| Day dop 06.08.2015 17:25 |
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? |
| MJDSQ 06.08.2015 19:07 |
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. |
| Sebastian 06.08.2015 19:21 |
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. |
| master marathon runner 06.08.2015 22:05 |
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. |
| kdj2hot 06.08.2015 23:37 |
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 |
| Mr. Bed Guy 07.08.2015 01:21 |
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? |
| tomchristie22 07.08.2015 01:36 |
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'. |
| Holly2003 07.08.2015 01:56 |
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. |
| The Fairy King 07.08.2015 02:40 |
Holly2003 wrote: 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.1991? |
| raucousmonster 07.08.2015 03:30 |
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. :( |
| Holly2003 07.08.2015 04:38 |
The Fairy King wrote:I don't know what you mean (whistles innocently) :pHolly2003 wrote: 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.1991? |
| tomchristie22 07.08.2015 05:26 |
Holly2003 wrote: 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.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. |
| Oscar J 07.08.2015 07:26 |
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). |
| master marathon runner 07.08.2015 12:11 |
/ \ " dreadful HS, WKS, AKOM" ?!!! We're from different planets I think. |
| brENsKi 07.08.2015 13:40 |
Holly2003 wrote: 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.i think the album is fun, but lazy...and whenever i drag it out, it seldom stays around for longer than one play |
| Oscar J 07.08.2015 13:52 |
master marathon runner wrote: / \ " dreadful HS, WKS, AKOM" ?!!! We're from different planets I think.To be fair, AKOM does have two or three good songs. Was a little grumpy this morning, sorry. |
| mooghead 07.08.2015 14:13 |
I feel the same about The Miracle, I was 13 and for the first time bought a Queen album on release day, with all the money I had in the world. Played it to death. It will always be special to me. |
| joerijoerijoeri 08.08.2015 04:15 |
I finally got the 2011 remaster with the EP yesterday - along with the same editions of Queen, ANATO, ADATR and Jazz. Bought it from a Queen fan on Discogs for a good price - ta. Yeah The Miracle definitely isn't one of their stronger albums. It feels like this was a period they first and foremost wanted to have hit songs that sounded contemporary and that's what half of the album sounds like. It feels very much like they were trying their best to fit in with the younger audience again: look at the The Invisible Man video, set in a child's bedroom, the special edition version of the Scandal 7" that comes with the poster, it's all very much a contrived marketing plot and that echoes in the music as well. Maybe because of that, the songs lack depth mostly. Strangely enough I do really like Party and Khashoggi's Ship and of course I like Was It All Worth It. Breakthru, I Want It All, The Invisible man, Scandal, I like those songs but they're so...bubblegum. The song The Miracle is very nice but also it leaves me with a aftertaste that I also have when I see a Disney movie. My Baby Does Me and Rain Must Fall lack depth like the other songs but they definitely don't have the 'hit' factor that the aforementioned songs have, they're basically filler. And Hijack My Heart has the honour of being my very least favourite Queen song. The era is very interesting though, they recorded so much in this period. I love Hang On In There. I like Stealin and even Chinese Torture for its oddness. I'm sure they never finished I Guess We're Falling Out but I would love to see an official release of it someday. Is Affairs from this period? Very interesting fundament for a song. Man, just bring on a release of these rarities already... The 2011 bonus EP of The Miracle is cool, but it's kind of strange that they chose to include My Life Has Been Saved on the bonus EP of Made In Heaven whereas all the other B-sides are present. It's also too bad that they mostly used stuff that was officially released instead of more early versions...or the unreleased songs from this era. |
| Cruella de Vil 08.08.2015 04:22 |
