Bruce Dickinson

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Seen the show tonight. The venue in Cankarjev Dom has a quite deep stage, so... Lots of room in front. And Bruce used that space to run around a bit.

The voice is there. With all of the power. Not singing the S. Harris penned songs with mouthful of lyrics helps...

Highlights of the night? Jerusalem and Perfect Strangers.
 
Poto said:
Steve has written some vert difficult stuff, but lets not pretend he hasnt written some of the greatest vocal lines and songs ever.

Hallowed is maybe the best example.
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That's true. Agree with melodies especially.

However, stuff like the verses of Heaven Can Wait is borderline impossible to sing for most singers. Especially at tempos it used to be played at.

And with Bruce aging, I think he lost some sharpness in diction department (especially post-cancer), while the notes are still there.
 
matic22 said:
That's true. Agree with melodies especially.

However, stuff like the verses of Heaven Can Wait is borderline impossible to sing for most singers. Especially at tempos it used to be played at.

And with Bruce aging, I think he lost some sharpness in diction department (especially post-cancer), while the notes are still there.
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Steve has written some great songs and some very challenging lyrics for a singer, but Bruce has done a great job singing them. That being said, if he cannot sing the old songs in the original tempo (I mean Bruce, we know Steve cannot sing for toffee) perhaps it is time to call it a day.
 
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GhostofCain said:
Steve has written some great songs and some very challenging lyrics for a singer, but Bruce has done a great job singing them. That being said, if he cannot sing the old songs in the original tempo (I mean Bruce, we know Steve cannot sing for toffee) perhaps it is time to call it a day.
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Your first part of the comment is true, but Bruce's powerful voice and high notes are still there. He still sings the Maiden songs (and his solo stuff on this tour?) in the original key, so hats off to him. Very challenging songs.

Bruce said this in 2019: ''We do all of our songs in MAIDEN, we do all of them in the original key. We don't detune, like some other people do. We don't do any of that. I suppose if one day we have to, we have to, but we don't have to do it now, and I think the songs sound better as a result of it. They're meant to be played in that key''. It seems he's not against that though.
Poto said:
Steve has written some vert difficult stuff, but lets not pretend he hasnt written some of the greatest vocal lines and songs ever.
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Without any doubt. Melodies too.
 
matic22 said:
However, stuff like the verses of Heaven Can Wait is borderline impossible to sing for most singers. Especially at tempos it used to be played at.

And with Bruce aging, I think he lost some sharpness in diction department (especially post-cancer), while the notes are still there.
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I think he did pretty well with The Red And The Black, Where Eagles Dare, Trooper and difficult ones like Aces High and Hallowed. We have to wait and see about Heaven Can Wait, Long Distance Runner or Alexander. Bruce is not just any singer.
 
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From what I've seen, Sarajevo was the best concert so far.
Bruce's voice got damaged during the cancer treatment, and I think he also went back into singing too quickly, and damaged his voice even more. But somehow it seems that he could heal a lot over the past few years, because the way he sings these shows is amazing IMO.
 
Spambot said:
?
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Bad acoustics, can‘t hear anything.

I was also thinking about how I usually dislike the band+orchestra combination. Here as well, the orchestra isn't necessary, but it seems to work in Bruce's favor, and the reason is probably Paul Mann (plus, of course, the band is good). Do we know anything about who will be in the touring band for the upcoming solo tour? It would perhaps be a good idea to consider Paul Mann visiting the rehearsals. :) Seriously though, Bruce's solo touring bands always had a some weak links IMO. I mean, Kevin Shirley is REALLY good at putting bands together, just saying.
 
jazz from hell said:
From what I've seen, Sarajevo was the best concert so far.
Bruce's voice got damaged during the cancer treatment, and I think he also went back into singing too quickly, and damaged his voice even more. But somehow it seems that he could heal a lot over the past few years, because the way he sings these shows is amazing IMO.
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He sounded really good already during TBOS tour imo (not just in 2018, 2022 and these shows now).

Speaking of these shows, I'm glad he's having so much fun on stage as if it's a Maiden show. Let's hope he'll be just as enthusiastic for Maiden's upcoming tour (he was for most of the shows last year, right). He's the second best dancer in the band :lol:
 
jazz from hell said:
Bad acoustics, can‘t hear anything.

