As always, a Queen recording has something for everyone. Not so much as always, 1989's "The Miracle" begins the revelation (subtle at the time) that days are numbered and getting darker. The tours were over, Freddie's image was more gaunt, and much was done (including more facial hair than usual) to obscure the real person behind it all. Not a word was spoken about it, and otherwise, everyone acted the same as always.

Which is even more of a chilling thought. The unknown is always more provoking than the black and white. This was where Freddie's tragic (UNBELIEVABLY tragic) bout with AIDS started to really come into play. The next album, "Innuendo," would take all of this, including the depth of the music, to an even HIGHER level, though barely even thought possible. That does nothing to take away from the fact that atleast one "70's band," albeit for the worst reasons, flexed its biggest muscles in future decades.

"The Miracle" is epic. Plenty of music for all moods, from the obligatory party songs in the beginning (such as "Party"), to the confused confrontations with the idea of death ("Was it All Worth It"), and everything in between. Queen already had established themselves as a band that showcases emotion of the highest levels, and now that special talent would be put into overdrive. "Breakthru" starts with a wonderful trademark "Freddie Choir" but quickly breaks into a rushing, impatient, pressed song of just wishing that one thing would happen to make life seem worth living. Excellently written. "I Want It All" says the same message, but more blatantly. In retrospect, it's easy to see from this music, that Freddie felt short on time. That's just too depressing to dwell on.

So, what is there besides gutwrenching lyrics? There is MUSIC!!! I always counted on Queen to be a bit better than just a regular "rock band." And it doesn't take long here to maintain that glorious reputation. The swirling 64th notes in the bridge of the previously mentioned "I Want It All" confirm Queen as masters of arranging and playing. Plus, the song rocks as good as anything. Heart and brains, heart and brains!

The title track is one of the top Queen songs ever written, thus of course translating into one of the better songs ever written, even if there is much competition in that department. Orchestrated strings, sound effects, entire sections morphing into others, INCREDIBLE guitar work - what more can you possibly ask for?

Only two songs, "Rain must fall" and "My baby does me", don't keep even with the supreme quality of everything else. Which really isn't saying that much, as I challange anybody to make an album half as good as this in THIS day and age. I still respect those two songs, however, as even in the late hour of Queen, they never stopped experimenting with diversity. So one can not dare call it filler. Check out the highly innovative "Chinese Torture" - the band has some of the highest creativity possible.

This album is pretty close to perfection, and the next album "Innuendo" would take care of that. You can put "The Miracle" on and zone out, getting lost in the colorful musical textures of the substantial lengthed recording. You can do this time and time again, as it never wears out. That's what good music should do for you. Queen was and is as close to "Gods" that you can really get away with calling rock stars. Music must have been put on earth for some sort of divine purpose, in my belief, so anyone who can channel that purpose into execution and reality can't be too far off the page. God Bless You Freddie, you're still here every day, as far as I'm concerned.

Queen is my favorite band but if this was their last album I would have been quite disappointed. With the exception of a few of the songs (I Want it All, Scandal, and Breakthru), this album is totally painful for me to listen to. The lyrics are completely uninspired other than "Scandal". People have creditted Brian's guitar playing on this, but there's nothing other than that section in the song "Invisible Man" that's memorable at all.

I'll first start with the songs I thought were good (nothing was great)...John Deacon saved the day on "Breakthru" with his classic funky bass slapping. The opening of "Breakthru" doesn't really work though and probably could have been saved for another track somewhere down the road, but maybe they thought this might be the only chance to use it since Freddie was dying. "I Want It All" is pure Queen rock, but doesn't quite rank up there with their great ones. "Scandal" is actually done with some emotion making you wonder if it's somewhat autobiographical.

Okay, now for the crap. For me, the opening two tracks "Party" and "Khashoggi's Ship" are nothing but loud and annoying filler probably Queen trying to convince their fans that yes we can still rock. Queen's at their best when they're sophisticated, even with their hard rock songs. Any band could have written those two songs and performed them just as efficiently as Queen, so there's nothing special nor sophisticated about them. "The Miracle" has good intentions that fall flat after the opening synth chords. The song comes off as pure pop cheese and there's no smooth transition from the first section of the song to the end ("The Time Will Come..."). It kind of just pops out of nowhere like..ummm..lets slap this in to give it more of an anthem feel (not like they were ever going to perform live again). The "Invisible Man" you can see them trying too hard to sound contemporary and dare I say "Black" which is done to even worse results on the worst song they ever recorded "My Baby Does Me". "Rain Must Fall" is not so far removed from being the worst song they ever did and is certainly the most lamest ("Kiss Kiss").

Lastly there's "Was it All Worth It" which may just have been them thinking this could be the last song they ever record so they felt they had to close the book in some way or another. They throw in these ridiculous synth orchestra parts that makes you really desire the old "no synths" Queen of the 70s. The lyrics are very trite and hardly make any sense whatsoever. The harmonies as a whole on the record (I Want It All excluded) are nowhere near as tight as they should be and thank goodness they got their acts together for "Innuendo" which in comparison is galaxies away from this. In fact "Innuendo" may have been their tightest album ever, but more about that in another review. "The Miracle" was done around the sadest point in their lives with Brian almost committing suicide with his failed marriage and Freddie knowing the end was coming soon and I'm sure John and Roger had been effected by the negativity around. Somehow the bad vibes were exorcised in time for "Innuendo".

