Thoughts on latter day Queen? (A Kind of Magic onward)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Osato, Jan 2, 2018.

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  1. Osato

    Osato Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    I've been wanting to get into Queen albums from A Kind of Magic onward (The Miracle, Innuendo), because despite being around when they came out, I never really took the time to listen to them.

    With that in mind, what's the collective opinion on those last few Queen albums? What do you think about them?
     
  2. mikaal

    mikaal Sociopathic Nice Guy

    Magic and Miracle are patchy. Innuendo was a really strong return to form.
     
  3. Chew

    Chew Casual Stalker

    You need to hear and appreciate the early albums before exploring the 80's records.
     
  4. Chew

    Chew Casual Stalker

    "Innuendo" is their masterpiece.
     
  5. Osato

    Osato Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    I've definitely got that covered, and I've always been a fan of their older stuff and some of the 80s hits (like most casual fans). It's just the later stuff I haven't explored.
     
    Klen7000 and Chew like this.
  6. Juggsnelson

    Juggsnelson Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island
    I think The Miracle and Innuendo are two of their finest albums post The Game for sure!! The Miracle is a bit more synthesized, but the quality tracks (The Miracle, Breakthru, Scandal, Invisible Man) are really good! The Innuendo LP minus Rain Must Fall, Delilah, and My Baby Does Me is just fantastic stuff! If you dig Queen, you will thoroughly enjoy these two albums. Made in Heaven also has several standout tracks and is worth owning. The Cosmos Rocks should be avoided!
     
  7. Very patchy albums, which is really par for the course for Queen.

    I think Innuendo is the strongest album of the bunch.

    One thing that bothered me somewhat is that from The Miracle onwards all songs were credited to Queen and not the individual songwriter, for some reason it took away from the enjoyment of the LP's
     
  8. George Co-Stanza

    George Co-Stanza Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    This. Magic and Miracle have some incredible songs, but also have some total crap on there.

    I would say it is one of their 3 masterpieces (if a band is allowed more than one), along with Sheer Heart Attack and A Night at the Opera.
     
    agibaut likes this.
  9. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    AKoM and Miracle are both pretty iffy. Innuendo has a couple clunkers, but it's a very strong album overall.
     
    Paulo Alm and AndydD like this.
  10. kaztor

    kaztor Music is the Best

    From AKOM onwards I enjoy The Miracle the most.
    Yes, it has some certifiably 'cheesy' moments, but that's part of the appeal.
    1989 wasn't the 70's anymore.
     
  11. Chew

    Chew Casual Stalker

    I won't argue that!
     
  12. andrewskyDE

    andrewskyDE Island Owner

    Location:
    Europe
    I love all of their albums.
    Innuendo is a great one but(!) I prefer The Miracle and Made In Heaven over it.
     
  13. Brandon Benwell

    Brandon Benwell Ready An' Willin'

    Location:
    Montreal
    Magic is not a favorite but has some wicked vocals from Freddie. The Miracle and Innuendo are bloody masterpieces.
     
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  14. Michael Rose

    Michael Rose Forum Resident

    Location:
    Davie,Fl
    Just do it. Space out the purchases and collect the rest of their catalog. If you are still on the fence then start with either Classic Queen or Queen GH Vol.2.
     
    Osato likes this.
  15. With the exception of Rain Must Fall and My Baby Does Me, the rest of The Miracle is just about tolerable, even though it still has a few other weak moments (such as The Invisible Man). As for Innuendo, only Delilah really annoys me on that album, but I do appreciate it's the rest of the band letting Freddie have one final indulgent track - you can almost picture Brian grimacing as he was forced to meow through a talkbox!
     
    longaway and PTgraphics like this.
  16. Wally Swift

    Wally Swift Yo-Yoing where I will...

    Location:
    Brooklyn New York
    My wife isn't much into music but what little she does like includes all things Queen. All things considered I'm still a very lucky fellow if all that I have to complain about her is late-era Queen.
     
  17. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    The magic and grand inspiration is definitely gone by the time they left Elektra (in the US). On the early albums, they cut a singular art rock path. Most of the '80s and beyond stuff is created with one eye on stadiums and one eye on eeking out another hit.

