Great Rock Albums of 1983: Brian May and Friends- Starfleet Project
Here’s another album that would have passed me by hadn’t been for MTV. The single from Queen guitarist Brian May’s album, (yes I know it’s really an EP) “Starfleet Project” was never played on radio, at least not on my local station in New Jersey and this was before it degenerated into a top forty station. I remember the video for “Starfleet.” It looked like something out of “The Thunderbirds” with the puppets and stuff. The science fiction theme to the video added to it. To be honest, I couldn’t have cared less about the video but I loved the song and thus, had to get the EP.
Now you have probably noticed that the album is from Brian May and Friends and boy did Brian choose the right friends to help him record this. He got Eddie Van Halen to accompany him on the guitar and Alan Gratzer from REO Speedwagon fame to do the honours on the drums. Those names right there should tell you that what you are about to hear is totally going to blow you away and they do.
There might only be three songs on the album but they are three memorable ones, plus the fact that the shortest of these three is still over seven minutes made “Starfleet Project” an album in my book back then. Starting with the title track, it is the more commercial of the three. Brian shows that he knows his way around a keyboard a little bit but he still does some great guitar work on the song. I had always suspected from his Queen days that he could sing and he clearly shows it here.
Track two is the more bluesy “Let Me Out.” Here, May and Van Halen really start to go to town with the solos. They are so good that I can never remember what Brian wants to be let out of. However, it’s the third track that takes you to Neptune and beyond. Here we have the two mentioned guitar greats paying tribute to another guitar god, Eric Clapton, with “Blues Breaker.” When that happens you are guaranteed nothing short of guitar heaven. For nearly thirteen minutes, Brian and Eddie go back and forth trading off guitar solos, each one as good as the last. There is a short break in the action for a bit of ivory tinkling from Fred Mandel but things go back to the blistering solos. This song alone makes the entire album a must have.
Track Listing:
- Starfleet
- Let Me Out
- Blues Breaker
Brian May- guitar, vocals, keyboards
Eddie Van Halen- guitar, backing vocals
Alan Gratzer- drums
Phil Cohen- bass
Freddie Mandel- keyboards
Roger Taylor- backing vocals on “Starfleet”
Queen might have been taking a hiatus in 1983 but Brian May wasn’t. He went well above and beyond and showed his true talents on this album.
Next post: Bob Dylan- Infidels
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This entry was posted on June 30, 2016 at 8:10 pm and is filed under 1980s, Heavy Metal, Music, Rock, Uncategorized with tags Blues, Brian May, British, Classic Rock, Eddie Van Halen, Guitarists, hard rock, Heavy Rock, MTV, Queen, REO Speedwagon, The 1980s, videos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
8 Responses to “Great Rock Albums of 1983: Brian May and Friends- Starfleet Project”
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June 30, 2016 at 8:17 pm
I reviewed this about 3 years ago and I love it. It got a bad rap in the 80s for whatever reason I don’t understand. Your review nailed the value of the EP!
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June 30, 2016 at 8:22 pm
I vaguely remember you reviewing this album and enjoying reading it. I too don’t know why it got such a bad rap. Thanks for that, I always thought EPs were just mini albums.
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June 30, 2016 at 8:26 pm
I keep seeing the vinyl on sale… It’s tempting! I liked the show when I was a kid too!
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July 1, 2016 at 6:02 am
It is worth it!
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July 2, 2016 at 3:36 pm
May and Van Halen! Say what!? I shall be investigating further!
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July 3, 2016 at 8:30 am
Definitely do so. I still can’t fathom how this album was so ignored.
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July 3, 2016 at 10:42 pm
Nice one, I really liked this one too. Blues Breaker is a brilliant track.
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July 4, 2016 at 5:16 pm
It’s a fantastic track. May and Van Halen just going skits on the guitars. Guitar heaven!
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