BRIAN MAY ANOTHER WORLD LPReleased: June 1, 1998 UK (Parlophone), September 15 US (Hollywood)
Charts: UK #23
Germany #32, Netherlands #47, Austria #48
2022 reissue: UK #14
Scotland #6, Germany #15, Switzerland #31, Japan #35, Spain #39, Austria #47, Belgium #95
Singles:
Business b/w Maybe Baby
Released: June 1998
Charts: UK #51
Why Don't We Try Again b/w Only Make Believe - FBI
Released: September
Charts: UK #44
‘On My Way Up’ and ‘Another World’ were also released in The Netherlands (DNC).
https://www.queenvault.com/AnotherWorld/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_World_(Brian_May_album)
Arrangement and production by Brian May
Engineering and co-production by Justin Shirley-Smith
Recorded at the Allerton Hill Studio
Mastered by Kevin Metcalfe at Townhouse Studios
Design and photography – Richard Gray
Equipment supervision, maintenance, stuff – Pete Malandrone
Brian May – vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass guitar, programming
Cozy Powell – drums on "Business", "China Belle", "The Guv'nor", "Slow Down", "One Rainy Wish", and "All The Way From Memphis", drums and percussion on "Why Don't We Try Again?"
Steve Ferrone – drums on "Another World"
Neil Murray – bass guitar on "China Belle", "Slow Down", "One Rainy Wish", and "All The Way From Memphis"
Ken Taylor – bass guitar on "Another World"
Jamie Moses – guitar on "Slow Down"
Spike Edney – keyboards on "Slow Down"
London Metropolitan Orchestra – strings on "One Rainy Wish", conducted by
Michael KamenCathy Porter – backing vocals on "On My Way Up"
Shelley Preston – backing vocals on "On My Way Up" and "All the Way from Memphis"
Nikki Love – backing vocals on "All the Way from Memphis"
Becci Glover – backing vocals on "All the Way from Memphis"
Taylor Hawkins – drums on "Cyborg"
Jeff Beck – guitar on "The Guv'nor"
Ian Hunter – guest raconteur on "All the Way from Memphis"
AUDIO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcJIjHD24Qk&list=PLkvNP54Usc1PjfsU2h-PXzEzXph6FvrOFFull title track
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqmCq8dpVJ0 SIDE ONE
Space 0:47
Business 5:07
China Belle 4:01
Why Don't We Try Again 5:24
On My Way Up 2:57
Cyborg 3:54
SIDE TWO
The Guv'nor 4:13
Wilderness 4:52
Slow Down (Larry Williams) 4:18
One Rainy Wish (Jimi Hendrix) 4:05
All The Way From Memphis (Ian Hunter) 5:16
Another World 7:30
Bonus tracks on the Japanese CD
F.B.I (Hank Marvin) 3:11
Hot Patootie (Richard O'Brien) 3:20
There is a TE Conway edition and a ‘Red Special’ release associated with this album. Those will be mentioned in another post
2022 reissue bonus disc
1. Brian Talks 1:15
2. Business (Rock on Cozy Mix) 4:41
3. Hot Patootie (O'Brien) 3:22
4. F.B.I. (original rough mix) (Marvin) 3:19
5. Maybe Baby (Buddy Holly, Norman Petty) 2:13
6. Only Make Believe (Conway Twitty, Jack Nance) 2:39
7. Otro Lugar (Another World sung in Spanish) 4:07
8. Cyborg (solo instrumental version) 3:30
9. Business Stings 2:15
10. I'll Be Prayin' 1:09
11. On My Way Up (guitar version) 1:24
12. The Last Great Optimist 0:54
13. On My Way Up (live in Paris, June '98) 8:05
14. Hammer To Fall (live in Paris, June '98) 9:11
15. My Boy 2:12
The 2022 reissue with bonus disc is worth checking out. Nice instrumental additions, includes all of the non album songs, ‘The Business’ 45 Cozy mix, a couple of good live versions, and the tender ‘My Boy’. A shame that ‘What Are We Made Of?’ wasn’t included.
Some good stuff, but it’s a disjointed hodge podge of new material and covers….some of it works, some of it doesn’t.
Originally intended as a covers album titled ‘Heroes’, Brian changed his mind part way through. He wrote the eventual title song for a Gwyneth Paltrow romantic comedy ‘Sliding Doors’. Due to contractual issues, it was not used. This rejection, coupled with Brian writing some more songs, resulted in a change of direction.
‘Business’ simply kicks axe as much or more as ‘Resurrection’. ‘China Belle’ has some good guitar, but he’s trying a bit too hard on this.
‘Why Don’t We Try Again’ is a mid tempo song about lost loves (either from breakups or death) with some nice lead guitar work midway through. The line ‘in the dark, there’s a desert flower’ may be a reference to Freddie. My second favorite song of the album.
‘On My Way Up’ is a ‘’39’ Let Your Heart Rule Your Head’ wannabe. It’s a fun and upbeat tune, but a bit too brash and fast with the BVs at times. And it didn't fit the 'flow' of the album in this spot.
The two songs with guest appearances should shine, which they do instrumentally, but there’s just something ‘missing’ (or too much) in them. ‘Cyborg’ was made for a video game years earlier. This tune really rocks, with
Taylor Hawkins playing drums, but the computer voice game voice irritates me. Just heard the instrumental a month ago…..enjoyable without the video voice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TJwWUGBw2cThe other song is ‘The Guv’nor’, with
Jeff Beck making a guest appearance. Meh lyrically, a treat for the most part instrumentally.
‘Wilderness’ is another gentle ballad, somewhat similar to ‘Why Don’t We Try Again’. Except that after some crashing BVs at the two plus minute mark, comes
one of Brian's most mesmerizing and melting guitar solos for the next minute. The final two and a half minutes alone was worth purchasing this album.
‘Slow Down’ is a damn good rocking cover. ‘One Rainy Wish’ was done for a Hendrix tribute LP earlier titled ‘In From The Storm’. It’s well done, with added effects not appearing on the original. ‘All The Way To Memphis’ is a tribute to long time friend Ian Hunter. It’s quite a heavy cover, but the BVs are quite bad. Brian and Cozy do rock on it. A rather melancholy finish, hearing an automobile speeding off into the distance at the end……
The album ends with the title track…..but it doesn’t. After nearly a minute of silence, an ‘Easter Egg’ of a gentle piano instrumental appears, mostly a cover of ‘Business’. It has been given the title ‘Being On My Own’.
Two covers that didn’t make the album that should have:
‘Maybe Baby’ (mentioned in a prior post), and the Hank Marvin & The Shadows instrumental
‘FBI’ is the other.
Francis Rossi and
Rick Parfitt from
Status Quo provide additional guitars on 'FBI'. I’d always thought that Cozy played drums, but they are programmed here.
FWIW, I would have trimmed some of the fat and gone with:
Side One: Space / Business / China Belle / Why Don’t We Try Again / Maybe Baby / FBI
Side Two: On My Way Up / Wilderness / Slow Down / One Rainy Wish / Another World