"So this is dream time, and all is quiet..."
- ACCIDENT OF BIRTH
- THE CHEMICAL WEDDING
- SCREAM FOR ME BRAZIL
- THE BEST OF
The name Bruce "The Air Raid Siren" Dickinson arose in the
early eighties when this singer left the group Samson in order to join one of
the biggest bands of the NWOBHM explosion, Iron Maiden. The Maidenites had some
problems with their current singer Paul Di'Anno and Bruce seemed to be the right
remedy for them. The album The Number Of The Beast followed and Maiden
was off to megastardom. In the next six years the band went on releasing solid
metal albums but had some difficulty in 1990 when their popularity started to
decline big time. After some unpleasant experiences with albums like No Prayer
For The Dying and Fear Of The Dark Bruce Dickinson decided to jump
off the Maiden wagon and pursue his own solo career.
That proved to be a smart move even though his first album, the lackluster 1990's
offering Tattooed Millionaire which he had released while still in Maiden
proved to be less than thrilling. He wrote a book or two in the next years and
finally stroke gold after recruiting the L.A. based The Tribe Of Gypsies. Under
the guidance of the promising new producer Roy Z the band recorded Balls
To Picasso in 1994 which was quite solid but a mixed bag of everything.
Two more recordings followed suite, but it wasn't until 1997 that Bruce Dickinson
re-instated his image completely with the prominent Accident Of Birth.
After several triumphant moments of his solo band, Bruce decided to join forces
with Iron Maiden again in the year 2000.
Historically, this is all that I can say about the man, but allow me to rant
some more. Bruce Dickinson is often hailed as one of heavy metal's finest voices
and although I don't doubt that one bit, I'd be lying if I said that I still
don't prefer Ronnie James Dio over him. Anyway, I plan to review his finest
output ranging from 1997-1999 and as for the other ditties... well, don't hold
your breath. I've seen them around but since everyone neglects them, I'll do
likewise. Also, he released a "best of" of some sort this year, but although
it has two brand new songs on it for bigger marketability, I don't believe I'll
get it. Still, there is a limited double version of that disc with some rare
tracks on it so I'll get that one if I see it around, but again, don't hold
your breath.
Lineup: Bruce Dickinson – vocals, Adrian Smith – guitar, Roy Z – guitar, mellotron
& piano, Eddie Casillias –bass, David Ingraham – drums.
I would like to see anyone disagreeing with me that we're on
the doorstep of the full heavy metal renaissance. Naturally, apart from that
rap-metal stuff, but that's pretty obvious. Nope, I'm talking about real metal;
Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Halford, Testament and even Alice Cooper (who never actually
fit the metal bill, but started to work on it from now on). Then there's the
endless supply of excellent soon-to-be colossal metal bands like Blind Guardian,
Iced Earth, Kamelot and others. Anyway, right now I'm talking about Bruce Dickinson,
the man who finally got back to his roots after a bunch of other not-so-happy
tries and churned out this massive metal disc in 1997.
Instead of wasting his time on alternative overtones and all that crap he finally
returned to the thing he does best, no-bullshit classic metal wrapped in the
modern de-tuned grinding sound. Yeah, so this is a return to the roots, if you
wish, but I feel I have to warn ya all, this ain't gonna be too Maiden-like.
This is a whole lot heavier than anything Iron Maiden ever cooked up and it's
all done without that overlong thumping and soloing of old. Every song on here
is extremely riff-based, and the bottom-heavy snarling riffs are simply awesome.
Also, the disc is filled with some progressive arrangements and intricate blending
of classical instruments like the violin, cello, piano and even the mellotron.
The production here is unbelievable, flawless and with an dark attitude which
is presented with the courtesy of Mr. Roy Z, who's soon to be the greatest producer
of all-things metal. Just to remind you, this is the same guy who'll direct
Rob Halford's return in the year 2000 with the triumphant Resurrection
(which also features Rob doing a duet with Bruce – not to be missed by any means).
Elsewhere, the Maiden connection became stronger as ex-Maiden guitarist Adrian
Smith joined Roy Z on ax duties. And of course, I must add that Bruce's annihilating
vocals on here are plainly superb. Soaring and angry, truly unforgettable.
