Adrian Smith

CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
The fact that they played Back in the Village is, indeed, pretty interesting. That would have been cool to see/hear; Hooks in You not so much! :p

In terms of his voice, I didn't mean he was out of key or anything --I meant, specifically, I don't like his fake accent. Adrian is English. I mean take Adrian's backing vocals on Awoken Broken for example --that sounds like his "true" voice. I appreciate people tend to alter their natural accent, but giving it this whole American/Blues/Rock thing? Naw, I don't think it sounds very authentic (because it isn't) & therefore very good. Just my taste/opinion, that's all.

And, okay, I get it --no one gives a fuck about Carl! :D
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I see what you mean but....you could have picked a better term other than 'crappy'. :p

I honestly don't think Adrian is changing his vocals on purpose. I think that's just how it comes out when he sings. From Reach Out to his ASAP stuff and even Urchin, it all has that same type of vocals with a bit of difference through the years, of course. There are alot of English singers that have an Americanized sound to their voice when they sing versus when they talk and I think it's all natural and just how it comes out.
 
I'd have to agree with Cried on this one. I'd rather hear Adrian speaking good ol' British. But Moon Child also has a point - it just comes across this way when he sings. It has to do with vowels, actually. British vowels are not good for singing. :p
 
Oh well I like when he does that too. :D But I was just making the point that I don't think he's singing the way he does on purpose. He's not like "I want to be cool and sing like an American person!" He sings and that's what comes out.

Edit: I posted this before Ariana edited her post sooo I'm just repeating my point again. Whoo! :lol:
 
Would you agree, though, that when you hear his backing vocals on Awoken Broken (Jesus! I just typed "Amoken" again! :p) --they are distinctly English sounding? I would assume this is far more Adrian's "true" natural singing voice; one he's been (if you're saying he's always sounded sort of American) avoiding, until now. I agree with your points, Moon Child, except "it's all natural and just how it comes out." I can't agree with this. It's probably subconscious (& therefore it is, as you say, "how it comes out"), I'm sure --but it isn't natural. I do agree with Ariana though --there are some natural speaking accents that (because of cultural trends & the whole history of modern music, etc) just don't sound right. (Scottish is one. It can sound whiney & twee.) So people are instinctively drawn towards a familiar (in a singing sense) pronounced (& therefore American, or at least not regionalised English) sounding vocal. I'm not saying English speakers singing in an American sounding way are deliberately trying to sound American; but I am saying that they are deliberately trying not to sound regional English. Adrian's Maiden backing vocals don't sound particularly faux American, I might add (--&, therefore, it's probably not just "how it comes out".)
 
I can't be certain in saying this but as far as A.S.A.P. and the Untouchables are concerned, I believe Adrian tried this consciously. The music he wrote back then was supposed to be more appealing to American audiences, as Ron Smallwood said about Silver and Gold. With the Untouchables, he already had the influence of Despicable Carl (who is a Canadian) and since he spent a lot of time in such environment, some of that may have rubbed off.
 
Some accents just fit certain styles of music, a Faux American/'Mid Atlantic' twang was practically compulsory in a lot of 80s music in particular. It does jump out at me now, after the strong regional accents popular in 1990s indie. Slightly off-topic, but I'm sure Bruce sounds a lot more English these days
 
Forostar said:
Thanks Ariana!

Really special material, but forgive me for saying: I find it ridiculous that the uploader (or anyone else who might have had this in their possession) keeps such stuff so long for themselves. About time!
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It's ridiculous that it took so long to obtain a copy of this video, and that it required jumping through so many hoops, but it was always my intention to share it with other fans once I had permission to do so. Glad that it seems to be attracting interest.
 
CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
Would you agree, though, that when you hear his backing vocals on Awoken Broken (Jesus! I just typed "Amoken" again! :p) --they are distinctly English sounding? I would assume this is far more Adrian's "true" natural singing voice; one he's been (if you're saying he's always sounded sort of American) avoiding, until now. I agree with your points, Moon Child, except "it's all natural and just how it comes out." I can't agree with this. It's probably subconscious (& therefore it is, as you say, "how it comes out"), I'm sure --but it isn't natural. I do agree with Ariana though --there are some natural speaking accents that (because of cultural trends & the whole history of modern music, etc) just don't sound right. (Scottish is one. It can sound whiney & twee.) So people are instinctively drawn towards a familiar (in a singing sense) pronounced (& therefore American, or at least not regionalised English) sounding vocal. I'm not saying English speakers singing in an American sounding way are deliberately trying to sound American; but I am saying that they are deliberately trying not to sound regional English. Adrian's Maiden backing vocals don't sound particularly faux American, I might add (--&, therefore, it's probably not just "how it comes out".)
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Yeah, I can definitely see your points. :) What Ariana and Brigantium said makes alot of sense too. And yes, I do hear the English vocals on Awoken Broken pretty clearly.

I think in the end, most of us can agree that no matter how Adrian sings, whether it's faux American, English, whatever, he does a damn good job of it all. :D
 
Hackney22757 said:
It's ridiculous that it took so long to obtain a copy of this video, and that it required jumping through so many hoops, but it was always my intention to share it with other fans once I had permission to do so. Glad that it seems to be attracting interest.
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I had no idea it was so difficult to obtain this video. A couple of friends of mine hold a DVD copy for years and I was always about to ask them to make me one. That's a pretty cool video, indeed.
 
Hackney22757 said:
jumping through so many hoops.
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Speaking of "jumping" and "many".
There's about 50+ skips. Did this occur during the video-to-computer transfer process, or was the video in such a shape? If you ever have the time and energy, a new attempt would be appreciated!

By the way, am I the only one who's not sure what to think of Adrian himself?

For years, we've known him as a shy, background kind of person, and now we see a fast, flashy, approachable man, even mingling in the crowd. And all those people (the presenter included) look like Bon Jovi fans. The audience looks like an American Motley Crue fanbase!

Can't help thinking he wasn't himself. He was really searching, I guess.
 
I wasn't really sure myself what to think at first. Because like you said, you're so use to seeing Adrian as the shy, background guy in Maiden but I've come to like this side of him. I can't help but think that maybe he was breaking out of his shell now that he was free to do his own things and he wasn't just one of 2 guitarists and under Steve's command so to speak. Also, if you think about it, maybe he has always been that way but we just never really got to see that side of him while he was in Maiden. That's a possibility too.
 
He does indeed, Moon Child, make a damn good job of it --he's got a really nice voice, I've always thought. As I said, would like him to hear him try a whole album himself. He pretty much did it on Awoken Broken besides singing & drumming. We know he can sing; not sure how his drumming would hold up on for a whole album.

In terms of Adrian himself: it's pretty difficult to tell from interviews & documentaries. I'm not sure how many people behave entirely themselves with a camera in front of them. Also, the format is particularly staged: interviewer (who you don't know personally, & probably haven't met before) + questions to Adrian about Maiden/music. It's hardly a recipe for really getting to know someone. Not that I'm suggesting you guys are saying that, I just think you can't really tell unless you've met him. He still comes across as quite introverted & thoughtful, to me.
 
I'd love to see him do his own solo album. Something that's under his name and not in the form of a band. Bruce has done it and now Steve has. Time to step up Adrian. :p

That interview guys annoys the shit out of me. I just wanted him to go away just as much as I wanted Carl to go away....
 
No, I don't mean like Steve or Bruce. I mean actually play everything. As I said (unlike, for example, Steve) on Awoken Broken he does guitars, bass guitar & backing vocals on most tracks. They only thing he doesn't play, on the album, is drums. He also produced it with Mikee. So, he's pretty close to doing a Dave Grohl. That's what I meant.

Do you know, while checking the Awoken Broken sleeve (for details), I just bloody ripped the front hinge! :mad:
 
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