Bruce's Solo Discography Ranked - The Complete List

[GhostofCain]

I agree that a lot of skunkworks seems to blend, and that it’s quality tends to dwindle the deeper one gets.

Side 2 might not be as strong as Side 1 but the album ends on a high with the sublime Strange Death in Paradise.

 

[Jer]

Side 2 might not be as strong as Side 1 but the album ends on a high with the sublime Strange Death in Paradise.

That's interesting -- I'd lean a bit in the opposite direction. I think everything from "Inside The Machine" through the end of the album is great to superb, with the exception of "Headswitch". I think the front half is still good, but a little weaker, except for "Faith" which is great, and "Solar Confinement", which is superb.

 

[Deleted member 7164]

I think Skunkworks is just great from start to end.

 

[GhostofCain]

I think Skunkworks is just great from start to end.

It is a really good album, but I have never been much of a fan of Dreamstate or Headswitch.

 

[GhostofCain]

That's interesting -- I'd lean a bit in the opposite direction. I think everything from "Inside The Machine" through the end of the album is great to superb, with the exception of "Headswitch". I think the front half is still good, but a little weaker, except for "Faith" which is great, and "Solar Confinement", which is superb.

I think the first three songs (Space Race, Back from the Edge, Inertia) are especially good.

 

[Jer]

I think the first three songs (Space Race, Back from the Edge, Inertia) are especially good.

For me, "Back From The Edge" is an OK song that happens to have an absolutely brilliant bridge / solo / final chorus section. "Inertia" is fine, but has an annoying chorus. And "Space Race" is consistently good, but never quite finds its way to greatness, IMO.

 

[GhostofCain]

SATC is pretty good imo. I think people hate it because of the rap part, but I like that as well. And Bruce isn‘t fond of it, because EMI dropped him after it was a flop as a single. But — it‘s pretty good.

It was Mercury, not EMI, and he was dropped with 1/3 of their artists.

Bruce is quite fond of the video (hilarious and surreal reinterpretation of Don Quixote fighting against the clowns), but not so much of the song.

 

[Diesel 11]

IMO, the ‘least good’ Skunkworks songs are on Side 2, but

I think Skunkworks is just great from start to end.

Sorry for lack of updates yesterday, WiFi was dead all day. Will continue with the list this afternoon!

 

[Black Bart]

I think the first three songs (Space Race, Back from the Edge, Inertia) are especially good.

The first four ones (add "Faith" ).

 

[Diesel 11]

58: Hell No
Average Score: 6.91/10
Balls To Picasso 3/10

Can't really say what you don't really know and you don't really know what you can't really say, but we know where this song is. We're at the upper limits of the above average songs now. Kind of a silly idea for a song, but it's a catchy one, anthemic in nature, and always enjoyable when it comes on.

Choice comments:

Me: Hi there, I'm looking for some comments!
MF: Hell no.
​

Votes:

Spoiler

10 - 0
9 - 3
8 - 7
7 - 6
6 - 1
5 - 2
4 - 2
3 - 1
2 - 0
1 - 0

Overall:

Spoiler

58 - Hell No
59 - All The Young Dudes
60 - Inside The Machine
61 - Real World
62 - Winds of Change
63 - Meltdown
64 - Gypsy Road
65 - Fire Child
66 - Shoot All The Clowns
67 - Octavia
68 - Dreamstate
69 - Hell On Wheels
70 - Fire
71 - Believil
72 - I Will Not Accept The Truth
73 - Mars Within
74 - Armchair Hero
75 - Toltec 7 Arrival
76 - God's Not Coming Back
77 - Darkness Be My Friend
78 - Confeos
79 - Headswitch
80 - Dive! Dive! Dive!
81 - Rescue Day
82 - No Lies
83 - Re-Entry
84 - Midnight Jam
85 - Over And Out
86 - Dracula
87 - Cadillac Gas Mask
88 - Tibet
89 - Elvis Has Left The Building
90 - Americans Are Behind
91 - Lickin' the Gun
92 - R 101
93 - Ballad of Mutt
94 - Zulu Lulu
95 - The Post Alternative Seattle Fall Out
96 - I'm In A Band With An Italian Drummer

Albums:

Spoiler

Tattooed Millionaire 7/10
Balls To Picasso 3/10
Skunkworks 6/13
Accident of Birth 1/12
Tyranny of Souls 2/10
Bonus Tracks 20/31

 

[Jer]

Now if we can just get "Gods Of War", "1000 Points Of Light", and "Change Of Heart" out of the way, I'll feel much better about the remaining standings.

