by Georg Purvis
BRIAN MAY
ANOTHER WORLD
Parlophone 4949731, June 1998 [23]
Parlophone 4949732, June 1998 [23]
Hollywood HR 62103 2, September 1998
‘Space’ (0’47), ‘Business’ (5’07), ‘China Belle’ (4’00), ‘Why Don’t We Try Again’ (5’23), ‘On My Way Up’ (2’57), ‘Cyborg’ (3’53), ‘The Guv’nor’ (4’12), ‘Wilderness’ (4’52), ‘Slow Down’ (4’17), ‘One Rainy Wish’ (4’04), ‘All The Way From Memphis’ (5’16), ‘Another World’ (7’30)
Musicians: Brian May (vocals, guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, programming and arrangements), Cozy Powell (drums on ‘Business’, ‘China Belle’, ‘Why Don’t We Try Again’, ‘The Guv’nor’, ‘Slow Down’, ‘One Rainy Wish’ and ‘All The Way From Memphis’, percussion on ‘Why Don’t We Try Again’), Neil Murray (bass guitar on ‘China Belle’, ‘Slow Down’ and ‘One Rainy Wish’), Taylor Hawkins (drums on ‘Cyborg’), Jeff Beck (guitar on ‘The Guv’nor’), Spike Edney (keyboards on ‘Slow Down’), Jamie Moses (guitar on ‘Slow Down’), Steve Ferrone (drums and percussion on ‘Another World’), Ken Taylor (bass guitar on ‘Another World’), Cathy Porter (backing vocals on ‘On My Way Up’), Shelley Preston (backing vocals on ‘On My Way Up’ and ‘All The Way From Memphis’), Nikki Love (backing vocals on ‘All The Way From Memphis’), Becci Glover (backing vocals on ‘All The Way From Memphis’), Ian Hunter (special guest raconteur on ‘All The Way From Memphis’)
Recorded: Allerton Hill, Surrey and Metropolis Studios, London, 1995–1998
Producers: Brian May and Justin Shirley-Smith (Eddie Kramer on ‘One Rainy Wish’)
The history of Another World is long and complicated. Following the release of Back To The Light and its subsequent tour, Brian finally felt confident enough to finish the final songs that Freddie had recorded before his death in 1991. The magnitude of the project, combined with continually hearing his dead friend’s voice, was especially emotional for the guitarist but gave him an idea for a new project. Tentatively titled Heroes, the album would be a collection of his personal favourite tracks along with songs written especially for those he considered his heroes.
The first fruits of the idea were laid down in 1995: ‘One Rainy Wish’ and ‘Hot Patootie (Bless My Soul)’. The first track, originally written and recorded by Jimi Hendrix in 1967, was later submitted to the Eddie Kramer tribute album to Hendrix, In From The Storm, while the second track, originally written for The Rocky Horror Picture Show in the 1970s, was submitted to the NSO Ensemble cast recording for their production of the cult classic stage show later in 1995. The following year, Brian laid down a series of covers, with only one of them given away for a side project. ‘Slow Down’, ‘Only Make Believe’ and ‘Maybe Baby’ – popularized by Larry Williams (and later The Beatles), Conway Twitty and Buddy Holly respectively – were all recorded with Brian’s core band: Cozy Powell on drums, Neil Murray on bass, Spike Edney on keyboards and Jamie Moses on guitar.
Later that year, Brian was approached by Morgan Fisher, who had provided auxiliary keyboards on Queen’s 1982 Hot Space European tour; he was putting together a tribute album to Mott the Hoople, of which Fisher had previously been a member, and wanted Brian to participate. The song Brian recorded was ‘All The Way From Memphis’, a song destined for the Heroes album but first released in 1996 on the (anagrammatic) tribute album Moth Poet Hotel.
The final track submitted for the Another World album was The Shadows’ ‘F.B.I.’, recorded with Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt of Status Quo in 1997, though the song’s first release came on Twang!: A Tribute To Hank Marvin that same year. Shortly after the Bejart Ballet concert in January 1997, which saw the three remaining members of Queen reunited on ‘The Show Must Go On’, with Elton John on vocals, Brian was so touched by the response to Queen’s music that he wrote ‘No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young)’ as a tribute to Freddie, and it was at this point that the Heroes project was abandoned and the song was instead submitted to Roger and John as a potential Queen track. Since it was originally to have been the closing song on Heroes, Brian chose instead ‘Another World’ as the album’s finale; that song was originally written and recorded for the film Sliding Doors but rejected (see the Part Three entry for ‘Another World’). Brian decided “that, in order to have something worthwhile for the next Brian May album, I would have to rediscover who I was,” as he put it in a 1998 interview with Classic Rock. “I decided to go out and do a lot of playing and open myself up for projects because I didn’t want to make another introspective album. I thought I would go out into the world, experience things and rediscover my roots.
