Adrian's Solo Discography Ranked - The Complete List

[Jer]

17. Believe
Psycho Motel
Average Score: 8.10/10
Welcome To The World 10/13

After a brief respite Welcome To The World is back in the countdown's sights, and now it has the dubious honor of being the first album to have 10 of its tracks eliminated. This time the decedent is "Believe", a provocative song about the human failings of faith.

Votes were tightly clustered around 8/10, but leaning slightly higher in the end.

Comments:

OK. This was about two things – foul weather faith – and also my mind set towards religion at the time. foul weather faith being people who only pray when times are hard. Their faith seems to be rekindled only when shit hits the fan. I guess I find that strange, either you believe or you don’t. And also I was questioning if there is an almighty being who loves us unconditionally then why are the numerous disasters and atrocities that happen every year allowed to happen? But it is JUST a song!

Great atmospheric verses trade back and forth with cool guitar breaks. A nice pre-chorus builds up to an underwhelming but still pretty good chorus. Good solo, great outro.

A bit more aggressive, lyrically. Still very strong.

great song

Votes:

Spoiler

10 - 0
9 - 3
8 - 5
7 - 2
6 - 0
5 - 0
4 - 0
3 - 0
2 - 0
1 - 0

Overall:

Spoiler

17. Believe
18. Awoken Broken
19. She's A Roller
20. Countdown
21. The Last Chain
22. A Quarter To Heaven
23. Something Real
24. Savage World
25. My Lady
26. Welcome To The World
27. Innocence
28. Blood On The Ocean
29. Machine Men
30. Sins Of Your Father
31. Bright As A Fire
32. The Calling
33. I'm Alive
34. Countdown (Alternate Version)
35. Money To Burn
36. Animals
37. Keeping It Mellow
38. Down The Wire
39. Killing Floor
40. After The Storm
41. New Horizons
42. City Of Dreams
43. Western Shore
44. Black Leather Fantasy
45. Don't Ask Me
46. Hypocrisy
47. I See Lights
48. Fallen Heroes
49. Suicide
50. Welcome To The Pit
51. City Of Light
52. Life In The City
53. Into The Black
54. Rage
55. Long Time No Woman
56. Excuse Me
57. Snake Ladders
58. Misunderstood
59. Rock 'N' Roll Woman
60. Watch Me Walk Away
61. Killing Time
62. Scientist
63. No Loss To Me
64. Time Is A Hunter
65. World's On Fire
66. Fighting Man
67. Lifetime
68. Wishing Your Life Away
69. The Late Show
70. Last Goodbye
71. As Tears Come Falling From The Sky
72. You Could Be A King
73. Kid Gone Astray
74. (Can't) Wait
75. Just Like A Woman
76. Blood Brothers
77. School Days
78. Need Somebody
79. Get Up And Get Out
80. Madman
81. Little Girl
82. Mooncusser

Albums:

Spoiler

Silver And Gold 8/10
State Of Mind 9/10
Welcome To The World 10/13
Awoken Broken 6/12
Collaborations 5/8
B-sides 8/9
Limited Releases 20/20 (6.87 avg.)

 

[Diesel 11]

For a moment I thought I was humming the song, but it turned out to be “Innocence”.

 

[Jer]

16. Rain
Psycho Motel
Average Score: 8.10/10
Welcome To The World 11/13

The bloodletting continues as yet another song from Welcome To The World reaches the end of its run. "Rain" probably stands out the most as a showpiece for Andy Makin's voice, with a big chorus and lots of vocal improvisation toward the end of the track.

Votes were spread across the upper half of the scale, but mostly clustered at 8/10.

Comments:

Adrian’s lyrics this one. One of my favourites simply because when I was going through the audition process I had to sing this on a rough demo. At the end of the song on the album I kind of go for it at the end, which is exactly what I did on the demo. It was one of the deciding factors that got me the job. A great song.

Andy Makin is the singer here and he does a great job, with a dark voice (his singing on Rain in particular, is outstanding).

Andy Makin's [...] job on Welcome To The World is stellar! His vocal lines on Rain [...] are some of the most catchy stuff I heard!!!

I really like the off-kilter main riff. Good verse, somewhat weaker pre-chorus, but a great chorus. Nice, high-energy solo. Andy's vocal riffing on the chorus makes for a nice exit, too.

