Bruce's Solo Discography Ranked - The Complete List

SixesAlltheway said:
Maybe the most important album for Bruce, personally. But not for fans looking to listen to his solo stuff :D
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I think Skunkworks is his most important album, honestly. Tattooed Millionaire is just extra time and a recording studio; Skunkworks was a really personal thing that he was excited for and shaped him musically.
 
I see your point about that the fact that he perhaps poured his heart out more on other albums.

But on Tattooed Millionaire he had to tell himself and a very successful band in Iron Maiden that he had other creative ideas and that he couldn't fulfill/see them being arranged together with Steve Harris and co. Which at the time must have been a very difficult thing to do since Maiden were still a very successful band coming off headlining Donington 1988 and the No Prayer album still in the works. Releasing that studio album in 1990 was definitely a foreshadowing of his departure a few years later. Putting that album out made Bruce cast a reflective light over his entire career and what he was doing in Maiden and ultimately led him to decide that he wanted to be doing more solo work and not stay in Maiden.
 
One of the reasons I started this in the first place - to discuss the albums, the songs, and possibly see them in new light. That's definitely what that post has done. :)
 
SixesAlltheway said:
I see your point about that the fact that he perhaps poured his heart out more on other albums.

But on Tattooed Millionaire he had to tell himself and a very successful band in Iron Maiden that he had other creative ideas and that he couldn't fulfill/see them being arranged together with Steve Harris and co. Which at the time must have been a very difficult thing to do since Maiden were still a very successful band coming off headlining Donington 1988 and the No Prayer album still in the works. Releasing that studio album in 1990 was definitely a foreshadowing of his departure a few years later. Putting that album out made Bruce cast a reflective light over his entire career and what he was doing in Maiden and ultimately led him to decide that he wanted to be doing more solo work and not stay in Maiden.
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I understand what you're going for with that argument, but I'd rather use it for Balls To Picasso instead. Having just left Iron Fucking Maiden, it was the album that would pretty much define if he should truly pursue a solo career or not. That's the most important album for him, IMO. Tattooed Millionaire was merely a side project; Balls To Picasso was his first true solo effort.
 
It's weird, too, because other than Tears of the Dragon and maybe a couple others, BTP doesn't sound like he's taking himself all that seriously.
 
That's because he was still walking out on the somewhat silly TM vibe, but songs like "Tears of the Dragon" perfectly foreshadowed the road he would be taking a couple of years later. That's why I consider it such an important record: to me, it's the one that started to really shape his sound to what we know today.
 
I was thinking about it. Shall I add that in, or would that just be a pointless waste of an endeavor and make people not take this seriously and thus screw up the rankings?

Tough questions...
 
Okay, last form filled out.

Tyranny of Souls:
  1. "Mars Within" - 9/10
  2. "Abduction" - 10/10
  3. "Soul Intruders" - 8/10
  4. "Kill Devil Hill" - 9/10
  5. "Navigate the Seas of the Sun" - 10/10
  6. "River of No Return" - 9/10 (not sure about this one, it was either an 8 or a 9. I sent the form before deciding to write this. Yes, I'm dumb.)
  7. "Power of the Sun" - 8/10
  8. "Devil On a Hog" - 9/10 (same here, though this one I'm a little bit more certain it's a 9.)
  9. "Believil" - 9/10
  10. "A Tyranny of Souls" - 10/10
Bonus track:
  • "Eternal" - 8/10
The Best of Bruce Dickinson:
  • "Broken" - 9/10
  • "Silver Wings" - 8/10
  • "Wicker Man" - 8/10
  • "Acoustic Song" - 6/10
  • "Midnight Jam" - 4/10
  • "Dracula" - 3/10
I'm currently playing The Chemical Wedding, and this time I'll be a little smarter and write the post before sending the form.
 
I found it odd that in Dickinson's autobiography he describes that period as if Balls To Picasso was already in the can before he decided to leave Maiden. That had not been my impression at all before reading his book.
 
Jer said:
I found it odd that in Dickinson's autobiography he describes that period as if Balls To Picasso was already in the can before he decided to leave Maiden. That had not been my impression at all before reading his book.
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Yeah, this struck me too. Especially given the farewell tour he had with Maiden.

Number 6 said:
Okay, last form filled out.

Tyranny of Souls:
  1. "Mars Within" - 9/10
  2. "Abduction" - 10/10
  3. "Soul Intruders" - 8/10
  4. "Kill Devil Hill" - 9/10
  5. "Navigate the Seas of the Sun" - 10/10
  6. "River of No Return" - 9/10 (not sure about this one, it was either an 8 or a 9. I sent the form before deciding to write this. Yes, I'm dumb.)
  7. "Power of the Sun" - 8/10
  8. "Devil On a Hog" - 9/10 (same here, though this one I'm a little bit more certain it's a 9.)
  9. "Believil" - 9/10
  10. "A Tyranny of Souls" - 10/10
Bonus track:
  • "Eternal" - 8/10
The Best of Bruce Dickinson:
  • "Broken" - 9/10
  • "Silver Wings" - 8/10
  • "Wicker Man" - 8/10
  • "Acoustic Song" - 6/10
  • "Midnight Jam" - 4/10
  • "Dracula" - 3/10
I'm currently playing The Chemical Wedding, and this time I'll be a little smarter and write the post before sending the form.
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I'm intrigued to know why you voted these songs in this fashion. :)
 
Number 6 said:
  • "River of No Return" - 9/10 (not sure about this one, it was either an 8 or a 9. I sent the form before deciding to write this. Yes, I'm dumb.
  • "Devil On a Hog" - 9/10 (same here, though this one I'm a little bit more certain it's a 9.)
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I checked the form you sent in; this is indeed what you voted.
 
