Dennis Stratton

[Welsh Phantom]

[attachmentid=145]I'm a bit confused after watching the 'Legacy...' dvd. Dennis Stratton says he intoduced the idea of using harmonies on tracks like 'Phantom..', and said Steve really liked it. 'Fair enough' I thought, as I have always loved Dennis' playing.
But last week I got hold of an early Maiden bootleg from October 1979 at the Ruskin Arms (which really rocks by the way- 'Invasion', 'Phantom...', 'Another Life' etc) and features Tony Parsons on guitar with Dave Murray (Paul intoduces Tony for a solo spot). However, all the harmonies are present at this early stage!
Anyone got any ideas why Dennis claims them as his idea? (Dodgy memory/ trying to sound really influential to Maiden's sound/ honest mistake?)

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[Shadow]

That's pretty much a lie. One of the reasons Dennis was fired was that he was adding background vocals and such things over the original guitar harmonies that Steve (and the others, though Clive was a bit involved in it) thought was not really Maiden at all. Additionaly, during the making of Women in Uniform, Dennis and Tony Platt (the producer) re-mixed the tapes when Steve was absent, making the song sound cheesier and softer than the original tapes. That was the last straw for Dennis, and he was fired soon thereafter.

He continued after leaving Maiden to rant in magazines about Sergeant-Major Harris dictatorship and how his own ideas would have been a revolution for Maiden. So I'm sure he's just trying to take the honour himself as always.

 

[Welsh Phantom]

That's pretty much a lie.

Thanks Shadow, that sounds plausable. I thought the whole mood of the Platt/Stratton interviews on the dvd was a bit 'sour grapes', especially with the Platt comment that 'Dennis was probably embarrassed that Maiden wasn't "musical" (?!!!) enough for him'.
Maiden not musical? RIDICULOUS!!!!