MADE IN HEAVEN LPReleased: November 6, 1995 UK (Parlophone) November 7 US (Hollywood Records)
Charts:
UK #1, US #58
#1 in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Europe, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland#2 in Belgium, France, Norway, Scotland
Hungary #3, Japan #10, Canada #10
1997: UK #47
2022: Poland #32
Certifications:
4x Platinum in UK, Gold in US
Platinum in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Japan, New Zealand, Norwary, Poland,
2x Platinum in Argentina, Austria, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain,
3x Platinum in Germany
5x Platinum in Europe
Singles:
Heaven For Everyone b/w It’s A Beautiful Day (45 edit)
Released: October 23, 1995
Charts: UK #2
Hungary #1, Netherlands #2, Scotland #2, Iceland #3, Austria #4, Belgium #4, Italy #4, Europe #5, Finland #5, Ireland #7, France #8, Switzerland #9, Australia #15, Germany #15, Norway #18 New Zealand #25, Sweden #29
Certifications: Silver in UK, Gold in France
A Winter’s Tale b/w Thank God It’s Christmas
Released: December 11
Charts: UK #6
Finland #10, Netherlands #16, Italy #19, Austria #23, Ireland #23, Switzerland #28, Belgium #33, Germany #62, Australia #71
Too Much Love Will Kill You b/w We Will Rock You-We Are The Champions (Rock In Rio Blues in US)
Released: February 26, 1996
Charts: UK #15, USA #18 Mainstream
Belgium #10, Scotland #11, Canada #18, Ireland #28, Europe #41
Certifications: Silver in UK
I Was Born To Love You (Japan only release)
Released: 28 February 1996
Charts: Japan #45 in ’96,
#1 in 2004, #63 in 2018
Certification:
Gold Let Me Live b/w Fat Bottomed Girls - Bicycle Race
Released: June 17
Charts: UK #9
Netherlands #28, Germany #67
You Don't Fool Me
Released: November 18
Charts: UK #17
Belgium #13, France #14, Netherlands #21, Austria #23, Ireland #23, Italy #24, Germany #26, Switzerland #27, Sweden #52
Recorded: January - June 1991 and October 1993 - early 1995
Mountain, Allerton Hill, Cosford Mill, and Metropolis Studios
PRODUCED BY QUEEN
All songs written by Queen unless otherwise noted
Freddie Mercury – lead vocals keyboards backing vocals
Brian May – electric guitar backing vocals keyboards lead vocals (3, 4)
Roger Taylor – drums, backing vocals percussion keyboards lead vocals (3)
John Deacon – bass guitar keyboards electric guitar
Additional personnel
Rebecca Leigh-White, Gary Martin, Catherine Porter, Miriam Stockley – backing vocals (3)
David Richards – keyboards (5, 8, 13), co-production, engineering, mixing supervision
Justin Shirley-Smith – co-production, engineering
Josh Macrae – co-production, engineering
Ashley Alexander - engineering
Reinhold Mack – recording of additional material in the '80s
Kevin Metcalfe – mastering
Richard Gray – artwork, cover photograph of Irena Sedlecká's Mercury sculpture in Montreux
Dedicated to the immortal spirit of Freddie MercuryAUDIO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBO3rLDqBBESIDE ONE
It's A Beautiful Day 2:32
Made In Heaven (Mercury) 5:25
Let Me Live 4:45
Mother Love (Mercury, May) 4:49
My Life Has Been Saved 3:15
SIDE TWO
I Was Born To Love You (Mercury) 4:49
Heaven for Everyone (Taylor) 5:36
Too Much Love Will Kill You (May, Musker, Lamers) 4:20
You Don't Fool Me 5:24
A Winter's Tale Queen (Mercury) 3:49
It's A Beautiful Day (reprise) 3:01
Yeah 0:04
Available on CD
Track 13 Queen (May, Taylor, David Richards) 22:32
2011 Universal bonus EP
Heaven for Everyone (Single Version) / It's A Beautiful Day (Single Version) / My Life Has Been Saved ('89 Version) / I Was Born to Love You (Freddie vocal and piano demo) / Rock in Rio Blues (Live B-side to A Winter's Tale) / A Winter's Tale (Cosy Fireside Mix)
**********
These bonuses are nice, but once again incomplete.
