Queen’s Brian May reflects on writing with Freddie Mercury indeleted clip from Sammy Hagar’s Rock & Roll Road Trip.Queen’s Brian May has reflected on working with FreddieMercury in a deleted scene from Sammy Hagar’s AXS TV showRock & Roll Road Trip.

The guitarist was speaking with the Red Rocker about hisrecording projects, including his work with Kerry Ellis and morerecently with Kings Daughters. May says: “I like playing my guitarand I like instrumental stuff, but to me a song is about the singer –and music is about songs because you have some message toconvey and that’s what the singer does.

“The rest of it can be important, but it’s not as important as theperson who’s putting across the idea.“I loved to write for Freddie. I loved to see him do his stuff withus. You would give Freddie something and he would make it intosomething else – he would take it to the next place.“So I miss that, but I love working with Kerry and a new bunch ofgirls called Kings Daughters.”

May also says that he’s also recorded “in secret” with AdamLambert but adds: “We haven’t felt it was right to put it out. Wejust didn’t think we hit the right vibe.”Earlier this week, it was revealed that Queen and Howard Blake’ssoundtrack to the 1980 sci-fi movie Flash Gordon would appear ina box set celebrating the film’s 40th anniversary.The package will also include a feature titled On The Soundtrackfeaturing May and Blake.

CREDITS: By Scott Munro (Classic Rock)

Neil Young has announced the release of one his most storiedalbums, Homegrown, roughly 45 years after its original recording. Thestudio LP, often referred to by fans as one of his mysterious, great “lost albums,” includes 12 tracks and will finally be released on June 19, via Reprise Records. Listen to the previously unreleased album song, “Try,” Neil Young describes Homegrown as “the one that got away,” and posted the following letter on Neil Young Archives:“I apologize. This album Homegrown should have been there for you a couple of years after Harvest. It’s the sad side of a love affair. The damage done. The heartache. I just couldn’t listen to it. I wanted to move on.

So I kept it to myself, hidden away in the vault, on the shelf, in theback of my mind….but I should have shared it. It’s actually beautiful.That’s why I made it in the first place. Sometimes life hurts. You know what I mean? This is the one that got away. Recorded in analog in 1974 and early 1975 from the original master tapes and restored with love andcare by John Hanlon.””

Young continues: “Levon Helm is drumming on some tracks, Karl THimmel on others, Emmylou Harris singing on one, Homegrown containsa narration, several acoustic solo songs never even published or hearduntil this release and some great songs played with a great band of myfriends, including Ben Keith – steel and slide – Tim Drummond – bassand Stan Szelest – piano.

”Recorded between June 1974 and January 1975, Homegrown wasintended to come out in 1975 before Young canceled the release.The album features twelve Neil Young songs, seven of which are previously unreleased: “Separate Ways,” “Try,” “Mexico,” “Kansas,” “We Don’t Smoke it No More,” “Vacancy” and “Florida” (a spokenword narration).

Also included are the first recordings of “Love is a Rose,” “Homegrown,”“White Line,” “Little Wing,” and “Star of Bethlehem” – differentversions of which would all later appear on other Young albums.Young plays solo on some tracks (guitar, piano and harmonica), and isjoined by a band of friends on other tracks, including Helm, Keith,Himmel, Drummond, Harris and Robbie Robertson.

by Best Classic Bands Staff

“It’s one of these sort of mythical type folk songs. The poetry isa little bit obscure, but it’s not completely unknowable,”McLean says of his 1971 signature track.Don McLean was the guest on Dan Rather’s The Big Interviewon AXS TV this week, discussing the legacy of his signature song“American Pie.”

The title track from his 1971 second studio album, the song isstill widely regarded as a classic after 49 years, but McLean isn’tentirely able to explain its popularity.

“I don’t know. There are so many aspects to it,” he told Rather.“You’ll see different parts of it used all over. People use it forparodies, kids sing it, children grow up with it because on acertain level it’s a children’s song…It’s one of these sort ofmythical type folk songs. The poetry is a little bit obscure, butit’s not completely unknowable — it’s pretty understandable.It’s meant to be because it’s really a dream.”

Rather suggested to McLean that many saw “American Pie” asa metaphor for the decline of U.S. culture after the Sixties.

A“I was seeing that,” McLean said. “To me, when Kennedy waskilled, all bets were off. It was a much bigger event than 9/11,which was a huge event. It was the beginning of Americansbeing in doubt about what they believed in and who they were.That was huge.”

Rolling Stone Magazine - Claire Shaffer