Queen "The Miracle"

On episode 9 of Past Prime, Steve helps Matty confront the shame
he has lived with for turning his back on Queen in the late
1980s. "The Miracle," was released in 1989 amid a very public
divorce for Brian May and, more importantly, private, terminal
suffering for Freddie. Steve has the revelation that Queen was
the sort of band that would strike out nine times in a row before
hitting an unthinkable home run in their tenth at bat. Together,
he and Matty try to understand how a band could make timeless
hits out of opera, foot stomps and laser beams.


Along the way, and in an effort to redeem his former self, Matty
digs in and tries his best suggest that "The Miracle," while not
a good album, is an above average Queen album. Steve demurs and
suggests that there may actually be nine terrible songs on the
record and that the best of them ("I Want it All") is only
redeemable as a clear statement of purpose. Matty takes a couple
of cheap shots, appealing to Steve's love of Meat Loaf and
Michael Jackson. But Steve rebuffs the comparison while kindly
granting Matty forgiveness for dumping Queen in favor of The
Clash.


To read more about Queen's "The Miracle" check out the full essay
at Past Prime.