Do you still consider Steve Harris to be the best songwriter in the band?

M

ManuelMaiden95

Trooper
I know everyone has his favourite songwriter but there is little doubt that Steve Harris was overwhelmingly the primary composer in the first albums of the band, he's the one with more credits and composed many of the best well known songs of the band.

However, I don't consider Steve to be the best songwriter in the band anymore. I think he still probably was until Brave New World but since then I think he's relegated of his role as the primary composer and has focused more on being co producer and writing a song per album of his own.
I still think he's essential to the Maiden sound since he acts as a producer with the songs the other memebers bring to the table but purely as songwriters I think Bruce and Adrian have been the most important members since the 2000's.
And Janick doesn't come much behind.

It's a tough question because I love all the 5 songs that Steve has composed purely on his own in the last 20 years.
When the Wild Wind Blows is my favourite song in The Final Frontier and Blood Brothers one of my two favourite in Brave New World.
However, I still think that Bruce/Adrian either on their own or as a partnership have been the most important members in the new millenium.
 
As far as I am concerned, there is no definitive hierarchy in terms of songwriting in Maiden's output, regarding Dickinson, Smith, Harris and Gers - Nicko has done too little and Dave repeats himself a lot. Logically, since Steve Harris is and has always been the one who writes the most, he is the one who has churned out more fillers than the others - but he cannot really be blamed for that, can he?
I tend to prefer colloborations in general because Harris seldom writes great vocal melodies in my opinion (one notable exception is "Afraid To Shoot Strangers", at least in the slow part) so the great songs generally require the input of a real singer, namely Bruce or Adrian, and the Smith-penned songs lack dynamics ("Wasted Years" being the exception). It is not surprising (to me at least) that Bruce is the one who was able to have a credible solo career on the basis of his own songs (his most famous songs include "Tears of the Dragon" and "Bring Your Daughter...To The Slaughter")- though his co-writers have helped a lot at times (Gers, Roy Z and Dickson - the others being more minor).
 
Last edited:
Yes he is.

Simple answer for that, is that most of the great songs you are crediting Dickinson, Smith and Gers with writing were also written by Steve.

These are the only songs without a Harris contribution from the "reunion" era, New Frontier, If Eternity Should Fail, Speed of Light, Death or Glory, Empire of the Clouds.
 
I’ve often puzzled this very same question myself. One of the things I like a lot about Maiden is that despite Steve being the leader of the band, and the major songwriter, even since their beginning, other members have been able to write music for the Maiden records. It’s not something that happens a lot in other bands under one specific leader, and I think it’s a pretty cool extra piece to the Maiden dynamic. Personally I find Harris / Dickinson / Smith / Gers to just all be great songwriters and it’s too tough to choose just one.
 
I think that the main arranger is Steve. By his own admission everyone comes to him with ideas. In my opinion the best music parts are written by Adrian and Janick but it is Steve that insists in repeating parts and keeping the songs long. I would have to go with H though. Especially in The final Frontier H's additions are out of this world. Talking about the middle part of Isle, the riff and amazing solos in Starblind, the beautiful harmony intro to Coming home.
 
Pretty much yes, I guess. In the earlier albums he had written most of the songs in a album, but nowadays the writing is split between every member of the band. The songs that he had written by himself (since the reunion) are all fantastic, and most of the eternal classics for the band are also written solely by him. The combo Smith/Harris/Dickinson always can produce a top-notch song, like the combo Gers/Harris (especially since the reunion). Adrian writes a lot since the reunion, Bruce is always there to write lyrics (Steve too), but Janick is brutal with his contributions in the new millennium - I mean, the only ''bad'' song he had written since 1999 is ''Gates Of Tomorrow'' (it's a good song too, but the others co-wrote by him are so strong).
 
  • Steve is the most important songwriter in the band for all of the reasons everyone has previously discussed.
  • Adrian and Bruce write better material than Steve, but only at the top of their game.
  • Janick is probably the most consistent in terms of quality, but also the lowest output of the four main writers.
  • Nicko doesn't really count.
  • Dave is easily, 100% the worst writer in the band.
 
I think the last Harris epic that dropped that was a real excellent track was For the Greater Good of God. If you disagree with that, you go to Blood Brothers or even The Clansman. The big Harris songs of the last few albums have been controversial at best, whereas Adrian, Bruce, and Janick have provided more of the "landmark" tracks of the reunion. As a co-writer, though, Steve has been in on many of those tracks, and his partnership with Janick has been especially fruitful.

Song NameAlbumAverage RatingAverage Ranking
PaschendaleDance of Death9.488.15
The Book of SoulsThe Book of Souls9.425.00
Brighter Than A Thousand SunsA Matter of Life and Death9.4011.07
Dance of DeathDance of Death9.1518.84
Ghost of the NavigatorBrave New World9.0923.53
If Eternity Should FailThe Book of Souls9.0720.74
For the Greater Good of GodA Matter of Life and Death9.0427.07
Blood BrothersBrave New World8.9629.75
Empire of the CloudsThe Book of Souls8.9626.05
RainmakerDance of Death8.9132.71

There's your top 10 songs since the start of the reunion according to Maidenfans.com (rankings not yet updated for 2019). 2 are Steve-only contributions, 2 are Bruce-only contributions, and the rest have some varying number of contributors.