“The best thing was that it removed this last element of nostalgia from the project,” Brian continued. “It reminded me that what this album is supposed to be about is my own journey. It’s not about revisiting my heroes. That’s a part of it, but there’s a whole lot more going on ... There’s a fine line between being very commercial and without any depth on one side, and being totally academic and not relating to people on the other ... I have a great interest in operating in this area which is almost art for art’s sake, but you are speaking to people and you care whether they buy it or not. I want them to feel something. I want it to do something for them, which, thank God, it normally seems to.”
Ultimately, however, Another World plays as a weak imitation of Back To The Light, with the guitarist still searching for the answers to all the questions posed on the first album. There are some great songs here – ‘Business’, ‘Why Don’t We Try Again’ and ‘All The Way From Memphis’ are the highlights – but most of it is either half-baked or can be found on Back To The Light. ‘Space’ provides a similarly atmospheric introduction to its predecessor, while ‘On My Way Up’ is an even more light-hearted acoustic affair than ‘Let Your Heart Rule Your Head’. Brian revisits the blues again, even inviting former Yardbird Jeff Beck to trade licks with him on ‘The Guv’nor’, but some truly dreadful moments are contained on ‘Cyborg’ and the schmaltzy title track. Whereas Back To The Light had taken many years to record, it sounded cohesive; Another World sounds pieced together with little forethought. It’s hard to believe that it took Brian six years to generate this disappointing album, especially since he’s a musician and songwriter who can write some truly inspired songs.
However, the advantage that Another World has over Back To The Light is six years of technological progress and the obvious improvement in Brian’s voice. Whereas he sounds nervous and unsure of himself on his first effort (a deliciously unintentional auditory interpretation of the words, which are equally nervous and unsure), the intervening years found him performing lengthy tours with The Brian May Band, strengthening his approach and making his voice on a par with, if not Freddie, at least lead singers from several other top bands of the day. A song like ‘Business’ would have been impossible for Brian in 1992. If anything, Another World is musically and vocally a stronger album, but the material hadn’t progressed enough to make it superior to Back To The Light.
The album was released in June 1998 with an uncharacteristic amount of promotion, and Brian sat for interviews not only to discuss the album but also to talk about Cozy Powell, who had died in a car accident on 5 April (see Part Three entry for ‘Business’). The promotion must have helped since the album charted at No. 23 in the UK; though not the No. 6 that Back To The Light had attained, nor the No. 20 that Live At The Brixton Academy had, it still broke the Top Thirty, which to Brian was the measurement of success. Two mini-albums – Retro Rock Special and Red Special – were released to attract more buyers in the US and Japan respectively, but when the album appeared in the US in September 1998 Hollywood Records gave it little promotion and it sank without trace. As a result, Brian refused to tour the US, though he did appear at the New World Music Theater in Chicago to perform a short promotional show; it would be another eight years before he performed a live solo show Stateside.
Guitarist made special mention of Brian’s
voice, which “lends so much more emotion to the proceedings”, and praised the versatility of the album, concluding that “Brian’s made sure that there’s something here for just about everyone.” Metal Hammer singled out ‘Business’ and ‘China Belle’ as the highlights of the album, but said that “not all of Another World goes for the jugular like these two tracks, and wispy balladry like ‘Why Don’t We Try Again’ and the title track are perhaps best consigned to the memory of the last Queen album.” Q magazine, in its rambling review, started off with “The past inevitably follows Brian May around like a small black dog chained to his ankle. No choice but to pick it up and embrace it seems to be the pragmatic response”, observing later that the album “might, in the vague half-light, just about pass for an anthem-free, Mercury-less tilt at former glories.”
“Yes, I am pleased with it,” Brian said in 1998. “It is more representative of my own journey and has something to say. I think I would feel bad if I went on the road again and I didn’t have something to say that I thought was important.” Shortly after the tour, Brian announced he was through with making solo albums; whether it was down to lacklustre sales or that he had finally found a worthy path to travel is open to interpretation.
