So first off, THE BRAINFART is back! I just figured that while the HEAVY METAL LUNCH PODCAST has been going well, I STILL have so many music things that I wanna discuss and address to my readers! Anyways, so here I am… Good to see ya again… Shall we continue?So I have been an Iron Maiden fan for more than half my life! I first heard them in 1983 when I was 10 years old and have loved them ever since. Like any other band out there, they had their amazing shining moments, and their “what the fuck were you thinking” moments. Even then, they were better than most at the BEST and that’s not an easy thing to be. Maiden was always top notch and one of the things that really set them apart from the pack was singer Bruce Dickinson.
Bruce had and still has one of the most distinct voices in music. Hearing him sing live is an experience I can never forget. I remember when in 1990, the word was that Bruce was putting out a solo album called Tattooed Millionaire. None of us knew what to expect but hell, “IT’S BRUCE!” is all we could say. I remember the songs being different from anything Maiden put out but I loved it. Songs like “Tattooed Millionaire”, “Born In ’58”, and “Gypsy Road” were departures from the “Maiden” sound and really showed that Bruce could REALLY hold his own as a songwriter.
After returning to Maiden later that year after a small club tour for the album, he left again for good in 1993 and released the album Balls to Picasso. This was a HUGE departure from Maiden and really paved the way for a solo career that would last another 7 successful years!
After that album, I pretty much lost interest in his solo material and never really continued to follow what he was doing. About a month or so ago, my good buddy James (from Protean Mean and The Heavy Metal Lunch was telling me how amazing the Bruce solo stuff was after Balls To Picasso. He let me borrow The Bruce Dickinson Anthology DVD set. It had a great live show from the Tattooed Millionaire tour and then had footage from the Skunkworks Tour and lemme tell you, I was floored. In addition to that show, there was a full show from the Accident of Birth Tour which featured Adrian Smith on guitar for the full show! THIS show REALLY kicked my ass as well. I can’t believe I let these awesome gems pass me by!
I have since then checked out “Accident of Birth” and “Skunkworks” and I love them both. “Chemical Wedding” I have yet to sink my teeth into but you can count on the fact that I will indeed do so! Better late then never eh????
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