Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Nov 30, 2022 10:34:23 GMT
Queen guitarist Brian May has identified summer 2023 as his target for the release of a Gold Series reissue box set of his 1983 solo EP Star Fleet Project, featuring the late Eddie Van Halen.Originally released on October 31, 1983, the three-track EP was the product of two spring days recording at the Record Plant in Los Angeles, with May and Van Halen joined by bassist Phil Chen, drummer Alan Gratzer and Queen keyboard player Fred Mandel. Credited to Brian May + Friends, the original record features just three tracks, Star Fleet, May’s hard rock re-imagining of English musician Paul Bliss’ theme to Japanese sci-fi anime series Star Fleet, May original Let Me Out, and Blues Breaker (Dedicated To E.C.) a 12 minute blues jam inspired by May and Van Halen’s mutual love of 'The Beano Album', 1966’s Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton, recorded by John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers. "Star Fleet was a Japanese animated series for children, which used to be on Saturday morning TV," May explained to EVH biographer Paul Brannigan(opens in new tab) in 2013. ‘I used to watch it with my little boy Jimmy, we’d get up early on Saturday mornings to watch it, and the recording was originally Jimmy’s idea, because he said, “You should play that dad.' "I was living in Los Angeles at the time, Jimmy was attending nursery school there, and one day I found myself with some time off, which was rare, and I thought, 'What an interesting idea it would be to do this.' And so I made some phone calls to friends in LA – Ed, who I’d met through my friend Tony Iommi, Alan Gratzer, who was a neighbour, and Phil Chen, a great bass player from Rod Stewart’s outfit at the time. We had a little bit of discussion in advance, but basically we just bowled into the studio and laid into it." "It was exhilarating, I must say," May continued, "like flying by the seat of your pants. They were all excellent musicians, so everyone could keep up, and it just evolved as we were going. I love being challenged in different scenarios, and I think Ed relished that too. That record is a document of one afternoon of pure, spontaneous, empathetic musicianship." In a post of Instagram this week, May says he is "hard at work on it for the next GOLD SERIES reissue box set." He promises: "It won’t be just a remaster- we’re remixing everything from highest definition transfers from the original multitracks . You’ll still be able to hear the old mixes, but I’m excited about what we’re cooking up now. All the original material - every detail rescued - magnificently remixed - and much more !!! And lots of moments of EVH in his prime that nobody ever heard before. Wish I could unleash it all now - but such is the state of record production now it will take until meet Summer to turn it around. It WILL Be worth the wait - I promise !!!" The box set is to include rough takes and jams which informed the final recordings. www.loudersound.com/news/brian-may-targets-summer-2023-for-box-set-re-release-of-the-star-fleet-project-ep-he-recorded-with-eddie-van-halen
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emrabt
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Post by emrabt on Nov 30, 2022 10:55:14 GMT
So we can expect it to be 2024 to 2026....
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Nov 30, 2022 11:06:48 GMT
So we can expect it to be 2024 to 2026.... Well, he'll be pushing 80 by then. I'd have thought he'd want to get this stuff out sooner rather than later.
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Vali
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Post by Vali on Nov 30, 2022 12:11:05 GMT
Well, seems this time it will be worth the wait. I passed both BTTL and AW boxsets (just bought the remastered standalone vinyls), but apparently the approach for the Star Fleet box looks promising for the hardcore fan: a new mix (yay!) + the old mix + outtakes. That´s what I want!
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antonio
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Post by antonio on Nov 30, 2022 14:00:05 GMT
At least you´ll have time to save the 150€ or so that he will ask for this...
(He should learn from Roger)
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Nov 30, 2022 14:50:25 GMT
To be fair, his last two releases have come out on standard CDs as well as the box sets, so you should have a choice.