ROGER TAYLOR
ELECTRIC FIRE
Parlophone 496 7241, September 1998 [53]
Parlophone 496 7240, September 1998 [53]
‘Pressure On’ (4’56), ‘A Nation Of Haircuts’ (3’32), ‘Believe In Yourself’ (5’00), ‘Surrender’ (3’36), ‘People On Streets’ (4’11), ‘The Whispers’ (6’05), ‘Is It Me?’ (3’23), ‘No More Fun’ (4’13), ‘Tonight’ (3’44), ‘Where Are You Now?’ (4’48), ‘Working Class Hero’ (4’41), ‘London Town, C’mon Down’ (7’11)
Musicians: Roger Taylor (vocals, drums, percussion, guitars, bass guitar, keyboards), Keith Prior (drums on ‘Pressure On’, ‘A Nation of Haircuts’, ‘The Whisperers’, ‘Tonight’, ‘Working Class Hero’ and ‘London Town, C’mon Down’), Steve Barnacle (bass guitar on ‘Pressure On’, ‘A Nation of Haircuts’, ‘Believe In Yourself’, ‘Surrender’, ‘Is It Me?’, ‘Where Are You Now?’, ‘Working Class Hero’ and ‘London Town, C’mon Down’), Mike Crossley (keyboards on ‘Pressure On’, ‘A Nation of Haircuts’, ‘Believe In Yourself’, ‘Is It Me?’, ‘Where Are You Now?’, ‘Working Class Hero’ and ‘London Town, C’mon Down’), Jonathan Perkins (keyboards on ‘Surrender’, ‘People On Streets’ and ‘The Whisperers’, keyboards and additional vocals on ‘Surrender’), Jason Falloon (guitars on ‘Pressure On’, ‘Believe In Yourself’, ‘Surrender’, ‘People On Streets’, ‘No More Fun’, ‘Where Are You Now?’ and ‘London Town, C’mon Down’, acoustic guitar and bass on ‘Tonight’), Keith Airey (guitars on ‘A Nation of Haircuts’ and ‘Is It Me?’), Matthew Exelby (guitars on ‘The Whisperers’), Treana Morris (additional vocals on ‘Pressure On’, ‘Surrender’ and ‘London Town, C’mon Down’), Arty (additional vocals on ‘People On Streets’)
Recorded: Cosford Mill, Surrey, early 1997–mid 1998
Producers: Roger Taylor, Joshua J. Macrae
The four years between Happiness? and Electric Fire saw a resurgence of activity from Roger. As well as embarking on a major tour in support of the former album, which ran until early 1995, he also finished work on Made In Heaven with Brian and John. In between sitting down for promotional interviews as well as facing the camera again for the documentary Champions Of The World, he found time to squeeze in a few appearances with the SAS Band (formed by keyboardist Spike Edney, who had worked with Queen and with Roger in The Cross) as well as with Queen fanatics, Foo Fighters, at their Shepherd’s Bush Empire gig, providing the drums on ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ – the first time he had played that song live in thirteen years.
Roger still yearned to record new material. Happiness? had been a surprising and popular album, and another impetus was a performance with Elton John at the Bejart Ballet for Life in January 1997, which reunited Roger with Brian and John for one final concert. The show’s finale, a shaky version of ‘The Show Must Go On’, didn’t satiate Roger’s desire for performance, and he quickly began recording a new album. While he had been recording demos throughout 1995 and 1996, sessions started proper in early 1997, shortly after the the Bejart Ballet, and proved to be exceptionally prolific: in addition to the twelve tracks released on the album, two further songs – an original titled ‘One Night Stand’ and a cover of Little Richard’s ‘Keep A Knockin” – were also laid down. With an evolving roster of musicians, the sessions lasted until the middle of 1998; as on his previous albums, Roger played most of the instruments, retaining only Jason Falloon and Mike Crossley from the Happiness? sessions and enlisting several new, younger musicians. “I spent quite a long time just coming up with the odd song here and there,” Roger said in a radio interview with SGR Colchester in March 1999, “and then all of a sudden, there it was – an album. And it is very diverse, I think, and of my solo work I think it’s the best I’ve done so far.”
The results were impressive, showing a revitalization and maturity both in lyrics and arrangements. For the first time on a solo record, Roger took a back seat to contributing instrumentally, allowing his team of backing musicians to do most of the work. Atypically, and to the chagrin of most of his fans, he provided drums on only seven of the twelve tracks, ‘duetting’ with his drummer of choice, Keith Prior, on ‘Tonight’. Though his instrumental contributions are peppered throughout (most notably in ‘People On Streets’, which is almost entirely self-performed), he realized that he had a superior band and wanted to use their talents to the fullest.