I admit I was shocked to hear the swift opening number "Freak" as it begins
with the sound very similar to the one that motorbikes make while starting up,
and right after it the power chords mercilessly start to bombard my brain. The
rhythm section is splendid on this tune but the guitars are also outstanding
with some gritty stop-and-go riffing throughout. The chorus line is catchy but
the title isn't well chosen since it doesn't have much in common with the lyrics.
The spooky short instrumental "Toltec 7 Arrival" sets the perfect doomy vibe
for the rip-roaring heavy rocker "Starchildren" that follows it. The distorted
vocals are relying upon some nice keyboard dribbling and a light guitar line,
but the weirdest thing is the creepy line "bless me father for I have sinned"
which is then hammered down with the explosion of "Starchildren". That track
is a strong mover with gritty riffs and a heavy bottom thump. I guess that the
best thing about it is that razorblade edge consisted of some superb banshee-like
wailing by Bruce.
The lengthy suite "Taking The Queen" starts like a complex semi-ballad with
some mellow acoustic playing (which later continues throughout the song) and
then evolves into a heavy dynamic riff-fest supported by some unmatched roaring
by Bruce. The soft passages have some smooth emotional singing by Bruce and
they're backed up with the gentle sounds of the violin and cello. The track
even has some fine moody soloing in the end, but I'm sad to say that I don't
know if it was played by Adrian or Roy Z. Fast flowing prog-metal tune "Dark
Side of Aquarius" is driven with some lighter-than-usual riffs and heavy thumping
of the drums. The songwriting is again intriguing as the multi-layered background
constantly shifts between the soft vocal parts and trashing metal speed. The
majestic vocal work gets my blood pumping in the powerful climatic bits like
the one when Bruce sings "gotta move, gotta move, gotta push the wheel right
round" and the guitars are getting louder and louder until they clobber you
down with some jackhammer riffing.
"Road to Hell" was probably meant to be a hit and I suppose it's kinda weak
when compared to the complexity of the other tunes, although it's just as much
effective. This one is very reminiscent of Iron Maiden with its sheer speed
and the uninspired lyrics that are a bit too simplistic with the chorus lines
like "the road to hell is full of good intentions, say farewell and we may never
meet again". It's still just as good of a track like any given Maiden classic,
but the text drags somewhat. The next song just might be my favorite one. The
impeccable non-mellow ballad "Man of Sorrows" has an evident church-inspired
feel in the beginning with some rather beautiful piano, violin and cello lines
supporting it. The singing is impressive and very heartfelt indeed, and surprisingly
anthemic in places. This is actually a pretty heavy ballad, even though it doesn't
feature any distortion. That's probably because those epic piano lines are very
hard-hitting, and also, the intriguing soloing in the middle is thoroughly enjoyable.
The chilling title track is a real grinder. It starts off with some restrained
mechanically-sounding raw riffs and then it shifts to some more standard fat
riffing accompanied by some especially evil-esque vocal lines by Bruce. The
chorus line is one of the most memorable on the album and there's also a couple
of brief guitar solos mixed in here, but they're nothing to write home about.
"The Magician" leaves the impression that the wheel has come off while they
were making it. I mean, it's good and fast in the eighties vein but overly catchy
and the lyrics are getting really cheesy. However, even if this isn't exactly
serious enough to be presented here, it's still a lovely flowing rocker which
immediately springs some Maiden comparisons in my mind. And this is where most
reviewers start cursing. "Welcome to the Pit" is somewhat unmemorable and lacking
the hook-filled chorus lines. Myself, I kinda like it. Yeah, it's messy and
not exactly a rewarding listen at first, but it gets more interesting later
on. What do you want from me anyway? It's a fine and menacing tune, mostly appropriate
for the headbangers.
The monstrous epic part of this record is most certainly this song right here,
"Omega". It has an incredibly anthemic chorus line about the dying of the sun
(Dio – you better cover this one immediately) which is actually quite satisfying.
