But in a very pleasant way – what a joy for me to be around a guy who could do all that. Listening to him and me, I feel completely outclassed by him in the studio. The Queen rocker added: “Ed was a wonderful soul. Van Halen fans should take note as the Star Fleet Sessions included eight guitar solos by the late star. We have since also lost Phil - so the rest of us cherish these fleeting moments together.” It’s highly emotional, especially since Ed is sadly no longer around. Sir Brian shared: “It’s been very exciting to open up the vault to find these tapes where, in the blink of an eye, I’m trading licks with my friends, including the fantastic Ed Van Halen. The original three-track record has now been remastered and expanded into a 40th anniversary edition with multiple takes, mixes, live recordings (including Queen songs) for fans to enjoy across 136 minutes. What an everlasting privilege to play with him.” If anything he did was difficult for him, he never showed it. “Ed (I can still never call him ‘Eddie Van Halen’ because he more than once told me he found it annoying!) played the guitar as if it were a piano … tapping and snapping, and sliding and skipping around the fingerboard like an electric sprite - always with a cheeky smile. And Fred Mandel, one of the classiest keyboard players I have ever met, tickled both the ivories and some very technical synth patches to bring the spacey riffs to life. Phil Chen, a friend I had met when he played with Rod Stewart, brought his unusual style of funk-orientated rock playing to the party, along with his sunny Caribbean energy and humour. My LA neighbour Alan Gratzer beat the Hell out of his kit with the fattest, heaviest drumsticks I had ever seen. The Queen guitarist recalled: “We did a little preparation, on the phone and at home with tiny Rockman amps and earphones. The result of their work over two days that April was the Star Fleet Project, named after the record’s hard rock reimagining of the theme from the Japanese kids sci-fi programme of the same name.
Brian was in Los Angeles and decided to phone up a few friends, including Van Halen to collaborate together on some tracks at California’s Record Plant studies.
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