Steve - 8 (PFD, TBOS, BTATS, DOD, GOTN, FTGGOG, BB, RM)
Bruce - 5 (BTATS, GOTN, IESF, EOTC, RM)
Janick - 3 (TBOS, DOD, GOTN)
Adrian - 2 (PFD, BTATS)
Dave - 1 (RM)

Steve's fingers are all over everything, but he's not "the guy" anymore.
 
LooseCannon said:
Steve's fingers are all over everything, but he's not "the guy" anymore.
Click to expand...

I think you have hit the nail right on the head. Steve is doing a great job collaborating with Adrian, Bruce and Janick in recent times, but when it comes to writing a song on his own, he seems to be stuck in a rut of repetitiveness.
 
FTGGOG is the best of Steve’s solo 21st century songs, but I quite enjoy all the others he’s written by himself as well. Blood Brothers is a modern day classic, No More Lies has a lot of atmosphere, When The Wild Wind Blows weaves together some fantastic storytelling, and TRATB is an unabashed, glorious ride of pure unadulterated Iron Maiden joy.
 
Let's group Maiden songs in 3 categories:

a) Songs composed solely by Harris
b) Songs co-composed by Harris
c) Songs composed by other band members

My 10 favorite tracks out of their last 4 albums regarding the authors:

Montsegur
Face In The Sand
These Colors Don't Run
Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg
The Legacy
The Talisman
The Book Of Souls
For The Greater Good Of God
When The Wild Wind Blows
The Red And The Black

In a proportional fashion let's see what happens when I rank my 30 top songs off of their 12 other records distributed through time:

Sanctuary
Killers
Still Life
Can I Play With Madness
The Prophecy
Man On The Edge
Futureal
The Wicker Man
The Thin Line Between Love And Hate
Phantom Of The Opera
Murders In The Rue Morgue
The Number Of The Beast
Run To The Hills
The Trooper
Aces High
Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
Caught Somewhere In Time
Heaven Can Wait
Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
Infinite Dreams
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
Sign Of The Cross
Fortunes Of War
Revelations (Dickinson)
Powerslave (Dickinson)
Wasted Years (Smith)
Moonchild (Dickinson/ Smith)
Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter (Dickinson)
Be Quick Or Be Dead (Dickinson/ Gers)
Judgement Day (Bailey/ Gers)

So in one hand, in the last albums it is harder for me to find a top song song solely composed by Harris (only 30% of my favorites). But on the other hand the man has his blueprint in the remainder of my favorites (and in all honesty in almost everything relevant made by the band during that period with the exception perhaps of the first and last songs out of the last album). It's also fair to say that if I would rank these tracks, For The Greater Good Of God would be my favorite and When The Wild Wind Blows would be close behind along with The Talisman, Montsegur, Face In The Sand, These Colors Don't Run and The Book Of Souls. So Harris did pen on his own my favorite recent Maiden song and one serious contender, as weel as participated in every single top 10 composition during this period. Pretty Impressive!

Regarding the remainder of the records it's easier to find off the charts material credited to Harris alone (almost half of the stuff!). And in all honesty my two favorite Maiden songs ever fall under this category (Aces High and Rime Of The Ancient Mariner) followed closely by some others he penned on his own like Murders In The Rue Morgue, Sign Of The Cross, Heaven Can Wait, Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner, Infinite Dreams or Phantom Of The Opera. Other stellar songs the band wrote with his collaboration were Killers, Can I Play With Madness and The Prophecy. So no one can deny the man's immense impact during the golden age of the band. But there are also all time are favorites of mine (really reaaaaallllyyyy close to the top) that Harris didn't even took part like Revelations, Powerslave, Wasted Years (3 absolute classics!) or even Moonchild.

That being said I think Harris' writing retained the same invaluable weight it once had. Yes, back in the past it would be easier for him to come by with a masterpiece of his own but the same would also happen with the other guys (check Dickinson with Powerslave and Revelations or Smith with Wasted Years) while nowdays almost every song I find to be relevant has his mark. Plus would I apply this scrutiny to my favorite Maiden period (from POM to SSOASS), Harris wrote 7 of my favorite songs during that period, was part of other 3 but is not credited in 4 of my favorite Maiden songs ever, and that alone is something to take in account.
 
Last edited:
Harris has been involved in some way in writing my most favorite songs on every single Maiden album except for Empire Of The Clouds so the answer is a definite yes from me.
 
Looking at the entire history of the band, Steve is clearly the best songwriter in the band.

In the 21st-century, though, I think the role Steve excels at is arrangement. I prefer Adrian in terms of musical ideas, and Bruce in terms of lyrics.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top