Bruce Dickinson Solo Work
- Thread starter DrkLrdViper666
- Start date
Cool Beans! Ya know brother clay, I started re-listening to AOB about a couple of years ago, cause one of the old WREKage djs, bid told me to go back & listen
to it again, and after MANY TIMES of listening to it a lot now, since then I have to change my opinion and say that AOB, is just as good, or hell even better than "The Chemical Wedding" !!!! The songs are better! the music is better! It's got more catchy hooks & melodies too! Just a very underated Bruce album!!!
Bruce RULES on AOB!!!
Totally agreed, brother!
I like most of his solo stuff. The only solo album I hated was Skunkworks. A truly horrific album that was put together horribly. I hate hate hate hate performers who get cute with their booklet and not being able to read the lyrics. It is absolutely wonderful that I have to go to a damn mirror to read the lyrics for Skunkworks.
edgeofthorns
24 Hours Ago...
I purchased Chemical Wedding several days ago and have listened to it several times through. For those of you that think this is better than BNW, DOD and AMOLAD, I still think you're nuts! 
Bruce sounds great in it, but the music is just too muddy, tuned down, and boring compared to the last three Maiden efforts....sorry guys!
~Brian~
Bruce sounds great in it, but the music is just too muddy, tuned down, and boring compared to the last three Maiden efforts....sorry guys! ~Brian~
HAve you heard Accident of Birth? I think you will like it better... Not as "tuned down and muddy"... And the songs are a bit more catchy.
edgeofthorns
24 Hours Ago...
Brian, Chemical Wedding shits all over the Maiden catalog from several thousand feet above.For those of you that think this is better than BNW, DOD and AMOLAD, I still think you're nuts!
edgeofthorns
24 Hours Ago...
Brian, Chemical Wedding shits all over the Maiden catalog from several thousand feet above.
Yep, this proves my point.
~Brian~
Seriously though, Brian, go get Accident of Birth. It's a lot more accessible than Chemical Wedding. Once it clicks, you can explore the darker CW. It may take a while to fully grasp it, but believe me, it's the best thing Bruce Dickinson has done in the last 20 years for me.
Cheers!
Cheers!
edgeofthorns
24 Hours Ago...
Prismatic Sphere
We Carouse
Once upon a time in early 1997 I was very depressed and despondent over the state of music and the proliferation of colorless grunge, hip hop, and clones in both categories as well as a dismal lack of good metal and rock.
I picked up a copy of Metal Edge and noticed an article about Bruce Dickinson reuniting with Adrian Smith over a new record. Bruce said many interesting things in the article; namely that the new album would be a combination of the best stuff he did with Maiden, his best solo stuff, and a return to straight ahead rock and roll. He said that he hated the work he did on Skunkworks and said that it was a reflection of a lot of anger and frustration that he was feeling in the mid-90's(I agree with him and consider it his one mediocre effort) and that Accident Of Birth was a new breakthrough. He also wanted to stress that the 80's were NOT coming back and that people who were wishing for that were going to be let down.(It's amazing how prescient he was, eh folks?).
Anyway, I picked up Accident Of Birth and I was floored. It was the biggest and most significant breath of fresh air I had heard in my life. It gave me hope. I still think it his best solo work and even though The Chemical Wedding took a little longer to grow on me, I love that too. Tyranny Of Souls is also quite good but I think AOB and CW are the 2 best Bruce solo albums.
That said, I also consider AOB and CW to be superior to all post-1990 Maiden stuff, with the exception of Brave New World. I actually LOVE Brave New World and consider it the best Maiden album since Seventh Son. Dance of Death is pretty subpar and A Matter Of Life And Death is only slightly better. An interesting reason why Brave New World stands out I think it's because it is the most Bruce-solo like and Bruce was riding a high wave of creativity from all that time writing with Adrian.
So it's 80's Maiden on top
then Brave New World
Accident Of Birth
The Chemical Wedding
Tyranny Of Souls
A Matter Of Life And Death
Fear Of The Dark
Balls To Picasso
Tattooed Millionaire
Dance Of Death
No Prayer For The Dying
Skunkworks
(Live albums and Blaze-era Maiden do not count)
Ironically, my favorite Bruce D. song isn't from either AOB or CW. It's from the Keith Olsen sessions and is not really available except on a Balls To Picasso B-Side.
It's the first part of No Way Out(the one that isn't on the greatest hits compilation)
Enjoy!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPUJZ2u7SfY&feature=PlayList&p=97A739E76829C43A[/ame]
I picked up a copy of Metal Edge and noticed an article about Bruce Dickinson reuniting with Adrian Smith over a new record. Bruce said many interesting things in the article; namely that the new album would be a combination of the best stuff he did with Maiden, his best solo stuff, and a return to straight ahead rock and roll. He said that he hated the work he did on Skunkworks and said that it was a reflection of a lot of anger and frustration that he was feeling in the mid-90's(I agree with him and consider it his one mediocre effort) and that Accident Of Birth was a new breakthrough. He also wanted to stress that the 80's were NOT coming back and that people who were wishing for that were going to be let down.(It's amazing how prescient he was, eh folks?).