By this time, Freddie Mercury had already taken sick and the band stopped touring and so decided to put all their energies into a great studio album and this was the result. Very polished with a lot more production elements than you usually get from a Queen album but the result is in hindsight a very good album indeed. Very different from say "A Night At the Opera" or even "The Game" but still a very good album in any case. They seem to have completely regained their confidence lost since "Hot Space" and slowly regaining it in "The Works" and the "Highlander" soundtrack aka "Kind of Magic" albums. It sounds almost as if the band felt they had nothing to prove anymore and with the pressure off, they could relax and make an album for themselves. It almost sounds like they intended this to be their swansong with "Was it All Worth It". Many strong tracks and the album is very smooth flowing. The sound quality is quite good and the bonus tracks are a nice touch. Highly recommended.

Throughout most of this album (with the exception of 2 songs "Rain Must Fall" and "My Baby Does Me"), all members of Queen shine brightly. Freddie Mercury's health was deteriorating at the time but still wished Queen to go on, albiet without touring. If you notice in the videos, he's grown a beard to hide his gaunt appearance. Also, the lyrics are a lot more personal than before. All of the members got credit for each song ("We made a decision," commented Brian May, "that perhaps we should've made on previous albums"). You can skip the remixes, nothing amazing about them. However, 2 bonus songs are quite interesting. "Hang On In There" is a positive song exhorting the listener to not give up and promises "Your wish will be granted." "Chinese Torture" is a moody instrumental with a synthesized orchestra and Brian's expressive guitar. "Party" and "Khashoggi's Ship" are both reminiscent of "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions." Though 2 separate songs, it's hard to imagine one without the other. "Party" seems to say the party is over while "Khashoggi" seems to say the party is not over (this is probably in reference to the rumours that Queen was breaking up at the time). "The Miracle" is a 5 minute epic (the video for this song was entertaining, with 4 youngsters filling in for the band). It features positive lyrics ("The one thing we're all looking for is peace on earth, and an end to war. It's a miracle we need!") and a fun little jam at the end before they sing "The time will come one day, you'll see, when we can all be friends." Following that is the hard rocking "I Want It All." This is reminscent of the early 1970's Queen. "The Invisible Man" is one of those songs you'll either find catchy or grating. Each member of the band is introduced. "Breakthrough" begins with a semi-operatic intro, moving onto a fast paced melody like a speedtrain. "Rain Must Fall" is a schmaltzy reggae song. "Scandal" is one of Freddie's more personal songs, probably based on the rumours that were spread about him, thinly veiled around a breakup- "Tommorow [it's] hard times, and no one really knows the truth from the lies." "My Baby Does Me" is a shmaltzy R&B song about a dying relationship. "Was It All Worth It" is one of the best songs on here. Freddie recalls the good times and bad times of Queen and asks himself "Was it all worth it? Living breathing rock and roll in this God-forsaken life? Giving all my heart and soul in this never-ending fight..." You can pretty much guess what the answer is.

One of the most underrated releases in the Queen catalogue, The Miracle, released in 1989 - only two years before the death of Freddie Mercury, stands in the shadow of two of the band's most important albums - it follows Queen's most commercially successful record - A Kind Of Magic - and is followed by one of their most impressive and powerful works, Innuendo. The Miracle, though, may just be the best piece of music Queen released since 1980's The Game, and it features some of their finest rock songs of the 80s, as well as some wonderful hit singles. And unlike Innuendo - the last album released in Mercury's lifetime, which was dark, sad and angry, The Miracle is energetic, fast-paced and bursting with life. While every song on Innuendo is filled with pain and despair, The Miracle is nothing but optimistic. As the title track - "The time will come, one day you'll see / when we can all be friends" - with its lovely accompanying video, clearly states, this entire album is about life and the love of life.

Other than `The Miracle', the album boasts three other hit singles: `I Want It All' is one of Brian May's most classic rock pieces, a great head-banger in the tradition of `Tie Your Mother Down' and `We Will Rock You', with a wonderful classic-Queen style interlude. `The Invisible Man' is all Roger Taylor, a fun song with a lot of synthesizers. `Breakthru' is a great, fast, optimistic song and it's one of my favorite Queen songs from the 80s. `Rain Must Fall', in all likelihood a John Deacon composition, is also a fantastic song, and the drum sound is terrific, especially in the solo. Synthesizers are present on all of these songs, but unlike any other album they made since 1980 on The Miracle Queen use synths mildly and responsibly, and give the band mates' instrumental skills their full deserved respect. Finally there's the closing track, which is probably the finest and most sophisticated song on the record - `Was It All Worth It', a reflection upon Queen's long career, a song that is both sad and full of optimism. It shares many qualities with `The Show Must Go On', the closing track from Innuendo. Musically, too, it's an instant classic, with great instrumental work and a masterful arrangement. The intro, suddenly going from the soft ringing of bells to Brian's explosive electric guitar, is a stroke of genius by itself.

I wouldn't bother much with the bonus tracks; I usually turn it off after `Was It All Worth It'. `Hang On In There' is a decent enough song, but it's nothing special, and the instrumental `Chinese Torture' is simply pointless, as is another version of `The Invisible Man' - certainly not the best song on the album anyway.

The Miracle is a great ride. It's really a lot of fun, and it's the only Queen album that manages to really be all about fun and not sound stupid (like Hot Space). They may have been near the end of their career, and after twenty years together, but they don't sound the least bit worn out. For Queen fans, it's a great buy.