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Lplix
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Post by Lplix on Nov 30, 2022 15:12:56 GMT
Queen guitarist Brian May has identified summer 2023 as his target for the release of a Gold Series reissue box set of his 1983 solo EP Star Fleet Project, featuring the late Eddie Van Halen.Originally released on October 31, 1983, the three-track EP was the product of two spring days recording at the Record Plant in Los Angeles, with May and Van Halen joined by bassist Phil Chen, drummer Alan Gratzer and Queen keyboard player Fred Mandel. Credited to Brian May + Friends, the original record features just three tracks, Star Fleet, May’s hard rock re-imagining of English musician Paul Bliss’ theme to Japanese sci-fi anime series Star Fleet, May original Let Me Out, and Blues Breaker (Dedicated To E.C.) a 12 minute blues jam inspired by May and Van Halen’s mutual love of 'The Beano Album', 1966’s Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton, recorded by John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers. "Star Fleet was a Japanese animated series for children, which used to be on Saturday morning TV," May explained to EVH biographer Paul Brannigan(opens in new tab) in 2013. ‘I used to watch it with my little boy Jimmy, we’d get up early on Saturday mornings to watch it, and the recording was originally Jimmy’s idea, because he said, “You should play that dad.' "I was living in Los Angeles at the time, Jimmy was attending nursery school there, and one day I found myself with some time off, which was rare, and I thought, 'What an interesting idea it would be to do this.' And so I made some phone calls to friends in LA – Ed, who I’d met through my friend Tony Iommi, Alan Gratzer, who was a neighbour, and Phil Chen, a great bass player from Rod Stewart’s outfit at the time. We had a little bit of discussion in advance, but basically we just bowled into the studio and laid into it." "It was exhilarating, I must say," May continued, "like flying by the seat of your pants. They were all excellent musicians, so everyone could keep up, and it just evolved as we were going. I love being challenged in different scenarios, and I think Ed relished that too. That record is a document of one afternoon of pure, spontaneous, empathetic musicianship." In a post of Instagram this week, May says he is "hard at work on it for the next GOLD SERIES reissue box set." He promises: "It won’t be just a remaster- we’re remixing everything from highest definition transfers from the original multitracks . You’ll still be able to hear the old mixes, but I’m excited about what we’re cooking up now. All the original material - every detail rescued - magnificently remixed - and much more !!! And lots of moments of EVH in his prime that nobody ever heard before. Wish I could unleash it all now - but such is the state of record production now it will take until meet Summer to turn it around. It WILL Be worth the wait - I promise !!!" The box set is to include rough takes and jams which informed the final recordings. www.loudersound.com/news/brian-may-targets-summer-2023-for-box-set-re-release-of-the-star-fleet-project-ep-he-recorded-with-eddie-van-halen let's hope for the punctuality of the premises, but besides the three songs plus the single version I don't know what I can include from that period (songs unknown to us 😬😱😯?)
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Golden Salmon
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Post by Golden Salmon on Nov 30, 2022 17:29:43 GMT
Glad to see Brian is in the mood for boxsets! That will come in handy for next year...
That said, I'd be surprised if anything worthwhile from those two-day sessions can be salvaged to fill a single CD. Looking forward to the unheard material.
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Post by mikusguitarius on Nov 30, 2022 17:57:10 GMT
Great news - and any new product from Dr Bri is welcome - but a WHOLE boxset from what was originally just a 3 track EP??
Like I say, great news and I'll certainly be buying and enjoying... but please lets have a live box set after this one: Brixton 93 with bonuses of Barcelona gig (if multitracks exist??) and some of the South American gigs when Brian supported GnR.
A Brixton 93 blu-ray (a la Rainbow 74) is well overdue too!! (Obviously with missing songs reinstated and the full Love Token interaction).
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Nov 30, 2022 18:09:47 GMT
I think the original EP ran for about 28 minutes, so yes, he's going to have to stretch that to make a credible box set. Maybe we'll get a three hour version of Blues Breaker spread across three CDs? 😄
Is it beyond the realms of fantasy to dream of a Freddie vocal of Let Me Out? Wasn't it recorded around the time of The Works sessions?
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Sammy B. Willickers
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Post by Sammy B. Willickers on Nov 30, 2022 21:08:16 GMT
I think the original EP ran for about 28 minutes, so yes, he's going to have to stretch that to make a credible box set. Maybe we'll get a three hour version of Blues Breaker spread across three CDs? 😄 Is it beyond the realms of fantasy to dream of a Freddie vocal of Let Me Out? Wasn't it recorded around the time of The Works sessions? I think it was recorded before those sessions, and released around the time they went into the studio for The Works
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pg
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Post by pg on Nov 30, 2022 22:31:59 GMT
He's also suggested that the additional content will be extensive, which is kind of necessary in this case, but still a pleasant surprise to see him being so explicit about it.