It features some silent humming in the beginning, some nice lines on the acoustic
guitar and a sudden shift to the heavier distorted atmosphere that blends perfectly
with the vocal wailing of the climax part. The rhythm section mostly thumps
along and the guitar soloing in the middle is passable but not particularly
mind-blowing. It gets much faster and heavier near the end when the thick riffs
start to pop up from everywhere. Meanwhile, the best ballad on here is definitely
the closing harmonic number "Arc of Space". It's really mellow with some exceptionally
moving singing backed by a beautiful and dreamy acoustic melody. The background
is filled with gentle orchestration and the rhythm section is completely excluded
from the song. It gives a splendid ending to the record and it leaves you thoroughly
satisfied.
Overall, this is one magnificently written high-pitched ride through various
styles of heavy metal music, but it's still done in the unique emotional Dickinson
mold. The package is luxurious and tasteful with some perfect artwork by the
father of Iron Maiden's mascot Eddie, Derek Riggs. A must have for anyone who
considers himself to be an intelligent listener of heavy metal, no matter how
rare that might be.
Any comments or reviews to grant us
with?
Right from the start the threatening cover lets you know that
you're into something totally new and different from Iron Maiden. This luxurious
package is fully equipped with poetry and creepy artwork by the English poet
William Blake (for more references you'd better go to the library) and it's
also filled with fantasy-oriented but not cheesy imagery. The music is somewhere
along the lines of the previous effort so there are some slight Maiden influences
on certain tracks (just slight, mind you). This rootsy semi-concept album is
also heavily influenced by modern prog-metal and it doesn't use any of Maiden
trademarks like their galloping sound or the light feel of their eighties songs.
This offering produced by Roy Z serves like a natural sequel to Accident
Of Birth and it would be sad if you didn't have both. The de-tuned guitars
and the bottom-heavy sludgy thump is meaner this time around and the songwriting
is on the same level of complexity, if not a little better. Anyway, I have to
notice that Roy Z sure has a knack for re-installing past metal masters like
Dickinson and Halford to their rightful place and I would be glad to see him
working with Dio, since Ronnie obviously can't get his production together.
Anyway, I'll give you a massive song by song description right about.... now.
"King In Crimson" is my favorite up-tempo rocker here and it's kinda awkward
to refer to it as a plain "rocker" since it sounds downright majestic in its
infernal crunchiness. Heavy low-end distortion is splattered all over yet it
still maintains its sense of melody easily. If you don't start singing the catchy
chorus line "arise, awake, the king in crimson comes" alongside Bruce then you're
a hopeless case when it comes to heavy metal. After some gearing up the opening
riff explodes in the speakers with the tight playing of the rhythm section backing
him up. I tell you, it just slams you down to the floor and it sounds like an
bulldozer is tearing down your walls. The lead guitar is superb throughout and
both Roy Z and Adrian Smith do some fast soloing. I can't really say which solo
is better cause both are great but I kinda like the second one more. The vocals
are pure perfection and Bruce sings quite a few gritty hooks in it. And you
know, his voice has finally returned to that great sound of old that subsequently
vanished on Maiden's No Prayer For The Dying. I can honestly say that
this is the best opening number on any metal album I've heard in a while.
The sludgy title track is actually a sorrowful mid-tempo number that isn't soft
enough to be a ballad (not even close) and still not fluent enough to be a real
rocking number. This one will hardly get your adrenaline rising but it will
get you paying attention to the odd lyrics and the creepy atmosphere. The main
riff is solid, even if it's not particularly catchy and Roy Z does a fine but
brief guitar solo in the middle of the track. There's lots of some weird space-like
effects throughout the song and even if I'm quite unable to pinpoint their true
nature I can take a wild guess and say it's some sort of a guitar effect. The
vocals shine once again as Bruce sings slow and mesmerizing and the whole song
is plain awesome.
The next tune starts surprisingly light and Maiden-esque with a groovy bass
line and pleasant riffs throughout. "The Tower" is speedy and melodic in the
classic Maiden vein with heavy guitar work and a catchy chorus line which will
probably have you singing right away. There's lots of vocal hooks, and more
importantly, lots of typical but acceptable fantasy-oriented lyrics. Also, the
mechanic riffs near the end are very reminiscent of industrial metal, even though
the whole song is certainly classic power metal. Adrian does a swift fluent
solo that shows how guitar solos should be done, short and to the point, without
any tiresome noodling.
