The Miracle (album)
The Miracle is the thirteenth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 22 May 1989 by Capitol Records in the United States and by Parlophone Records in the United Kingdom, where it was the band's first studio album to be released on that label. The album was recorded as the band recovered from Brian May's marital problems and Freddie Mercury's AIDS diagnosis in 1987. Recording started in January 1988 and lasted for an entire year. The album was originally going to be called The Invisible Men, but three weeks before the release, according to Roger Taylor, they decided to change the name to The Miracle. It was also the last Queen album with a photo of the band on the front cover.
The album reached number one in the UK, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, and number 24 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The Miracle is estimated to have sold 5 million copies in total, indicating that despite slower American sales, the album sold well around the world, even without a supporting tour. AllMusic would name The Miracle as Queen's best album of the 1980s, along with The Game. It would prove to be the band's penultimate album to be recorded with Freddie Mercury, as he died on 24 November 1991, nine months after their next album, Innuendo, was released.
Songs
Side one
"Party"
"Party" began as a jam session between Freddie Mercury, Brian May and John Deacon. Mercury was at the piano and he started off the "we had a good night" section. From then on the three of them worked together and completed it. May sings lead on a small portion of the song near the beginning."Khashoggi's Ship"
"Khashoggi's Ship" was started by Mercury with all four band members contributing to the lyrics and music. The song is about famous billionaire Adnan Khashoggi and a ship that he owned at the time and was one of the largest private yachts in the world. On the album, this track segues from "Party", to which it has a very similar lyrical theme. The song served as the reference to the name of the Khashoggi character in the We Will Rock You musical."The Miracle"
"The Miracle" is one of the most complex songs from the band's last years. Mercury and Deacon co-wrote the chords together. It is one of May's favourite songs. The entire band contributed with lyrical and some musical ideas and Mercury played piano as well as many synth-tracks, using a Korg M1."I Want It All"
"I Want It All" was composed by May in 1987. On the "Greatest Video Hits II " DVD, May commented that the song was inspired by his second wife, Anita Dobson's favourite motto, "I want it all, and I want it now!" The idea of having intro, verses, choruses and solos over the same chord progression was reused on their next album with another May song, "The Show Must Go On", from 1991. Mercury sang lead vocals for most of the song, but Mercury and May share lead vocals during the bridge. Mercury played keyboards, May played acoustic and electric guitars and Taylor used double-kick bass drums for the first time."The Invisible Man"
"The Invisible Man" is Taylor's first song on the album. The lyrical idea came from a book he was reading. May and Taylor commented that Taylor wrote part of the song in the bath. Each of the four band members are name-checked in the vocals by Freddie throughout the course of the song: "Freddie Mercury" right before the first verse begins, "John Deacon" after the first verse, "Brian May" before his guitar solo, and "Roger Taylor" after the final chorus; Taylor "answers" with a drum fill. The demo version contains a completely different middle-eight with Mercury singing alternate lyrics in the style of Elvis Presley. The whispered parts of the chorus are sung by Taylor.Side two
"Breakthru"
"Breakthru" is a combination of two songs: "A New Life Is Born", by Mercury, and "Breakthru", written by Taylor with input by the others in the key change. Taylor's mid-1980s songs tended to be in flat keys, when he started writing at the piano instead of on a guitar. This song was released as a single and made the top ten in the UK over the summer of 1989."Rain Must Fall"
"Rain Must Fall" is a collaboration between Deacon and Mercury. Taylor recorded a lot of Latin percussion but most of that was edited out in order to have more space for vocal harmonies, guitars and keyboards, the latter shared between Mercury and Deacon in this piece."Scandal"
"Scandal" was written by May about the British press, in the wake of media-fuelled controversy about his recent divorce, his relationship with Anita Dobson, and Mercury's rare public appearances due to his battle with AIDS. May played keyboards and did the guitar solo as a first take. Mercury's lead vocals were also a first take. Synth-bass is played by David Richards. May has since commented that the song is very close to his heart."My Baby Does Me"
"My Baby Does Me" is another collaboration of Mercury and Deacon. Both of them had the idea of a simpler track in order to ease off the album. In a Radio 1 interview in 1989, each of them claimed the other had constructed the bassline."Was It All Worth It"
"Was It All Worth It" was composed by Mercury. The song harks back to the band's intricately produced sound in the 1970s. Though the bulk of the song was masterminded by Mercury, all members contributed ideas and lyrics. Deacon later cited the song as his favourite on the album. Taylor uses a gong and timpani. Despite it not being released as a single, it remains hugely popular among the Queen fanbase and often considered the best song on the album."Hang on in There"
