Heyy as I'm beyond excited for The Mandrake Project - the album, tour, everything that comes with it I might just as well join the "ranking Bruce's albums" game!
...except that I'm terrible at these rankings, let alone picking up a definitive favourite songs from albums that really shine as a whole, which goes for a couple of Bruce's solo albums as well.
But I'll try.
1. The Chemical Wedding
Okay this one is easy! I'm not going for the debate whether this is "better" or "worse" than this or that classic album or how it stands against some of the best Maiden records. But on a personal level, this one is certainly a top 3 album for me and might very well be the best work Bruce has ever put out, whether with his solo band(s) or Maiden. The material is outstanding, the vocal performance is glorious and not just the production, but the whole soundscape of the album is truly spectacular. This album is full of prime examples of how Bruce's voice and performance are captured at their best.
Favourite tracks? Uhh... probably the title track, The Book of Thel and The Alchemist. Maybe Jerusalem too. I always like to point out the last chorus of The Alchemist as one of the most stunning takes on Bruce's vocal delivery... and the mix just underlines it so perfectly.
Don't try and blame me for your games
Your games are death
My world it light, the angels fill my eyes
With every breath...
And so we lay, we lay in the same grave
Our chemical wedding day
2-3.
Second favourite is a whole lot harder to choose, as I think Skunworks, Accident of Birth and Tyranny of Souls are all pretty solid albums, have somewhat equal selection of majestic tracks and also one or two weaker songs. Accident vs Tyranny probably turns out in favour of Accident, as it's somewhat more inspired, even if a little bit scattered where as Tyranny is slightly more tightly packed and compact, but maybe not quite as daring.
I aboslutely love Skunkworks and Bruce really delivers some outstanding vocals there. Back From the Edge, Inertia and Strange Death in Paradise are all brilliant. I also really like the haunting Dreamstate and the brilliant groove of Innerspace.
From Accident of Birth, I'd probably pick the title track, Darkside of Aquarius and Omega as my favourites, but then again, Taking the Queen is also neat, I've always loved Man of Sorrows, even if it's structure is quite identical with Tears of the Dragon. Road to Hell rocks, of course. And I love The Magician!
So hey, let's go with both, Accident of Birth & Skunworks
4. Tyranny of Souls
As mentioned, it's probably slightly more coherent than Accident of Birth, but lacks some of that creative, even chaotic energy that Accident had... It's quite hard to put that on words, really. Placing Tyranny of Souls to a fourth place speaks for the quality of Bruce's solo works, as there's really nothing wrong with it. It's a very, very solid heavy metal album with some standout(/personal favourites of mine) tracks like Kill Devil Hill (now that is a CHORUS!!!) and Navigate the Seas of the Sun, which also comes with very beautiful lyrics. River of No Return is a great song too and gives a lot of room for Bruce to showcase his dynamics, which he often can't with Maiden, due to different songwriting and production approach. Soul Intruders and Power of the Sun are pretty awesome, even if also quite basic, tunes and while Devil on a Hog might be on the more mediocre side, I've always had bit of a soft spot for it. The title track isn't anything super ingenious, but hey, it works and you can tell how certain parts of it were composed with certain singers in mind...
So yeah, I love this one! Just like I love the three albums seemingly above it as well.
5. Balls to Picasso
Maybe even a bit... underrated? Or maybe not, but yeah, i's a good album. The song material is very good, anyway; it's overall sound is somewhat stale, which definitely hinders some of the songs. There's not a whole lot of groundbreaking stuff, but a lot of solid tunes anyway. Cyclops is a strong opener. Gods of War is great! Sacred Cowboys has a fucking amazing chorus and I've always kind of liked that one overall, silly as it is. Tears of the Dragon is magnificent. The Alive in Studion A/Marquee live versions lack some of the subtlety of course, but their energy and Bruce's very outrageous vocal performances give interesting edge for songs like Cyclops, Sacred Cowboys and Gods of War that have strong, or at least very interesting dynamics in them but the mix of the album doesn't do them that much justice. Laughing in the Hiding Bush is nice, but it really shines on a live situation, I believe. Skunkworks live version of it is pretty amazing! Shoot All the Clowns isn't very interesting, but the story behind it's inclusion is a nice curiosity.
Out of them all, my track is... to nobody's surprise, Tears of the Dragon, but I'm also quite fond of Gods of War.
6. Tattooed Millionaire
I honestly haven't listened to this album as a whole for... like 15 years or something? Not sure. So uhm... maybe I should, but...
Well it's rockn' roll!
It's not too bad for what it is. Son of a Gun, the title track and somewhat "Springsteeny" Born in '58 are pretty good and it's nice to hear how Bruce approaches stuff like Gypsy Road. Dive, Dive, Dive is also good for what it is, just not particularly interesting. It's a bit pointless to compare this one to the rest anyway, as it's done with a totally different mindset.