"Killing Floor" is just evil, plain and simple. The brutality never ends here
with a whole lot of Satanism thrown into the lyrics and with Bruce shrieking
"Satan!" every few seconds or so. Actually, that's the worst part, I love the
fact it's so bottom-heavy but that chorus line is simply obnoxious. The silent
keyboard-driven interlude in the middle part gives an almost church like feel
to the song with some cool chanting by Bruce, okay, maybe not chanting, but
that's the most appropriate word I can think of. And again, the soloing is performed
in a fine manner even if it's filled with more bluesy noodling than expected.
The epic centerpiece is entitled "The Book Of Thel" and it goes on for solid
eight minutes. It opens with a distortion-free bluesy guitar line backed up
with some keyboards. Snarling distortion-filled riffs follow and the whole thing
cooks from there. There's also an astonishing interlude in between the soloing
by Roy Z which features more of Bruce's intense chanting and some mighty enjoyable
drum fills after the solo section. Overall, fast and fiery, this is an unique
gem in terms of complexity and diversity since it contains frequent tempo and
structural changes as well as some imagery-inspired singing by Bruce. Also,
in the outro part there is some unnecessary narration of poetry by a certain
Arthur Brown, and although I'm not impressed by it, I'm willing to admit that
it wraps up the song in a somewhat cool way.
Bruce steps away from his magic formula a bit and delivers the slow semi-ballad
"Gates Of Urizen", which can only be partially described as a ballad since it's
not particularly mellow. It's done in a slight psychedelic mold but the difficulty
is that it just doesn't seem to lead anywhere. There's a certain lack of solid
hooks here, vocal or otherwise, and the climatic part isn't stretched far enough.
Bruce's singing is beautiful of course, but the material simply isn't overwhelming
and even the superb atmosphere surrounding it can't do much in terms of catchiness.
This track can even sound a little dull in places and I have to consider it
as the weakest cut on the album.
And here's my favorite tune.... "Jerusalem". This one is a heavily Jethro Tull
influenced semi-ballad with a medieval atmosphere, great acoustic playing and
a bunch of art-rock references throughout. Still, don't expect it to be mellow
cause you wont get this here, it's pretty heavy for a ballad and the riffing
surely isn't bland. The intro part is rather charming with some mandolins playing
a memorable and somewhat mystic melody which is played again in the outro part
and followed by some more narration. The guys do two guitar solos here, both
of which are beautiful and of course presented in an impeccable way. There's
a few graceful climatic moments throughout when the guitar work seems like it
will explode with some cruel riffage, but it never does. The lyrics can almost
be described as personal or introspective but there's still plenty of mystic
imagery for the fans to tackle.
"Trumpets Of Jericho" is one of the heavier numbers here, and probably one of
the better ones since it has some shredding guitar work. The mid-tempo prowler
"Machine Men" is goddamn heavy too, with some mechanical grinding riffs and
fine memorable chorus lines. The slow final track "The Alchemist" starts dreary
with some menacing guitar wailing and switching from the distorted vocals to
the normal ones. Later it gets a little weird since it features the chorus of
"Chemical Wedding" and thusly hails the return of the concept part with more
narration by Arthur Brown in the end. Of course, it was hardly possible to end
this offering in a better way, although I'd be more happy if there wasn't three
or so minutes of silence before they ended with the spoken poem.
In summation, this is a lot darker, angrier and bone-crushing than the previous
effort, but it still preserves those great melodies despite the fact it's so
damn thunderously powerful. Further more, the sound is very classic and it wont
sound dated soon, and the material is consistent to the fullest extent. In fact,
although you'll need a few rotations in the CD player to get accustomed to this
distorted sound the tunes will soon become one of your favorite ones. The tight
musicianship is excellent throughout and one can only hope that Iron Maiden
will fall apart soon so Bruce can get back to writing similar stuff.
Any comments or reviews to grant us with?