This song was written by all four band members. May plays both acoustic and electric guitars, as well as keyboards, a job he shared with Mercury, who also plays piano. The song originally appeared as the B-side to the "I Want It All" single. In the song, Mercury hits an E5 twice. In the middle of the song just when the guitar riff comes and Mercury sings "hang on in there" twice, it is replied each time with a harmonised "hang on in there"; the first response are the multitracked vocals by May only, the second – similar vocals purely by Taylor."Chinese Torture"
The only CD track that did not appear on a single release. It is a dark instrumental which conveys the horror and fear that chinese water torture was known to evoke in victims. For the first time this track emerged during the last concerts of Queen's 1986 Magic Tour as part of May's guitar solo. He also included it in his solos when he was back on tour with Queen + Paul Rodgers in 2005 and 2006.Non-album tracks
"Stealin'"
Principally composed by Mercury, this song is a tongue-in-cheek representation of a man who spends his life committing robbery. The song is performed mainly through spoken words, but occasionally has lines sung. This song appeared as the B-side to the "Breakthru" single."Hijack My Heart"
The song, credited to the band as an entity rather than one composer, was actually written by Taylor, who also provides lead vocals. It tells the story of a man who falls in love with a woman he meets, despite his original annoyance at her rudeness and mannerisms. It was the B-side to "The Invisible Man"."My Life Has Been Saved"
Written by Deacon about the state the world is in, this song was the B-side to "Scandal". A reworked version was later released on the 1995 Made in Heaven album.Artwork
The striking cover art utilised the Quantel Paintbox, then state of the art image-manipulation technology, to combine photographs of the familiar faces of the four band members into one morphed image, in line with their decision to dispense with individual credits and simply present their music as the product of Queen; the back cover went a step further with a seamless regiment of the band's eyes.Singles
Five singles were released from the album, all in 1989:- "I Want It All" was the lead single from the album, released in the UK on 2 May; it hit number three in the British charts but made it to number one in numerous other European countries. The song became an anti-apartheid anthem among youth in South Africa and also has been used to protest other causes. This well-known anthem has been heard as a rallying song for African youth. The song became Queen's first American rock radio hit since "Under Pressure" by peaking at number three on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Singles chart, but only reached number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
- "Breakthru" was the second single from the album released in the UK on 19 June; its video was filmed on a private steam train known as "The Miracle Express". The song peaked at number seven in the UK. The song was also released as a single in the US. Also appearing in the video was Debbie Leng, who was at the time Roger Taylor's girlfriend.
- "The Invisible Man", released in the UK on 7 August, hit number 12 in the UK and was a hit throughout Europe; the video showed scores of computer-duplicated band members moving in unison. This song was later covered by Scatman John.
- "Scandal" was the album's fourth single, and peaked at number 25 in the UK. It is a protest song about the way the tabloids dealt with May's relationship with Anita Dobson.
- "The Miracle" was the fifth and final single from the album, released on 27 November in the UK, reached number 21 on the British charts. Its video involved young Queen lookalikes who performed a Queen-style stage show. The real band appeared only at the end jamming with their younger counterparts.
Critical reception
Newsday wrote "On The Miracle, Mercury's voice is steady and solid, May's runs are as flashy and supple as ever. Most of the 10 songs, written collaboratively by the four members, stick pretty much to the band's formula of mini-suites: edgy pop with tempos that change half-way into the number and some delicious hooks."
Rolling Stone stated "The Miracle is a showcase for Freddie Mercury and his love of sweeping, quasi-operatic vocals. And indeed, Mercury – especially on the title track – has never sounded better... Only on a few tracks does May really let it rip, and when he does, it's like the old Queen peeping out for just a moment and then turning tail... At least The Miracle offers little snippets of Queen's former majesty."
AllMusic stated "The Miracle packs quite a sonic punch, recalling the rich sounds of their past classics. Split 50/50 between pop and heavy rock, the album was another global smash. Along with The Game, The Miracle is Queen's strongest album of the '80s."
Track listing
All tracks credited to Queen. All lead vocals by Freddie Mercury unless noted.- Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–10 on the CD release.
Personnel
Queen
- Freddie Mercury – lead vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, drum machine
- Brian May – electric guitar, backing vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar, co-lead vocals
- Roger Taylor – drums, backing vocals, percussion, drum machine, keyboards, electric guitar, lead vocals
- John Deacon – bass, electric guitar, keyboards
- David Richards – keyboards, sampler, engineering
- Assistant engineers – Andrew Bradfield, John Brough, Angelique Cooper, Claude Frider, Andy Mason, Justin Shirley-Smith
- Mastered by Kevin Metcalf and Gordon Vickary
- Computer programming by Brian Zellis
- Album sleeve design by Richard Gray
- Original photography by Simon Fowler
Charts