LISTEN: Brian May And Friends "Star Fleet Project" With Eddie Van Halen

Back in 1983, Brian May and a group of his friends got together to record what is known as the "Star Fleet Project."

The friends included drummer Alan Gratzer, keyboardist Fred Mandel, session bassist Phil Chen, May's Queen bandmate Roger Taylor (backing vocals), and Eddie Van Halen.

According to Ultimate Classic Rock, the project came about after Taylor's son got his dad into watching a Japanese TV series called "X Bomber" that was renamed "Star Fleet" in the U.K.

May wanted to record a rock version of the show's theme song, so he made some calls and got the band together. Then, over the course of two days, they recorded "Star Fleet" and two other songs: one was a Brian May composition called "Let Me Out" and the other was a jam session they titled "Blues Breaker" that's almost 13 minutes long.

In the liner notes for the album (via Van Halen News Desk), Brian May called the record a "unique event" and wrote, "In BLUES BREAKER you can hear us smiling as we search for answering phrases. In the last solo of LET ME OUT, Edward torches his top string to its audible death and winds up quite naturally on the remaining five."

You can listen to all three songs below, or on YouTube.

TRACK LIST

  1. Star Fleet
  2. Let Me Out
  3. Blues Breaker

VHND also has an in depth article about the recording and releasing the album. It's worth the read, and you can check it out HERE.

Photos: Getty Images


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