The Miracle (album)
- For other albums of the same name, see Miracle (disambiguation).
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The Miracle is a 1989 album by English rock band Queen. It was the band's thirteenth studio album, recorded as the band recovered from guitarist Brian May's marital problems, vocalist Freddie Mercury's HIV diagnosis (which was not publicised at the time), and subsequent near-breakup of the band.
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. The striking cover art utilised then cutting-edge image-manipulation technology to combine photographs of the familiar faces of the four band members into one morphed gestalt image, in line with their decision to dispense with individual credits and simply present their music as the product of Queen the entity; the back cover went a step further with a seamless regiment of the bands' eyes. The album reached #1 in the UK, in Austria, Germany, in the Netherlands and Switzerland, but only managed to peak at 24th on the American Billboard 200 chart.
Track listing
- Side 1
- Side 2
- CD bonus tracks
- "Hang on in There" (Queen) – 3:46
- "Chinese Torture" (Queen) – 1:46
- "The Invisible Man (12" Version)" (Queen) – 5:29
- 1991 US reissue bonus tracks (Hollywood Records)
- "Hang on in There" (Queen) – 3:46
- "Chinese Torture" (Queen) – 1:46
- "The Invisible Man (12" Version)" (Queen) – 5:29
- "Scandal" (12" Mix) (Queen) – 6:34
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. This song has never been released as a single.
Khashoggi's Ship
"Khashoggi's Ship" was also mostly created by Mercury, with all four of them contributing to the lyrics. The song is about infamous Adnan Khashoggi and a ship (the Nabila, now Kingdom 5KR) that he owned at the time. The antagonist in the musical We Will Rock You is named Kashaggi, after this song.
The Miracle
"The Miracle" is one of Mercury's most complex songs from his last years (the chords for which he co-wrote with Deacon). It is one of Brian May's favourites. The entire band contributed with lyrical 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 Brian May in 1987. 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", which was made in 1990. Mercury and May share the lead vocals. Mercury played keyboards, May played acoustic and electric guitars and Taylor used double-kick bass drum 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 after which the beat instantly came to his head. May and Taylor commented (Queen for an Hour interview, 1989) that Taylor wrote part of the song in the bath (similarly to what happened with Freddie Mercury and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" ten years before). The names of all four band members are "hidden" in the vocals: "Freddie Mercury" right before the first verse begins, "John Deacon" after the first verse, "Brian May" (repeated twice) before his guitar solo, and "Roger Taylor" (with the "r" rolled by Mercury to sound like a drum roll) after the lyric "look at me, look at me". Taylor "answers" with a drum fill. An unreleased version features a completely different middle-eight with Mercury singing alternate lyrics in the style of Elvis Presley.
Breakthru
"Breakthru" is the joint of two songs: "A New Life Is Born", by Mercury, and "Breakthru", written by Taylor and including a lot of input by the others, particularly in the key change. Taylor's songs tended to be in flat keys, in the mid-80s, when he started writing at the piano instead of on a guitar. This song was released as a single and made the top 10 in the UK over the summer of 1989.
Rain Must Fall
"Rain Must Fall" is a collaboration between Deacon (music) and Mercury (lyrics) (as confirmed by both the producer David Richards and more recently Brian May on his website). Taylor recorded a lot of Latin percussion but most of that was edited out in order to have more space for guitars and vocal harmonies.
Scandal
"Scandal" was written by May about the British press, which had been controversial about his recent divorce and his relationship with actress Anita Dobson. May played keyboards and did the guitar solo as a first take. Mercury's lead vocals were a first take too. Synth-bass is played by the producer, David Richards.
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 both Mercury and Deacon claim each other came up with the bass line.
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 (Taylor contributed the line "we love you madly!"). Deacon later cited the song as his favourite on the album. Taylor uses gong.
Non-album tracks
- "Stealin'" (Queen) – B-side to "Breakthru" (an almost 12-minute demo of this song exists)
- "Hijack My Heart" (Queen) – written by Taylor, B side to "The Invisible Man"
- "My Life Has Been Saved" (Queen) – written by Deacon, B-side to "Scandal" (re-worked version later released on Made in Heaven)
- "Hang on in There" (Queen) – B-side to "I Want It All"
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 May 2, 1989; it hit #3 in British charts but made it to #1 hit 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 #3 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Singles chart, but only reached #50 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
- "Breakthru," the second single, was released in the UK on June 19, 1989; its video was filmed on a private steam train known as "The Miracle Express." The song peaked at #7 in the UK. The song was also released as a single in the US. Also appearing in the video was Debbie Lang, who was at the time Roger Taylor's girlfriend.
- "The Invisible Man," released in the UK on August 7, 1989, hit #12 in the UK and was a hit throughout Europe; the video featured scores of computer-duplicated band members moving in unison. This song was later covered by the late Scatman John.
- "Scandal" was the fourth single from The Miracle. It peaked at #25 in the UK. It's a protest song about the way the tabloids dealt with May's relationship with actress Anita Dobson.
- "The Miracle," the fifth and final single from the album of the same name, released on November 27, 1989 in the UK, reached #21 on British charts. Its video mimicked that of "The Invisible Man" in that it featured duplicate band members; however, these were actually young Queen lookalikes (including a then-unknown Ross McCall) who performed a Queen-style stage show. The real band appeared only at the end jamming with their younger counterparts.
Personnel
Since the album doesn't feature credits, this personnel has been compiled from various interviews to the band and the producer.
Queen are:
- Freddie Mercury: Lead Vocals, Piano, Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Synthesisers, Programming
- Brian May: Electric Guitars, Acoustic Guitars, Backing Vocals, Lead Vocals, Synthesisers, Programming
- Roger Taylor: Drums, Electronic Drums, Backing Vocals, Lead Vocals, Synthesisers, Programming
- John Deacon: Bass, Electric Guitars, Synthesisers, Programming
Additional synths by David Richards, additional programming by Brian Zellis
Charts
| Country | Charts | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak position | Weeks | Certification | Sales | |
| Austria | 1 | 24 | Gold | 25.000 |
| Finland | 1 | 45.000 | ||
| Germany | 1 | Platinum | 700.000 | |
| Ireland | 1 | Platinum | ||
| Netherlands | 1 | Platinum | 100.000 | |
| Switzerland | 1 | 22 | Platinum | 50.000 |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 37 | 2x Platinum | 600.000 |
| Norway | 2 | 17 | ||
| Italy | 3 | 3xPlatinum | 350.000 | |
| Portugal | 4 | Gold | 20.000 | |
| Spain | 4 | Platinum | 170.000 | |
| Sweden | 6 | 8 | ||
| France | 11 | |||
| Japan | 23 | |||
| United States | 24 | 14 | Gold | 500.000 |
External links
