Queen - The Miracle album - probably a box set (Nov. 18, 2022) *

I'm kinda thinking we have a month+ until an official announcement is made since they have the Platinum Collection on vinyl releasing on June 17.

 

I just dug out my copy and am listening to The Miracle for the first time in years, and you know what? I really enjoy it! Yes, I know, most of the lyrics are crap, there's way too many drum computers, Kashoggi's Ship is a mess - and still, I like it a lot. The whole thing's so in your face, it makes me smile all the time. Freddie's giving it his all, and Brian's really on fire. To me it really sounds like a band having fun (apart from Scandal which I never cared for). Rain Must Fall just came up - isn't it hilarious? Must get up and skip Scandal now...
Now bring on that box set!

 

"Brian's really on fire" - yes, and with my recent listen a few days ago, I was even surprised at how many creative guitar flourishes are subtly tucked into the mix to add some texture along the way. I have a significantly more resolving system now than I did a few years ago when I last listened to The Miracle, so I think it's easier for me to hear more elements in the mix of these songs, and I'm appreciating even more the care that went into crafting this album.

 

I'm not sure much care at all went into some aspects of this album, mainly the lyrics and drums. Brian is great on it though and by far the best thing about The Miracle.

 

I like "Scandal" a lot, although I can understand its omission from Greatest Hits II - not because it's a bad song or anything (it's one of my highlights of The Miracle, actually) but because it made sense for them to concentrate on the tracks that were most popular with the general public, because they wouldn't have had room for it and also because if "Scandal" had been included then The Miracle would have been over-represented. Half the songs on the album were released as singles!

 

Just because it may be their worst album doesn't mean it sucks...

 

Fair play regarding Freddie, the guy was seriously ill and he was able to still perform like he did around this whole period.

 

It sounds to me like plenty of care went into The Miracle, actually... and Innuendo too, for that matter. I think they knew when they were making both of those records that either could have potentially been their final work. The production on The Miracle was appropriate for the time.

 

Innuendo is a better album for sure, but it really doesn't mean as much to me as the earlier albums. Its good that they got a chance to improve on The Miracle as it would have been a massive shame if that had been Freddie's farewell.

 

I didn't think it sounded modern in 1989. The kind of sounds that are on Scandal, my Baby Does Me and Rain Must Fall sounded a bit old and cheap even then to me.

 

Too many crap synth sounds where you just longed for a piano.

 

Compared to the synth sounds from groups like Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys and New Order in 1989, the ones on The Miracle sound dismal. They even sound cheap compared to The Works.

 

Yeah, for a group that boasted 'no synths,' they really didn't do them right when they caved.

 

They may not have been sitting in the studio trying to push the boundaries of whatever technology they had available at the time a la Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys or New Order, but then Queen weren't a synthpop act and that wasn't their forte. The production on The Miracle is/was exactly what I would have expected from an act like Queen at that time, and clearly it didn't sound out of step with the times given the airplay the singles received and the sales the singles and album racked up.

 

....I thought they used them quite well on stuff like Flash.

 

They used 'em well on things like "Radio Ga Ga" too ... having a go at Queen for deciding to use synths instead of "keeping it real" or whatever is just pure rockist nonsense.

 

The singles, apart from Scandal, sound fine for the era. That run of Rain Must Fall, Scandal & My Baby Does Me sounded cheap to me as a 15 year old in 1989. They also sound cheap and lazy compared to earlier Queen records. I get the impression they concentrated on a handful of tracks and rushed the lesser ones, which is understandable considering the circumstances.

 

I certainly am not doing that. I just think they didn't use them well on The Miracle. I can't stand talk of 'authenticity' and 'keep music live man'. You'll never get that from me.

 

Sometimes they did. I think they used them well on Hot Space. It just wasn't the album a lot of Queen fans expected or wanted. It sounds fresh and inventive though. Unlike My Baby Does Me. Even Thank God It's Christmas sounds less cheap and half arsed than that, Scandal, Rain Must Fall and Party.

 

Yes, my synth comment was an overstatement.

But one of the songs (the part before the song proper begins) is actually the start-up sound when you turn a synth on. I can't remember which song--One Vison maybe?--or the synth, and I'm not doing well googling it.

 

Is there? You weren't listening to one of those XDR cassettes with the 'tone burst' at the start were you?

 

Korg M1 at the beginning of Don't Try So Hard?

 

Both Fun In Space and Strange Frontier utilized synths very well for the time. Freddie also used them tastefully on Barcelona.

Brian May! Brian May!

 

The songs just aren't there. No-one wants to hear Queen doing bad impressions of George Michael, Def Leppard and Sade.

The same 4 original members for 20 years, yet a very different band by the time The Miracle was released.

 

Is anyone willing to link to where they are saying this boxset can be pre-ordered, please?