Customer Reviews

Back to the Light

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

May was arguably the best songwriter from Queen but had the softest singing voice which can be difficult if you're as fond of heavy metal as he is but thankfully for him he doesn't go for an album full of "rockers". The gem of the album is "Too Much Love Will Kill You", the definition of heartbreak. He *gets* the very idea of love in song...afterall, what single emotion can bring about as much joy and sorrow as love?Unlike his second solo album "Another World", May writes the majority of music here which were songs collected over a period of many years but somehow all work together. Multi-layered vocal harmonies and guitar licks abound which will easily remind you of any Queen album (unlike another member Roger Taylor who strayed VERY far from the "Queen sound".) Very few albums have bookends which wrap it up as nicely as Brian does with "The Dark", a lullaby of sorts which uses a line from "We Will Rock You" in a whole new way. A great buy, not just for a new Queen fan but for music lovers in general.

As oppossed to having to share album space with the other member's of Queen, this is strickly a Brian May album. Although,at the same time, this album is diverse just like a Queen album. The album also features the late Cozy Powell on drums. The album features army's of guitars,tons of harmonies, and that fat sound with vibrato that only Brian has. Also the song's are well written."The Dark, Back To The Light,Love Token,Ressurection(co- written by Cozy Powell and Jimmy Page), Driven By You, And I'm Scared are the heavier track's of the album. There is also a cover of a song by "The Small Faces" called "Rollin' Over" that could wake the dead. "Too Much Love Will Kill You" is a balled featuring Brian on piano."Nothin' But Blue Blue", features an Ibanez guitar that was a gift from Joe Satriani."Let Your Heart Rule Your Head" has a "hand clap" country music feel to it. "Just One! Life" is an acoustic dedication."Last Horizon"is a beautiful intrumental where Brian let's his homemade guitar sing the melody. Brian is truly one of the best rock guitarist ever. His innovation is matched by few.

Those who really know Brian May's music know that he has never been into pure shredding or full-throttle metal busting. He is an accomplished rock guitarist, sure, but also a true artist, an extraordinaire musician and a bright individual. So said, though he does deliberately play his guitar all along this release, he is always as concise-but-tasteful as about what soloing concerns - excepting the explosive "Resurrection", where May overplays as he rarely does. Certainly, all the songs here are guitar-enriched enough to please guitar freaks (like I am), but they are also listenable and enjoyable, from the thunderous "Back to the light" to the delicious "Love Token", the tender "Nothing But Blue" and the driving "Rolling Over".

Of course, his signature "wall of guitars" of thick harmonies is present all along the album, as well as his hard-rocking riffs and his unique, razor-sharp, singing lead tone. But as usually, his music is more about depth and songwriting than just plain "axe banging", the same than in any good Queen album - in its own right, of course. In fact, if this album was branded like another Queen album, I bet that only very few people would complain. Even the choirs remind Queen- they are so FAT in "Resurrection"! Ok, May never was a true frontman like Mercury was. His vocals are much softer than Mercury's, but he does a superb job on them anyway - including on his version of "Too much love will kill you" here, which is superbly interpreted IMHO. The lyricism, finesse and good taste Queen always had are equally present on this release, track after track. This truly rocks for good!

Thus, if true AOR had a flagship, perhaps it would be this album. "Back to the Light" simply is a soulful piece of art coming from a middle-aged artist, who is revealing many of his intimacies in the best way he is able to: just songs. All the arrangements are interesting, well-tempered, mature and sophisticated, as you would expect from a rock icon of May's calibre. What else do I have to say? A coherent masterwork, sober but with attitude, classy and musically clever, and all that without sacrificing power and ear friendliness at the same time. I say then to the artist: Mr. Brian May, thank you for this wonderful set of pieces. You've given me so many good moments in my life! And to the rest of you: you're missing something if you don't have this yet. No less than a five stars release, really. Go buy it now!

This album has great songs all the way through, but has me wondering: "How come Brian May's solo career wasn't more successful?" Brian May was, after all, Queen's best musician. Yes, Freddie Mercury had the best voice and was the band's showman, Roger Taylor was a great drummer had a unique talent of hitting the high notes and John Deacon was a great bass player and wrote great songs (Queen was indeed a team). However, Brian May's guitar parts defined Queen's sound and he had a gift for making different sounds off his custom-made Red Special guitar that only he could come up with. "Dark" is a lullaby prelude "We will rock you, rock you, rock you," Brian sweetly sings before his guitar takes over and literally wakes you up. "Back to the Light" is the title track and sounds a little like "Play the Game." "Love Token" is a bluesy rocker, whose happy-go-lucky melody belies a tale of marital infidelity, followed by the spiritual rocker "Resurrection," which features the late Cozy Powell on drums. The best song is perhaps the melancholy "Too Much Love Will Kill You" (which Queen would actually record and include on Made In Heaven), followed by the minour hit "Driven by You" (it was actually used in an automobile advert in the UK). "Nothing But Blue" was written around the time Brian's musical partner Freddie was very ill near the final days of his life, and features John Deacon on bass. "I'm Scared" is a tongue in cheek rocker "I'm scared of finding myself, I'm scared of losing myself..." and the list of Brian's personal horrors goes on. "Last Horizon" is a beautiful sounding instrumental. "Let Your Heart Rule Your Head" is a laid back country-style song, much in the mold of "39" from A Night at the Opera. "Just One Life" is an ode to another person Brian admired. It all ends with the Small Faces' "Rolling Over" before Brian reprises the "We will rock you" intro to close it off. There is speculation that much of this album would have found itself on a Queen album, had Freddie been around at this time. The only clue Brian gives to that is a list of acknowledgements including "the sorely missed Freddie Mercury."

