Back when [a href=\'http://ouray.cudenver.edu/~pbarmstr/imtop20.html\' target=\'_blank\']this page[/a] was still being updated (it's now dead), I found it interesting that most of the top songs on this list are songs that I would generally describe as being fairly complex. However, this is just a gut-level feeling; I had no specific criteria for what distinguished a song as being 'complex' or 'simple'. So I sat down one night and tried to think up some criteria - musical elements that contribute to the complexity of a song.
First of all, I think that complexity is different from technique. A song can be simple in terms of compositional complexity and still be hard to play - "The Trooper" is a good example of this. A song can be complex and yet easy to play - "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" comes to mind.
Also, I think guitar solos should usually be separated from complexity. When people write songs, they tend to write a section and designate it as a 'solo section'. What the lead guitarist happens to put in there usually doesn't affect the complexity of the rest of the song.
So if that's what complexity is not, then what is it?
The following factors contribute to complexity:
1. The number of distinctly different guitar riffs
2. The number of variations on those basic riffs
3. Tempo changes
4. Key changes
5. Time signature changes
6. Interaction between instruments, including the vocal melody
1. The number of distinctly different guitar riffs
Judging by my 18 years experience in cover bands, the average rock song has 3 or 4 different riffs. I would start to call a song mildly complex when it contains 6 different riffs, with more riffs increasing complexity further. The riffs (or chord progressions) must be distinctly different; variations or transpositions to another key don't count here. Some 'riff counts' for Maiden songs:
2. The number of variations on those basic riffs
This is where Maiden gets most of their complexity. It's actually somewhat rare that they play a given riff the same way thoughout an entire song. Consider the chorus from "Fear of the Dark"; the chord progression is the same each time, but there are three different variations played through the course of the song. I personally think that variations on a riff are a bigger part of complexity than the number of basic riffs because it takes more finesse on the musician's part to bring across the subtle differences between variations.
3. Tempo changes
There are three levels of complexity for tempo changes. The simplest is a rhythmic modulation, where a previous note length changes to a new value while the underlying pulse remains the same. A good example is the beginning of the guitar solo section in "Hallowed Be Thy Name": the song moves to double-time, which means that one beat from the previous sections becomes two beats in the guitar solos while the tempo of those pulses remains the same.
The second type of tempo change happens when the band stops playing, and one musician starts up at a new tempo; the rest of the band takes their cue from this one player. Examples:
4. Key changes
While key changes make the song more interesting to listen to, they really aren't that hard for musicians to play. The only times that they present difficulty is when the key changes during a guitar solo, and the soloist has to adjust his thinking from one scale to another. This isn't too common in Maiden; in most cases, a key change during a guitar solo is accompanied by a change in the soloing player. An example is "Aces High": Dave's solo is in A minor, but the key of the song changes to B minor when Adrian takes over. Nonetheless, key changes do increase complexity somewhat - playing in 2 different keys is more complex than playing in just one, even if the difference is slight. Most Maiden songs have 2 to 4 key changes, but a few have substantially more:
This is the element of complexity which is most glaringly obvious to listeners. I've known many musicians who think that the number of time sig changes is the primary indicator of complexity. I disagree because there are plenty of complex songs without a single time sig change (such as "Powerslave", "Ghost Of The Navigator" or "Paschendale"). But it's true that time sig changes can throw a musician for a loop if the musician isn't paying attention.
Like tempo changes, there are three basic types. The easiest is a single change to a new meter, such as from 4/4 (2 or 4 division to the beat, 4 beats per measure) to 12/8 (3 divisions to the beat, 4 beats per measure). An example of this change is the beginning of the second major section in "Rime" ("There, goes the Mariner..."). This is the simplest type of change because once you get through it, there's no more changes to deal with.
The next most complex type is the insertion of a single 'odd-time' measure into a section with an otherwise constant time signature. Two good examples are the verse of "The Unbeliever", which has a few measures of 9/8 in a 4/4 section (the odd measures have an extra half-beat) or the end of the guitar solo section in "Caught Somewhere In Time" which has a measure of 2/4 (a 2-beat measure) just before the recap of the intro lick.
