The Miracle (album)

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[http://forums.queenonline.com/viewtopic.php?p=432677 Information supplied by Fedepeti, 24 August 2004]
[http://forums.queenonline.com/viewtopic.php?p=432677 Information supplied by Fedepeti, 24 August 2004]
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==Liner notes==
==Liner notes==
: Digitally remastered by Eddy Schreyer at Future Disc Systems, Hollywood.
: Digitally remastered by Eddy Schreyer at Future Disc Systems, Hollywood.
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: Special thanks to:
: Special thanks to:
: [[Gerry Stickells]], [[Julie Nash]], [[Claude Nobs]], [[Misa Watanabe]], [[Gilbert Marouani]], [[Peter Freestone]], [[Joe Fannelli]], [[Terry Giddings]], [[Jacky Gunn]], [[Nicola Froude]], [[Anita Dobson]], [[David Mallet]], [[Jacqui Byford]], [[Melanie Martin]], [[Vicky Soder]], [[Andre Gauchat]], [[Peter Chant]], [[Bryan Lask]], [[Mike Silverstone]], Coutts & Co, [[Robert Lee]], [[Penny Robinson]], [[Marjie Winter]], Gwen, Sarah, Elena, all at EMI-Capital Records and EMI Music.
: [[Gerry Stickells]], [[Julie Nash]], [[Claude Nobs]], [[Misa Watanabe]], [[Gilbert Marouani]], [[Peter Freestone]], [[Joe Fannelli]], [[Terry Giddings]], [[Jacky Gunn]], [[Nicola Froude]], [[Anita Dobson]], [[David Mallet]], [[Jacqui Byford]], [[Melanie Martin]], [[Vicky Soder]], [[Andre Gauchat]], [[Peter Chant]], [[Bryan Lask]], [[Mike Silverstone]], Coutts & Co, [[Robert Lee]], [[Penny Robinson]], [[Marjie Winter]], Gwen, Sarah, Elena, all at EMI-Capital Records and EMI Music.
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==Additional info==
==Additional info==
* A working title for the album was 'The Invisible Men'
* A working title for the album was 'The Invisible Men'
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==Reviews==
==Reviews==
'''The Dallas Morning News, 1989'''
'''The Dallas Morning News, 1989'''
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Mr. Mercury, of course, does get to indulge his classical bent. The title song, a simple (perhaps simple-minded) celebration of life's little triumphs, is not quite operatic, but it does offer lush orchestrations and celestial harmonies that duel intriguingly with Mr. Taylor's rapid time-keeping. And with Was It All Worth It, Mr. Mercury takes a lofty look at the band's lengthy career, "Living breathing rock n' roll.' The conclusion? Yes, it was worth it. But given the singer's rather fiendish chortle at the end, you're not sure if he means it.
Mr. Mercury, of course, does get to indulge his classical bent. The title song, a simple (perhaps simple-minded) celebration of life's little triumphs, is not quite operatic, but it does offer lush orchestrations and celestial harmonies that duel intriguingly with Mr. Taylor's rapid time-keeping. And with Was It All Worth It, Mr. Mercury takes a lofty look at the band's lengthy career, "Living breathing rock n' roll.' The conclusion? Yes, it was worth it. But given the singer's rather fiendish chortle at the end, you're not sure if he means it.
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'''Additional Reviews'''
'''Additional Reviews'''
* [http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=474 The Times]
* [http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=474 The Times]
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* [http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=461 Newsday]
* [http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=461 Newsday]
* [http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=95 Rolling Stone]
* [http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=95 Rolling Stone]
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==LP Releases==
==LP Releases==
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==CD Releases==
==CD Releases==
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==Cassette Releases==
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Revision as of 21:40, 19 August 2007

The Miracle
The Miracle, 1989
Released 5 June 1989 (UK), 6 June 1989 (US)
Recorded January 1988 - February 1989 at Olympic, Townhouse, and Mountain Studios
Length 41:05
Label Parlophone (UK), Capitol (US)
Producer(s) Queen and David Richards
Queen chronology
A Kind Of Magic
1986
The Miracle
1989
Innuendo
1991

Contents


Tracklists

Vinyl version

  • Side 1:
  1. Party
  2. Khashoggi's Ship
  3. The Miracle
  4. I Want It All
  5. The Invisible Man
  • Side 2:
  1. Breakthru
  2. Rain Must Fall
  3. Scandal
  4. My Baby Does Me
  5. Was It All Worth It

CD version

  1. Party
  2. Khashoggi's Ship
  3. The Miracle
  4. I Want It All
  5. The Invisible Man
  6. Breakthru
  7. Rain Must Fall
  8. Scandal
  9. My Baby Does Me
  10. Was It All Worth It
  11. Hang On In There
  12. Chinese Torture
  13. The Invisible Man (extended version)

1991 Hollywood Records CD

  1. Party
  2. Khashoggi's Ship
  3. The Miracle
  4. I Want It All
  5. The Invisible Man
  6. Breakthru
  7. Rain Must Fall
  8. Scandal
  9. My Baby Does Me
  10. Was It All Worth It
  11. Hang On In There
  12. Chinese Torture
  13. The Invisible Man (extended version)
  14. Scandal (extended version)



Credits

  • Musicians:
Freddie Mercury - vocals, keyboards
John Deacon - bass guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards
Roger Taylor - drums, percussion, vocals, keyboards
Brian May - guitars, vocals, keyboards
David Richards - programming, keyboards
Brian Zellis - computer programming

