''Back to the Light'' is the debut solo studio album of

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

guitarist's

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...

, released on 28 September 1992 by

Parlophone Records Parlophone Records Limited (also known as Parlophone Records and Parlophone) is a German–British record label founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch of the label was founded on 8 August 192 ...

in the UK, and on 2 February 1993 by Hollywood Records in the US and Canada. May's second solo release following his 1983 EP ''

Star Fleet Project ''Star Fleet Project'' is a solo project of Brian May, Queen's guitarist, and a mini-album of the same name. Released as the work of Brian May + Friends, the album consisted of May, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alan Gratzer (then of REO Spee ...

'', ''Back to the Light'' was co-produced with Justin Shirley-Smith and recorded between March 1988 and November 1992 at Allerton Hill—May's home studio—and mixed at Metropolis Studios. The album contains top 10 singles "

Too Much Love Will Kill You "Too Much Love Will Kill You" is a song written by British guitarist Brian May of Queen, Frank Musker and Elizabeth Lamers.Driven by You", and peaked at number six on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

and at number 159 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. " Headlong" and " I Can't Live with You", released on ''

Innuendo An innuendo is a hint, insinuation or intimation about a person or thing, especially of a denigrating or derogatory nature. It can also be a remark or question, typically disparaging (also called insinuation), that works obliquely by allusion ...

'', were originally intended for ''Back to the Light''; but when May heard Freddie Mercury singing the songs, he decided they would be recorded by Queen.

Songs

"The Dark" is the album's "short keyboard and guitar intro," "an atmospheric opener...recorded during sessions for '' Flash Gordon'' in 1980 at Anvil Studios with orchestrations by

Howard Blake Howard David Blake (born 28 October 1938) is an English composer, conductor, and pianist whose career has spanned more than 50 years and produced more than 650 works. Blake's most successful work is his soundtrack for Channel 4’s 1982 film ' ...

." The lyrics are reminiscent of a lullaby. "Back to the Light" is "an outpouring of emotion," and was first performed live on ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...

'', 5 April 1993. The Time Traveller music video, released as part of the re-released album in 2021, features May travelling back in time to his younger self. "Love Token", "a well-constructed track", is dominated by Cozy Powell's "thunderous drums whichgive the song its catchy rhythm....The song was performed live on the Back to the Light Tour, usually after 'Back to the Light' (on the 1992 leg) or 'Tie Your Mother Down' (during the first part of 1993), before becoming an abridged intro to 'Headlong', as evident on the...album Live At The Brixton Academy." The original "explicit" version was never officially released, and was only found on a free CD packaged with ''Rock Compact Disc Magazine'', Vol. 4, 1991. The lyrics speak of a family splitting apart. "

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

" is a duet between Powell's drum and May's guitar work and vocals, a tribute to a friendship which would be cut short by Powell's premature death in 1998. It was initially recorded as 'Ride to Win' on Cozy Powell's 1992 solo album, ''The Drums Are Back''. "The lyrics feature few references to organized religion, being of a more personal nature, as elsewhere on ''Back to the Light'', aychannels his confusion of life without ercuryinto song." The music video features May and Powell playing their instruments, and lots of early CGI graphics. "

Too Much Love Will Kill You "Too Much Love Will Kill You" is a song written by British guitarist Brian May of Queen, Frank Musker and Elizabeth Lamers.The Miracle'' and rejected over songwriting royalties, eventually being released in 1995 on ''

Made in Heaven ''Made in Heaven'' is the fifteenth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 6 November 1995 by Parlophone Records in the United Kingdom and by Hollywood Records in the United States. It was the band's first and only release s ...

''. May performed the song unaccompanied except for piano during

The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was a benefit concert held on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992, at Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by Ray Burdis, ...