The most complex time sig changes are sections where changes occur on almost every measure. One particular section from "Sign of the Cross" has the following changes: 4/4, 5/8, 4/4 (2 bars), 2/4, 5/8, 4/4 (2 bars), 5/8 and so on. The extra half-beats (in the 5/8 measures) mean that the musicians have to be on their toes to get through this part without a mistake.
6. Interaction between instruments, including the vocal melody
This final element of complexity is largely a difficulty of the songwriting process. Once the song is written and arranged, the players can execute their parts without too much attention being paid to the contrapuntal subtleties. Some of Maiden's best songs have complicated interactions between Steve's bass and the guitar parts, such as the slow guitar solo just after the second chorus of "Powerslave". Adding a vocal into the mix complicates matters further, as in the verses from "Revelations" where you can hear a vocal melody, a bass melody and a guitar chord progression all at once. It takes a good amount of brain power to write music like this!
Overall, complexity isn't something that can be quantified precisely, but songs which have several of the elements mentioned above are more complex than songs like "Flight Of Icarus" or "New Frontier" that are fairly simple to play. I should emphasize that 'complex' doesn't mean 'good song' by itself. Some simple songs like "Wasted Years" or "Futureal" are among my favorites. But as a musician, I love hearing complex compositions. One of the reasons that Maiden is my favorite band is because most of their songs are at least moderately complex. Even a song like "No More Lies", which is simple by Maiden standards, is a lot more complex than an average pop song.
After having spent a lot of time looking at Maiden songs from this perspective, I think that the most complex Maiden songs are as follows (not necessarily in any kind of order):
First of all, I think that complexity is different from technique. A song can be simple in terms of compositional complexity and still be hard to play - "The Trooper" is a good example of this. A song can be complex and yet easy to play - "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" comes to mind.
Also, I think guitar solos should usually be separated from complexity. When people write songs, they tend to write a section and designate it as a 'solo section'. What the lead guitarist happens to put in there usually doesn't affect the complexity of the rest of the song.
So if that's what complexity is not, then what is it?
The following factors contribute to complexity:
1. The number of distinctly different guitar riffs
2. The number of variations on those basic riffs
3. Tempo changes
4. Key changes
5. Time signature changes
6. Interaction between instruments, including the vocal melody
1. The number of distinctly different guitar riffs
Judging by my 18 years experience in cover bands, the average rock song has 3 or 4 different riffs. I would start to call a song mildly complex when it contains 6 different riffs, with more riffs increasing complexity further. The riffs (or chord progressions) must be distinctly different; variations or transpositions to another key don't count here. Some 'riff counts' for Maiden songs:
- 14 - Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
- 12 - Sign Of The Cross
- 10 - Paschendale
- 9 - Infinite Dreams, Alexander The Great
- 8 - Phantom Of The Opera, The Number Of The Beast
- 7 - Hallowed Be Thy Name, Powerslave, 2 Minutes To Midnight
- 6 - Aces High, Fear Of The Dark, Dance Of Death
- 5 - Revelations
- 4 - The Trooper
2. The number of variations on those basic riffs
This is where Maiden gets most of their complexity. It's actually somewhat rare that they play a given riff the same way thoughout an entire song. Consider the chorus from "Fear of the Dark"; the chord progression is the same each time, but there are three different variations played through the course of the song. I personally think that variations on a riff are a bigger part of complexity than the number of basic riffs because it takes more finesse on the musician's part to bring across the subtle differences between variations.
3. Tempo changes
There are three levels of complexity for tempo changes. The simplest is a rhythmic modulation, where a previous note length changes to a new value while the underlying pulse remains the same. A good example is the beginning of the guitar solo section in "Hallowed Be Thy Name": the song moves to double-time, which means that one beat from the previous sections becomes two beats in the guitar solos while the tempo of those pulses remains the same.
