Dickinson released his first solo effort, "Tattooed
Millionaire" (1990), while still in Iron
Maiden. He quit Maiden in 1993 and found several musicians, known as "Tribe Of Gypsies": Roy "Z"
Ramirez (guitars), Eddie Casillas (bass), and Dave Ingraham (drums).
He released three albums: "Balls To Picasso" (1992), "Skunkworks"
(1994), and "Live In Studio" (1995), all of which did not do very
well. His band then was joined by a former Maiden guitarist Adrian
Smith, and they released "Accident Of Birth" (1997) and "The
Chemical Wedding" (1998), which, on the opposite, got huge critical
acclaim, were labeled the "Metal's Ultimate Comeback," and,
ultimately, provided the conditions for Bruce and Adrian rejoining
Maiden in 1998. Another notable result of these two albums was the
universal acclaim of Roy Z's producing talents, making him the most
sought-after producer in contemporary metal (Helloween,
Rob Halford, Judas Priest). Parallel to
his work in Maiden, Bruce released a live album (1999), "the best
and the rest" two-cd compilation (2001), and, recently, a brand new
album "Tyranny Of Souls" (2005).
BALLS TO PICASSO (1994)
RATING: **
BEST SONGS: "Tears Of The Dragon"
I HATE this album. I bought it after I've heard "Tears Of The
Dragon," but nothing else on the whole album resembles it even
remotely. Actually, I'd say everything else sucks immeasurably. Had
Steve Harris known Bruce was even capable of that kind of crap, he
would have kicked him out of Maiden himself. No melody, no music, no
nothing. "Tears Of The Dragon," everybody calls "Maidenish," but I
don't. It is very melodic and quite emotional ("My emotions frozen
in the icy lake"), and I love it from start to finish, but that's
the only bright spot. As for other crap, like "Shoot All The
Clowns," I am not even gonna start. Pardon the pun, but it sucks
balls.
ACCIDENT OF BIRTH (1997)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Darkside Of Aquarius," "Road To Hell," title
track
What a comeback from the man many people have written off for
good. Bruce teams up with his old pal Adrian and voila!
Good stuff from the voice and the axe of Iron Maiden. The album
is not as heavy as its successor, Chemical Wedding, but
this is exactly what the "Maiden Of The Nineties" should sound like.
Most of the songs just sound fresh and cool. Opening "Freak" is
good, and it's followed by a short instrumental and then by supreme
"Starchildren." "Taking The Queen" is a slowdown, but it's cool,
nonetheless. Then come one of the most rocking sets of 1997:
"Darkside Of Aquarius," "Road To Hell," "Man Of Sorrows," "Accident
Of Birth," and "The Magician." With the exception of "Man Of
Sorrows," they are all way heavy, with hints of death metal, which
will become more apparent in Chemical Wedding. "Darkside"
is a great midtempo rocker, "Road To Hell" has that unforgettable
Maiden-esque gallup (and the riff between the 1st chorus and 2nd
verse gives me shivers every time -- oh so great!). "Man Of Sorrows"
is a good and slow piano piece. The title track is probably my
favorite song of the album. It is freakin' unbelievable, and the
chorus can raise the dead from their tombs: "Welcome home! It's been
too long, we missed ya!.." I am not going to start describing it
(it's impossible), but it's simply astounding. The following
"Magician" is also quite cool and fast. Now, for the glitches. Out
of 13 tracks on the album, 6 are slow or near slow. Last four
tracks, "Welcome To The Pit," "The Ghost Of Cain," "Omega," and "The
Arc Of Space" I often skip. Four slow songs in a row (well, "Ghost
Of Cain" is kinda slow) is too much. So, too much filling material
precludes this album from being a true masterpiece. Still,
definitely up to the hype around it.
THE CHEMICAL WEDDING (1998)
BEST SONGS: "King In Crimson," "Book Of Thel," "Jerusalem"
Dickinson and Smith deliver another great work. This album
freakin' rocks! Although some people would jump me for this one, but
I honestly think Bruce Dickinson has switched to playing death metal
(without, of course, the deathly growls). Chemical Wedding
sounds more like Symbolic from Death,
Mutations from Fight, and Heartwork from
Carcass than anything else. The music is very heavy (I've heard that
they used bass strings on their guitars), yet they managed to keep
the melody and catch of Iron Maiden. Actually, I think this band has
just as many rights to be called "Iron Maiden" as the "other"
Maiden. Both bands have two players from the "star period," and both
bands have main songwriters remaining, but, to me, vocals
(Dickinson) are a lot more important than the bass (Harris). Now,
the songs themselves. Believe it or not, it's a theme album, and the
running theme is the songs and poetry by William Blake, a 16-century
(or so) English fellow, who was, apparently, into various morbid
stuff. "King In Crimson" (rocking stuff), "Killing Floor" (way
satanic, but still cool), and my favorite "Book Of Thel" (in groove
it at times reaches the level of "Immortal Sin" from Fight -- one of
the grooviest and most rocking songs of all time, as well as
"Darkside Of Aquarius" from Accident Of Birth), with its
supreme refrain: "Now the harlot womb of death / Spits out its
rotten core!" are all great and dark tunes. Title track and "The
Alchemist" both have something to do with making artificial humans.
