound really awful to me (The Invisible Man, Rain Must Fall, My Baby Does Me), as do quite a lot of songs on other albums. I mean 'fingernails down a blackboard' awful, not, 'do something else while the boring tracks are playing in the background' awful. There are tracks that I habitually skip on all the 1980s albums, but in terms of musical sound and instrumentation, it isn't my favourite decade anyway. I love 70s Queen, but the only 80s Queen song that I really love is, 'It's a Hard Life'... 'The Miracle' isn't a bad album, but underrated? Not for me. There are lovely parts to it (I agree about 'The Miracle' track having a beautiful melody, and 'I Want It All' is a great, over-the-top rock track), but it is very inconsistent. |
| Mekola 30.09.2014 22:50 |
Considering what was the meaning and the message of the album when it was released, is my truly favourite. It has it highs and lows, and I'm pleased with almost all tracks of the album. |
| fofum 01.10.2014 02:30 |
You're right Zamidoo. They have to be commended for going out on a limb each time. |
| malicedoom 01.10.2014 14:43 |
Always great to see love for Scandal. That is one fucking fantastic song. And the 12" version is ridiculous. A shame that and the Breakthru 12" were not included in the 2011 releases. Also: "I think i'm the only one in the world who likes My Baby Does Me." No, count me in there too. I've always liked that song. |
| beemack74 01.10.2014 20:57 |
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| beemack74 01.10.2014 21:11 |
"The Miracle" always has been my favourite Queen album. I had immensely enjoyed thier previous hits, but this is the album that got me hooked. I was 14 in 1989 and starting to take a real interest in the charts at that time, most of which, I must admit, wasn't that great in the late 80's and early 90's. I vividly remember from May until September of that year being a real scorcher. A helluva summer, and when I see the Breakthru' video that sums up that whole summer for me. I also remember watching "The Chart Show"(remember that??!!) on ITV one Saturday morning, hearing "scandal" for the first time and thinking it was the greatest piece of music ever by anyone !!! After that, I saved up my pocket money and bought the album on cassette...remember them???!! And yes, I have since bought it on cd!! |
| Mr. Bed Guy 01.10.2014 23:26 |
Beemack74, I agree. I was 19 and The Miracle was the frist Album I bought as a Queen fan which I became right after A KInd Of Magic. I remember all details, beeing surprised wenn I looked for records and suddenly held "I Want It All" in my hands - totally unexpected. Breakthru video was for me the video of the summer to, I was at Spain,Calella that year with a group of friends and the video was played in the hotel lobby......great times, great album, although realistic it isn't a masterpiece for critics, too much plastic..... |
| dysan 02.10.2014 10:09 |
Very similar to my experience of the album beemack74! I got the IWIA single on cassette and then the album as soon as it was out (Woolies!) and took it to cub camp. That was my first big summer! |