The second type of tempo change happens when the band stops playing, and one musician starts up at a new tempo; the rest of the band takes their cue from this one player. Examples:
- Phantom Of The Opera: from the slow guitar solo to the fast triplet section (Steve sets the new tempo)
- Iron Maiden: from the second chorus to the middle section (Dave sets the new tempo)
- 22 Acacia Avenue: from the fast portion of the intro back to the slower part (Adrian sets the new tempo)
- Rime Of The Ancient Mariner: from the first major song section to the second (Bruce sets the tempo with the line "There, goes the Mariner")
- Phantom Of The Opera: "Keep your distance" section to the first guitar solo
- Alexander The Great: The intro to the verse riff (where the drums enter, aside from the intro rolls on the snare)
- The Clairvoyant: The verse to the chorus
- Fear Of The Dark: every tempo change in the song, e.g. the fast chorus to the slower chorus
- Sign Of The Cross: The guitar solo section to the guitar melody section which follows it
- Ghost Of The Navigator: The verse to the prechorus
4. Key changes
While key changes make the song more interesting to listen to, they really aren't that hard for musicians to play. The only times that they present difficulty is when the key changes during a guitar solo, and the soloist has to adjust his thinking from one scale to another. This isn't too common in Maiden; in most cases, a key change during a guitar solo is accompanied by a change in the soloing player. An example is "Aces High": Dave's solo is in A minor, but the key of the song changes to B minor when Adrian takes over. Nonetheless, key changes do increase complexity somewhat - playing in 2 different keys is more complex than playing in just one, even if the difference is slight. Most Maiden songs have 2 to 4 key changes, but a few have substantially more:
- Aces High - 13 key changes
- Infinite Dreams - 12 key changes
- Alexander The Great - 8 key changes
- Powerslave - 7 key changes
This is the element of complexity which is most glaringly obvious to listeners. I've known many musicians who think that the number of time sig changes is the primary indicator of complexity. I disagree because there are plenty of complex songs without a single time sig change (such as "Powerslave", "Ghost Of The Navigator" or "Paschendale"). But it's true that time sig changes can throw a musician for a loop if the musician isn't paying attention.
Like tempo changes, there are three basic types. The easiest is a single change to a new meter, such as from 4/4 (2 or 4 division to the beat, 4 beats per measure) to 12/8 (3 divisions to the beat, 4 beats per measure). An example of this change is the beginning of the second major section in "Rime" ("There, goes the Mariner..."). This is the simplest type of change because once you get through it, there's no more changes to deal with.
The next most complex type is the insertion of a single 'odd-time' measure into a section with an otherwise constant time signature. Two good examples are the verse of "The Unbeliever", which has a few measures of 9/8 in a 4/4 section (the odd measures have an extra half-beat) or the end of the guitar solo section in "Caught Somewhere In Time" which has a measure of 2/4 (a 2-beat measure) just before the recap of the intro lick.
The most complex time sig changes are sections where changes occur on almost every measure. One particular section from "Sign of the Cross" has the following changes: 4/4, 5/8, 4/4 (2 bars), 2/4, 5/8, 4/4 (2 bars), 5/8 and so on. The extra half-beats (in the 5/8 measures) mean that the musicians have to be on their toes to get through this part without a mistake.
6. Interaction between instruments, including the vocal melody
This final element of complexity is largely a difficulty of the songwriting process. Once the song is written and arranged, the players can execute their parts without too much attention being paid to the contrapuntal subtleties. Some of Maiden's best songs have complicated interactions between Steve's bass and the guitar parts, such as the slow guitar solo just after the second chorus of "Powerslave". Adding a vocal into the mix complicates matters further, as in the verses from "Revelations" where you can hear a vocal melody, a bass melody and a guitar chord progression all at once. It takes a good amount of brain power to write music like this!
Overall, complexity isn't something that can be quantified precisely, but songs which have several of the elements mentioned above are more complex than songs like "Flight Of Icarus" or "New Frontier" that are fairly simple to play. I should emphasize that 'complex' doesn't mean 'good song' by itself. Some simple songs like "Wasted Years" or "Futureal" are among my favorites. But as a musician, I love hearing complex compositions. One of the reasons that Maiden is my favorite band is because most of their songs are at least moderately complex. Even a song like "No More Lies", which is simple by Maiden standards, is a lot more complex than an average pop song.
After having spent a lot of time looking at Maiden songs from this perspective, I think that the most complex Maiden songs are as follows (not necessarily in any kind of order):
- Sign Of The Cross
- Alexander The Great
- Dance Of Death
- Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
- The Nomad
- To Tame A Land