Brian May + Eddie Van Halen - Star Fleet Project

 

It's 1983. Put Eddie Van Halen and Brian May in a room together. The result? Of course, Star Fleet, a cover of the theme from the children's marionette tokusatsu series broadcast Saturday mornings in the U.K.

Star Fleet Project is a project of Brian May, most famous as the guitarist from Queen, which resulted in an album with the same name. The project was released as the work of "Brian May + Friends", consisting of May, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alan Gratzer (of REO Speedwagon), Phil Chen (session bassist who played with Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart), and Fred Mandel (session keyboard player who also played as additional keyboard player on Queen's Hot Space World Tour and The Works). Roger Taylor, Queen's drummer, provided backing vocals for the title song. It was not meant for the tapes to be released and they had minimal mixing before release.

I could have put away these tapes in a bottom drawer and kept them as a private record of one of the best experiences of my life. But the few people I've played them for have urged me to 'publish'...I haven't messed one scrap with the tracking done on the day. The rest is simply mixed 'naked'.

—Brian May

Recorded on 21 and 22 April 1983 at the Record Plant Studios, Los Angeles, California, it was released in October of the same year as a Mini-LP, a "challenge to the established principle that a piece of rock music must fit into either a 2x4 minute single, or a 2x20 minute LP format". The LP consisted of three songs: "Star Fleet", "Let Me Out", and "Blues Breaker".

The idea for the album came from May's son, Jimmy.

Star Fleet is the theme tune for a superb TV sci-fi series broadcast in England for kids of all ages; Japanese visuals and British soundtrack including music by Paul Bliss. The heroes pilot space vehicles which can assemble into a giant robot for land battles. The aliens fly fantastic insect-like craft which spawn smaller fighting machines; all intent on possession of the secret of F Zero One. Having been introduced to all this by my small boy, I became equally obsessed by it, and formed the idea of making a hard rock version of the title theme.

—Brian May

Eddie Van Halen & Brian May - Star Fleet (1983)

Tracks:
1. "Star Fleet"   Bliss/arr. May 8:04
2. "Let Me Out"   May 7:13
3. "Blues Breaker"   May/Van Halen/Gratzer/Chen/Mandel 12:48

Personnel:

Brian May – guitar, vocals, production
Eddie Van Halen – guitar, backing vocals
Alan Gratzer – drums
Phil Chen – bass guitar
Fred Mandel – keyboards
Roger Taylor – backing vocals on "Star Fleet"
Mack – mixing
Mike Beiriger – engineering
Nick Froome – additional en