Another good song.

Votes:

Spoiler

10 - 1
9 - 2
8 - 5
7 - 1
6 - 1
5 - 0
4 - 0
3 - 0
2 - 0
1 - 0

Overall:

Spoiler

16. Rain
17. Believe
18. Awoken Broken
19. She's A Roller
20. Countdown
21. The Last Chain
22. A Quarter To Heaven
23. Something Real
24. Savage World
25. My Lady
26. Welcome To The World
27. Innocence
28. Blood On The Ocean
29. Machine Men
30. Sins Of Your Father
31. Bright As A Fire
32. The Calling
33. I'm Alive
34. Countdown (Alternate Version)
35. Money To Burn
36. Animals
37. Keeping It Mellow
38. Down The Wire
39. Killing Floor
40. After The Storm
41. New Horizons
42. City Of Dreams
43. Western Shore
44. Black Leather Fantasy
45. Don't Ask Me
46. Hypocrisy
47. I See Lights
48. Fallen Heroes
49. Suicide
50. Welcome To The Pit
51. City Of Light
52. Life In The City
53. Into The Black
54. Rage
55. Long Time No Woman
56. Excuse Me
57. Snake Ladders
58. Misunderstood
59. Rock 'N' Roll Woman
60. Watch Me Walk Away
61. Killing Time
62. Scientist
63. No Loss To Me
64. Time Is A Hunter
65. World's On Fire
66. Fighting Man
67. Lifetime
68. Wishing Your Life Away
69. The Late Show
70. Last Goodbye
71. As Tears Come Falling From The Sky
72. You Could Be A King
73. Kid Gone Astray
74. (Can't) Wait
75. Just Like A Woman
76. Blood Brothers
77. School Days
78. Need Somebody
79. Get Up And Get Out
80. Madman
81. Little Girl
82. Mooncusser

Albums:

Spoiler

Silver And Gold 8/10
State Of Mind 9/10
Welcome To The World 11/13
Awoken Broken 6/12
Collaborations 5/8
B-sides 8/9
Limited Releases 20/20 (6.87 avg.)

 

[Diesel 11]

Theory: “Underground” is gonna win from the WttW songs and it’ll be the only one in the Top 10.

 

[Jer]

15. No Friendly Neighbour
Primal Rock Rebellion
Average Score: 8.13/10
Awoken Broken 7/12

The next song to fall is the leadoff track from Awoken Broken, a ruthless midtempo march that manages to never lose its sense of melody. This song gave a good preview of the range of musical ideas that would appear on the rest of the album.

Votes were polarized, with the largest cluster at 9/10 and a smaller one at 6/10. Apparently people either loved it or thought it was merely OK.

This was among my favorite songs on the album, and I thought it might place a bit higher than this, but I was obviously wrong. Sad jams.

Comments:

Wow, so much power! I love it! The vocalist is actually pretty good.

Very energetic and powerful opening track [...] Very strong riffing, and cool timing by Mikee. I love the breakdown in the middle, where you can feel the tension rising again before it continues with Adrian's solo. The drums groove along excellent in the whole track. [...] I like it that we can hear the bass pretty well

A sinister industrial opening explodes into a cutting and melodic riff. [...] Cool spacey guitar accents throughout the song. Goodman's vocals are absolutely savage in places, but it's always balanced by a strong melodic sensibility in the rest of the music. [...] Love this song.

The vocals were a bit intense for me [...] The was too much screaming with that one which I'm not big fan of

we're treated to all sorts of odd sounds from Mr. Smith

the instrumental section at the end [...] 3 sections, two stanzas each, and each builds on the previous. It's a wonderful composition, especially when Abi's viola is deftly added in, and probably the type of outro that Harris has been trying to write for years now.

