No, not my least favourite late-era Queen single but close, Brian May & Friends Star Fleet Project from 1983. This was just the ticket today, something warm, pleasantly unpolished and just plain fun. For those about to jam, we salute you.
Possibly a little frustrated at not getting to add enough guitar to Queen’s more recent releases* Brian May, always a rocker at heart, lit out for Californ-ia and arranged a jam with some friends, and this LP is the result**. Now if you or I did this, it would essentially be horrible – Steve loudly breaking wind and laughing, Big Des taking 15 minutes to work out the riff of ‘Smoke On The Water’ and everyone giving up and going down the pub. Brian’s friends are a bit classier than mine, numbering Eddie Van Halen, Alan Gratzer, Phil Chen and Fred Mandel amongst them.
The results were cut into a mini-LP, a format I’ve always really enjoyed. Ignore Brian’s blurb on the back, an EP is hardly a revolutionary concept back then, as now; just one that the music industry had forgotten about for a decade or so in their quest to maximise earnings. Star Fleet Project is a perfect length for me and cresting just over 28 minutes, possibly the third longest LP EVH ever played on!
Opening track ‘Star Fleet’ is May’s arrangement of the TV show’s theme and I do like the story of how he was turned onto the series by his son. The video is a hoot, I genuinely staged more realistic battles with my toy soldiers and Lego in the sheets of my bed as a kid.
‘Star Fleet’ opens with some of Eddie’s signature tapping of course, before a big open into the first verse, 80’s synths in full effect. The vocals are a bit reedy weedy but that’s not an issue, my favourite moment happens around 2:10 in when May’s guitar cuts right through everything – nobody sounds like him, nobody can properly. Then we just ride on through a great 80’s rock out, everybody gunning for the horizon.
My favourite track here was always ‘Let Me Out’, an old tune of Brian’s that he hadn’t found a home for yet; in the nicest possible way it sounds like an offcut from News Of The World. It’s a nice enough bluesy shuffle elevated by this group’s playing, both guitarists do great things and I especially dig EVH on this one. I do find myself enjoying the Chen/Gratzer rhythm section on this one and Mandel’s keys too.
Named and dedicated to a certain bluesy LP, ‘Blues Breaker (Dedicated To E.C)’ is the real thing a thirteen minute-ish jamming session. It is wonderfully entertaining too, everyone showing off in a good way and as May says in his notes having loads of fun and sparking off each other’s playing. I love the way there’s no light and shade here at all, no depth and no subtleness whatsoever, it’s a fabulous fast-food rush of a track. Favourite bits are the section where May and Van Halen harmonise together and when Fred Mandel takes charge at one point. It’s nice to hear EVH play up against the sound of a piano rather than a synth for a change too, it gives an interesting contrast.
Everybody should hear this.
I think as a single-shot one off Star Fleet Project is perfect. No silliness, no overthinking, no aiming for perfection, just some rather contagious fun served up as a neat aside from everybody’s main gig.
1030 Down.
PS: Never properly released on CD either, Brian knew what the score was.
PPS: Fly on free Mr Van Halen.
*although Dr May is always far too polite to say so.
**bar a little bit of nipping and tucking on the title track adding backing vox from Roger Taylor and having it all mixed by Mack.
Contagious fun is a very good think, innit? As are spaceships that look like Thunderbird 2.
Love that, for the English sensibility, EVH was credited as Edward. So fucking posh.
Edward indeed, I liked that too. To go with David Lee Roth and Theodore Nugent.
This sounds like great fun. But I take the lack of a CD release as a personal affront.
Brian knew what he was doing. I start up a huge new anti-CD conspiracy called B-Anon, based on his teachings. All that cracking on about badgers? it’s probably just a complex metaphor. For something.
I think the cracking is just background noise.
Trust in B.
Great call on this being the third longest album EVH ever played on. It’s true.
have you got/heard this one Deke? if not I think you’d love it. It’s usually a pretty cheap buy too.
I need to get it that’s for sure
I reckon May kept writing good songs all through Queen’s tenure. Most of Mercury’s best stuff is on the early records.
I agree.
This was what I listened to on the day EVH died. I wanted to remember him in a happy “wasn’t it great we had him” way rather than a sad “I guess there’ll never be more of this” way and this was just the ticket. Like you, I always really enjoy this. So, consider this a vote for #1030 when the awards are calculated…
Excellent – I’m only a recent convert to liking VH and so this was the only EVH that I’d had for decades and truly assimilated into my being and listening. So its the way I’ll remember him, in fun.