FASCINATING and revealing interview – Brian May by phone with Variety Magazine – and some of the Press comment on the interview:
VARIETY
Brian May on Revealing Queen’s Creative Process With ‘The Miracle’ Box Set, Paying Tribute to Taylor Hawkins and Potential 2023 Tour
By A.D. Amorosi
Nov 16, 2022 3:12pm PT
EXTRACTS:
With the release of Queen’s “The Miracle” box set — an expanded, eight-disc reissue of the 1989 album — fans not only gain access to previously unreleased tracks, but get an intimate peek into the inner workings of the iconic band.
While the collector’s edition includes songs such as “Face It Alone” and “Too Much Love Will Kill You” (intended for the album, but yanked at the last minute), the box’s real bonus is the inclusion of dialogue from the band’s 1988 studio sessions. Hearing Queen laugh, tease and kvetch during the making of “The Miracle” — recorded after Mercury’s HIV diagnosis in 1987 — is a joy akin to watching Peter Jackson’s Beatles documentary “Get Back” and its wealth of healthy, humorous banter.
“Listening to our dialogues on ‘The Miracle,’ it feels as if I am in the middle of our sessions – finding joy, finding frustration,” Queen guitarist Brian May tells Variety when he phones from London.
“That was the intention: to invite people into our studio environment at that point in time.”
But “The Miracle” isn’t the only thing on May’s mind – he teases a possible 2023 Queen and Adam Lambert tour and the expanded release of his 1983 “Star Fleet Project” EP with Eddie Van Halen. May also speaks warmly of Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie and Foo Fighters’ late drummer Taylor Hawkins — whose recent memorial concerts the Queen guitarist played — as well as his continued amazement at the talents of his friend, Freddie Mercury.
ON PROSPECTS OF TOURING / NEW MUSIC:
Next year marks 12 years since Adam Lambert became a part of Queen. You recorded “Lucy” on his 2015 album, “The Original High.” After all this time, is there any chance of you, Roger and Adam recording new music together, and will the three of you tour in 2023?
BRIAN: “There’s a strong possibility that we’ll be going out together again. We’re talking about that as you and I speak, making those decisions. Now, it does get to be more of a decision as you get older. I’m not 35 anymore, and leaving home for two months is not easy. But we feel as like if we’re all fit and well, that we’d like to go out there one more time. It would probably be in the United States in 2023 at some point. I’m hoping that happens, but it’s a strong possibility. The new music thing? I’ve got to tell you it hasn’t happened yet, but we do bring the subject up. Generally, when we are together, the live show is all-consuming. There isn’t really time to discuss any studio action. We feel as if the live stuff is what the public wants. And when we’re not on tour, Adam has his own career — he just gave me some stuff that he’s working on for his next album, and it’s remarkable. So, I suppose that the opportunity to make an album together doesn’t come up, but I’m not saying that it couldn’t happen.:READ IN FULL
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PRESS PICK-UP
DAILY EXPRESS:
Brian May shares ‘emotional’ Freddie Mercury moment – ‘It was as if he was there’
Three decades on, Queen are releasing six previously unheard tracks on their collector’s edition of the record, which is released tomorrow.
The guitarist recently sat down for a chat with Variety about Queen’s creative process behind some of the material on their expanded, eight-disc reissue of the 1989 album.
READ MORE
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GUITAR.COM
Queen’s Brian May On The Making Of Face It Alone Featuring Freddie Mercury’s Vocals: “ It Could Have Been Developed Into A Major Construction”
“We resisted the temptation to go in there and do a number on it with me playing new guitar bits.” “It was a fragment among so many other fragments at that time, or perhaps other songs were calling to us more loudly,” he said. “I do remember the sound of the melody… it stuck in my head.”
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KSLX CLASSIC ROCK RADIO (US)
Brian May talks The Miracle box set; teases more Queen Music
Queen’s new The Miracle Super Deluxe Collector’s Edition box set drops Friday. In addition to two new songs, “Face It Alone” and “Too Much Love Will Kill You,” it features something really special for fans. The set includes audio from the band’s 1988 studio sessions for the album, giving listeners some insight into the band’s dynamic during recording.
READ MORE
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MUSIC TIMES
Brian May Opens Up About Memory With Freddie Mercury That Makes Him Emotional
Queen recently gifted its fans with “The Miracle” box set. It includes the band’s hit songs like “Face It Alone,” “Too Much Love Will Kill You,” and “The Miracle,” among others.
According to May, he felt emotional when he heard “Face It Alone” again as the song became the first track from “The Miracle” box to be released.
READ MORE
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X101 CLASSIC ROCK RADIO (US)
Brian May talks The Miracle box set; teases more Queen music
Queen’s new The Miracle Super Deluxe Collector’s Edition box set drops Friday. In addition to two new songs, “Face It Alone” and “Too Much Love Will Kill You,” it features something really special for fans. The set includes audio from the band’s 1988 studio sessions for the album, giving listeners some insight into the band’s dynamic during recording.
READ MORE