Hi, I played this album to death. It kicked off with a great groove in Party, some punch and naff riffs with Khashoghi etc. I always enjoyed an underlying looseness to many of the backing tracks. You could hear the chemistry between them. I also loved the recklessness and joie de vivre of the songs. It was fun, but had it's serious moments too. Cheers, CDV |
| RafaelS 08.08.2015 15:58 |
I have a version of The Miracle video with only Queen members performing. |
| matt z 09.08.2015 05:46 |
RafaelS wrote: I have a version of The Miracle video with only Queen members performing.Please share if you do. I've always heard about that one. Criticism of THE MIRACLE will always happen. It was Queen being late comers to the optimism of 80's pop in spite of the hate of 80's thrash and blended with the joy of dance pop with a touch of 80's hair rock. IWIA is such a simplified song it's gotta be inspired by the KEY OF G Whitesnake "anthem rock" repeating itself in permutations. Much like Headlong feels like a stab at the driving 90's rock of THE CULT (their hits. .. Not the deep cuts.... stuff like fire woman I found Breakthru exhilarating as a teenager (though the album was already 10 years old by the time) and itwas vitality spirited and big. The emotive power of their songs always compelled me from the 80's stuff. It might have been cocaine or light spiritedness.. who knows. I still LOVE rain must fall and don't lose your head simply because they're of the era. (Even though I've since found out from the great contributors here that RMF is almost a CANDI STATION rip off. .. as well as BREAKTHRU. ..) Heh. .. no WONDER (!) THEY'RE OF the era! The eighties. If you were a child then.... or an adult. .. I'm CERTAIN you'll have COMPLETELY opposite perspectives of that time. For kids it was visionary and fun. For adults it must have been stressful and challenging. .. the music must have been background stuff to wild excoriation ... But that's probably another topic. I remember first playing THE MIRACLE for my brother after buying it in a second hand place. We were playing JOHN MADDEN FOOTBALL on a PlayStation console while playing the cd on our SEGA CD... when it was my turn to play a cd it was halftime in the game. This edition of Madden had halftime stats and insights rolling infinitely while computerized cheerleaders strolled up and down the field. Somehow the rhythm of PARTY/KHASSHOGGIS ship were in sync so much as to be comical. We were busting up laughing. (Weak drum track) ... I'll always remember the instances I first heard a QUEEN album. Sorry. .. But the same doesn't hold true for TCR. |
| Holly2003 09.08.2015 06:19 |
I can see some resemblance between Whitesnake's brand of hair rock and IWIA. Maybe some resemblance to Here I Go Again especially. However, Headlong doesn't sound anything like The Cult. |
| RafaelS 10.08.2015 16:50 |
matt z wrote:Sorry but Snow doesn't want me to.RafaelS wrote: I have a version of The Miracle video with only Queen members performing.Please share if you do. I've always heard about that one. |
| stevelondon20 11.08.2015 14:15 |
RafaelS wrote:That's a shame. Wouldn't been great to see that.matt z wrote:Sorry but Snow doesn't want me to.RafaelS wrote: I have a version of The Miracle video with only Queen members performing.Please share if you do. I've always heard about that one. |
| mooghead 11.08.2015 14:19 |
stevelondon20 wrote:Why fall for such bullshit?RafaelS wrote:That's a shame. Wouldn't been great to see that.matt z wrote:Sorry but Snow doesn't want me to.RafaelS wrote: I have a version of The Miracle video with only Queen members performing.Please share if you do. I've always heard about that one. |
| RafaelS 11.08.2015 18:35 |
mooghead wrote:Look who's talking about bullshit. Mister bullshit himself!stevelondon20 wrote:Why fall for such bullshit?RafaelS wrote:That's a shame. Wouldn't been great to see that.matt z wrote:Sorry but Snow doesn't want me to.RafaelS wrote: I have a version of The Miracle video with only Queen members performing.Please share if you do. I've always heard about that one. |
| matt z 11.08.2015 19:19 |
Lol^ because it's always worth a try. Passive acceptance of a typically covetted item/thing/person often leads to sharing of such a thing. I was trying the passive indifference angle which leads a person to show and say "see, I TOLD you so! " afterwards. In instances like that it's useful |
| stevelondon20 12.08.2015 00:56 |
You had me there lol. |