"Trumpets Of Jericho" is another rocking song, and so is
drug-related "Machine Men." "Jerusalem" is a fine English-style
ballad, which is a great example that Skyclad is
not the only band that plays folk metal. Overall, a good album it
is, and more even then Accident. I only wish Bruce would
not cut his hair! And I wish he gave his band a name. Like
"Stainless Steel Maiden," or something.
SCREAM FOR ME BRAZIL (1999)
RATING: ****1/2
BEST SONGS: "King In Crimson," "Darkside Of Aquarius," "Accident
Of Birth"
Very much a live album, loaded with Chemical Wedding
material. Virtually every track is good, and one would have a hard
time to stop half way through the CD. The only song that is noteably
worse than the studio version is "Tears Of The Dragon," (and it's a
darn shame). The solo is different from that Roy's classic off of
Balls, and Bruce lacks emotion ("my emotions frozen in the
icy lake"). But everything else is virtually flawless, even the song
"Laughing In The Hiding Bush" is good. "King In Crimson," "Killing
Floor," "Darkside Of Aquarius," and "Accident Of Birth" are
a-w-e-s-o-m-e! A couple of tracks are not as strong as the studio
versions, but they still rock. Obviously, every live album must have
a song with a strong crowd participation and the vocalist leading
the audience: "Tower" is very good for this purpose. No Maiden songs
on this one: Bruce has correctly pointed at the fact that there are
plenty live Maiden albums and there will probably be more (SFMB
has been released after the Maiden reunion). Also, don't look for
any Tattooed Millionaire or Skunkworks material,
thankfully it's not there. A great live album, one of the better
ones I have heard.
BEST OF BRUCE DICKINSON (2001)
RATING: ****
BEST SONGS: "Tears Of The Dragon," "Accident Of Birth," "Road To
Hell"
If you have two final Dickinson's albums, this release is fairly
useless. Yes, on Disc 1, the track selection of the "Best Of" comp
is nearly perfect. Bruce apparently agrees with me on which songs
are the best on "AoB" and "TCE": "Darkside Of Aquarius," "Road To
Hell," "Accident Of Birth," "The Tower," and live "Book Of Thel" are
all there. Two new tracks are the only thing that make this album
worth buying, they are pretty good: "Broken" is more in vein of
heaviness of "TCE" and "Silver Wings" is great power metal similar
to the "AoB" material. Songs from "Tattooed Millionaire" and
"Skunkworks" are crap, but, thank god, there are only three of them.
If THESE are the best songs from them, I'd rather have me being
punched in the gut repeatedly rather than listening to them. So Disc
1 is excellent. Then comes the Disc 2, and it's a tremendous waste
of time. Slightly different versions of
not-so-good-in-the-first-place songs ("Bring Your Daughter..," "The
Wickerman"), downright goofiness ("I'm In A Band With An Italian
Drummer"), and a bunch of unreleased tracks that should have
remained such. I also can't believe that he did not include "Return
Of The King," an excellent Japanese bonus for "AoB": it's a great
song! Anyway, we all know what we like about Dickinson, and if by a
chance you DON'T own the last two records, get this one. Then get
the last two records.
TYRANNY OF SOULS (2005)
BEST SONGS: "Kill Devil Hill," "Power Of The Sun," "Devil On A Hog"
With TCW being an extremely hard act to follow and two
intermediate Maiden albums being decent at best, I didn't really
know what to expect. Well, this album, while not quite on the level
of TCW, is certainly better than Brave New World
and Dance Of Death combined. In fact, Bruce's songwriting
and Roy Z's production simply blow Harris's / Shirley's outtings
away, showing that one guitar can be more efficient then three. The
musicianship here is still top notch, but ToS boasts
heavier sound, tastier arrangements, and better vocals. I was never
a fan of Bruce's voice as much as hordes of screaming Maiden
worshippers (he is not even in my Top 20), but at least here he does
not strain as hard as he did on DoD (which was a major
distracting point on that album). And he does not repeat every
chorus ad nauseum, a problem that has become Maiden's
plague and locusts. It's ultimately all about songwriting, and these
ten tracks are all excellent, one better than the next. That makes
this album, IMO, better than Accident Of Birth, since there
are virtually no fillers. This album is only "Tower" / "Book Of
Thel" away from being an instant classic and Bruce's best solo work.
I was even hard-pressed to determine the highlights. "Abduction" is
a wonderful melodic opener, "Soul Intruders" has a crushing main
riff and a "Starchildren"-like melodic chorus, and "Kill Devil Hill"
is a mid-tempo song with a killer main harmony. I admit I don't
quite dig acoustic "Navigate The Seas Of The Sun" as much as some
other people (besides, the title reminds me of the Primus album from
early 90s, "Sailing The Seas Of Cheese"), but instead I love the
hell out of "Devil On A Hog," which has a certain "Darkside Of
Aquarius" vibe to it. "River Of No Return" is a strong mid-tempo
cut, and tight and chopping "Power Of The Sun," with its great vocal
lines, is a new Bruce's smoketrail classic. I don't quite understand
why Bruce made "Believil" and the title track together in the end --
they are nearly identical. The lyrics are also miles beyond anything
Maiden has ever written, dealing with dark, medieval mysticism, as
well as Bruce's love of flying. I only wish that when Bruce and Roy
take a picture together, they wouldn't look like Los Del Rio duo
every time. A stupendous work.
|
|