This is a great cd from Brian May. While the cd came from a rough time in Brian's life. Dealing with a divorce and the death of Freddie Mercury, Brian really came into his own with this cd. This cd contains the very beautiful song "Too Much Love Will Kill You". It was just very emotional. Then there is very hard rock song "Resurrection", that has one hell of a drum solo. That just rocks!!!! Then there the great song "Driven By You", which is just super. Check this cd out, you won't be sorry.

Freddie, when pressed for the secret meaning behind his songs, once said something like "our lyrics don't mean anything, except maybe some of Brian's."

Are you going through a mid-life crisis, dear reader? This is your ideal catharis therapy album.

The lyrics to "Back to the light" and "Love Token" (both EXCELLENT world class, Queen class songs) were painful to read. I marvelled about May's willingness to expose his life like that but the truth and generosity therein touch my heart.

The hard rock commercial edge on "Resurrection" didn't do it for me, but May, idol of a generation of hard rock guitarists, knows his fans.

A couple songs here, probably deliberately, sound more like the output of Aerosmith, Van Halen, etc. than Queen...maybe that's about selling what your fans like, or maybe just because May's a guitarist and it's intensely guitar driven rock, without the mitigating eclectic contributions of funky Deacon bass, Liza Minelli type Mercury vocals, and punky/50's Taylor drums.

(Deaky does play on "Nothing but Blue," one of his last contributions before fleeing the public scene. Historic song, therefore.)

This is not to say that you don't get as eclectic, stylish and varied a buncha' songs as any Queen album you can name.

I adored the beautiful "Just One Life", the memorial May thought up while he was sitting at the funeral of a friend of his now wife's. Verrrry philosophical, and boy, did he hit the nail on the head there. Looking for a way to live your life? Listen to "Just one life." Per the liner notes, May went to a lot of funerals of people important to him during the period this album was composed....Freddie, May's dad, Anita's dad, and later Cozy, his drummer.

There's even a country western, "Let your heart rule your head". (Hated the message, Mr. May. Going with the woman of the moment, that's how you ended up with the problems you chronicle in "Love Token." Glad you added "...when you've taken your precautions."

My favorite track? "I'm scared." Brave man, actually. We've all been there. Rock on.

I am SO glad I found May's solo albums! If I'd ever heard of this album when it first came out, I would have snapped it up. May's post Queen career, until this latest Queen+Rodgers tour, has been confined to Europe. Anybody know why?

I love the clever "We will rock you" lullaby bookends to the album. Some unforgettable tunes of here. Don't miss out.

This is a brilliant album. The legendary Brian May sound and muli-layered harmonies are ued to brilliant effect throughout an equally brilliant album. My favourite tracks are 'Too Much Love Will Kill You' and 'Driven By You', although I prefer the Freddy Mercury version of 'TMLWKY'. What made me want to listen to this album was the sound of Brian May's guitar. While he may not be the greatest rock guitarist this world has ever seen, I think the sound of his guitar and the way he uses it is the best. If you are also a fan of Brian May's guitar's playing, then I would definitely recommend that you buy this album. I would give this album five stars, but I just feel that on some of the tracks BM's voice isn't powerful enough and he needs Freddy's voice to strengthen them. However, this is still a brilliant, underrated album.

If you are a Queen fan and are questioning weather or not to get this album, well I highly advise you take the chance with it. I have to admit that when I first got this album I wasn't sure if I'd like it (since I'm use to Queen, and not just Brian May). If you liked the fist part of the song "Who Wants To Live Forever," you'd LOVE this album. Brian May has such a soft voice that I can't see any Queen fan being able to pass up this album. I especially love the song "Nothin' But Blue." "Too Much Love Will Kill You," is simply breath taking. He is an excellent guitarist and singer, and this album proves it!

'Back To...' is apparently a very personal reflection of some rather unpleasant experiences May had dealt with within a five year period around the time this CD was released.A painful divorce,the death of his father and Freddie Mercury's death.An interested collection of tunes here,with a couple of guest appearances.Fellow ex-Queen member bassist John Deacon shows up on "Nothin' But Blue" and veteran drummer Cozy Powell(R.I.P.)co-wrote "Resurrection".Other good cuts include the instrumental "Last Horizon",his Humble Pie remake "Rollin' Over","Let Your Heart Rule Your Head" and "I'm Scared".Wanted to note that May's guitar playing here is good,but his singing is not so great.Being a fan of Queen for several years,it's sort of tough to get real excited about this solo effort.After maybe four spins,you'll probably want to place it in your 'play very seldom' CD stack,like I did.

Brian makes his full entrance into the solo world, his first appearance being with Star Fleet. From the instrumental 'The Dark', to the Freddie Mercury inspired "Nothin' But Blue".. Brian has stunned us indeed!