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florians
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Post by florians on Nov 30, 2022 23:34:41 GMT
Maybe we get a proper live version of let me out from the BTTL Tour or the Montreaux gig at least.
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Post by ThomasQuinn on Dec 1, 2022 6:24:20 GMT
Interesting! I've liked Star Fleet Project since I first heard it, but getting a real copy has never been particularly easy.
Calling it an EP seems to be more than a little revisionist, though, which in this case is just a polite way of saying "wrong".
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Post by mikusguitarius on Dec 1, 2022 11:08:32 GMT
Interesting! I've liked Star Fleet Project since I first heard it, but getting a real copy has never been particularly easy. Calling it an EP seems to be more than a little revisionist, though, which in this case is just a polite way of saying "wrong". Am I alone in not understanding your point? Calling it an EP… is just a polite way of saying “wrong” I’m not having a go or disrespecting you ThomasQuinn , I just genuinely don’t get what you mean…
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funinspace81
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Post by funinspace81 on Dec 1, 2022 12:48:44 GMT
Remastered album Remixed album Star Fleet 7" Mix Star Fleet 7" Mix (Argentina) Star Fleet 1986 "One Vision" Live Snippet (Just joking) Son Of Star Fleet Let Me Out Live 1990/1992/1993/2001 A few takes of Star Fleet A few takes of Let Me Out Full band jam (aka Bluesbreaker)
I can't think of anything else beyond this, rather than Star Fleet home demos and such thing for Let Me Out, if they actually ever existed. I don't know if LMO was actually brought to life on the fly or if it was a BM penned track.
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Dec 1, 2022 13:56:08 GMT
I keep forgetting Son of Star Fleet. So that's another track he's got to play with.
I'd quite like a live version of Let Me Out.
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Post by ThomasQuinn on Dec 1, 2022 15:35:01 GMT
Interesting! I've liked Star Fleet Project since I first heard it, but getting a real copy has never been particularly easy. Calling it an EP seems to be more than a little revisionist, though, which in this case is just a polite way of saying "wrong". Am I alone in not understanding your point? Calling it an EP… is just a polite way of saying “wrong” I’m not having a go or disrespecting you ThomasQuinn , I just genuinely don’t get what you mean… I probably could have phrased that better. It's wrong to call it an EP, and I would be willing to stretch my limited faculties for being polite in the face of error by saying "revisionist" instead of "wrong". It was marketed as a mini-album, and Brian himself called it such at the time, saying it was too short for an album and too long for an EP. Hence, revisionist to now go back on that and call it an EP.
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Post by mikusguitarius on Dec 1, 2022 15:58:45 GMT
Aha!! I've got ya now ThomasQuinn haha!! Yeah: fair enough.
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Dec 1, 2022 17:38:37 GMT
"In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America, the organization that declares releases "gold" or "platinum" based on numbers of sales, defines an EP as containing three to five songs or under 30 minutes. On the other hand, The Recording Academy's rules for Grammy Awards state that any release with five or more different songs and a running time of over 15 minutes is considered an album, with no mention of EPs.
In the United Kingdom, any record with more than four distinct tracks or with a playing time of more than 25 minutes is classified as an album for sales-chart purposes. If priced as a single, they will not qualify for the main album chart but can appear in the separate Budget Albums chart.
An intermediate format between EPs and full-length LPs is the mini-LP, which was a common album format in the 1980s. These generally contained 20–30 minutes of music and about seven tracks.en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_playSo, according to that, it's an EP in the US, and an album in the UK. Or a Mini-LP. Clear as mud! 😄
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Raf
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Post by Raf on Dec 1, 2022 18:05:46 GMT
"In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America, the organization that declares releases "gold" or "platinum" based on numbers of sales, defines an EP as containing three to five songs or under 30 minutes. On the other hand, The Recording Academy's rules for Grammy Awards state that any release with five or more different songs and a running time of over 15 minutes is considered an album, with no mention of EPs.
In the United Kingdom, any record with more than four distinct tracks or with a playing time of more than 25 minutes is classified as an album for sales-chart purposes. If priced as a single, they will not qualify for the main album chart but can appear in the separate Budget Albums chart.
