Wow. I’ve had this song stuck in my head for a month now, which came out nearly two years before my birth. My parents weren’t fans as far as I know.
But for the reasons you stated, this song sums up so much for me. It’s the conflicting emotions, like you said, but I wouldn’t have been able to correlate that without you, so thanks.
Listening to it again now with my more ‘seasoned’ tastes it still sounds pretty good. Never got much of a handle on the lyrics, then or now, but the memorable selling point of the song for me remains the back and forth vocals between Balin and Slick. Closest they ever came to recreating their best collaborative work of the 1960s Airplane.
Digging up some of the older, more contemporary, reviews, I see the 1983 edition of the New Rolling Stone Record Guide called Red Octopus one of the best albums of 1975 AND ‘proof positive that rock musicians can age gracefully.’ However, the revised 2004 edition of the guide says “with Marty Balin's 'Miracles,' Octopus′s massive hit, the band began shifting toward schmaltz. Balin now sounded like a lounge singer ...." Christgau’s Consumer Guide, meanwhile, has high praises for the quality of Balin’s voice but felt the lyrics of Miracles showed the singer was nevertheless a ‘mushbrain’.
I do hear some strings on the single, near the opening, but they don’t sound like what we’d expect from Papa John Creech. His electric violin is in the recording’s credits, so maybe he was just in there to get things started?
Thanks for the comment, Garrie, and for looking up the old reviews. I remember when I was 21, I thought the Rolling Stone Record Guide was like the Bible, an authoritative list of what records were good and what weren't, and how to avoid the bad ones. It took a while for me to realize all those opinions, informed to relative degrees, were made by fallible human beings who disagreed with each other, let alone from me. I can't agree with either the 1983 or 2004 RSRG, and certainly don't think the lyrics of Miracles come from a mush brain. But, it's interesting to see what they said.
Hmmm. Maybe it's a bit "loungy" and maybe a bit schmaltzy But this heavy metal girl still thinks that Miracles beats any other song for top love song of all times. Schmaltzy? Maybe, but if you listen to the original, not radio, edit how can you deny that "I had a taste of the real world, when I went down on you" with Slick's back up responses is great stuff? Im with you. I'm 55 and first heard it as an 8 year old and I've come to appreciate the lyrics as much as the music.
Wow. I’ve had this song stuck in my head for a month now, which came out nearly two years before my birth. My parents weren’t fans as far as I know.
But for the reasons you stated, this song sums up so much for me. It’s the conflicting emotions, like you said, but I wouldn’t have been able to correlate that without you, so thanks.
It embodies wanderlust and longing as well.
Listening to it again now with my more ‘seasoned’ tastes it still sounds pretty good. Never got much of a handle on the lyrics, then or now, but the memorable selling point of the song for me remains the back and forth vocals between Balin and Slick. Closest they ever came to recreating their best collaborative work of the 1960s Airplane.
Digging up some of the older, more contemporary, reviews, I see the 1983 edition of the New Rolling Stone Record Guide called Red Octopus one of the best albums of 1975 AND ‘proof positive that rock musicians can age gracefully.’ However, the revised 2004 edition of the guide says “with Marty Balin's 'Miracles,' Octopus′s massive hit, the band began shifting toward schmaltz. Balin now sounded like a lounge singer ...." Christgau’s Consumer Guide, meanwhile, has high praises for the quality of Balin’s voice but felt the lyrics of Miracles showed the singer was nevertheless a ‘mushbrain’.
I do hear some strings on the single, near the opening, but they don’t sound like what we’d expect from Papa John Creech. His electric violin is in the recording’s credits, so maybe he was just in there to get things started?
Thanks for the comment, Garrie, and for looking up the old reviews. I remember when I was 21, I thought the Rolling Stone Record Guide was like the Bible, an authoritative list of what records were good and what weren't, and how to avoid the bad ones. It took a while for me to realize all those opinions, informed to relative degrees, were made by fallible human beings who disagreed with each other, let alone from me. I can't agree with either the 1983 or 2004 RSRG, and certainly don't think the lyrics of Miracles come from a mush brain. But, it's interesting to see what they said.
Hmmm. Maybe it's a bit "loungy" and maybe a bit schmaltzy But this heavy metal girl still thinks that Miracles beats any other song for top love song of all times. Schmaltzy? Maybe, but if you listen to the original, not radio, edit how can you deny that "I had a taste of the real world, when I went down on you" with Slick's back up responses is great stuff? Im with you. I'm 55 and first heard it as an 8 year old and I've come to appreciate the lyrics as much as the music.