From Queenpedia.com
After the relatively hectic touring schedule of the Brian May Band, which took up most of 1993, Brian came back to normalcy that December, only to find that Roger and John had started to work on the post- Innuendo songs without him. Annoyed at their apparent decision to not inform him of the sessions, he joined up with them and, for the next two years, work progressed on the final Queen album, Made In Heaven. Determined, once again, to distance himself from the Queen banner, Brian again worked on extracurricular activities as soon as recording and post-production sessions and the resulting (and necessary) promotional work subsided. Earlier in 1995, a single which featured his musical involvement, The Amazing Spider-Man, was released; he also contributed regularly to albums and songs by several of his musician friends, as well as recording two tracks (Il Colosso and What Are We Made Of) with Sissel for the 1996 soundtrack, The Adventures Of Pinocchio. Two contributions to separate various artists compilations during this period – One Rainy Wish on In From The Storm, a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, and F.B.I. on the Hank Marvin and the Shadows tribute, Twang! – would be insights into a project Brian was starting to toy with. In early 1996, Brian started to record songs for an album that he intended to call Heroes (not related to the 1977 David Bowie album), where he would recall his roots by covering songs by his favorite musicians. As he later explained, "In order to have something worthwhile for the next Brian May album, I would have to rediscover who I was. I decided to go out and do a lot of playing and open myself up for projects because I didn't want to make another introspective album. I thought I would go out into the world, experience things and rediscover my roots... The best thing was that it removed this last element of nostalgia from the project. It reminded me that what this album is supposed to be about is my own journey. It's not about revisiting my heroes. That's a part of it, but there's a whole lot more going on..." Among the three covers that ultimately surfaced on his second solo album (the aforementioned One Rainy Wish, Larry Williams' Slow Down, and Mott the Hoople's All The Way From Memphis), Brian also recorded F.B.I., Hot Patootie (from Rocky Horror Picture Show), Conway Twitty's Only Make Believe, and Buddy Holly's Maybe Baby. A recording of Elvis Presley's Marie's The Name (His Latest Flame) was recently leaked to the Internet, though Brian was less than pleased that this largely unfinished and unpolished demo has been heard without his approval. Somewhere along the way, the "heroes" theme was dropped, and Brian returned to the introspective theme that he had wanted to avoid. As a result, a handful of old songs were called upon: Business and On My Way Up had been written for the TV show Frank Stubbs Promotes back in 1993 (the former title had even been played live a few times that year); Cyborg was written for the computer game, Rise 2: Resurrection (the sequel to Rise Of The Robots); and Another World, the title track, was written for but dropped from the film Sliding Doors. Brian was still determined to take his time in recording the album, and there are less guest musicians on this album than on his debut, with Brian performing most of the instruments, though a good deal of high profile friends showed up to lend their assistance: Ian Hunter was guest raconteur on All The Way From Memphis; Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins guested on Cyborg; and Jeff Beck played lead guitar on The Guv'nor. Two singles were released in the UK: Business (now retitled as 'The Business') in June 1998, carrying a dedication to Cozy Powell (see below), and reaching #51, while Why Don't We Try Again? followed in September and performed moderately better than its predecessor, reaching #44. On My Way Up and the title track were also released as singles in Holland, while a special, Spanish language version of the title track (retitled 'Otro Lugar') was released in the appropriate countries. Once the album was completed in early 1998, Brian assembled his eponymous band to rehearse for a world tour, but tragedy struck on April 5, when Cozy Powell was killed in a car accident. Brian had felt that Cozy was an integral member of the Brian May Band, and Cozy's loss was mourned deeply by fans and fellow musicians alike; nevertheless, Brian was keen on touring the album, and recruited former (and now current) KISS drummer Eric Singer in Cozy's stead. Once the tour had concluded in November 1998, Brian had evidently felt that his solo career had come to a close, and apart from a soundtrack album recorded the following year, has stuck true to his word, with Another World remaining his final solo album to date. Tracklists
Credits
Charts
Information supplied by Fedepeti, 24 August 2004 Singles
Liner notesYes it's been 6 years - a very long time to make my second solo album. Of course there were a few distractions... I would love to tell you that after Back To The Light I stepped into a luminous place where life all made sense. But of course that is not the case. I would love to say that at least I found the True Direction, freed my Spirit, and could tell you all about it, but, alas, no - not even close... Hey! - I tried... This album is the outpouring of a confused brain still trying to make sense of EVERYTHING, and amidst vast areas of despair, finding a few flashes of light. These are what I would like to share with you. Just one warning - in Another World, things are never QUITE what they seem... That's it. We journey on. Hope you Enjoy... Promotional CDs
Brian TalksBrian May, BBC Radio 2, 1998 Yes, I there is a theme to it I guess, you know. It's a long story, but uh, the, the story stretches over six years since the last proper solo album that I made. In between, there was making the Made In Heaven album, the final Queen album, and many, many other projects. I got involved in all kinds of things this last few years and really enjoyed it - found it very stimulating working, you know, with film directors and TV producers and stuff - urm - but, of course, the centre of it all is playing live, and er, I think my, my trigger, my stimulus for getting this thing finished in the end was that I could get, get back out on tour and do it. Erm - but yes, there's a lot of my life in this album as it has been, it's not just autobiography, biography, it's not just that, but its um, everything is triggered by what you see. You know, if you're an artist you sit there with your (sharp intake of breath) with your clean canvass and you paint what you see to an extent, tempered by what's in your brain, and it's the same for a musician, I think. ReviewsNew Musical Express, 23 May 1998 FISH IN A BARREL? WHALE IN A pint-pot, more like. It would be preposterously easy to tear the fret-badgering old Queen to merciless shreds. Myriad preconceptions present themselves at the mere mention of his name. Bubbilicious hair, singular sartorial status of flared everything perched precariously atop ivory clogs, and a forthright ostracism of sonic subtlety in all its forms. Yet the harsh prejudicial approach accorded the man is chiefly based on the fact that Queen's substantial legacy has been effectively written out of history. With the absence of the mercurial Mr Fred to carelessly decimate arenas with his unique charisma and majestic foghorn delivery, Queen have been almost entirely forgotten. However, in the wake of the Lazarus-like re-emergence of Messrs Page and Plant, 'Another World' doesn't sound half bad. Rather than eschew the Jurassic power of yesteryear, Brian has chosen to grasp the bronto by the balls and rock with an unashamed and earth-shattering relish. Bonzoid drum splashes from the late Cozy Powell bludgeon home the unfettered pneumatic power of 'Business', but it's on the covers herein that May truly allows the hammer to fall: Hendrix's 'One Rainy Wish' is a multi-layered swoon, while Mott The Hoople's 'All The Way From Memphis' is sheer unfettered adrenalin. Sure he'll never boast the immeasurable vocal power of Fred, yet as someone once said, the Queen is dead. So cry havoc, and let rip the clogs of roar! I'll get me coat. (7/10) Additional Reviews
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