 

[Number 6]

Now if we can just get "Gods Of War", "1000 Points Of Light", and "Change Of Heart" out of the way, I'll feel much better about the remaining standings.

... but those are all great.

 

[Diesel 11]

Now if we can just get "Gods Of War", "1000 Points Of Light", and "Change Of Heart" out of the way, I'll feel much better about the remaining standings.

Two of these will leave you happy(ish?), one of them will have you facepalming.

 

[Jer]

... but those are all great.

...but they're not as great as "Inside The Machine" or "Meltdown".

 

[Number 6]

...but they're not as great as "Inside The Machine" or "Meltdown".

... except they're better than either of those 2.

 

[Diesel 11]

57: Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter
Average Score: 6.94/10
Bonus Tracks 21/31

Written for A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, this is the beginning of Bruce's solo career. It's certainly his most famous solo song, but mainly because Maiden covered it for NPFTD and the fact that it became their only #1 single. For some fans who haven't strayed into the treasure trove that is solo Bruce, BYDTTS might be the only song they know from him. That said, most are of the agreement that it isn't his best (I mean, it's only 57 here) and many consider Maiden's version to be better. So all in all, it's an important song, but not an all-time great.

Choice comments:

There's just too much to scroll through to weed out the posts related to Maiden's song and Bruce's. Sad!
​

Votes:

Spoiler

10 - 1
9 - 1
8 - 4
7 - 5
6 - 4
5 - 3
4 - 0
3 - 0
2 - 0
1 - 0

Overall:

Spoiler

57 - Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter
58 - Hell No
59 - All The Young Dudes
60 - Inside The Machine
61 - Real World
62 - Winds of Change
63 - Meltdown
64 - Gypsy Road
65 - Fire Child
66 - Shoot All The Clowns
67 - Octavia
68 - Dreamstate
69 - Hell On Wheels
70 - Fire
71 - Believil
72 - I Will Not Accept The Truth
73 - Mars Within
74 - Armchair Hero
75 - Toltec 7 Arrival
76 - God's Not Coming Back
77 - Darkness Be My Friend
78 - Confeos
79 - Headswitch
80 - Dive! Dive! Dive!
81 - Rescue Day
82 - No Lies
83 - Re-Entry
84 - Midnight Jam
85 - Over And Out
86 - Dracula
87 - Cadillac Gas Mask
88 - Tibet
89 - Elvis Has Left The Building
90 - Americans Are Behind
91 - Lickin' the Gun
92 - R 101
93 - Ballad of Mutt
94 - Zulu Lulu
95 - The Post Alternative Seattle Fall Out
96 - I'm In A Band With An Italian Drummer

Albums:

Spoiler

Tattooed Millionaire 7/10
Balls To Picasso 3/10
Skunkworks 6/13
Accident of Birth 1/12
Tyranny of Souls 2/10
Bonus Tracks 21/31

 

[Number 6]

Wow, that song did way better than I expected! I thought we'd see at least a few 3s or 4s there. Maybe some 2s.

 

[Diesel 11]

56: 1000 Points Of Light
Average Score: 7/10
Balls To Picasso 4/10

We've left the 6s behind and are now into the 7s. Yay! "Good" territory starts here. The first song in that range is this one from BTP. It's one I was most disappointed with on my first BTP listen, but one I've grown to enjoy as I've become more and more of a solo Bruce fan. The ranking makes sense to my mind.

Choice comments:

The catchiest song on the album to a fault is 1000 Points of Light. Just typing the song will get it stuck in my head for weeks on end, which gets annoying after day 2.

Probably, it's a really awesome song though.

I find it hard to imagine what people find so magnificent about 1000 Points of Light

A very good song, well-composed and original with great lyrics and tight playing.

I think 1000 Points of Light is the weakest song on the album .

I would never hesitate giving 1000 Points of light a 10/10 if that metal song had a proper metal production. Imagine that verse riff with the full low end oomph and pinch harmonics flying out. The transition between calm piece into distortion again, if it had full dynamic range, clean guitar just building into a distorted wall of sound would be immense. Now I can only imagine how it should've sounded like.