The short demo of ‘It’s A Beautiful Day’, written during ‘The Game’, was included on that album’s reissue, but not this. There’s also the ‘Let Me Live’ banned version, The Cross' original versions of ‘Heaven For Everyone’ (with both Freddie and Roger doing LVs)and Freddie solo ‘Made In Heaven’ missing. And of course, all of the ‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’ demos that were done during ‘The Miracle’ sessions.
I'll list and link these in another post.
inner gatefoldQueen’s ‘last’ studio album.
The album was met with a wave of excitement, and became the second-biggest album release of 1995 (behind Anthology 1, which also, incidentally, featured a "new" recording from The Beatles).
I certainly remember seeing the promo poster at the record shop, hoping like hell it would be close to what their ‘last’ album had been. I was not disappointed, even if this contains some so called ‘scraps’ and reworked material. It is Queen, it is done well, and I still hold this in very high regard.
The breakdown of each song’s origins can be read here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Made_in_HeavenAs to the contents, from the gatefold covers, inner gatefold pics, the sleeve, and the poster, one got their money’s worth. It is certainly sad and somber, yet uplifting at the same time due to the music. At the time, I had heard Freddie’s originals of ‘Made In Heaven’ and ‘I Was Born To Love You’. With the added Queen touch, they aren't mellow or dance drive, but rock. There's no programmed drums on these, and Roger does shine (though they sound a bit too loud and '90s at times). I had not yet heard The Cross’ original version of ‘Heaven For Everyone’ or ‘My Life Has Been Saved’ (the nonalbum B-side of ‘Scandal), John giving it a much different treatment than the guitar driven original. ‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’….certainly different than Brian’s version.
It has two of my all time favorites in
'Let Me Live’ …..only ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ had Freddie, Brian, and Roger all sing lead on the same song (Brian and Roger getting one line each) and arguably Brian’s best guitar solo in
‘A Winter’s Tale’ (Freddie’s final penned lyrics) which is Queen at its most tender yet bombastic best.
‘Mother Love’ …..Freddie’s last vocals, with Brian having to finish out the lead vocals, followed by all Queen songs are played in 5-10 seconds before a snippet of 'Larry Lurex' singing 'Goin' Back' , and then the the sound of a baby cry. Quite chilling.
‘You Don’t Fool Me’….to me, the out of place odd duck on the album. It has a great solo from Brian, but the tone of it all doesn’t fit this release, and I certainly wasn’t in the mood for a semi dance track. I warmed to it over the years, and it’s a great tune to have blasting while cruising on the freeway on a sunny day, but it’s the one song I removed from this and placed on another disc.
Well….other than ‘Track 13’. The vinyl ends with Freddie’s ‘Yeah’. The CD offers up 22 minutes of meandering atmospheric music, with an occasional chime and spoken words from Freddie a couple of times. It has been given the somewhat accepted title of
‘Ascension’ . I use around five minutes of it on my version.
***********
Brian has mentioned in interviews that they were not going to do a Led Zeppelin ‘Coda’ type farewell. First, they didn’t have enough polished demos, though a few have come to light over the years….’Feelings Feelings’ from ‘News Of The World’ being one example. ‘Let Me In Your Heart Again’ released decades later was too similar to ‘Let Me Live’, and they certainly wouldn’t use ‘Love Kills’ on this one.
A pity that ‘Man Made Paradise’ and ‘There Must Be More To Life Than This’….which were written and worked on during ‘Hot Space’, and eventually appeared on Freddie’s first solo album, and of which demos do exist, were not worked on for this project. They both would have fit in to the theme of this release.
Whether one considers this or ‘Innuendo’ as the last ‘Queen’ studio album, this is a good to great listen, ..... a fitting send off and final chapter for Queen.
Almost.
Topic: QUEEN Discography- MONTREAL '81 in theaters near you (Read 70641 times)