The lineup that heralded Bruce's comeback to real heavy metal
continues to carry the torch with their last offering under the watchful eye
of Roy Z. However, to tell you the truth, I'm not sure that you need this album.
I mean, it's like the ultimate live outing in terms of the song quality but
for the most part this sounds just like the original studio recordings. The
six-song block beginning consisting of The Chemical Wedding tunes is
rather disappointing as it adds nothing to the tracks except the crowd noise.
It's not more energetic or anything, it's just samey. The selection is pretty
solid but Bruce completely forgot all about Accident Of Birth numbers
and plowed straight through its successor. And the pre-1997 songs are almost
erased from existence, besides the steaming, astonishing rendition of "Tears
Of The Dragon" which is definitely the main reason because of which you should
get this. But it's probably the only reason, too. Actually, I think it would
be better if he squeezed in some Iron Maiden songs that aren't overplayed already,
and put a few new tunes (instead of wasting them on a crappy "best of" album
that no-one plans to buy anyway). Okay, so I guess that's enough of my bitchin'
for now. As you might think, this was recorded in Brazil, even though they didn't
bother to mention it anywhere, but since Bruce often shrieks "Sao Paolo!!!"
you'll be able to draw your own conclusions. Anyway, wherever they recorded
it I'll sure agree with anyone who says that crowd was eager as hell, which
can normally save even the worst live performances like the ones from Kiss or
Aerosmith (not that they're untalented musicians, but their fodderish material
always sucked somewhat).
The first track "Trumpets of Jericho" rocks mightily and it's much superior
to the original cause I just feel that it breathes more. The second tune is
one of my favorite numbers from The Chemical Wedding, the rip-roaring
rendition of "King In Crimson" which comes across equally powerful like it should
be. Sadly, Bruce decided to feature yet another track from that album, but luckily
he took the weird but colossal title track. Now, the song that followed is really
useless, namely, the boring ballad "Gates of Urizen" which was fine and dandy
in the studio version but this time is completely pointless.
"Killing Floor" is an infernal delight which grinds and shines all the way,
and Bruce gives a wonderful performance, but I was sorry to notice that he still
insisted on those annoying "Satan!" roars. The band shows just how immensely
professional they are with a technically perfect and highly emotional rendition
of the lengthy "The Book Of Thel". However, after this overlong tampering in
the chemical samplings we get two earlier slices of divine songwriting, "Tears
Of The Dragon" and "Laughing In The Hiding Bush". And this is the very best
part of the record, too, since the band positively shreds and the audience is
incredibly intense, especially so on the ultimate metal ballad "Tears Of The
Dragon". The participation of the public is magnificent with the crowd singing
along line after line and making this one of the best live performances I've
heard.
Uncomfortably sandwiched between those two tracks and one more The Chemical
Wedding track they finally placed one Accident Of Birth tune, the
title track. It came out surprisingly good, and probably because the fans were
a little sick of those new songs and welcomed some change. I guess that by this
point you understood why exactly this is a superb album but a horrible live
buy. They just didn't add anything new here, nothing that would hook you enough
to want this album badly. There's no previously unreleased cuts, there's no
brand new recordings, there's nothing really interesting. The only slight difference
between the studio outings and this live album is that Bruce reads some pieces
of poetry by William Blake between the songs which makes an unusual effect.
Effective as that may be, it only worked when you've seen it live, because it
leaves close to no impression when I hear it now. And I'm sure you'll all notice
that Bruce just barely speaks to the crowd in the opening numbers and focuses
more on this concept bit, which proved to be a mistake of sorts.
The crunchy "The Tower" is fast and flowing and maybe a bit better than I've
expected as the band indulges in an extended jamming in the intro part with
a sing-along section, and an almighty dueling guitar solo. It's really exciting
to hear them doing that, especially since it's much more memorable than in the
original (even though the original was pretty ass-kicking too). Then there's
just about enough space for them to ignite with a lengthy complex epic, and
naturally, they used the freakiest number off Accident Of Birth, namely
"Dark Side of Aquarius". And yeah, this one follows suite cause it came out
just as flashy like it should have been. The closing number is somewhat of a
bizarre choice even if it's a dang good tune. The point is, I liked the speedy
"The Road to Hell" right from the start, but I never cared for its overly poppy
Maiden-esque vibe.