The album moves through a variety of stylistic changes, though it features what Roger knows best: hard rock. ‘A Nation Of Haircuts’, ‘Surrender’, ‘People On Streets’, ‘No More Fun’ and the deconstruction of John Lennon’s ‘Working Class Hero’ are all good, healthy rockers, something that had been seriously lacking on Happiness?, while Roger morphed into a balladeer on ‘Believe In Yourself’, ‘The Whisperers’, ‘Is It Me?’ and ‘Where Are You Now?’ Only the opening ‘Pressure On’ is a mid-tempo rocker, the perfect poprock single with a slight hint of Bowie influence, and the closing ‘London Town, C’mon Down’ is an uncompromising slice of funk, something that Roger had always loved to do.
The messages on the album are oblique and ambiguous, though they all deal with real-life issues and are mostly autobiographical: “Well, I like to think there is some meaning in some of [the songs], yeah!” Roger exclaimed to Colchester radio in 1999. “And I think if you do have an opinion, why not state it as long as you are not preaching at people or boring them? You are not a full, a whole person unless you have some points of view on life and what’s around you.”
Politicians were given a typical lambasting, though not quite as severely as one might have expected; Roger was particularly outspoken against domestic violence, chronicled in the song ‘Surrender’, which features a gorgeous lead vocal by newcomer Treana Morris. “Most people experience some kind of domestic violence,” Roger said in 1998. “Without going any further, I do think it’s something which is very prevalent in society. It’s a very difficult issue to deal with as often incidents are kept within the family. It’s really pretty foul.”
Housed in a deep green cover (with an indistinct, original silkscreen and oil-on-canvas of ‘Two-bar electric fire no. 1’ by Tim Mara), the album was released in September 1998, almost four years to the day after Happiness?. The album’s chart success wasn’t as great as its predecessor’s, peaking at only No. 53 in the UK, while the singles were only marginally more successful. ‘Pressure On’, released the same day as the album, reached No. 45, while ‘Surrender’ came in March 1999 and just missed the Top Thirty, peaking at No. 38.
The reviews this time were decidedly split, though most gave Roger a fair assessment. “Taylor sounds full of vim on this latest batch of clumpy ballads and gurning funk-rock,” Q said, “but ‘London Town, C’mon Down’s spoken word narrative and ‘Believe In Yo
urself”s rant against ‘lawyers with fees ... and deciduous trees’ are just two of the tracks hamstrung by our host’s baffling lyrical conceits.” Metal Hammer was a little more complimentary, calling the album “a varied selection of material” and saying that “Queen fans will lap it up.” Guitarist said, “The material has a real David Bowie feel to it, most notably ‘Pressure On’, and there is a mixture of styles akin to a full-blown Queen album ... the dabbling in loops and electronics is enjoyable too.” Kerrang! was exceptionally complimentary, calling it “an eclectic affair which should please both Queen fans and those with a taste for slightly more left-field sounds ... Taylor has managed to brew up some intoxicating songs on Electric Fire. ‘Pressure On’, for instance, is a tense experiment in atmospherics which contrasts nicely with the heavy guitars in ‘A Nation Of Haircuts’.” The review concluded, rather caustically, that it’s “interesting stuff, for those with patience.”
It seemed that Roger came out on top this time, yet he wasn’t entirely certain he wanted to take the album out on the road; given its relative failure in the charts, it was surprising when he announced a short, UK-only tour that would commence in March 1999 and run for less than three weeks. Sadly, Roger confirmed that after Electric Fire, fans shouldn’t expect any more solo work from him. That was disappointing news; while Brian’s two solo albums had been released with an eye on what was popular in the charts, Roger had always pushed the envelope and played whatever he felt like playing. While he wasn’t always entirely progressive, he did reinvent his sound with each album, and it’s for this reason many fans believe that Electric Fire is the strongest and finest solo album of his vast catalogue.
BRIAN MAY
FURIA
Parlophone 7243 5 28321 2 5 PM 520 (France only), 1999
‘Furia Theme (Opening Titles)’ (4’40), ‘First Glance (Solo Flute)’ (1’35), ‘Landscape’ (1’14), ‘Tango: “Cuesta Abajo”’ (2’59), ‘The Meeting (Solo Guitar)’ (1’35), ‘First Kiss’ (2’03), ‘Storm’ (2’19), ‘Phone’ (1’07), ‘Pursuit’ (3’45), ‘Diner’ (1’18), ‘Apparition’ (1’36), ‘Arrest’ (1’28), ‘Father And Son’ (1’34), ‘Aaron’ (0’49), ‘Fire’ (0’55), ‘Gun (Solo Violin)’ (1’55), ‘Reggae: “Bird In Hand”’ (3’30), ‘Killing’ (1’13), ‘Escape’ (1’50), ‘Go On’ (2’20), ‘Dream Of Thee’ (4’36)
