| The Real Wizard 24.09.2004 17:24 |
In my other topic, Joeyjojo had a great idea about the "campfire" atmosphere with us old-timers, so I thought I'd do my best with this one. We haven't talked about The Miracle album in ages. It features Brian in probably his best form on guitar, showing such virtuosity and clenliness in his always unique style of playing. Brilliant vocal and guitar harmony arrangements are all over the place, and clearly their songwriting abilities had improved greatly from the previous album, A Kind Of Magic. Also, I think this is their best-produced album. The album must be listened to carefully to pick out all of the little things that make this one a complete gem in terms of production. The Miracle and Scandal are two of the best-produced tracks I have ever heard. All the songs are great and unique. Not one song on this album sounds like any other in their catalogue, nor anyone else's that I've ever heard. Let's give this under-appreciated album a few more nice reviews in this topic. This is an "appreciation thread", so no bashing. If you want to bash it, create your own topic. One other thing... no singing kumbaya. |
| Perry 24.09.2004 17:34 |
I love each and every Queen album, but this is one of those special ones, along with Innuendo, Made In Heaven, A Night At The Opera and Queen II, like you said, its a greatly produced album and Brian is very on-form, the one problem with this is here and there Freddie's voice is less enjoyable than usual (still very enjoyable nontheless). Breakthru, Scandal and I Want It All are all awesome tracks, but the gem of the album is Was It All Worth It, my favourite Queen song, which is a superb way to finish off the album, which could well have been Freddie Mercury's last. Chinese Torture is a very nice instrumental extra too, which would fit into center of Was It All Worth It perfectly, I give this CD 4.5/5, a true classic. |
| Maz 24.09.2004 18:04 |
This was always one of my favorite albums. IWIA is my favorite song, but Hang On In There, Was It All Worth It, and Invisible Man really drive the CD. It doesn't flow all that well, not like other Queen albums, but it stands up pretty good. It could use some sonic improvements, in my opinion. Since this is an appreciation thread, I guess Bullwinkle can't post :) |
| Gunpowder Gelatine 24.09.2004 18:20 |
The Miracle is one of those albums I took awhile to appreciate. It's not my favorite, but it does have some great material. I Want It All, Breakthru, Scandal and Was It All Worth It are all great, and I love the catchiness of The Invisible Man. |
| the oppositionist 24.09.2004 18:23 |
Sir GH<br><font size=1>ah yeah</font> wrote: In my other topic, Joeyjojo had a great idea about the "campfire" atmosphere with us old-timers, so I thought I'd do my best with this one. We haven't talked about The Miracle album in ages. It features Brian in probably his best form on guitar, showing such virtuosity and clenliness in his always unique style of playing. Brilliant vocal and guitar harmony arrangements are all over the place, and clearly their songwriting abilities had improved greatly from the previous album, A Kind Of Magic. Also, I think this is their best-produced album. The album must be listened to carefully to pick out all of the little things that make this one a complete gem in terms of production. The Miracle and Scandal are two of the best-produced tracks I have ever heard. All the songs are great and unique. Not one song on this album sounds like any other in their catalogue, nor anyone else's that I've ever heard. Let's give this under-appreciated album a few more nice reviews in this topic. This is an "appreciation thread", so no bashing. If you want to bash it, create your own topic. One other thing... no singing kumbaya.I couldnt possibly agree more. The miracle is my second fave to made in heaven. I just think its so strong. I was devistated that scandal didnt do very well as a single. but then the video was appauling. |
| Lord Fickle 24.09.2004 18:24 |
I never really appreciated The Miracle album at first. Loved I Want It All, Was It All Worth It, and the other heavier tracks, but I think it contains one of the worst Queen tracks ever, in My Baby Does Me. It was only after seeing the video for The Miracle single, and those brilliant kids, that I started getting more into the album, but i still can't say it's one of my favorites overall. |