In summation, the band is simply amazing, Bruce is on the top of his game and
the only thing I'm not pleased with is that annoying persistence they showed
when it comes to playing The Chemical Wedding numbers. It's a great album
but there's just too little older tunes, which is understandable but still somewhat
sad. Basically, if you can't find their last studio album, then just get this
and you wont miss a thing. Except for the live vibe, of course. Eh, just buy
it and make your own conclusions.
Any comments or reviews to grant us with?
Interesting... the regular version of this compilation is a
completely uninteresting to the common listener especially if he already has
the discs Bruce did with The Tribe Of Gypsies, but if he's lucky enough to get
the limited 2-CD edition, he will be into a real treat. As for the song selection
I presume it was well done with the only minor complaints being the exclusion
of both "Cyclops" and "Gods Of War" off Balls To Picasso and the lack
of solid Skunkworks material. Truth be told the annoying repetitive rocker
"Back From The Edge" is included here but I wouldn't say it was the best Skunkworks
had to offer, but alas, it was a single. Bruce's first solo album Tattooed
Millionaire is represented with two delightful slices of early nineties
hair metal, the album's title track and "Born In ‘58" both featuring grandiose
choruses and in fact both resembling Judas Priest's commercial days with "Living
After Midnight" an awful lot. Then you get the famous ballad "Tears Of The Dragon"
and the riff-laden live rendition of "Laughing In The Hiding Bush". As far as
Bruce's best solo period is concerned, Accident Of Birth gave "Darkside
Of Aquarius", "Road To Hell" and the title track, while Chemical Wedding
is represented with "The Tower", live version of "Book Of Thel" and, again,
the title track. Which brings me to the following question – where the hell
is "King In Crimson"? How can you not include "King In Crimson"?!
In order to achieve bigger marketability two brand new songs "Broken" and "Silver
Wings" are added and naturally both are produced by Roy Z who handles the axe
once again. Both are of course fearsome metal numbers worthy of inclusion on
either one of the two past discs, but that goes without saying when Bruce and
Roy Z work together. Okay, so lemme give you their respectable descriptions
then. "Broken" is a mid-tempo burner very worthy of its creators while the more
silent passages of this instant classic contain the chorus lines that are, interestingly
enough, driven by cool electronic effects not unlike something off a Linkin
Park album. But however, the meat of the song is crunchy as always with the
standard grinding bottom and a shit load of mean-ass distortion coming from
the Z man. Bruce is in fine form showing that the relentless touring with Iron
Maiden didn't get the best of him. The only slight letdown in this song is the
unnecessary inclusion of Bruce's "woohoohoo" wailing solo than reminds me of
Brave New World's "Wicker Man", but while it was infectious and atmospheric
there it sounds positively dumb now. The other new anthem "Silver Wings" is
actually a much faster one and I'd even dare to say a better one. Ripping in
pure Powerslave-vein it sounds way heavier than anything off that record
but it still stays remarkably melodic throughout with Bruce belting out some
vocal harmonies that are so catchy it's almost a mortal sin. Roy Z unleashes
two thrilling energetic guitar solos that are prime stuff just like anything
he did with Adrian Smith earlier.
No matter how ripping these two new tracks are the main object of my attention
is the second disc with Bruce's solo rarities – the so-called Catacombs
compilation that was eagerly awaited by the fans for a long period of time and
which didn't disappoint. The opener of this second disc really does suck since
the presented version of "Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter" sounds just
as horrible like that shabby Iron Maiden cover. Listen to it if you want but
don't forget to clean the traces of vomit when you're done, but on the other
hand the medieval-styled acoustic ballad "Darkness Be My Friend" is an essential
track with a truly exceptional synth-pretending-to-be-flute solo by the old
Rainbow and Jethro Tull buccaneer Don Airey. This once upon a time B-side track
is very Tull-ish with Bruce's voice sounding passionate and emotional like it
hasn't been in any Iron Maiden song for, uh, years and years I guess. But this
ditty is only two minutes long and that's waaaaaaaay too short!!! Also, speaking
about Don Airey, is it just me or did this guy really play with, like, EVERYONE?
