Bruce Dickinson

Maybe his singing voice is so fucked up these days that he only wants to put effort in singing for Maiden? Yes, yes. I am beginning to think of the craziest theories why the man does not ever want to make solo music anymore.
 
Here's what I consider the reasons why there's no new solo album yet.

- He sounded very good on Book Of Souls, which is still the "new album". That probably makes him take more time before risking to make a substandard statement.
- Tyranny Of Souls wasn't as good as CW (or AOB ). At this point he may only want to release a solo album if he thinks it's artistically worth it.
- His talk tour isn't just promotion for his book, it's a different way of performing in front of an audience, which is a new challenge. He might even look at it as a continuation of his (solo-) career.
- Roy Z is a very good musician, but he doesn't seem to be the easiest guy to work with, not very reliable and seems to have some problems.

I want a solo album as well, but a good one. I even wonder if it might be better to scrap that album he's worked on for so long and do something different instead, for example with people like Jon Anderson and Arthur Brown.
 
Maybe he feels like he doesn't have anything to say, musically, on a solo album. Maiden gave him every bit of freedom on TBOS, and he added two of the most unconventional songs in Maidens discography.
Part of why he did TOS was because he felt restrained in Maiden at the time. In interviews he said that Maiden had a Maiden way of doing things, and he had to accept that, so he used his solo album to funnel his excess creativity.
I have the feeling that somewhere between TOS and AMOLAD, Bruce and Steve sat down and talked, because beginning with Out of the Shadow, Maiden started having a lot more Bruce-sounding material on their albums. So maybe he doesn't have the real desire to do a new solo record because he can do anything he wants with Maiden these days. And that's why this mysterious new album isn't surfacing, because he already used up all the good bits and the rest isn't worth the hassle.
 
Perun said:
I have the feeling that somewhere between TOS and AMOLAD, Bruce and Steve sat down and talked, because beginning with Out of the Shadow, Maiden started having a lot more Bruce-sounding material on their albums. So maybe he doesn't have the real desire to do a new solo record because he can do anything he wants with Maiden these days. And that's why this mysterious new album isn't surfacing, because he already used up all the good bits and the rest isn't worth the hassle.
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I agree with the first half of this theory, but not the second. Drum tracks were worked on, Roy Z has mentioned 17 songs being ready, Bruce commented that IESF originated from material from his next solo album and reconfirmed his intent to release one at some point, probably with the same title. It's clearly not that there's a lack of material or even good material, I think he's just been occupying himself with other activities and finding them enjoyable enough that he hasn't felt the need to go work on his solo material (yet).

Besides, with the way Maiden has been touring and likely recording, I don't think there's really been any opportune stretches of time for Bruce to even record in or release an album since the TBoS tour. I feel like solo work isn't a priority for him and something he'll only get to once he feels the time is right and he has no other obligations in the way.
 
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Maybe that's why Roy Z had his drunken outbursts.

Honestly, I don't really need to hear a solo record just for the sake of a solo record, I'd prefer an album that was done out of a genuine creative process that would give it a unique shape. So what if it takes ten years to make?
 
Can't disagree with this last post, and perhaps also your one but last one, Per. I do find the turn he took somewhere in between the TBOS release and now a bit difficult to digest. Perhaps, in the last years, he indeed does not feel the urge to finish matters. If he would be more open about the delay, I may be more positive about having no new music for years.
 
Perun said:
Maybe he feels like he doesn't have anything to say, musically, on a solo album. Maiden gave him every bit of freedom on TBOS, and he added two of the most unconventional songs in Maidens discography.
Part of why he did TOS was because he felt restrained in Maiden at the time. In interviews he said that Maiden had a Maiden way of doing things, and he had to accept that, so he used his solo album to funnel his excess creativity.
I have the feeling that somewhere between TOS and AMOLAD, Bruce and Steve sat down and talked, because beginning with Out of the Shadow, Maiden started having a lot more Bruce-sounding material on their albums. So maybe he doesn't have the real desire to do a new solo record because he can do anything he wants with Maiden these days. And that's why this mysterious new album isn't surfacing, because he already used up all the good bits and the rest isn't worth the hassle.
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You forgot to mention his truly remarkable role in Game of Thrones meanwhile.
 
Mosh said:
The vinyl vs digital debate is missing a pretty important factor: mastering. Sometimes the version of an album that appears on vinyl is different than the digital version, especially if the album was released prior to CDs. A lot of original CD pressings will be the best version available of an album from the 80s or earlier because no clicks/pops/surface noise, but a lot of remasters (which is what most digital albums on itunes and spotify are sourced from) are very compressed and inferior masters. With more recent albums that are pressed for vinyl, the quality is all over the place. A lot of record companies know that most people are buying vinyl for aesthetic reasons and not sound quality so they get away with lazy (and sometimes even lossy) transfers. So in those cases the vinyl is actually worse than a digital or CD version. Sometimes the vinyl is handled with care and is just as good or better than the other formats.

Maiden has been pretty mixed so far, I think TBOS is marginally better on vinyl (not quite as loud). A lot of the 1998 CD remasters are awful, most of the vinyl I've heard are better than those. Number of the Beast sounds really dull on vinyl, but the recently released CD doesn't have that problem. Dance of Death sounds fantastic on vinyl. Haven't listened to any of the other recent CDs so I can't speak to them.
For Bruce, Accident of Birth/Chemical Wedding had subtle distortion issues that are resolved on vinyl. Tattooed Millionaire sounds great on the original CD, but awful on the remaster. That was also fixed with the vinyl.