| jericho05 24.09.2004 19:14 |
The Miracle was the album that announced to me that the Queen I love was back! It is probably there least appreciated album even more so than Hot Space. Here in Canada Hot Space faltered , The Works barley registered and A Kind Of Magic was not even promoted. Hell neither was The Miracle but it was possibly the best and most "Queen" album of the 80's. |
| The Real Wizard 24.09.2004 19:21 |
Zeni the Wet Sprocket wrote: Since this is an appreciation thread, I guess Bullwinkle can't post :)Lol...! |
| Kuku 24.09.2004 20:45 |
A lot of people seem to get repelled by Party + Khashoggi's Ship... I know I did dislike Party at first. (I still don't like that track that much.) Except that, I love every single track in the album and the sequence of the songs as well. Moreover, the "not-included" bonus tracks are all excellent. (I still don't understand why they didn't include Hang On In There - one of the top three in the album.) Quite flawless from the second song to the end! |
| Goo 24.09.2004 21:15 |
Before I bought the Miracle, I hadn't heard many good things about it, and it was very near the bottom of my list of Queen cds I wanted to buy. In fact, the only reason I bought it was because it was the only Queen cd I found after looking in 3 second-hand cd stores! But once I listened to it, I loved it. Breakthru is for sure in my top 5, and I adore Scandal. I have to admit that at first I didn't like Party or Khashoggi's Ship, but for some reason that changed on day, and now I love listening to them. And I even like the bonus tracks! All in all, a great album, and a really nice surprise. |
| Daburcor? 24.09.2004 21:37 |
I don't think I can say enough pleasent things about this album. I just love it! :D |
| deleted user 24.09.2004 22:31 |
All of these comments are making me want to listen to it. lol! |
| Saint Jiub 24.09.2004 23:13 |
Sir GH<br><font size=1>ah yeah</font> wrote:I'll post anyway because I do not under stand what precipitated that comment.Zeni the Wet Sprocket wrote: Since this is an appreciation thread, I guess Bullwinkle can't post :)Lol...! The Miracle is in my Top 5 of Queen albums for songs like KS, IWIA, tIM, B, and RMF. I always thought that most fans consider this to be a below average Queen album. |
| Maz 25.09.2004 00:27 |
Bullwinkle wrote:Well, dammit, someone around here hates The Miracle, I just can't remember who now.Sir GH<br><font size=1>ah yeah</font> wrote:I'll post anyway because I do not under stand what precipitated that comment. The Miracle is in my Top 5 of Queen albums for songs like KS, IWIA, tIM, B, and RMF. I always thought that most fans consider this to be a below average Queen album.Zeni the Wet Sprocket wrote: Since this is an appreciation thread, I guess Bullwinkle can't post :)Lol...! Apologies, Bull |
| deleted user 25.09.2004 01:38 |
IMO, I think this is the 'going back home' album Queen ever made, in the sense that they got 'different' during the late 70's-mid 80's era. To me it felt like they went back to their roots, down to earth, etc., etc... |
| iGSM 25.09.2004 02:17 |
Who said my party's over? Me. It was me. Anyway I haven't heard the entire album but I rather like Party/Kashoggis Ship then the rest of the album (what I've heard is great). One track I'm not really pleased about is 'Was it All Worth It?'. It was alright but I wasn't fond of it. Meh, I guess it'll grow on me like a rash. |
| Lester Burnham 25.09.2004 02:31 |
Zeni the Wet Sprocket wrote:'Tis me. I also thought Taylor-Mayed or Ogre T Raylot didn't like it either. But, me mouth is shut.Bullwinkle wrote:Well, dammit, someone around here hates The Miracle, I just can't remember who now. Apologies, BullSir GH<br><font size=1>ah yeah</font> wrote:I'll post anyway because I do not under stand what precipitated that comment. The Miracle is in my Top 5 of Queen albums for songs like KS, IWIA, tIM, B, and RMF. I always thought that most fans consider this to be a below average Queen album.Zeni the Wet Sprocket wrote: Since this is an appreciation thread, I guess Bullwinkle can't post :)Lol...! |
| Libor2 25.09.2004 05:22 |
Yes, this is one of their best from 80’s. I like the most The Miracle, I Want It All and Was It All Worth It. |
| Giacco 73 25.09.2004 09:01 |
