Bruce Dickinson

I'd bet it's one of the reasons for the widening gap between Harris and Dickinson. Bruce's sole contribution goes out, album time replaced by a patching an instrumental. There was no immediate damage because they could resort to ROTAM, a song Bruce likes a lot. But yeah I believe the most requested unplayed track ignited the whole turmoil in the band in the first place.
 
Zare said:
But yeah I believe the most requested unplayed track ignited the whole turmoil in the band in the first place.
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This makes me wonder, how well was AtG received back in the day? Was it an immediate classic as Hallowed and Rime seemed to have been? Did it take time to grow on people and it's only recently that people have demanded it be played?
 
Edington said:
This makes me wonder, how well was AtG received back in the day? Was it an immediate classic as Hallowed and Rime seemed to have been? Did it take time to grow on people and it's only recently that people have demanded it be played?
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I wasn't around at the time, but my memories from reading the metal media in the 90's was that ATG was seen as preposterous and the nadir of Harris epics. Also, that Somewhere in Time wasn't particularly well received. I think people calling for it to be played, is an internet era thing, except for Greeks.

I reckon if Maiden actually played it at a gig, casual fans would be as familiar with it as they are with Sign of the Cross or For the Greater Good of God.
 
ATG is not a known song to casual Maiden concert goers, I have them among my friends. If you created a 2h setlist out of the most overplayed material you'd be covering 90% of Maiden songs they know as opposed to heard it and forgot it.
 
Greater Good has the benefit of having been played live before though, so perhaps some would recall it from previous tours?
 
I just picked those two from the recent set as they are tracks that you could see the people who go nuts for Trooper and FOTD heading towards the bar or toilets when the intro was on.
 
I thought that casual fans are the ones who know most of the 80s Bruce era stuff and Fear of the Dark. But maybe you're right.
 
Age group of fans probably has something to do with it too. IMO newer fans will be most familiar with AMOLAD onwards, plus the so-called classics, whereas Alexander has that underrated/hidden gem reputation among both those of an older age group and the nerdy sort of fans who spend a lot of time on forums and write lists.
::)
 
Actually buying albums and exploring discography and liking the deep cuts off albums makes you a proper, not casual fan. Maiden is in most parts of the Europe as big as Metallica and if Metallica gets accused that part of their concert goers only know the commercial/overplayed stuff, then why should Maiden be any different.
 
I think ATG suffered badly from not being played on SOT tour (in terms of popularity and recognition). But again, even if it was, I think it wouldn't have reached the popularity of Rime and SSOASS, since those two were a part of Maiden England and Live After Death. A nice example of that is To Tame A Land.
 
It was just so out of keeping with the futuristic look and sound of the album and tour, too. All that synthy stuff (or 'smithy' as my phone interestingly decided to call it), with a drawn out epic about ancient history. You can bundle it up in a general 'time' theme I guess, but it still strikes me as terribly out of context.
 
People are really pushing things saying there's a futuristic theme to the album. The title track obviously does but does anything else other than the art work? Only if you squint real hard.

I read someone suggest that maybe subconciously the tracks share a theme of being a metaphor for touring, and that has more to it than the futuristic idea. Again it's really pushing it to suggest there was anything deliberate in Maiden coming up with a connection like that.
 
Well, the complete album sound, stage set, intro choice, cover, photo art and vaguely the lyrical theme for the bulk of the album.

CSiT - time travel, fits
WY - doesn't but works in any production circumstances
SoM - violence in big cities, the future is now moment, fits
HCW - doesn't, uplifting song works in a warm synthy production
Runner - direct metaphor for passage of time as perceived by humans, fits
SIASL - musically its a great fit, lyrics are abstract enough not to derail it
Deja Vu - same as runner, fits
Alex - musically it would be interesting if lyrics wouldn't tie it down to ancient past, which as Brigs said makes it awkward.

So yeah, time and everything about passage of time is too wide of a concept to be called a concept, so it's a theme. When you look at what songwriters did, they made two anthemic live songs, and apart from Alex, all lyrical themes and music reek very much Sci Fi. Guts of this album is SF, such weird and wrong ancient history lyrics, on the main epic, are obviously a letdown.
 
Imagine a slightly different version under same name gets featured in Lord of the Rings.

"Do you mean album TLOTLDR or TLOTR TLOTLDR?
 
I never really liked Balls To Picasso as a whole album - where is ''The Breeding House'', duh. Tattooed Millionaire is a better album IMO. Throw Skunkworks in there too (which is garbage). Well, in 1997 everything was fixed... So, if we combine the first 3 solo albums in one, then it would be a one very good hard rock album. Something like this:

Tattooed Balls (On Skunk)... :lol:

1.Tattooed Millionaire
2.Born In '58
3.No Lies (BYD... TTS lost brother?)
4.Winds Of Change
5.Innerspace
6.The Breeding House
7.Laughing In The Hiding Bush
8.Change Of Heart
9.Sacred Cowboys
10.Tears Of The Dragon (the hymn of heavy metal... :p)

Note: Son Of A Gun, Hell On Wheels and Gypsy Road are also good songs.
 
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