Votes:

Spoiler

10 - 1
9 - 4
8 - 0
7 - 1
6 - 2
5 - 0
4 - 0
3 - 0
2 - 0
1 - 0

Overall:

Spoiler

15. No Friendly Neighbour
16. Rain
17. Believe
18. Awoken Broken
19. She's A Roller
20. Countdown
21. The Last Chain
22. A Quarter To Heaven
23. Something Real
24. Savage World
25. My Lady
26. Welcome To The World
27. Innocence
28. Blood On The Ocean
29. Machine Men
30. Sins Of Your Father
31. Bright As A Fire
32. The Calling
33. I'm Alive
34. Countdown (Alternate Version)
35. Money To Burn
36. Animals
37. Keeping It Mellow
38. Down The Wire
39. Killing Floor
40. After The Storm
41. New Horizons
42. City Of Dreams
43. Western Shore
44. Black Leather Fantasy
45. Don't Ask Me
46. Hypocrisy
47. I See Lights
48. Fallen Heroes
49. Suicide
50. Welcome To The Pit
51. City Of Light
52. Life In The City
53. Into The Black
54. Rage
55. Long Time No Woman
56. Excuse Me
57. Snake Ladders
58. Misunderstood
59. Rock 'N' Roll Woman
60. Watch Me Walk Away
61. Killing Time
62. Scientist
63. No Loss To Me
64. Time Is A Hunter
65. World's On Fire
66. Fighting Man
67. Lifetime
68. Wishing Your Life Away
69. The Late Show
70. Last Goodbye
71. As Tears Come Falling From The Sky
72. You Could Be A King
73. Kid Gone Astray
74. (Can't) Wait
75. Just Like A Woman
76. Blood Brothers
77. School Days
78. Need Somebody
79. Get Up And Get Out
80. Madman
81. Little Girl
82. Mooncusser

Albums:

Spoiler

Silver And Gold 8/10
State Of Mind 9/10
Welcome To The World 11/13
Awoken Broken 7/12
Collaborations 5/8
B-sides 8/9
Limited Releases 20/20 (6.87 avg.)

 

[mckindog]

Artistically, No Friendly Nieghbour hits every box.
The outro is a thing of beauty.

 

[Diesel 11]

This was among my favorite songs on the album, and I thought it might place a bit higher than this, but I was obviously wrong. Sad jams.

Hey, 15 is nothing to sneeze at!

 

[Jer]

Hey, 15 is nothing to sneeze at!

Well, it's in the upper fifth I guess, but I thought it was top 10 material.

 

[Diesel 11]

Well, it's in the upper fifth I guess, but I thought it was top 10 material.

That's what I thought about "Trumpets of Jericho" back in the Bruce rankings....

 

[Jer]

That's what I thought about "Trumpets of Jericho" back in the Bruce rankings....

Yes, but there's an important difference in this ca-- oh, never mind.

 

[Jer]

14. When She's Gone
A.S.A.P.
Average Score: 8.15/10
B-sides 9/9

This bonus track from the "Down The Wire" single is the little B-side that could. Seriously, we haven't seen a B-side since #62 on the countdown, but here's this song sitting at #14, finally closing out the category. Amazing.

About a third of the voters gave this song a 10/10 rating, with the rest of the votes spread pretty evenly across the upper half of the scale.

Personally I thought the song was good, but nowhere near perfect. Obviously many of you disagree.

(The forum search function refused to give any results for this song, so I only grabbed comments from this thread and the tail end of the Adrian Smith thread.)

Comments:

Jesus Christ, this song is awesome

The best Adrian song!

Consistently good, but the only part that reaches greatness is the first solo.

Votes:

Spoiler

10 - 5
9 - 1
8 - 2
7 - 2
6 - 2
5 - 1
4 - 0
3 - 0
2 - 0
1 - 0

Overall:

