Brian May — Star Fleet Sessions (Deluxe)
Qobuz archival release review (July 2023)
Star Fleet Project was a pretty slim, weird bit of ephemera when originally released in 1983. The mini-LP had two pretty good (but long) songs on side one, and a seemingly interminable 13-minute jam on side two. There were no band photos on the front or back, just a mysterious “Brian May + Friends” emblazoned above a grainy film still of a Japanese robot on the front cover and an unassuming rundown of contributing artists on the back: Edward Van Halen, Alan Gratzer, Phil Chen and Fred Mandel. Of course, everyone recognized Edward Van Halen, but only the most devoted rock fans were likely familiar with Gratzer (drummer, REO Speedwagon), while bassist Chen and pianist Mandel were session pros whose name recognition was limited to the most voracious liner-notes readers. Star Fleet — in its brevity, intentional anonymity, and utter disregard for marketplace concerns — felt a bit talismanic, a pre-internet slice of IYKYK.
The casual carelessness that made it feel so special also made it the kind of record that turned out to be more fun to talk about than to actually listen to repeatedly. Although “Star Fleet” (a cover a Japanese kids’ show title theme) was an exhilarating concoction of child-friendly earworm chorus, stacked May vocals, and jaw-dropping guitar work, and “Let Me Out” at least sounded like someone bothered to write a hook for it before the engineer hit the record button, the side-long “Blues Breaker (Dedicated to E.C.)” had the excitement of hearing May and Van Halen trade licks tempered by there being no vocals, no melodies, and not really much of a point. It was, in the end, exactly what it purported to be: a relatively un-premeditated jam among friends who had a couple days of studio time to burn.
Thankfully, this 40th anniversary edition doesn’t attempt to rewrite history or ascribe any undeserved importance to the material. Instead, May has produced a literal tape dump of a release, compiling, as he says, “every take from the historic 1983 sessions plus fragments of conversations, outtakes and musical experimentation.” If three songs stretched into a half-hour seemed like a little much, try three songs stretched into two hours and 15 minutes. While it’s great to get Star Fleet back into print, and in Hi-Res audio, this is an archival release for posterity, rather than an opportunity to recontextualize or revisit the material (although May wisely places a single edit of “Star Fleet” at the beginning, tightening up the original sequence). Multiple takes, a few extra cursory jams, some live performances a decade later (without any of the original players besides May), even promotional radio interviews… This set truly does take a comprehensive approach. You’ll still only listen to the first 20 minutes though.
