In the history of rock and roll, there have been a few classic guitars that
have captured the public’s imagination. Stevie Ray Vaughn’s Fender
SRV Stratocaster, Jimmy Page’s Gibson SG double-neck, Jerry Garcia’s
Rosebud and Neil Young’s Old Black are but a few of the popular axes
that match player with instrument. Brian May’s Red Special is also one
such classic rock instrument, one he actually built with his father as young
man in 1963. It’s also at the heart of a Hal Leonard Book called Brian
May’s Red Special: The Story Of The Home-Made Guitar That Rocked Queen
And The World.
Centered around interviews with May about the building of the guitar and
his years playing it in Queen and the Queen + incarnations he has continued
to perform with, this book provides all the information about the Red Special
you could ever want…or imagine. May seems to be one of those people
who reveres his past and as such he has kept original notes he and his father
Harold made.
The beginning of the book reveals a very detailed accounting of how the Mays
worked in the family workshop to construct the Red Special over a period of
two years.
May wanted more from the electric guitars than what was available at the
time, and he talks about how he was to trying to amplify his first guitar,
an Egmond acoustic, which he still has. In due course, as father and son worked
together, the love and respect they had for one another shines through.
The first few chapters have some great pictures from May’s childhood.
In fact, the photos in the book are incredible throughout. There’s lots
of the guitar, of course, some x-rays and various shots of the Red Special
dismantled — something May allowed especially for this book.
I would have liked a bit more about the guitar and how it precisely figured
into specific Queen recordings, but this is not a book covering a rundown
of Queen songs. There is an “On The Roof” chapter chronicling,
in May’s own words, his experience at the Queen’s (the lady, not
the band) “Golden Jubilee” on the roof of Buckingham Palace in
2002. It is a hair-raising account to be sure, showing that even Brian May
can still get plenty nervous!
The final chapter, “Red Special Production,” is 14 pages of photographed
guitars from Brian’s collection. By some strange coincidence, these
are a handful of guitars built over the years by various manufacturers emulating
and influenced by the Red Special. For those interested in rock and roll,
Queen and Brian May, Brian May’s Red Special: The Story Of The
Home-Made Guitar That Rocked Queen And The World, co-authored by
Simon Bradley, is a sumptuous meal to feed your appetite.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