He's a brand new recruit for Deep Purple nowadays so he's obviously not giving
up anytime soon.
Wooohoho!!! And lemme tell you that this here "Wicker Man" is no retro-Maiden
shlocker like that thingy on Brave New World. Nope, this tune is 100%
metal in the vein of Accident Of Birth which is hardly surprising then
as it was a leftover from those sessions, and was also supposedly the band's
favorite but they never actually finished it until the Chemical Wedding
sessions. It opens with a classic Accident-styled intro buildup which
is wonderfully coupled by fine melodic structuring and strong riffage. Also
of note is the silent passage that has some darn harmonic vocal moments, and
seconds later the guitar solo that follows yet another onslaught of riffage
is rather subtle but still a decent one. Another tune scrapped off the cutting
floor of those old sessions is "Real World", a blasting chunk of tougher-than-thou
metal that rocks in a more straightforward manner but just as good. Apparently
this song was rejected since the vocals are a bit muffled up since they were
mixed slightly higher than was needed so in certain places Bruce sounds like
someone has grabbed him by the balls, but frankly, I really don't see what's
the big deal as it still kicks all sorts of ass.
"Acoustic Song" is a lengthier folky ballad that was accidentally recorded at
Roy Z's home and was sadly interrupted by a phone call which you can clearly
hear ringing in the outro moments. I can only imagine how pissed off they were
when this take was ruined, but they didn't bother recording it again so the
track was dumped. That's a shame I'd say, as it is a rather moving Celtic tune
very reminiscent of, again, Jethro Tull. The next number "No Way Out" is, ehm,
almost the biggest oddball here since it's in fact an unexpected techno-rock
combo that features dramatic strings-like synths, menacing vocal work and a
couple of suspenseful metallic guitar solos that are generic as you might assume,
but they still fit this creepy vibe wonderfully. After that there's the weird-esque
ditty called "Midnight Jam" which basically demonstrates what happens when the
band works overtime, has a few beers and decides to slam a couple of notes together.
What is achieved then is actually a rather depressing spacey-sounding Pink Floyd-ish
ballad that surely isn't a vocal tour de force, but it does have a nice doomy
atmosphere so if you aren't in a particularly jolly mood you might even like
it. Next up is a more dramatic version of "Man Of Sorrows" that isn't too far
behind the original as far as the production goes, but which adds nothing new.
To cheer you up Bruce squeezed in a hilarious tongue-in-cheek blues tune "Ballad
Of Mutt" where his voice sounds quite bizarre and the song also includes some
harmonica playing by the producer Chris Tsangarides (who has also worked with
Judas Priest).
Scheduled as a B-side release the Celtic-influenced "Re-Entry" is layered by
loads of mandolins so it's just a neat if somewhat manic ditty which serves
as an interesting intro to the Zappa-styled creation entitled "I'm In A Band
With An Italian Drummer". As for this silly Skunkworks-era number, well,
it will soon become quite irritating because of its redundancy, but you'll surely
enjoy it for the first couple of spins. It's followed by the raunchy live rendition
of "Jerusalem" which was the track I was dying to hear on Scream For Me Brazil,
but was oddly unavailable until this release. Bruce then carries on speaking
about all of the previously unreleased stuff for about ten minutes one the thirteenth
track called "The Voice Of Crube". Anyway, the hidden gem here is certainly
the closing demo track "Dracula" that was recorded in circa 1977 or something
of that order. While it is just a remastered demo and not in any way gorgeously
produced it is a mighty good song to start a career of any rock singer. This
is supposedly Bruce's first recording that was made by him and two brothers
(a drum and bass player) before he went to Samson, and since it is just a budgetless
quirky little tune it holds its ground well. Bruce sounds nothing like himself
but the vocal harmonies aren't bad and it is a catchy atmospheric number with
neat effects employed throughout.
You know, if you're just getting into Bruce's solo work I would definitely recommend
getting the records he made with Roy Z as well as the 2-CD version of this nifty
"best of" collection.
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