IMHO "A Night at the Opera" is the best album ever but the one I love more is "The Miracle".Is the first album I bought when was released back in 1989.After viewing on tv the videos of I want it all and then Breakthru I bought that little audio cassette which is the first stone of my now massive music collection of(not only)Queen.A very sunny album,full of energy,power,positivity,will to live and loving of life.To me,if it was a coin while "Innuendo" is the moving,meaningful side "The Miracle" is the light and happy face of it. |
| Sebastian 25.09.2004 09:24 |
Yes the production is awesome in The Miracle. I think it's a good album but too "single-esque" in terms of song length and form. I wish there were some more variety like in the early albums: some very long numbers, some very short ones, etc |
| Brian_Mays_Wig 25.09.2004 09:29 |
As it happens, I took the CD out in my car yesterday and I thought 'fuck this is a good album' not listened to it in ages. I love 'My baby does me', great bass and guitar. and on another not from a past thread, Johns bass in Rain Must Fall is fantastic. |
| Fenderek 25.09.2004 10:13 |
After WORKS and AKOM this was just pure genius!!! If there's anything I really DIDN'T like about those two albums from mid 80s- it was production and too much keyboards and not enough clear, crisp and sharp guitar... That's definitely the best production on any Queen album- no doubts!!! Also- agree on Brian's playing- it's absolutely brilliant on this album; seems he was practicing a lot prior to recordings... Many ppl dislike Party, and... I don' mind this track till guitars come in, but when they do- OMG, it's awesome!!! Som eof the riffs from Khashoggi's Ship or Hang On In There are also second to none! And how about longer version of IWIA???? I can't believe they cut this heavy riff from the middle, just before the "fast" section- it's one of the best rifffs I've ever heard!!!! And "Was It All Worth It"- one of the greatest intros, definitely one of the best riffs, the ending is just so energetic and so powerful- I always wish they played this riff there few more times... I'm not very big fan of Rain Must Fall or My Baby Does Me, but I do not dislike them... Also not a huge fan of SCANDAL, but there's some brilliant solo (different one, additional) on 12" version (if you can stand this shitty mix...)... Breakthru was THE FIRST QUEEN SONG I've ever heard, so obviously I have a spot for it... All in all- I think it's brilliant album, definitely in my top5; definitely the best in 80s, the best Queen studio album since THE GAME or maybe even JAZZ... Great come back to ROCK... |
| Brandon 25.09.2004 12:03 |
Hahaha, Zeni! I thought you were joking!! I thought TM was your favorite album, Mike??? I like TM a lot. "Breakthru" is the best song on the album IMO and the single-released B-sides were all strong as well. I also like the beats of "My Baby Does Me." Also, the songs that were left off are good too. But I will say "The Miracle" song is a bit lame. Maybe the video adds to it, I don't know. |
| KJ 25.09.2004 12:12 |
I have always like the The Miracle album. Was it all worth it is one of my alltime favourite Queensongs Never liked The Invisible Man and still don't. But the rest of the album is FANTASTIC! |
| rhapsody__87 25.09.2004 13:42 |
The Miracle is absolutely one of my favorite Queen albums. I love Party/Khashoggi's Ship and I don't see why a lot of other people don't. Breakthru is just a very upbeat song and I feel like it's a predecessor to Headlong. Anyone else agree or am I just delusional? :-P |
| Saint Jiub 25.09.2004 23:21 |
Brandon wrote: Hahaha, Zeni! I thought you were joking!! I thought TM was your favorite album, Mike??? I like TM a lot. "Breakthru" is the best song on the album IMO and the single-released B-sides were all strong as well. I also like the beats of "My Baby Does Me." Also, the songs that were left off are good too. But I will say "The Miracle" song is a bit lame. Maybe the video adds to it, I don't know.One more comment like the above dissing of The Miracle and I'll have your Stepford license revoked ... ok maybe you are right. The Miracle has often been my favorite, but it depends on my mood. |
| Roger_in_Tigerskin_Trousers 26.09.2004 06:35 |