I was also thinking about how I usually dislike the band+orchestra combination. Here as well, the orchestra isn't necessary, but it seems to work in Bruce's favor, and the reason is probably Paul Mann (plus, of course, the band is good). Do we know anything about who will be in the touring band for the upcoming solo tour? It would perhaps be a good idea to consider Paul Mann visiting the rehearsals. :) Seriously though, Bruce's solo touring bands always had a some weak links IMO. I mean, Kevin Shirley is REALLY good at putting bands together, just saying.
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Huh, must've been bad video then.
I was on that concert and the sound was amazing. Here is a picture of where we were for reference.
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So, even with nosebleed tickets, this was the best sounding Bruce I've ever heard (from some 12-13 times). Even considering this is a basketball venue (Bruce said it looked like a teapot) and I knew some previous gigs there had a bad sound. I said a couple of pages ago that it's probably pretty different sound (feeling) live than listening to some recording of it, and I was right. I skimmed a couple of videos before the gig and the difference is unmeasurable, especially for orchestra.

Considering rock+orchestra arrangements, I got to agree with you on some points. Even Bruce himself said, on the begging of the night, that "these two don't trust each other" and he was right. The first two movements were kind of... When the band played, the orchestra didn't and vice verse. There were themes that were played by both of them but, to me, the whole thing is just too long. I was thinking that maybe I'm uncultured swine for saying that the first half and hours were boring. Later, I noticed that a lot of people there (and even some critics afterward) confirmed Concerto isn't something to be wow-ed about.

Now, the second part is fireworks! And the orchestra could enhance (and in some points it did) the song band was playing. It was really a question in what manner. There are times when the band and orchestra are playing the same thing (intro to Pictures of Home and Perfect Strangers) and it sounds amazing. A lot of songs had orchestral intro and outro, those were also pretty cool to hear. And of course, if orchestral part are playing it's own thing over the song, but it's not imposing itself too much - now that's something to witness live (example: Jerusalem. Ticket price is worth of hearing this one alone. Then again, I got it for free, so I don't know how much my opinion is worth.).

We were talking later how awesome this whole tour for Bruce is. He is paying tribute to one of his idols, his name is probably selling a lot of tickets, he rests his voice during the concert (a lot!) and can show his full range. First thought when I heard him on his own songs was: "Whatever they play on TFP tour – he's gonna pull it off!"

But then I've read comments here and I agree - that is some different kind of beast. I don't know if I should be happy that I'm going on first date in Ljubljana since Bruce could be rested, or should I worry because Bruce could be rusty...
 
jazz from hell said:
I was also thinking about how I usually dislike the band+orchestra combination. Here as well, the orchestra isn't necessary, but it seems to work in Bruce's favor, Seriously though, Bruce's solo touring bands always had a some weak links IMO.
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I think only certain metal songs work with an orchestra. Weak links in the 1997-1999 lineup? They were perfect for his solo stuff.
Spambot said:
So, even with nosebleed tickets, this was the best sounding Bruce I've ever heard (from some 12-13 times).

We were talking later how awesome this whole tour for Bruce is. First thought when I heard him on his own songs was: "Whatever they play on TFP tour – he's gonna pull it off!"

But then I've read comments here and I agree - that is some different kind of beast. I don't know if I should be happy that I'm going on first date in Ljubljana since Bruce could be rested, or should I worry because Bruce could be rusty...
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He indeed sounds amazing, but I wonder how good it is for the voice to do a tour half the length of a Maiden concert and then a month later jump straight into a Maiden tour. Only 11 dates, but still. It's not 2002 (or even 2012), although he is still amazing. I can't think of any other times he's done this. Maiden songs will be harder, especially this year, no comparison. The first date of a tour is usually a bit rough, but last year was very good (he even recorded the vocals for his new solo album before it).
 
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Spambot said:
Considering rock+orchestra arrangements, I got to agree with you on some points. Even Bruce himself said, on the begging of the night, that "these two don't trust each other" and he was right. The first two movements were kind of... When the band played, the orchestra didn't and vice verse. There were themes that were played by both of them but, to me, the whole thing is just too long. I was thinking that maybe I'm uncultured swine for saying that the first half and hours were boring. Later, I noticed that a lot of people there (and even some critics afterward) confirmed Concerto isn't something to be wow-ed about.
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Yeah, I was just talking about the non-concerto parts, didn't listen to the concerto.
Kalata said:
I think only certain metal songs work with an orchestra. Weak links in the 1997-1999 lineup? They were perfect for his solo stuff.
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For example Eddie Casillas, nothing against his bass playing, but his backing vocals were horrible and somebody should have told him (Troubadix). Also, nothing agains Roy Z's playing, writing etc., but he is unreliable and seems to be incapable of touring.
 
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