Brian May Reveals Only Guitarist That Can Top Him
Brian May live in 2019 - AdamMethos / Youtube
The guitar genius behind some of the best Queen songs has always consistently ranked in lists of the world’s greatest guitarists. Brian May stood alongside the iconic Freddie May but he stood in his own regal way,
But even Brian May was in awe of the late guitar god Eddie Van Halen.
The Queen guitar maestro is gearing up to release the deluxe box set of his iconic Star Fleet Project, commemorating its 40th anniversary on July 14. In anticipation of this milestone, he recently shared insights in an interview on his YouTube channel, discussing the noteworthy collaboration with Eddie in 1983.
In the course of the conversation, May provided a glimpse into his profound admiration for the late musician, expressing: “Me being in the studio with Ed, I was in awe. I mean, I gotta be honest. I was. I was in awe. I just thought, ‘Wow! What an amazing thing!’”
“I felt like I’m in the presence of a god”
May addressed the question of jealousy in the relationship between the two iconic guitar players, stating, “It would be easy to kinda go down the road of being jealous, you know, resenting someone who can do something you can’t do.”
He went on, “But for some reason, that doesn’t really happen with guitar players. I’d never seen it happen because we all do different stuff, and we all enjoy each other’s stuff.”
And with Van Halen, May felt like he was in the “presence of a god”, adding that there was also a sense of “pure joy”.
“Just being in the room with that guy and being able to play stuff to him and hear him respond. You can hear us doing it. What a treat. What an absolutely unrepeatable, unique experience that was,” Queen’s guitar maestro gushed.
A love song in High Voltage
May had previously unveiled his intentions to release the Star Fleet Sessions’ Deluxe box set the previous year. In a subsequent interview with Variety, he shared insights into the project and reflected on the emotional experience of working on the album following Van Halen’s passing.
The guitarist rued about their relationship and contemplated how he wished he had maintained a closer connection with Eddie.
“He was a wonderful soul – a Peter Pan who never grew up, never wanted to grow up, and never should have grown up,” May wistfully shared.
Watch May’s complete interview in his mini-series for the Star Fleet Sessions below:
