The Miracle

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For the 2004 film, see Miracle (film). For the 1949 film, see The Miracle (film).

Template:Album infobox

The Miracle is a 1989 album by British 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 not-yet-public AIDS diagnosis, and subsequent near-breakup. The album was orginally going to be called "The Invisible Man", but three weeks before the release, according to Roger Taylor, they decided to change the name to The Miracle. 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.

1 Track listing
- 1.1 Non-album tracks
2 Personnel
3 Singles
4 External link

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Track listing

Though starting in 1989 all new Queen songs were credited simply to the band and not to individual members, the actual authors of each song, now known, are listed below.

Side 1

"Party" (Freddie Mercury, Brian May and John Deacon)
"Khashoggi's Ship" (Queen)
"The Miracle" (Mercury) *
"I Want It All" (May) *
"The Invisible Man" (Roger Taylor) *

Side 2

"Breakthru" (intro - Mercury, the rest - Taylor) *
"Rain Must Fall" (Deacon, Mercury)
"Scandal" (May) *
"My Baby Does Me" (Mercury, Deacon)
"Was It All Worth It" (Mercury)

CD bonus tracks

"Hang On In There" (Mercury)
"Chinese Torture" (May, Mercury)
"The Invisible Man (12" Version)" - (Taylor) - (5:29)

(* singles) - On the album all songs are credited to "Queen".

1991 US reissue (Hollywood Records) also contains:

Scandal (12" Mix) - (May) - (6:34)

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Non-album tracks

"Stealin'" (Queen) - B-side to 'Breakthru' (an almost 12-minute demo of this song exists)
"Hijack My Heart" (Taylor) - B side to 'The Invisible Man'
"My Life Has Been Saved" (Deacon) - B-side to 'Scandal' (re-worked version later released on Made in Heaven)

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Personnel

Lead vocals by Freddie Mercury except 'The Invisible Man' (Mercury & Roger Taylor) and 'I Want It All' (Mercury & Brian May).
Drums by Roger Taylor.
Bass by John Deacon.
Synth-bass in 'The Invisible Man' and 'Breakthru' by Roger Taylor.
Synth-bass in 'The Miracle' by Freddie Mercury.
Sampled bass in 'Scandal' by David Richards.
Synths by Freddie Mercury except 'Scandal' (Mercury & May), 'Rain Must Fall' (Deacon) and 'My Baby Does Me' (Mercury & Deacon).
Pianos by Freddie Mercury.
Guitars by Brian May.

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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. It has also been used as a Gay rights protest song. 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.

"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.

"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'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.

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