. A guitar version "was released as part of the CD single in August 1992." " Driven by You", Brian's famed Ford advert theme, was released on 25 November 1991. Three different versions were recorded and used—"all sounding similar and lasting ninety seconds each", and three different DJ cuts were made. "Nothin' But Blue" was "initially recorded as 'Somewhere In Time' on Cozy Powell's 1992 solo album, ''The Drums Are Back'',...with John eaconon bass". May used the instrumental from that session and added original lyrics to create the version heard on his solo album. "I'm Scared" is a very personal hard-rocker, one of May's ways of dealing with his depression brought on by his failed first marriage and the death of his father. The version that appears on Back to the Light includes what is called "the 'Chaos Karaoke', a litany of fears" which include "fear of losing control, pain, being unknown, being ugly, dying, eingdeformed, eingdull, the dark, being found out and...being scared of Stephen Berkoff". " Last Horizon" was recorded at Allerton Studios in 1988, and is one of May's favorite songs. "Let Your Heart Rule Your Head", "an unconscious update of...'39....an uplifting, upbeat moment on an album of otherwise bleak and melancholy songs". "Just One Life" could be misinterpreted as a tribute to Mercury, "but was actually written for actor Philip Sayer". May was inspired to write the song after attending a memorial concert for Sayer, whom May had never met. "Rollin' Over" is May's cover of

The Small Faces Small Faces were an English rock band from London, founded in 1965. The group originally consisted of Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones and Jimmy Winston, with Ian McLagan replacing Winston as the band's keyboardist in 1966. The ...

' song. "In ay'shands...the song becomes a scorching tour de force of guitar riffs and exploding drums, turning tinto what might as well be an outtake from one of Queen's earlier albums (indeed, Smile played it in their touring days)".

Release

The US edition of the album included a bonus track remix of " Driven by You" (with a new drum track by

Cozy Powell Cozy Powell (born Colin Trevor Flooks; 29 December 1947 – 5 April 1998) was an English rock drummer who made his name with major rock bands and artists such as The Jeff Beck Group, Rainbow, Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, Robert Plant, B ...

and new bass by Neil Murray), issued elsewhere as a B-side to "Too Much Love Will Kill You". The Japanese edition included instrumental "Guitar Versions" of "Just One Life" and "Too Much Love Will Kill You". In June 2021, May announced that the album would be reissued as part of the ''Brian May Gold Series'', packaged with a second disc of bonus tracks titled ''Out of the Light''. The reissue was released on August 6, 2021.

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

- lead vocals, rhythm and lead guitar, bass, piano, keyboards, programming, backing vocals. *

– drums * Geoff Dugmore – drums *

Gary Tibbs Gary Tibbs (born Gary Brian Tibbs, 25 January 1958) is a bass guitarist and actor. He is best known as a member of Adam and the Ants and Roxy Music. He appeared alongside Hazel O'Connor in the film '' Breaking Glass'' (1980) as bass guitarist ...

– bass * Neil Murray – bass *

John Deacon John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician, best known for being the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits " You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bite ...

– bass * Mike Moran – piano , keyboards * Don Airey – keyboards (extra) * Gill O'Donovan – backing vocals * Maggie Ryder – backing vocals * Miriam Stockley – backing vocals * Suzie O' List – backing vocals * Chris Thompson – backing vocals

Technical

* Justin Shirley-Smith – co-producer, engineer * Heidi Cannavo, Noel Haris – engineer (assistant) * Kevin Metcalfe – mastering * Brian Zellis – technical assistance, programming * David Richards – programming * Bob Ludwig – 2021 remastering

Singles

# "Driven by You" / "Just One Life" (November 1991) – No. 6 # "Too Much Love Will Kill You" / "I'm Scared" (August 1992) – No. 5 # "Back to the Light" / "Nothin' But Blue" (November 1992) – No. 19 # "Resurrection" / "Love Token" / "Too Much Love Will Kill You" (Live) (June 1993) – No. 23 # "Last Horizon" / "Let Your Heart Rule Your Head" (Live) (December 1993) – No. 51

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Back To The Light 1992 debut albums Brian May albums Parlophone albums Hollywood Records albums