Votes:

Spoiler

10 - 1
9 - 1
8 - 8
7 - 7
6 - 1
5 - 1
4 - 2
3 - 1
2 - 0
1 - 0

Overall:

Spoiler

56 - 1000 Points of Light
57 - Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter
58 - Hell No
59 - All The Young Dudes
60 - Inside The Machine
61 - Real World
62 - Winds of Change
63 - Meltdown
64 - Gypsy Road
65 - Fire Child
66 - Shoot All The Clowns
67 - Octavia
68 - Dreamstate
69 - Hell On Wheels
70 - Fire
71 - Believil
72 - I Will Not Accept The Truth
73 - Mars Within
74 - Armchair Hero
75 - Toltec 7 Arrival
76 - God's Not Coming Back
77 - Darkness Be My Friend
78 - Confeos
79 - Headswitch
80 - Dive! Dive! Dive!
81 - Rescue Day
82 - No Lies
83 - Re-Entry
84 - Midnight Jam
85 - Over And Out
86 - Dracula
87 - Cadillac Gas Mask
88 - Tibet
89 - Elvis Has Left The Building
90 - Americans Are Behind
91 - Lickin' the Gun
92 - R 101
93 - Ballad of Mutt
94 - Zulu Lulu
95 - The Post Alternative Seattle Fall Out
96 - I'm In A Band With An Italian Drummer

Albums:

Spoiler

Tattooed Millionaire 7/10
Balls To Picasso 4/10
Skunkworks 6/13
Accident of Birth 1/12
Tyranny of Souls 2/10
Bonus Tracks 21/31

 

[Mosh]

Strongly agree with @Zare. This song, along with Cyclops, would most benefit from Roy Z’s production.

 

[Diesel 11]

55: Sacred Cowboys
Average Score: 7.05/10
Balls To Picasso 5/10

I won't say that I'm THAT surprised "Sacred Cowboys" landed here, but I will say that it deserves better. I really, really like this song. The spoken word part is awesome and the chorus is the goddamn best, one of Bruce's finest moments solo. This is also one of the heaviest songs on the album, so bonus points for that. The "sell people crap" bit is dumb but doesn't take away from an awesome, 10/10 song that's only beaten on Balls To Picasso by the obvious masterpiece we'll see pop up on this list later. I get why people don't like this one much, but it's awesome. Also thanks to @Perun for bringing up a similar song which I like very much as well. The "John Wayne" thing is brilliant in both Bruce and Paula Cole's songs.

Choice comments:

i like it very much

My fav Bruce song would have to be Sacred Cowboys. Reminds me of RTTH

Sacred Cowboys has such an awesome chorus, but the quasi-rapping in the couplets is hideous.

That's where I've been for years on that song, although I must admit my hatred for the verses has diminished over the years.

I actually like the fast pace of the verses in Sacred Cowboys (more than the chorus, actually). That riff is really cool.

I'll never forget how much I was enchanted by Sacred Cowboys when it came out. I kept playing it. These riffs drew me like a magnet! The chorus is very catchy and the solo is memorable as well. The song bursts with energy. And say what you wish about the vocals in the verses but the timing is fantastic (check how it ends every time) and so is Bruce's endurance. And this is the most metal track from the album.

Bruce's vocals on the song are not rap anyway. Rapping has a distinct rhythm and flow to it, what Bruce does is fast spoken word really.

Sacred Cowboys always reminds me of this:

Which is weird, given that it came out a full three years after Balls to Picasso. I wonder if Bruce ever noticed.

quite strong

Votes:

Spoiler

10 - 2
9 - 4
8 - 5
7 - 4
6 - 3
5 - 1
4 - 1
3 - 1
2 - 0
1 - 1

Overall:

Spoiler

55 - Sacred Cowboys
56 - 1000 Points of Light
57 - Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter
58 - Hell No
59 - All The Young Dudes
60 - Inside The Machine
61 - Real World
62 - Winds of Change
63 - Meltdown
64 - Gypsy Road
65 - Fire Child
66 - Shoot All The Clowns
67 - Octavia
68 - Dreamstate
69 - Hell On Wheels
70 - Fire
71 - Believil
72 - I Will Not Accept The Truth
73 - Mars Within
74 - Armchair Hero
75 - Toltec 7 Arrival
76 - God's Not Coming Back
77 - Darkness Be My Friend
78 - Confeos
79 - Headswitch
80 - Dive! Dive! Dive!
81 - Rescue Day
82 - No Lies
83 - Re-Entry
84 - Midnight Jam
85 - Over And Out
86 - Dracula
87 - Cadillac Gas Mask
88 - Tibet
89 - Elvis Has Left The Building
90 - Americans Are Behind
91 - Lickin' the Gun
92 - R 101
93 - Ballad of Mutt
94 - Zulu Lulu
95 - The Post Alternative Seattle Fall Out
96 - I'm In A Band With An Italian Drummer

Albums:

Spoiler

Tattooed Millionaire 7/10
Balls To Picasso 5/10
Skunkworks 6/13
Accident of Birth 1/12
Tyranny of Souls 2/10
Bonus Tracks 21/31