    The later albums aren't entirely worthless, but they are FAR less worthwhile than the first five (or seven). Some will assert Innuendo was a return to form. I would say it was a prize compared to some of what came before it. But it's still not great.
     
  18. Gregster

    Gregster Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    Hello,

    The last few albums are fine IMO, though not the bands best or most consistent efforts. For myself, "The Miracle" is the weakest-link among them, producing more of a "Hot Space" vibe, that doesn't sit well with most older Queen fans, as we were once-upon-a-time blessed with great modern Rock & agreeable pop-songs, & these two albums least display this attribute.

    "A Kind of Magic" is a better record over-all than folks may think, even if it is a semi-sound-track for the film Highlander.

    "Innuendo" sees the band in great, though controlled experimental mode, that moves their hard-rock traditions/roots & musicality into the 1990's. If only they had more time to pursue this rediscovered side-of-themselves...

    "Made in Heaven", even though manufactured posthumously, is a great record IMO. It has all the hallmarks of Queen in top form, with memorable melodies, moving words, & great performances. I find it's blessed with more memorable tunes than its 3-predecessors, & the tunes, even after the first listening seem to cement themselves in your memory for longer, like their classics are / were. Its only downfall is that it's too short ! But we have what we have thankfully !

    Enjoy them all,

    Gregster
     
  19. Sondek

    Sondek Forum Resident

    One of my favourite Queen songs / videos.

     
  20. Bobby Morrow

    Bobby Morrow Senior Member

    I like 80's onwards Queen. All the albums are patchy, but you could say the same of the 70's ones too! It goes without saying that the 80's LPs were some of the group's biggest sellers here in the UK.
     
    John Adam and Jarleboy like this.
  21. Brandon Benwell

    Brandon Benwell Ready An' Willin'

    Location:
    Montreal
    Wrong. *Insert Donald Trump Meme here.*
     
  22. PretzelLogic

    PretzelLogic Feeling duped by MoFi? You probably deserve it.

    Location:
    London, England
    The Miracle isn’t just Queen’s worst album, it’s also one of the worst albums ever made.

    The others are all good and highly listenable, but the approach of streamlining the band (joint writing credits, no significant lead vocals for Taylor and May) knocked out a lot of their charm.
     
    englishbob, Paulo Alm, AndydD and 2 others like this.
  23. Sondek

    Sondek Forum Resident

    An album with Khashoggi's Ship, I Want It All, Scandal, Was It All Worth It, and Hang On In There is one of the worst ever made? That's just bonkersness. There's worse albums in the 80 from Queen's peers (Bowie, The Stones, Sabbath) than The Miracle
     
    Binni, sunking101, Phil147 and 13 others like this.
  24. NothingBrightAboutIt

    NothingBrightAboutIt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    A Kind of Magic has few great tracks, but a few are either filler ("Pain is So Close to Pleasure"), or just downright awful ("Gimme the Prize").

    The Miracle is similar, but with a ton of filler, but given the circumstances (and that this and the next album likely wouldn't have happened had Freddie not been sick) it's decent. Its lows aren't Magic bad, but a lot of tracks are just... bland ("My Baby Does Me", "Rain Must Fall").

    Innuendo is great. The title track is one of the best things the band ever did, along with "The Show Must Go On" and "Those Were the Days of Our Lives". Even some of the other tracks are stellar like "Don't Try So Hard" (the middle section is so chillingly beautiful) and "I Can't Live With You". Even though there's still some songs that might rub people the wrong way ("Delilah"), it doesn't ruin the album.

    I've never listened to the full Made In Heaven yet, but I still consider it a Queen studio album, and from what I've heard it was put together well, though obviously not being as good as the other three.
     
  25. PretzelLogic

    PretzelLogic Feeling duped by MoFi? You probably deserve it.

    Location:
    London, England
    The oft-mentioned 'My Baby Does Me' and 'Rain Must Fall' are unforgivable (I also dislike the title track, but it's not as bad as those two); I just can't enjoy the album knowing those two are lurking in wait towards the back end. I am tempted to replace them with 'Hijack My Heart' and 'My Life Has Been Saved' to see if it gives the album a bit more energy.
     
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