Charts

Country Release date First appearance in charts Peak position Chart run Weeks in chart Additional comments
UK - 3 June 1989 1 1-2-5-5-10-10-9-8-10-14-20-20-15-12-13-19-27-39-41-

50-54-50-50-45-48-63-71-0-74-68-63

30 weeks, 9 in Top Ten, 1 at #1 First run in UK charts
UK - 6 January 1990 60 60-68 2 weeks, 32 weeks total Second run in UK charts
US - 24 June 1989 24 83-31-24-28-36-46-53-65-87-108-121-129-142-176 14 weeks First and only run in US charts
Austria - - 1
Finland - - 1
Germany - - 1
Japan - - 23
Italy - - 3
Netherlands - - 1
Portugal - - 4
Spain - - 4
Sweden - - 6
Switzerland - - 1

Information supplied by Fedepeti, 24 August 2004

Liner notes

Digitally remastered by Eddy Schreyer at Future Disc Systems, Hollywood.
All tracks performed exclusively by Queen
All songs written by: Freddie Mercury - Brian May - John Deacon - Roger Taylor
Management: Jim Beach
Album engineered by David Richards
Assistant engineers: Andrew Bradfield, John Brough, Angelique Cooper, Claude Frider, Andy Mason, Justin Shirley-Smith
Album recorded at Olympic Studios and The Townhouse Studios, London, England and Mountain Studios. Montreux, Switzerland. Mastered at The Townhouse Studios by Kevin Metcalf and Gordon Vickary
Computer programming: Brian Zellis
Studio equipment co-ordination: Martin P. Groves and Brian Zellis
Computer keyboards: Passport Master Tracks Software
Tannoy speakers by Tannoy Ltd.
Album sleeve design: Richard Gray - based on an idea by Queen
Quantel graphic paintbox operator: Richard Baker
Original photography: Simon Fowler
Make-up: Paul Kennington
World publicity:Roxy Meade, Lipsey Meade PR, 95, Mortimer Street, London W1N7TA
Special thanks to:
Gerry Stickells, Julie Nash, Claude Nobs, Misa Watanabe, Gilbert Marouani, Peter Freestone, Joe Fannelli, Terry Giddings, Jacky Gunn, Nicola Froude, Anita Dobson, David Mallet, Jacqui Byford, Melanie Martin, Vicky Soder, Andre Gauchat, Peter Chant, Bryan Lask, Mike Silverstone, Coutts & Co, Robert Lee, Penny Robinson, Marjie Winter, Gwen, Sarah, Elena, all at EMI-Capital Records and EMI Music.

Additional info

  • A working title for the album was 'The Invisible Men'

Reviews

The Dallas Morning News, 1989

Even though Queen often seems hopelessly over the top -- trapped between rock and an opera -- the band has thrived for 18 years, most of them in the upper reaches of popular music.

Songs as diverse as Killer Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Another One Bites the Dust showed that the four members of this British act had talent and savvy enough to thrive in a rapidly changing market.

While lead singer Freddie Mercury's flamboyant flourishes and operatic pretensions (he actually recorded with Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballe) have brought the band some deserved derision, Queen has been a pretty consistent rock attraction, particularly live. Over the last three years, solo projects have pushed the band's career to the back burner, but Queen returns with a new Capitol record, The Miracle, that shows the quartet reinvigorated and confident.

Queen's musicianship often has taken a back seat to Mr. Mercury's strutting histrionics. But Roger Taylor is one of rock's fastest and most accurate drummers, and guitarist Brian May is a major talent. These two move toward center stage this time, as Queen muscles through a songlist that's remarkably varied for one album. Significantly, the music is all credited to the band as a whole, rather than to individuals members -- with Mr. Mercury usually getting the lion's share of the credits. The payoff is a record that rocks you, with a few twists.

The album begins with Party, which sounds like familiar, Queenly dime-store operetta. But without so much as a pause, the song segues smoothly into the stadium rock of Khashoggi's Ship, with Mr. Mercury unleashing a snarling vocal in front of Mr. May's spiraling feeds. That kind of toughness pops up in a number of songs. Scandal is muscular rock with a hook. The first single, I Want It All, starts off with a Bowiesque guitar part, picks up a heavy cargo of steel, quickly lays down the hard line implied by the title, then takes flight along Mr. May's greased fretboard.

Then there are the twists: The Invisible Man is a playful exercise in rock disco. Rain Must Fall is a light, bouncy and danceable tune with a Latin feel that could be programmed right between Sing Out Sister and Howard Jones. Breakthru is an upbeat song with a jittery, chugging synthesizer line. My Baby Does Me is a calm and collected power ballad with ethereal guitar fills and the attitude -- though not the sound -- of Paul McCartney's hit ballad, My Love.

Mr. Mercury, of course, does get to indulge his classical bent. The title song, a simple (perhaps simple-minded) celebration of life's little triumphs, is not quite operatic, but it does offer lush orchestrations and celestial harmonies that duel intriguingly with Mr. Taylor's rapid time-keeping. And with Was It All Worth It, Mr. Mercury takes a lofty look at the band's lengthy career, "Living breathing rock n' roll.' The conclusion? Yes, it was worth it. But given the singer's rather fiendish chortle at the end, you're not sure if he means it.

Additional Reviews

LP Releases

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CD Releases

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