Spoiler

14. When She's Gone
15. No Friendly Neighbour
16. Rain
17. Believe
18. Awoken Broken
19. She's A Roller
20. Countdown
21. The Last Chain
22. A Quarter To Heaven
23. Something Real
24. Savage World
25. My Lady
26. Welcome To The World
27. Innocence
28. Blood On The Ocean
29. Machine Men
30. Sins Of Your Father
31. Bright As A Fire
32. The Calling
33. I'm Alive
34. Countdown (Alternate Version)
35. Money To Burn
36. Animals
37. Keeping It Mellow
38. Down The Wire
39. Killing Floor
40. After The Storm
41. New Horizons
42. City Of Dreams
43. Western Shore
44. Black Leather Fantasy
45. Don't Ask Me
46. Hypocrisy
47. I See Lights
48. Fallen Heroes
49. Suicide
50. Welcome To The Pit
51. City Of Light
52. Life In The City
53. Into The Black
54. Rage
55. Long Time No Woman
56. Excuse Me
57. Snake Ladders
58. Misunderstood
59. Rock 'N' Roll Woman
60. Watch Me Walk Away
61. Killing Time
62. Scientist
63. No Loss To Me
64. Time Is A Hunter
65. World's On Fire
66. Fighting Man
67. Lifetime
68. Wishing Your Life Away
69. The Late Show
70. Last Goodbye
71. As Tears Come Falling From The Sky
72. You Could Be A King
73. Kid Gone Astray
74. (Can't) Wait
75. Just Like A Woman
76. Blood Brothers
77. School Days
78. Need Somebody
79. Get Up And Get Out
80. Madman
81. Little Girl
82. Mooncusser

Albums:

Spoiler

Silver And Gold 8/10
State Of Mind 9/10
Welcome To The World 11/13
Awoken Broken 7/12
Collaborations 5/8
Limited Releases 20/20 (6.87 avg.)
B-sides 9/9 (6.14 avg.)

 

[Diesel 11]

I'm surprised it managed to get that far myself, but I'm rather happy about it. "The Little Song That Could"...

 

[Diesel 11]

"The Little Song That Could"...

the little B-side that could.

Oop, you already made that reference.

 

[Jer]

13. Underground
Psycho Motel
Average Score: 8.20/10
Welcome To The World 12/13

Well, @Diesel 11 , your prediction was at least half wrong. Welcome To The World loses what many people believe to be the album's finest song, a blend of soaring guitars and vocals with arguably the biggest chorus of any Psycho Motel song. I just assumed this song would hit the top 10 (and it did come close), but you know what happens when you assume.

Most of the votes were clustered around 9/10, but about a third of them were down around 6/10 instead.

You bide your time, you pay the price, you crossed the line. Life ain't easy, cos "Underground", the sun don't shine...

Comments:

Adrian’s lyrics – we actually rewrote the song in the studio and needed an extra verse which we desperately created at the last minute. Sounds very good though and a song that really grew on me.

My favourite Psycho Motel song is Underground (the opening riff reminds me of Marillion)

Most of the song is good. The chorus is fantastic. It's huge. Very great.

[Andy Makin's] vocal lines on [...] Underground are some of the most catchy stuff I heard!!!

A soaring guitar intro leads into an appealing verse. The pre-chorus is OK, but the chorus is glorious! [...] Nice epic ending. Definitely the highlight of the album.

Votes:

Spoiler

10 - 2
9 - 3
8 - 2
7 - 1
6 - 2
5 - 0
4 - 0
3 - 0
2 - 0
1 - 0

Overall:

Spoiler

13. Underground
14. When She's Gone
15. No Friendly Neighbour
16. Rain
17. Believe
18. Awoken Broken
19. She's A Roller
20. Countdown
21. The Last Chain
22. A Quarter To Heaven
23. Something Real
24. Savage World
25. My Lady
26. Welcome To The World
27. Innocence
28. Blood On The Ocean
29. Machine Men
30. Sins Of Your Father
31. Bright As A Fire
32. The Calling
33. I'm Alive
34. Countdown (Alternate Version)
35. Money To Burn
36. Animals
37. Keeping It Mellow
38. Down The Wire
39. Killing Floor
40. After The Storm
41. New Horizons
42. City Of Dreams
43. Western Shore
44. Black Leather Fantasy
45. Don't Ask Me
46. Hypocrisy
47. I See Lights
48. Fallen Heroes
49. Suicide
50. Welcome To The Pit
51. City Of Light
52. Life In The City
53. Into The Black
54. Rage
55. Long Time No Woman
56. Excuse Me
57. Snake Ladders
58. Misunderstood
59. Rock 'N' Roll Woman
60. Watch Me Walk Away
61. Killing Time
62. Scientist
63. No Loss To Me
64. Time Is A Hunter
65. World's On Fire
66. Fighting Man
67. Lifetime
68. Wishing Your Life Away
69. The Late Show
70. Last Goodbye
71. As Tears Come Falling From The Sky
72. You Could Be A King
73. Kid Gone Astray
74. (Can't) Wait
75. Just Like A Woman
76. Blood Brothers
77. School Days
78. Need Somebody
79. Get Up And Get Out
80. Madman
81. Little Girl
82. Mooncusser

Albums:

Spoiler

Silver And Gold 8/10
State Of Mind 9/10
Welcome To The World 12/13
Awoken Broken 7/12
Collaborations 5/8
Limited Releases 20/20 (6.87 avg.)
B-sides 9/9 (6.14 avg.)

