Brian May has confirmed that he is working on a reissue box set of his Star Fleet Project – the 1983 mini-album he recorded with Eddie Van Halen.
May previously told told Total Guitar that he had revisited the material following Van Halen’s untimely passing in 2020 and that it had “healed my soul a bit.”
Now the Queen icon has told Variety that a remixed box set release is imminent.
“I’m working on the “Star Fleet” box set, which is No. 3 in the Brian May Gold Series, and probably to be released halfway into next year,” says May in the new interview.
The original sessions took place in a break from Queen touring activities – a time in which May found himself settling in LA. Inspired by a puppet sci-fi show that his kids loved, May decided to use it as an excuse for some studio-based fun and invited Van Halen, along with session pro and longtime Rod Stewart bassist Phil Chen (who passed away last year), REO Speedwagon drummer Alan Gratzer and Queen touring keyboardist Fred Mandel, along for the ride.
A few solo tracks were thrown in for good measure and, across two days at LA’s Record Plant, the Star Fleet Project was born.
“I’ve opened up these tapes where I’m jamming with Eddie Van Halen and Phil Chen. It is highly emotional, again, as Ed’s not around. Neither is Phil,” May tells Variety.
“And I’ve been talking to Alex (Van Halen) and started thinking about how I wish I had stayed closer to Ed. I have a huge regret about that. He was a wonderful soul – a Peter Pan who never grew up, never wanted to grow up and never should have grown up. He should still be with us. Listening to him and me, I felt completely outclassed by him in the studio. But in a very pleasant way – what joy for me to be around a guy who could do all that. Such a privilege.”
May says he’s been working on remixes of the material and – as he told Total Guitar back in 2020 – shaping them up for life in the 2020s, but that you’ll also be able to hear the rough cuts and jams that led to the final recordings.
“So, you’ll hear us in the studio, trading licks,” continues May . “I was never fond of the original mix of Star Fleet, the single, so we cleaned that up. Now, EVH’s sound is larger than life. You’ll hear the development of Eddie’s solo, which I always thought was one of the greatest things he did… a real immortal classic of Ed Van Halen pieces… we are going to give you everything. Every take of every song. The things gone wrong, the laughing, the finding new things to do.”
For more on the sessions, check out Total Guitar’s in-depth interview with Brian May in which he discusses the Star Fleet Project, Eddie Van Halen, trading DIY electric guitars and more…
