The Miracle (Collector’s Edition

Reviews

Stephen Richardson

‘Another banger is ‘Breakthru’, and in its earlier arrangement you can really hear how it would have sounded if Queen had performed the track in concert. For me though, the single best track on the entire set is the 12” Remix of ‘Scandal’, probably the best extended version of any song they ever recorded.

If you’re a Queen fan and liked this album to begin with, this set is a must. The box itself is beautifully finished and weighs a ton: there’s a 76 page book detailing the making of the album and accompanying videos, glossy prints of the members of the band, two posters, a gatefold LP of the original album (with ‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’ reinstated in its original place on side A), four audio CDs and two DVDs. ‘I Guess We’re Falling Out’ is beautiful and most of these alternate versions have real drums as opposed to the synth drums that ended up on the finished album.

Queen fans have known this box set was coming for months now and to finally get it is an absolute joy. The absolute standout disc on this set is ‘The Miracle Sessions’, which features alternate takes of every track on the album, with alternate vocals.

Worth every penny! I’ve always loved Queen’s later albums and ‘The Miracle’ has always been a favourite of mine.