Diesel 11 said:
Why you like / dislike certain songs, etc. My taste is different than yours and I'm curious to see what you're seeing that I'm not.
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Oh. Okay.
Number 6 said:
Okay, last form filled out.

Tyranny of Souls:
  1. "Mars Within" - 9/10
  2. "Abduction" - 10/10
  3. "Soul Intruders" - 8/10
  4. "Kill Devil Hill" - 9/10
  5. "Navigate the Seas of the Sun" - 10/10
  6. "River of No Return" - 9/10 (not sure about this one, it was either an 8 or a 9. I sent the form before deciding to write this. Yes, I'm dumb.)
  7. "Power of the Sun" - 8/10
  8. "Devil On a Hog" - 9/10 (same here, though this one I'm a little bit more certain it's a 9.)
  9. "Believil" - 9/10
  10. "A Tyranny of Souls" - 10/10
Bonus track:
  • "Eternal" - 8/10
The Best of Bruce Dickinson:
  • "Broken" - 9/10
  • "Silver Wings" - 8/10
  • "Wicker Man" - 8/10
  • "Acoustic Song" - 6/10
  • "Midnight Jam" - 4/10
  • "Dracula" - 3/10
I'm currently playing The Chemical Wedding, and this time I'll be a little smarter and write the post before sending the form.
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Following my list:
  • I ranked it so highly because it kinda works like "The Ides of March" for me; it's an intro. And as an intro, especially considering the album (and following song)'s subject matter, it works spectacularly well. I just didn't feel like giving it a full-on 10 because it's a bit lacking in comparison to the album's true 10s;
  • An early favorite of mine. It's perfect in the way it's as long as it needs to be, the lyrics are simple, yet effective, and the chorus is catchy as hell. Plus, in conjuction with "Mars Within", it's a perfect opener to the album;
  • Pretty much what you said; fantastic opening, but nothing truly special throughout. But it's pretty strong overall, so anything less than an 8 wouldn't feel right.
  • I don't like the chorus here, hence the missing point. It feels a little awkward and misplaced;
  • Perfect in every sense of the word. Best track on the album;
  • I love the riffs and vocal melodies here, but I can agree that there's nothing really special here. I could've voted 8, but my gut feeling said 9, so... 9;
  • There's little in this song that truly hooks me. I feel like there's something missing, but I'm not quite sure what that would be. The chorus is great, though;
  • The riffs make this song for me. The opening in particular is very memorable, and I love it. Other than that, it's pretty much what you said in your post;
  • Very consistent song, great title and lyrics. I like the dark mood throughout;
  • What you said;
  • It's certainly a beautiful tune to hear, but it's not quite on the same vibe as the rest of the songs on the album and there's nothing that really stands out. I'm glad it was released as a bonus track;
  • Same as you;
  • Feels unfinished (despite being quite strong as it already is). A (small) step down from "Broken";
  • It seems to drag a little bit, thus getting old a little faster than it should. It's quite enjoyable whatsoever, and I wouldn't skip it if it actually were in one of his albums;
  • Enjoyable, yet unremarkable. Should've been made a little shorter, though it's still quite good;
  • It actually feels twice as long. Shame, because it could've been a 7 or an 8 if it were 1 or 2 minutes shorter;
  • Too awkward for my taste. I can't even find it funny. I do kinda like the overall instrumental, which saved it from being a 1.
 
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Number 6 said:
I don't like the chorus here, hence the missing point. It feels a little awkward and misplaced
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This is interesting because that's exactly what I thought the first few times I listened to it. It felt like the ending of the chorus should have been different or something like that, and a third repeat of it to close the song wouldn't have been bad either. That said, my listens doubled and tripled until it became one of my favorite songs and now I have absolutely no issue with Kill Devil Hill whatsoever. I can see where people would, given my early thoughts on it, but I love it to death now. Highly emotional, beautiful, awe-inspiring, and it makes you wanna go out and change the world yourself. Epic masterpiece.
 
The Chemical Wedding:
  1. "King In Crimson" - 10/10
  2. "Chemical Wedding" - 10/10
  3. "The Tower" - 10/10
  4. "Killing Floor" - 10/10
  5. "Book of Thel" - 10/10
  6. "Gates of Urizen" - 10/10
  7. "Jerusalem" - 9/10
  8. "Trumpets of Jericho" - 10/10
  9. "Machine Men" - 9/10
  10. "The Alchemist" - 9/10
Nothing to say here, really. There's nothing truly wrong with the songs I gave a 9 to, it's just that they pale a bit in comparison to the rest of the album IMO. Hence, it didn't feel quite right to give them the same score the others got.

Bonus tracks:
  • "Return of the King" - 10/10 => I honestly think it's on par with the better stuff on the album. I agree that it wouldn't fit the album very well, but as a bonus track, which is what it is, it's a 10;
  • "Real World" - 9/10
  • "Confeos" - 8/10
 
I've been thinking it over and the following are my Top 5 favorite Bruce tracks:
  • "Tattooed Millionaire"
  • "Chemical Wedding"
  • "Book of Thel"
  • "Trumpets of Jericho"
  • "Kill Devil Hill"
Don't ask me to choose an overall favorite from this pile; I can't. Each are perfect in their own way and fit my many moods. All five are top tier. Perfection.

"Darkside of Aquarius", "A Tyranny of Souls", the rest of The Chemical Wedding, and quite a few others are also very high up, but I couldn't rank those either.
 
I certainly think it's most deserving of taking home the trophy. It's his epic masterpiece and showcases how far he'd come as a songwriter by the time The Chemical Wedding was released.

One of the first things that grabbed me from that track was the usage of Shakespeare ("By the pricking of my thumbs / Something wicked this way comes") - good lord is that fucking epic!
 
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