Queen's Brian May reissues his second album after 24 years

Brian May's version of the second half of the nineties didn't have much to do with the current 74-year-old. In those days, the guitarist didn't want to know anything with Queen and he almost escaped from a past that had led him to be one of the most recognized musicians in the world. He also claimed that the legendary band had ended with the death of Freddie Mercury and that there was no more to explore after the departure of Made in Heaven in 1995. Today, with white hair (but the same amount of curlers), he fights with hostile critics who accuse him and Roger Taylor of having a “tribute band” on stage with Adam Lambert. He defends what he considers to be “Queen” with all the lyrics, with the same tenacity with which he did in the seventies and eighties, when specialized journalists wrote reviews that he considered unfair, in the face of the release of albums that later ended up being a success.

Taking advantage of the momentum of the film Bohemian Rhapsody, which left a new breed of new fans and collectors, May relaunched Another World. An album that, like Taylor's Electric Fire (also released in 1998), had no major global impact at the time. In his 12 tracks, his heaviest moments coexist, of which sparkles had already appeared on the first album, Back to the Light (also recently reissued), with the queenera harmonizations that one can look for on a solo album by the guitarist of the legendary quartet. For fans of the genre, it is no small detail that the album is the last recording of drummer Cozy Powell, who died shortly before the album's release in a car accident.

Powell's death was one of the great blows of May's life, both personally and musically. He even considered not going on tour to present the LP. He finally did it with Eric Singer from Kiss, who had replaced Eric Carr, who died on November 24, 1991, just like Freddie Mercury. Cyborg is one of the few songs where Powell wasn't behind the patches. It was recorded by the recently deceased Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters.

In addition to the original songs of the production, the album has interesting covers such as One Rainy Wish by Jimi Hendrix, Slow Down by Larry Williams and All the Way from Memphis by Ian Hunter during the time of Moot the Hoople, a band that had Queen as their opening act at the beginning. All songs and artists that have to do with May's top preferences and that many Queen fans discovered with this album.

The relaunch of Another world 2022 includes a double disc with oddities and “b sides”. Of course, the traditional box set is also published for the delight and expense of the collector. But the strawberry for dessert is the new vinyl version. It is that by 1998 the format was practically extinct and there were still a few years before the boom and the revival of the format. Those few originals today cost small fortunes.

As happened 24 years ago, On my way up is a broadcasting cut and has a new video clip where the other weaknesses of the guitarist appear: nature, animals, stars and the cosmos.

Brian May will return to the stage for Queen and Adam Lambert's European tour “Rhapsody Tour” postponed by the pandemic, which will feature 36 dates. It starts on May 27 in the UK and ends on July 25 in Finland.

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