Album on the whole is quite good. I love IWIA and WIAWI and scandal. but the beginning of the album (screams) you'd be forgiven for putting it down. You'd miss out on a great album though |
| rhapsody__87 26.09.2004 10:02 |
"The Miracle has often been my favorite, but it depends on my mood." That song used to scare me when I was little. I really don't know why. |
| Saint Jiub 26.09.2004 11:43 |
rhapsody__87 <small>super!</small> wrote: "The Miracle has often been my favorite, but it depends on my mood." That song used to scare me when I was little. I really don't know why.Shit! I meant the album not the song. It is an average Queen song despite the smarmy lyrics. |
| gsparaco 27.09.2004 12:55 |
Oftentimes my wife catches me humming "That day will come/one day you'll see/when we can all be friends" and she sings along. |
| Wiley 27.09.2004 15:31 |
This album, along with Hot Space, are my top choices when I want to hear something "fresh" and Queen related, since I don't listen to them very often but everytime I do it I rediscover them. Hot Space was the first Queen album I got after GH (with ADATR) and I just love it. The Miracle is great aswell. Very different from the early albums and it sounds so fresh. I just LOVE Party and Kashoggi's Ship and the way they blend together. The production is really NEAT, clean and crisp. I think that this makes it a great album to listen to after a few weeks or months listening to the earlier, raw-er or live material. Great contrast and, overall, a great album (too many keyboards on WIAWI, though...) Wiley |
| MayFan 27.09.2004 17:41 |
The Miracle is the only cd I don't have. I absolutely love I Want It All, but I had that on Classic Queen cd so I never bothered. The Miracle is also on Classic Queen and I wasn't a big fan of the song (can take it or leave it). I guess that's why I never bought it. But after reading all this, I want to check it out now. Thank you all for talking me into spending money I don't have on another cd. My wife will love you! LOL! =) |
| Fenderek 28.09.2004 08:16 |
MayFan wrote: Thank you all for talking me into spending money I don't have on another cd. My wife will love you! LOL! =)LOL |
| mystic_rhythms 28.09.2004 11:07 |
I agree with those who say that it's not very well-crafted, it doesn't run together as well as it should, but it's not all that bad. I enjoyed The Miracle, and I still do. I got the original copy made in 1989 and I have been wearing it out for the last couple of years lol I really enjoy The Invisible Man, one of my all-time fave songs. I also feel Party and Khashoggi's Ship do a good job of opening the album, they go perfect together. I Want It All is really good too, as is Scandal, Hang On In There, and The Miracle. Breakthru, however, is not as connected as the other songs, as is Rain Must Fall and My Baby Does Me, but they all are strong nonetheless. And then, there's the refective song, Was It All Worth It. Probably one of the greatest songs off this album, it really should have had a good video to accompany it. I was able to add Freddie's saying from Wembley in '86, when he mentions the rumors that Queen was gonna split up, you know... "You know something, there's been, ah...there's been a lot of rumors lately...about a certain band called Queen and the rumors are that, ah...the rumors are that we're gonna split up, what do you think? *crowd goes wild* They're talkin' from here! *crowd goes wild again* My apologies, but I say what I want, you know what I mean? So forget those rumors, we're gonna stay together until we f***ing well die, I'm sure." I found that to be a great opener to Was It All Worth It, so I used this program to add it to the song, before it begins. To me, it just makes it even better. Anyway, bottom line, The Miracle is a fantastic album that, despite being underrated by some, it is a divine symbol of Queen's endurance, ability, and dedication to music and their fans. Overall Score: 9.99/10 (or you can just say 10) |
| trustno1 04.10.2004 05:48 |
The Miracle is technically brilliant, but is otherwise pretty terrible. Slightly better than Magic (not difficult), but nowhere near as good as Innuendo, perhaps Queen's best album since News of the World |
| Bob The Shrek 04.10.2004 06:23 |
Zeni, who's sprocket is wet, you may have been thinking of me - I don't like The Miracle at all - and seeing as I am not allowed to say anything against, I'll bugger off. (ps It's cack) |