Welcome To The World is now hanging on by a thread. Will it even survive until the top 10...?

 

[Diesel 11]

Oh I say...! "With You Again" is the highest song, then? I can see why, but I think the chorus needs a bit of changing. I don't like how Makin sings the actual title within the song. Oh well...

 

[Jer]

12. White Sheet Robes
Primal Rock Rebellion
Average Score: 8.25/10
Awoken Broken 8/12

As the songs play musical chairs to see which ones will survive until the top 10, we lose another Primal Rock Rebellion track. This time it's "White Sheet Robes", a driving lament about a friend being consigned to an asylum.

Votes were mostly clustered around 8/10 and 10/10.

Comments:

Riffing time. One of the better songs from the album. Actually it sounds like an older Fight/Halford song (the couplets with its fat riffs!) but [...] in 1997 or 1998 I am sure it would have landed on a Bruce Dickinson album as well. In the second half, the song begins to drag a bit more.

The guitars in White Sheet Robes are just sublime.

a quasi-Power Metal vibe [on] the mulit-layered harmony bit

A cool pulsing main riff drives an aggressive verse. Neat melodic chorus with neoclassical underpinnings. A straight-up metal interlude with some spacy guitar accents [...] Great stuff.

Also a good song. Second-best [on the album]

Votes:

Spoiler

10 - 2
9 - 1
8 - 3
7 - 1
6 - 1
5 - 0
4 - 0
3 - 0
2 - 0
1 - 0

Overall:

Spoiler

12. White Sheet Robes
13. Underground
14. When She's Gone
15. No Friendly Neighbour
16. Rain
17. Believe
18. Awoken Broken
19. She's A Roller
20. Countdown
21. The Last Chain
22. A Quarter To Heaven
23. Something Real
24. Savage World
25. My Lady
26. Welcome To The World
27. Innocence
28. Blood On The Ocean
29. Machine Men
30. Sins Of Your Father
31. Bright As A Fire
32. The Calling
33. I'm Alive
34. Countdown (Alternate Version)
35. Money To Burn
36. Animals
37. Keeping It Mellow
38. Down The Wire
39. Killing Floor
40. After The Storm
41. New Horizons
42. City Of Dreams
43. Western Shore
44. Black Leather Fantasy
45. Don't Ask Me
46. Hypocrisy
47. I See Lights
48. Fallen Heroes
49. Suicide
50. Welcome To The Pit
51. City Of Light
52. Life In The City
53. Into The Black
54. Rage
55. Long Time No Woman
56. Excuse Me
57. Snake Ladders
58. Misunderstood
59. Rock 'N' Roll Woman
60. Watch Me Walk Away
61. Killing Time
62. Scientist
63. No Loss To Me
64. Time Is A Hunter
65. World's On Fire
66. Fighting Man
67. Lifetime
68. Wishing Your Life Away
69. The Late Show
70. Last Goodbye
71. As Tears Come Falling From The Sky
72. You Could Be A King
73. Kid Gone Astray
74. (Can't) Wait
75. Just Like A Woman
76. Blood Brothers
77. School Days
78. Need Somebody
79. Get Up And Get Out
80. Madman
81. Little Girl
82. Mooncusser

Albums:

Spoiler

Silver And Gold 8/10
State Of Mind 9/10
Welcome To The World 12/13
Awoken Broken 8/12
Collaborations 5/8
Limited Releases 20/20 (6.87 avg.)
B-sides 9/9 (6.14 avg.)

 

[Diesel 11]

So high and come so far. Well deserved.

 

[Jer]

11. The Ghost Of Cain
Bruce Dickinson
Average Score: 8.33/10
Collaborations 6/8

As we reach the final elimination before the top 10, we say goodbye to another song from Bruce Dickinson's Accident Of Birth sessions. "The Ghost Of Cain" was a B-side in the U.K., but a regular album track in the U.S., and I felt that it was a great bridge between "Welcome To The Pit" and "Omega" (which had always felt like an awkward transition to me on the U.K. version).

