Queen – The Miracle – 180 Gram, Vinyl, LP, Reissue, Hollywood Records, 2015
Limited 180 gram heavyweight vinyl LP repressing of this album from the British rock quartet. The Miracle is the thirteenth studio album by British rock band Queen, released in 1989. The album was recorded as the band recovered from Brian May’s marital problems and Freddie Mercury’s HIV diagnosis in 1987 (which was, though known to the band, not publicized at the time). Recording started in January 1988 and lasted for an entire year. The album was originally going to be called The Invisible Men, 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, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, and #24 on the US Billboard 200 chart. It would prove to be the band’s penultimate album to be recorded with Freddie Mercury, as he died in November 1991, less than a year after the next album, Innuendo, was released. Queen formed in 1970 and consisted of Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass guitar), and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals). Queen’s earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal, but the band gradually ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works by incorporating further styles, such as arena rock and pop rock, into their music. They eventually became one of the most famous rock bands in the world and still command much respect long after Mercury’s 1991 death.