| The Real Wizard 07.10.2004 01:12 |
Bob The Shrek wrote: Zeni, who's sprocket is wet, you may have been thinking of me - I don't like The Miracle at all - and seeing as I am not allowed to say anything against, I'll bugger off.Sure you can... just create a "The Miracle is crap" thread! |
| juls 07.10.2004 02:27 |
TM is a well-produced collection of hit-singles picked with some really good tracks and one-two typical (in german we say "Schlager") catchy tunes (like Miracle, Rain must fall), and very strong single-B-sides, which could replace every other song on the album (except Breakthru, which is a classic, and IWIA, which I'd loved to hear live - it would have been a bigger rocker than Hammer to fall). David Richards is a great producer, although I am a bit critical with the drums sound. Was it all worth it is my favorite on vinyl, on CD I prefer Hang on in there, their best B-side IMO they ever released (with I go crazy) Rain must fall is a track which I don't like very much, but all in all the album is high standard. There are no fillers IMO. |
| Maz 07.10.2004 14:06 |
Bob The Shrek wrote: Zeni, who's sprocket is wet, you may have been thinking of me - I don't like The Miracle at all - and seeing as I am not allowed to say anything against, I'll bugger off. (ps It's cack)I knew I wasn't completely daft. |
| LiveAidQueen 07.10.2004 16:25 |
The Miracle is okay. |
| deleted user 30.10.2005 13:26 |
Miracle is quite good because breakthru is my 4th fav video,the miracle is my 3rd fav video and i want it all is in my top ten fav songs.So yh the miracle is great but the other part i dont like is that i know that when they released that album freddie had aids.But all the other songs that i didnt mention,are great!hehe thx x |
| Fairy 30.10.2005 17:11 |
I was so glad to read so many great comments about The Miracle because I absolutely love it and yes, I think it is underrated and not praised enough. Along with the great rock and obviously Freddie's voice which sounds at its best, it's the album's positivity that I find so beautiful. I get huge energy out of it. It's like a hymn to life, fun, and hope. I think that closing with Was It all Worth It, and also the bonus Hang On in There, is a perfect choice, both musically and especially because of the lyrics. I love it! Fairy |
| motbq 01.11.2005 03:17 |
the miracle, "the works" and a "kind of magic" are good to very good queen albums, in my opinion are pretty much all equal depending on my mood. you could also add "made in heaven" in that category. For vintage queen listen to the first 8 albums and inuendo. |
| deleted user 01.11.2005 13:41 |
It's a lovely album to leave the 80s with. I don't know how anyone could not like it. If you don't you are a fool. All the tracks are brilliant. Some stronger than others but a fabulous album. |
| DrBilliam 01.11.2005 22:08 |
<font color=red>All Queen's People wrote: It's a lovely album to leave the 80s with. I don't know how anyone could not like it. If you don't you are a fool. All the tracks are brilliant. Some stronger than others but a fabulous album.I'm a fool, then. But since this is an appreciation thread, I'll go look for the review thread so I can give this album the thrashing it deserves. To each his own... |
| motbq 02.11.2005 04:13 |
your stuck in a time warp my friend, queen have done alot of great things since 1977. I'm sure you'll be singing "mama mia" the rest of your life. |
| Asterik 05.11.2005 15:03 |
What utter nonsense you speak, Dr Billiam. How can you criticise Queen's heaviest album since Jazz with the best guitar work and production of all their eighties albums? Songs like TM, IWIA, WIAWI and breakthru have the sound of a band who actually give a damn about creativity once more. Your complaints are no doubt built on party and KS, which are actually very good album starters with a spontaneous feel to them that was missing on the synth wrecked previous work. I admit Rain Must Fall is fairly weak but MBDM with that scorching guitar is great funk/ soul music. I suppose your favourite album is The Game,because there's no rock on it? |
| Khizzy 05.11.2005 19:17 |
This is my second favourite Queen album, behind Queen II... It combines all the best of Queen over the 70s and 80s and I feel there are a great eclectic mix of songs on the album. |