"Made in Heaven" is the fifteenth and final studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on November 6, 1995. It was a deeply emotional and symbolic release for the band, being their first album issued under the name "Queen" after the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury in 1991. The album was built upon vocal and piano recordings that Mercury had made before his death, with the surviving members of the band—guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, and bassist John Deacon—adding new instrumentation to complete the songs. The album's recording process was a blend of work done before and after Mercury's passing, with much of the posthumous work completed at the band's Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland, which had been a key location for Queen’s music over the years.
Made in Heaven debuted at number one in the UK and went quadruple platinum, selling over 1.2 million copies there alone. In the United States, it shipped 500,000 copies. It was an emotional journey for the band, as they sought to honor Freddie Mercury's legacy while completing the album he had started. The album marked the end of an era for Queen, as it was their last studio album with the classic lineup, with Deacon retiring from music in 1997 and not participating in any Queen activities since then. The band would go on to tour with various guest vocalists, including Paul Rodgers and Adam Lambert, but Made in Heaven remains their final studio work as the original four members.
The album’s cover features two different photographs. The CD cover shows a photo taken at dusk, featuring the iconic Freddie Mercury statue overlooking Lake Geneva in Montreux, with May, Taylor, and Deacon gazing at the Alps on the rear. The LP cover, however, was taken at dawn, with the same statue and the band looking at the sunrise. The symbolic imagery of the statue is fitting, representing Mercury's enduring presence even after his death.
The recording of Made in Heaven was unconventional, as it involved a mixture of work done before and after Freddie Mercury’s death. In early 1991, while the band was completing Innuendo, Mercury recorded as many vocals as he could, knowing that his time was running out. These sessions were intensely productive, with Freddie urging the band to record as much as possible whenever he felt well enough to sing. According to Brian May, the band knew they were “on borrowed time” and tried to make the most of the time they had left with Mercury. Some of the tracks that emerged from these early sessions were "A Winter's Tale," "Mother Love," and "You Don't Fool Me."
Mercury's recording process for Made in Heaven was unique, as he insisted on doing final vocals for the tracks before all of the music was completed. Producer David Richards noted that Freddie’s decision to do final vocals was unusual, as he typically preferred to record his vocals after all the music was finished. It was clear that Mercury wanted the album to be released, and his determination to complete the vocal parts reflects his commitment to leaving a legacy for the band and for his fans.
After Mercury's death, the remaining members of Queen returned to the studio in 1993 to finish the album. Brian May has said that work began in 1992, but it wasn’t until he returned from his Back to the Light tour that he felt the band was on the right track. Despite some initial work done in 1992, May felt that the music was not coming together properly, so they essentially started from scratch. The band worked with producer David Richards to rework existing songs and blend them into the final material. With only partial tracks recorded, the band had to revisit older, unfinished material and bring new life to those songs, often reworking the arrangements and adding fresh instrumentation. The process was slow and painstaking, as the band was determined to honor Mercury's vision while still crafting a fitting final album for Queen.
In a 2013 interview, Brian May reflected on Made in Heaven as potentially the best album Queen ever made. He described the creation of the album as a "long, long process, painstakingly put together," calling it a "real labor of love." The album captures a deeply emotional and personal moment for the band, and despite the challenges and sadness surrounding its creation, Made in Heaven was seen as a fitting tribute to Freddie Mercury and his incredible legacy.
Made in Heaven contains some of Queen's most reflective and intimate songs, including "A Winter's Tale," which Mercury had written about the peace he felt in his final months, and "Mother Love," which was the last song Mercury ever recorded with the band. The album's themes of love, loss, and legacy were poignant and heartfelt, making it a powerful and emotional farewell to one of the most iconic frontmen in rock history.