It's just a case by case thing. When vinyl is superior it's usually because they fucked up on the CDs/digital versions, not because vinyl has an inherent quality that makes it better. As for streaming, if you have spotify premium, you can stream at 320kpbs which is as good as music can sound unless you're an audiophile listening in an acoustically treated room on high end equipment. If you think one format is universally better all the time, I'm sorry but you're listening with your eyes. I will say that all things being equal, my ideal format is a well mastered CD because it can be ripped lossless and then converted to any format afterwards while preserving all the lossless data. But of course there are a lot of caveats to that.

Also, the plural of vinyl is vinyl. :p
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I'm a bit late to the party, but here it goes. I've started buying vinyl (after years of scoffing and mostly focused on the many downsides of the format), at first as a novelty, but now because it keeps my interest in music alive. I get to walk around in record stores, looking around in the shelves and crates. I discover music I haven't listened to, and rediscover my appreciation of past favorites. It's an expensive hobby, but a fun one. I think music deserves to be spent money on for various reasons, i.e. recoupering costs for the production, keep the business alive, support artists and so on. But one important factor is, that some people tend to value things that come with a cost as opposed to being available for free. If you buy an album you may be more likely to give it more plays rather than if you stream it, because you want value for your money.

So I've started to appreciate vinyl, warts and all. It is a very flawed format, and not just because of inner groove distortion, reduced stereo capabilities, surface noise and clicks. CD/mp3/FLAC/whatever have a great advantage over vinyl. The simplicity of the playback chain. A nice set of speakers in a decent room (or just plain headphones)? The album you're listening to will be reproduced accurately, with the variable being your headphones.

But with vinyl, there are more factors, the actual vinyl record aside. The record player itself, the alignment of the pickup, tracking force and the characteristics of the pickup itself.
I bought the Bruce Dickinson Soloworks boxset just now, and decided to digitize it, because I think it sounded better than the CD versions. A slight bit more dynamic and less polished, in a good way. I have a good record player with a fairly good pickup (300$ for the pickup). But the pickup, while good at tracking, is a bit bright around 8 khz and a bit light in the bottom, so I have to apply so EQ to compensate. There are so many factors to consider with vinyl while with a CD, you are good to go and you get perfect reproduction right up until the playback system.

TLDR? Think vinyl is a bit fun? Buy the Soloworks bundle.
 
Yea don’t get me wrong, I really like vinyl despite the flaws. The soloworks set was one of the best purchases I’ve made in recent years.
 
Earlier when Chris Dale was talked and mentioned here about the videos, I noticed this Tuska-festival clip too, it was real surprise as I have never seen any footage from that particular gig. Even nowadays you can come across to some unseen footage, which is always cool and welcome for me.
Have to check more of his videos and aswell have to remember also to check Alex Dickson's uploads of the Skunkworks pre-production demos etc.
 
I have two tickets to the Bruce Dickinson lecture in Toronto on November 22nd but I might need to be out of town for work - first row of the balcony, towards the side. I'm selling for face value ($128.50), let me know if anyone's interested.
 
Well there you go .....

"I also have my solo album pending , which will be released next year or the next. I go through different spaces, I have different interests. "

www.clarin.com

Bruce Dickinson, de Iron Maiden: "Nuestro trabajo como músicos es darle permiso a la gente para soñar"

Antes de salir al escenario de Vélez, el sábado pasado por la noche, el cantante dialogó con Clarín acerca de rock y política, la gira de despedida, el perfil de anti rockstar, la situación de la industria y sus planes a futuro.
www.clarin.com www.clarin.com
 
Ironalice said:
Well there you go .....

"I also have my solo album pending , which will be released next year or the next. I go through different spaces, I have different interests. "

www.clarin.com

Bruce Dickinson, de Iron Maiden: "Nuestro trabajo como músicos es darle permiso a la gente para soñar"

Antes de salir al escenario de Vélez, el sábado pasado por la noche, el cantante dialogó con Clarín acerca de rock y política, la gira de despedida, el perfil de anti rockstar, la situación de la industria y sus planes a futuro.
www.clarin.com www.clarin.com
Click to expand...

Main points from the interview:

- When talking about musicians and politics he praises Peter Garrett as a musician who went into politics to change things.
- He mentions breaking the Achilles tendon 7 weeks before the start of the tour; he is still doing rehab (the specialist told him it would take between 6 months and a year to be back in shape). The heel does not hurt, but the hip does as a result of walking differently not to load the tendon.
- There would be no farewell tour. Any tour could be the farewell one.
- His plans before Christmas involve going to the pub with his kids, a charity dinner, a conference, some business meeting and going back to do some fencing training again after his injury. Strangely, he mentions living in Paris with his girlfriend, but there could have been something lost in translation (by the journalist), as Bruce can be seen wearing his wedding ring in the pictures taken in Argentina.
- For the Concerto for Group and Orchestra 50th anniversary show he will be singing a few Deep Purple songs: When A Blind Man Cries, Perfect Strangers, Smoke on the Water, Hush and Pictures of Home.
- He says the solo album will be released in 2020 or 2021. He still has to finish the album, but he would like to do some touring with Roy Z. He mentions that the Soloworks box set has sold 200000 copies and that he is really proud of his solo albums.
 
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I don't see Maiden and Bruce releases albums at the same year. 2020 for Maiden and 2021 for Bruce, please.../ or 2019 for Maiden.... :innocent:

The wait for a new solo album from Bruce is already too long, but Maiden is the most important... (plus, we can wait one or two more years for the new solo album.... we are waiting since 2005 though).
 
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