“It’s all here. ALL of it. Every note we played on those two days is right here, on show for the first time. I will take you behind the scenes into that studio with us for two unforgettably exhilarating days.”
The long-awaited reissue of Brian May + Friends’ Star Fleet Project will arrive next month – here’s all the info, including the complete tracklist for the various releases and how you can preorder it now and receive it approximately on its release date of July 14th.
The original Star Fleet Project was a three-song EP collection in 1983, featuring the 8-minute title track, the 7-minute Brian May solo composition “Let Me Out,” and the incendiary, 13-minute “Blues Breaker,” dedicated to Eric Clapton. All three tracks feature Edward Van Halen soloing throughout, making all three tracks must-haves for Edward Van Halen fans and collectors.
“We are going to give you everything,” says Brian May. “Every take of every song. The things that went wrong, the laughing, the finding new things to do.
“But it won’t be just a remaster – we’ve rescued everything from the original multitracks, every detail magnificently remixed, and more! You’ll hear every take from the historic 1983 sessions plus fragments of conversations, outtakes, and musical experimentation.”
The original project saw May joined by guitar legend Eddie Van Halen alongside Alan Gratzer (drums), Phil Chen (bass) and Fred Mandel (keyboards), and came about after May became enamored by the music that played over the end credits of Star Fleet, a Japanese TV series shown in The UK in 1980-81. The theme was written by Moody Blues and Hollies backup musician Paul Bliss, who would go on to write songs for Olivia-Newton John, Janet Jackson, Celine Dione, and Graham Nash.
“If Paul hadn’t written a very catchy song as the theme tune for that kid’s TV science fiction drama series, things would have been different,” says May. “The signature tune began to stick in my head, and I could hear my own arrangement of the tune developing in my mind. But how to record it?”
“So, one morning, I woke up in Los Angeles, on a break from activities with Queen, and made some phone calls. I’ve told the story of what happened next in the material you will find in this box. The outcome was something I will forever treasure.”
“We did a little preparation, on the phone and at home with tiny Rockman amps and earphones. Then we went in. The tapes rolled. My LA neighbor Alan Gratzer beat the Hell out of his kit with the fattest, heaviest drumsticks I had ever seen. Phil Chen, a friend I had met when he played with Rod Stewart, brought his unusual style of funk-orientated rock playing to the party, along with his sunny Caribbean energy and humor. And Fred Mandel, one of the classiest keyboard players I have ever met, tickled both the ivories and some very technical synth patches to bring the spacey riffs to life.
“Ed (I can still never call him ‘Eddie Van Halen’ because he more than once told me he found it annoying!) played the guitar as if it were a piano… tapping and snapping, and sliding and skipping around the fingerboard like an electric sprite – always with a cheeky smile. If anything he did was difficult for him, he never showed it. A total original. Pure joy. What an everlasting privilege to play with him.”
“It’s been very exciting to open up the vault to find these tapes where, in the blink of an eye, I’m trading licks with my friends, including the fantastic Ed Van Halen,” he said.
“It’s highly emotional, especially since Ed is sadly no longer around. We have since also lost Phil, so the rest of us cherish these fleeting moments together.”
He also praised Van Halen for “never quite treading the same path twice” throughout “Star Fleet,” which features eight solos from the guitar virtuoso.
“Ed was a wonderful soul,” May noted. “Listening to him and me, I feel completely outclassed by him in the studio. But in a very pleasant way – what a joy for me to be around a guy who could do all that. Such a privilege.”
Star Fleet Project is available to pre-order NOW at VanHalenStore.com. Orders will be received on or around the July 14th release date, no matter where you live. There are three new releases:
1) Star Fleet Project + Beyond CD – Expanded CD that includes various Project-related interviews and live tracks.
2) Star Fleet Project Vinyl – black vinyl version of the 3-song EP.
3) Star Fleet Project Deluxe BOXSET includes every track recorded during the original 2-day sessions. Features the original EP on red vinyl, two CDs – the first features an expanded version of the album that includes various Project-related interviews and live tracks, while the second (exclusive to the box) includes 23 previously unreleased session tracks. A 7? Star Fleet single backed by Son Of Star Fleet. Exclusive Star Fleet Project enamel badge. 32-page color booklet featuring original artwork and lyrics.
Full tracklist of the Deluxe BOXSET:
CD1: Star Fleet Project & Beyond
Star Fleet (Edited Single Version / 2023 Mix)
Let Me Out (2023 Mix)
Blues Breaker (2023 Mix)
Cynthia Fox Release Day Interview 1983
Bob Coburn Rockline Interview 1984
Let Me Out (Live at The Palace Theater, LA / 1993)
We Will Rock You (Live at The Palace Theater, LA / 1993)
We Will Rock You – Fast (Live at The Palace Theater, LA / 1993)
Star Fleet (Complete Version / 2023 Mix)
CD2: Star Fleet The Complete Sessions
Star Fleet (Take 1)
Star Fleet (Take 2)
Star Fleet (Take 3)
Star Fleet (Take 4)
Star Fleet (Take 5)
Solo Jam
Star Fleet (Take 7)
Star Fleet (Take 8 )
Star Fleet (Take 10)
Star Fleet (Take 11)
Star Fleet (Alternative Overdub EVH Solo)
Jam
Let Me Out (Rehearsal 1)
Let Me Out (Rehearsal 2)
Boogie Woogie Jam
Let Me Out (Take 1)
Jazz Police
Let Me Out (Take 3)
Let Me Out (Take 4)
Jam (Let’s Do The Show Right Here)
Let Me Out (Take 6)
Funky Jam
Let Me Out (Take 7 False Start)
LP: Star Fleet Project (180g Red Vinyl)
1. Star Fleet (2023 Mix)
2. Let Me Out (2023 Mix)
3. Blues Breaker (2023 Mix)
7” Single Star Fleet
Star Fleet (Edited Single Version / 2023 Mix)
Son Of Star Fleet (2023 Mix) – Exclusive to the box set 7”
Star Fleet Project is available to Pre-order NOW at VanHalenStore.com.