Anyway, I picked up Accident Of Birth and I was floored. It was the biggest and most significant breath of fresh air I had heard in my life. It gave me hope. I still think it his best solo work and even though The Chemical Wedding took a little longer to grow on me, I love that too. Tyranny Of Souls is also quite good but I think AOB and CW are the 2 best Bruce solo albums.
That said, I also consider AOB and CW to be superior to all post-1990 Maiden stuff, with the exception of Brave New World. I actually LOVE Brave New World and consider it the best Maiden album since Seventh Son. Dance of Death is pretty subpar and A Matter Of Life And Death is only slightly better. An interesting reason why Brave New World stands out I think it's because it is the most Bruce-solo like and Bruce was riding a high wave of creativity from all that time writing with Adrian.
So it's 80's Maiden on top
then Brave New World
Accident Of Birth
The Chemical Wedding
Tyranny Of Souls
A Matter Of Life And Death
Fear Of The Dark
Balls To Picasso
Tattooed Millionaire
Dance Of Death
No Prayer For The Dying
Skunkworks
(Live albums and Blaze-era Maiden do not count)
Ironically, my favorite Bruce D. song isn't from either AOB or CW. It's from the Keith Olsen sessions and is not really available except on a Balls To Picasso B-Side.
It's the first part of No Way Out(the one that isn't on the greatest hits compilation)
Enjoy!
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPUJZ2u7SfY&feature=PlayList&p=97A739E76829C43A[/ame]
Bruce has always been one of my favorites. Love to hear him sing regardless of avenue. AOB is truly amazing to me (1997) and Chemical Wedding is also great. I guess I just have emotional ties to AOB. A not so great period in my life, but "Man of Sorrows" really helped me.
- Nov 24, 2002
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In my case I consider Bruce solo efforts (excluding "Tattooed Millionaire") WAY MORE SUPERIOR than all Maiden material after 1989 up to this very day.
Prismatic Sphere
We Carouse
Side 2 of Brave New World is progressive as fuck. I love it!
(Yes I also have BNW on cassette; to me Maiden sounds best on cassette tape just as Zeppelin and Rush sound better on vinyl)
(Yes I also have BNW on cassette; to me Maiden sounds best on cassette tape just as Zeppelin and Rush sound better on vinyl)
nomisofsiman
Member
I personally like all of Bruce's solo stuff, excluding "Skunkworks", which is a very artsy type of album and actually wasn't originally supposed to be a solo album but a band called "Skunkworks". However, they used his name to sell more. But I'd have to agree that "Chemical Wedding", "Accident of Birth" and even "Tyranny of Souls" are better than post-90 Maiden, excluding "A Matter of Life and Death", an album I think gets beat up too much due to how progressive it is. To be honest though, "Chemical Wedding" is even better than that and most of Maiden's catalog and is truly a classic.
I also like "Tattooed Millionaire" and "Balls to Picasso" though. They're more alternative types of albums, so if you are looking for Maiden on those, you WILL be very disappointed. I do find them to be very well written and rocking though.
I seriously wish he would go out and tour as a solo act one more time in the US, but I know now that he's full-on with Maiden that will never happen.
I also like "Tattooed Millionaire" and "Balls to Picasso" though. They're more alternative types of albums, so if you are looking for Maiden on those, you WILL be very disappointed. I do find them to be very well written and rocking though.
I seriously wish he would go out and tour as a solo act one more time in the US, but I know now that he's full-on with Maiden that will never happen.
KingsGene
God of Thunder
16 year bump....
"... Yet despite its positive reception at the time, it never quite captured Dickinson’s original vision which was even more expansive in scope and ambition. However, with the ability to revisit his solo catalog – and following on from Dickinson’s hugely acclaimed album The Mandrake Project in 2024 – the brand-new part re-recorded, remixed and newly mastered version of the album, now entitled More Balls To Picasso, reimagines it as a fresh and contemporary release; a roaringly full-throttle and ambitious collection of supremely crafted and realized songs.
Dickinson says of it:
Additionally, More Balls To Picasso includes two previously unreleased live in-the-studio tracks, “Gods Of War” and “Shoot All The Clowns.” It will be available as a splatter vinyl double album and tri-panel digisleeve CD album.
Listen to the first single, “Gods Of War”, below. Stream/download the track and pre-order the album here...."
BRUCE DICKINSON’s Classic 1994 Album Revisited And Reinvented; More Balls To Picasso Due In July; “Gods Of War” 2025 Streaming
"... Yet despite its positive reception at the time, it never quite captured Dickinson’s original vision which was even more expansive in scope and ambition. However, with the ability to revisit his solo catalog – and following on from Dickinson’s hugely acclaimed album The Mandrake Project in 2024 – the brand-new part re-recorded, remixed and newly mastered version of the album, now entitled More Balls To Picasso, reimagines it as a fresh and contemporary release; a roaringly full-throttle and ambitious collection of supremely crafted and realized songs.
Dickinson says of it:
Additionally, More Balls To Picasso includes two previously unreleased live in-the-studio tracks, “Gods Of War” and “Shoot All The Clowns.” It will be available as a splatter vinyl double album and tri-panel digisleeve CD album.
Listen to the first single, “Gods Of War”, below. Stream/download the track and pre-order the album here...."
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