Brian May
Back To The Light

15 years ago, this album was released.

A return to the global scene for someone who had been the cornerstone of the Queen for all the twenty years and more of activity. A man who never disappointed, who was able to move and be moved. Never a mistake, never a flaw in two decades of activity. Twenty years of experience that are evident throughout this album.

Brian and his Red Special manage to create something that, even if not spectacular, can worthily honor this man/instrument couple, which has now become something more. Here is the real "Back To The Light," a return to the light for "the six strings of the Queen." Some have said that in this album May leaves everything behind, but in my opinion, another thing happens: Brian tries (and succeeds) to slightly renew the standards that made the Queen great, all with his voice, which is less intense and powerful than Freddie's but certainly sweet and delicate, providing the perfect frame for the old and new tracks on the album. Nonetheless, the changes are there and visible, especially in the lineup where Cozy Powell stands out on drums, holding up very well to the comparison with Taylor.

The album starts with a very particular intro: what seems like a lullaby transforms into a powerful guitar riff with a few but quite significant words in the background: "...We will rock you..." After this emblematic introduction, here is the Title Track. "Back To The Light" seems like a return to the Queen, with the power of the drums and guitar, with the classic rhythm that carries you along. You can feel all Brian's dedication, who does double the work. His voice manages to be both delicate and powerful at the same time and accompanies the choirs with the Red Special. In the middle of the song, in fact, here's the solo that manages to be both classic and innovative. The very unique touch of the Red Special can be felt and provides a unique background to the songs. A new final solo ends the song, a beautiful song, intense, in the full regal style and in the full May style.

At track 3, we immediately hear what seems like a vague hint at "Headlong" or "I Want It All", but which later reveals itself to be new and with another style. Unfortunately, the slightly too "Hard" tone of the guitar doesn't hold up to May's voice, perhaps better suited to more delicate pieces. Despite this, the unmistakable technique and art unite even here in the magical and unreachable Brian. "Love Token", therefore, also turned out very well, and here comes "Resurrection", which starts with powerful drums and charged guitar. "Feels a lot like Hard Rock" similar to "Sheer Heart Attack". The fifth song is well known to us. Here indeed is "Too Much Love Will Kill You" simply unique. Although the song is known to us sung by Mercury, in this album it appears for the first time, only to return in its original form 3 years later with "Made In Heaven". You can feel that Brian is giving it his all and it's clear that this song is something different for him. With "Driven By You", the atmosphere becomes more hard and it shows May's ability to keep moving forward while looking back. "Nothin' But You" looks to "Innuendo" between psychedelic rock and hard rock, followed by "I'm Scared" very lively and very classic.

The following songs are fairly monotonous, so I'll skip the track by track to get directly to the beautiful "Last Horizon", splendid instrumental execution, very melancholic like much of the album.

Ultimately, "Back To The Light" is a nice album that I would recommend but it's still quite pop and not very demanding. It's clear that May did not strive too hard to find new sounds, but it's still a work to be appreciated and to know, especially after the latest ones.