Perhaps the best thing about Another World, May’s second full solo outing, is the immeasurable improvement of his voice since Back To The Light, and this lends so much more emotion to the proceedings.
Versatility was always at the heart of everything Queen did, and the mixture of styles is as wide as ever. Cyborg has to be the heaviest thing May’s ever done, while Why Don’t We Try Again is arguably the most heartfelt; if Who Wants To Live Forever made you fill up, then prepare to break out the Kleenex for this one.
A cameo appearance by Jeff Beck on The Guv’nor, inspired by an oft-quoted comment from the Beckster, is awesome and works perfectly too.
If it’s trademark guitar orchestrations you’re after, the opening salvo of Business and China Belle, the latter’s structure and lyrics having more to do with Bryan Adams than anyone else, should slake your thirst for a while.
Like all the best Queen albums, Brian’s made sure that there’s something here for just about everyone.
4 out of 5
Think of all the best ‘Brian May’ bits in Queen’s album repertoire - the rock section of Now I’m Here, the beautiful rock solos from Killer Queen and of course Bo Rhap; plus the layered guitar orchestras on just about everything. Combine these with some BIG harmonies and quirky bits of songwriting (one track sung by a robot, another a eulogy to Jeff Beck) and add a few possibly ill-advised covers (All The Way From Memphis, Slow Down), then file the whole lot under ‘interesting’.
3.5 out of 5
Another World | Brian May Solo Recordings | Main Menu
Web pages by Matthew Pickles