An intermediate format between EPs and full-length LPs is the mini-LP, which was a common album format in the 1980s. These generally contained 20–30 minutes of music and about seven tracks.en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_playSo, according to that, it's an EP in the US, and an album in the UK. Or a Mini-LP. Clear as mud! 😄
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Post by Brian's Wig on Dec 2, 2022 10:48:18 GMT
Well, seems this time it will be worth the wait. I passed both BTTL and AW boxsets (just bought the remastered standalone vinyls), but apparently the approach for the Star Fleet box looks promising for the hardcore fan: a new mix (yay!) + the old mix + outtakes. That´s what I want! He's ONLY doing this to justify an extortionate boxset release.
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emrabt
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Post by emrabt on Dec 2, 2022 10:50:23 GMT
How many disc are needed to make a box-set?
So far we have CD1 Original mix CD2 Remix CD3 Sessions DVD Music video, Including, probably a new interview with Brian.... And Possibly, but unlikely, an episode of whatever Japanese supermarionation show this was for?
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Arnaldo Ogre-
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Post by Arnaldo Ogre- on Dec 2, 2022 11:19:53 GMT
Well, seems this time it will be worth the wait. I passed both BTTL and AW boxsets (just bought the remastered standalone vinyls), but apparently the approach for the Star Fleet box looks promising for the hardcore fan: a new mix (yay!) + the old mix + outtakes. That´s what I want! He's ONLY doing this to justify an extortionate boxset release. That could be part of his motivations, but I think that he also has genuine artistic interests in play. Cheers, Ogre-
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Dec 2, 2022 13:45:55 GMT
I'm no less of a fan of Brian than I am of Queen, but I've not bought the box sets of his last two reissues, so hopefully this will also be released as a standard 2CD. I don't want the vinyl and I can live without badges and posters. My latest energy bill has focused my attention on perhaps reducing extravagant expenditure for the next few months.
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pg
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Post by pg on Dec 2, 2022 17:30:05 GMT
And Possibly, but unlikely, an episode of whatever Japanese supermarionation show this was for? I believe it was called "Star Fleet"...
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pg
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Post by pg on Dec 2, 2022 17:35:37 GMT
Never mind "box set", it could all be dealt with on a single Blu Ray!
Original mix in HD, new mix in HD, surround mix, virtual mixing desk allowing different takes from Brian or Eddie to be selected.
Single versions, other outtakes, instrumental versions.
The video, remastered. New video interview with Brian ("Memories of Ed", and so on).
Photos, artwork and scans of memorabilia.
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Dec 2, 2022 17:48:24 GMT
Never mind "box set", it could all be dealt with on a single Blu Ray! Original mix in HD, new mix in HD, surround mix, virtual mixing desk allowing different takes from Brian or Eddie to be selected. Single versions, other outtakes, instrumental versions. The video, remastered. New video interview with Brian ("Memories of Ed", and so on). Photos, artwork and scans of memorabilia. That's probably true, but I'd rather have the CDs as well, as Blurays are difficult to transfer to other devices for portable listening. 🙂
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Raf
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Post by Raf on Dec 2, 2022 17:51:12 GMT
Although I do understand some skepticism regarding the amount of available content for a boxset, I feel people are a bit unfair on Brian. I absolutely understand all the complaints regarding Queen's recent boxsets, and more often than not, QP seems to make decisions based only on profit or just fucks up deadlines etc. But I don't think Brian's solo career is that much of a profitable business at this point, and he genuinely seems to be trying to make his work avaliable either because he's proud of it or because he legitimately wants to please his fans (maybe both).
It's understandable that sometimes people would expect more bonuses they know exist, but I don't think either Brian or Roger (with his recent solo releases) are trying to milk their solo careers dry, and their solo (re-)releases feel very honest.
Another very important difference between Brian's solo re-releases and most Queen boxsets is that you can actually buy the interesting bonuses without buying the box itself. The NOTW bonus disc was only available inside the box, while both BTTL and AW had 2CD versions for those who couldn't be bothered to pay for posters, signed pictures etc and just wanted the music.
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Lord Fickle
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Post by Lord Fickle on Dec 2, 2022 18:05:31 GMT
It's easy to be critical when we don't know what's available in the vaults, but I think his BTTL reissue was somewhat disappointing, giving us just the pre-released B sides. He must have had other takes of stuff, and perhaps could have included a couple of jams with Cozy, which would have been nicely poignant, or he could have given us the videos.
And he could have spent a bit more on that sodding wonky sticker! 😄
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