Over half the votes for this song were a 9/10 rating, with the rest trailing close behind. We actually had three tracks tied at 8.33/10, but "The Ghost Of Cain" was the only one that failed to receive any 10/10 votes, so it drew the short straw in the end. (Sorry, @GhostofCain !)

Comments:

Great song.

Ghost of Cain is a great song.

An excellent song.

One of the best songs from AoB.

A soaring melodic lead gives way to an odd-rhythm verse riff. Strong verse, a stronger pre-chorus, and a pretty catchy chorus. [...] This was a B-side in the U.K. but an album track in the U.S., and I think it deserved its spot on the album. Great stuff.

I don't have a Bruce top 20, but it I was to make one, ["The Ghost Of Cain"] would certainly make it

Nice to see I am getting more appreciation as time goes by.

Votes:

Spoiler

10 - 0
9 - 5
8 - 2
7 - 2
6 - 0
5 - 0
4 - 0
3 - 0
2 - 0
1 - 0

Overall:

Spoiler

11. The Ghost Of Cain
12. White Sheet Robes
13. Underground
14. When She's Gone
15. No Friendly Neighbour
16. Rain
17. Believe
18. Awoken Broken
19. She's A Roller
20. Countdown
21. The Last Chain
22. A Quarter To Heaven
23. Something Real
24. Savage World
25. My Lady
26. Welcome To The World
27. Innocence
28. Blood On The Ocean
29. Machine Men
30. Sins Of Your Father
31. Bright As A Fire
32. The Calling
33. I'm Alive
34. Countdown (Alternate Version)
35. Money To Burn
36. Animals
37. Keeping It Mellow
38. Down The Wire
39. Killing Floor
40. After The Storm
41. New Horizons
42. City Of Dreams
43. Western Shore
44. Black Leather Fantasy
45. Don't Ask Me
46. Hypocrisy
47. I See Lights
48. Fallen Heroes
49. Suicide
50. Welcome To The Pit
51. City Of Light
52. Life In The City
53. Into The Black
54. Rage
55. Long Time No Woman
56. Excuse Me
57. Snake Ladders
58. Misunderstood
59. Rock 'N' Roll Woman
60. Watch Me Walk Away
61. Killing Time
62. Scientist
63. No Loss To Me
64. Time Is A Hunter
65. World's On Fire
66. Fighting Man
67. Lifetime
68. Wishing Your Life Away
69. The Late Show
70. Last Goodbye
71. As Tears Come Falling From The Sky
72. You Could Be A King
73. Kid Gone Astray
74. (Can't) Wait
75. Just Like A Woman
76. Blood Brothers
77. School Days
78. Need Somebody
79. Get Up And Get Out
80. Madman
81. Little Girl
82. Mooncusser

Albums:

Spoiler

Silver And Gold 8/10
State Of Mind 9/10
Welcome To The World 12/13
Awoken Broken 8/12
Collaborations 6/8
Limited Releases 20/20 (6.87 avg.)
B-sides 9/9 (6.14 avg.)

 

[Diesel 11]

Ooh boy, we're finally at the Top 10. This is gonna be awesome.

 

[Jer]

Well, folks, we're finally here -- the top 10 tracks from Adrian's solo career, as determined by you, the voters!

Which song will be the ultimate victor? Will it be the eponymous track, the lone survivor from State Of Mind? Or after suffering a beating in the countdown early on, will Silver And Gold mount a comeback with its title track? Will @Diesel 11 's prediction come true with "The Lion" coming out on top? Will the tag team of Adrian and Dave be enough for "With You Again" from Welcome To The World to claim the title?

With a stunning 4 tracks making it to the top 10 from Awoken Broken, will victory be claimed by "No Place Like Home", "Search For Bliss", "Mirror And The Moon", or the returning champion from the 2013 Adrian Smith survivor thread, "Tortured Tone"? Or will we see a spoiler victory from one of the remaining Bruce Dickinson collaborations, "Road To Hell" or "Return Of The King"?

Share your thoughts as we enter the final stretch!