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Bruce Dickinson has long been an icon in the
world of true metal. Since his admission to the ranks of
Iron Maiden in the early eighties, he has been instrumental
in the growth of heavy metal as an art form and continues
to redefine what it takes to be a premier rock singer and
lyricist. After ten steam-rolling years with the maniacal
Maiden machine, the man dubbed "The Air Raid Siren"
(for reasons obvious to anyone who has heard his ballistic
banshee wail) left the biggest metal band in the world to
sail the relatively uncharted waters of solo stardom. Certainly
his 1990 solo record, Tattooed Millionaire, was a
success, but hardly a risk as Bruce remained a member of
Maiden all the while. His departure three years later from
the band he fronted to the top of the metal heap was an
unexpected shock to fans and band-mates alike. Everyone
thought he must be crazy... bloody daft, I guess they said
in the motherland.
Shortly thereafter, Dickinson had the utter
good fortune to be present at a performance by unsigned
L.A. locals Tribe of Gypsies and was so blown away by their
amazing musicianship, particularly guitarist Roy Z., that
he promptly introduced himself and invited the Tribe to
make a record with him. They soon answered non-believers
with a slice of modern metal mayhem entitled Balls To
Picasso. This, his first true solo record, didn't set
the charts on fire and in fact, was rather quietly received
by the metal public. Penned mostly by Dickinson and the
multi-faceted Roy Z., it featured the excellent 'Tears of
the Dragon', 'Gods of War' and 'Cyclops' and would set the
stage for big things to come. With the release of Accident
Of Birth and The Chemical Wedding half a decade
later, Bruce brilliantly paired guitarist Adrian Smith (his
frequent writing partner in Iron Maiden) with the equally
magnificent Roy Z. and created some of the best real metal
that would ever be captured in a recording studio. As his
former band floundered with their piss-poor "replacement,"
Blayze Bailey, fans looked to Dickinson to carry the torch.
This brings us to the reason for this article.
The Best of Bruce Dickinson (standard version) is
a compilation of some standout tracks from the singer's
solo career with two brand new songs thrown in for value
and marketability. Although a true "Best of Bruce Dickinson"
would have to be at least a four-disc set, this is a good
collection for the casual listener and a decent intro for
new fans. With the exception of the sore-thumb "Born
in '58", all songs on offer are worthy of inclusion.
However, as is the case with most "Best of" collections,
the attempt to present an overview of the performer's career
has resulted in some glaring exclusions. "Taking the
Queen," "Omega," "Arc of Space"
and "Chemical Wedding" destroy such mainstream
fare as "Tattooed Millionaire", but alas, you
can't please all of the people... blah, blah, blah. It is
the limited edition set with a second disc comprised of
rarities that is of most interest to longtime fans and will
be the focus for this review.
Disc One starts off with a bang as the new
immediate-classic "Broken" rips your speakers
a new asshole with a sledgehammer riff and brutally heavy
bass bottom courtesy of Z.. Dickinson is in customary top
form, belting out some very catchy lines with power and
conviction. Lyrically, the song is poignant and one can't
help wondering if it was written after the tragic events
of September 11: "I stand alone now, I can see, You
won't bring me down, Through all the pain and misery, I'm
not broken, I'm not broken." I would here and now like
to nominate this as the official anthem for the worldwide
fight against terrorism; powerful and inspiring, to say
the very least.
"Silver Wings" is the other new
one and sounds remarkably like Powerslave-era Maiden
strapped to a nuclear warhead. Roy Z. is one of the most
brilliant musicians to surface in the last decade and his
uncanny talent comes to the fore in the two solos he rips
out on this high-energy slammer. If you close your eyes,
you'd swear the first was Adrian Smith and the second Dave
Murray. I dare say (and duck while I say it) that these
two guys do Maiden better than Maiden - amazing! A licensed
pilot, Bruce's love of the friendly skies is the subject
here as he goes "soaring through the mountains of the
moon on silver wings." "The Siren" sounds
like it has a fresh pair of batteries and the vocal harmonies
on this track will make your hair frizz in the best possible
way!
Disc Two is actually the much-anticipated
Catacombs compilation whose impending release has
teased the fans for a couple of years now. It opens with
the original (non-Maiden) version of "Bring Your Daughter
(to the Slaughter)" - a decent track, but nothing to
soil your knickers over. Journeyman keyboard guru Don Airey
adds a beautiful synth-flute solo to "Darkness Be My
Friend," an acoustic ballad, with a medieval feel and
Bruce sounding very English, employing a much tighter-than-usual
vibrato. This takes us to the gem of the rarities: the original
"Wicker Man." This is a completely different song
than it's Iron Maiden namesake and makes the latter seem
wimpy in comparison. This tune rocks hard! Rarely are power
and melody coupled in such majestic matrimony! How a killer
like this was left on the cutting room floor four years
ago is beyond me. Twist the volume knob to two o'clock and
praise the Gods that music this good is still being offered
as atonement for the sins of the pagans of modern pop.
Another seeming cast-off from a previous session
is "Real World," a solid blast of melodic power
metal delivered with a force and intensity few bands can
match these days. "Acoustic Song" is another ballad
with a minstrel vibe not unlike Jethro Tull, a band Bruce
has cited as a favorite (remember Maiden's cover of "Cross-eyed
Mary?"). "No Way Out" is a remnant of the
ill-fated early nineties sessions with legendary producer
Ron Nevison, in which Bruce attempted to break out of the
classic metal mold. His vocals alone make this track a keeper.
The remainder of the second disc contains
a mixed bag of tunes whose inclusion ranges from lighthearted
fun to essential listening. A very demo-sounding version
of "Man of Sorrows" is completely superfluous
and a pale companion to the AOB version, while "Ballad
of Mutt" is simply Bruce sending up the blues in a
semi-spontaneous burst of studio hijinx. Another piece of
silliness is the blatantly Zappa-esque "I'm in a Band
with an Italian Drummer," which will require some real
effort to figure out the lyrics! This is a fun track for
the first three listens, but soon becomes a skip-over nuisance
on the disc. The potentially weak finish to the rarities
is avoided by a rousing live version of "Jerusalem"
that was dubiously excluded from the 1999 live opus, Scream
for Me Brazil. Dickinson crushes on this track, proving
yet again that he still delivers the goods in concert, perhaps
better than ever. The next track, "Voice of Crube,"
(an anagram for "Bruce"), is the singer commenting
on all of the tracks on Disc Two.
The collection concludes with a demo entitled
"Dracula" that Dickinson describes as his first
recording experience. This is a cool little piece of history
as, despite its telltale low-budget production, we get a
glimpse of the spark that would ignite an inferno in the
world of heavy rock that still rages to this day. Long may
those fires burn.
Shred Pick: "Broken"
Reviewed by Chris
Yancik
Click
here to buy The Best Of Bruce Dickinson at 
Click
here to buy The Best Of Bruce Dickinson at 
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