Ever notice how Steve doesn’t write “riffs” anymore?
- Thread starter naranja
- Start date
frus
Barbed Wire Hen
Well to be honest, his bass playing has been increasingly simplistic since the reunion
Until TBOS
It's like he suddenly woke up and quit "I swear to play root, whole root and nothing but root so help me Dusty Hill" philosophy
Just listen to him on TBOS or Empire or most songs really
Until TBOS
It's like he suddenly woke up and quit "I swear to play root, whole root and nothing but root so help me Dusty Hill" philosophy
Just listen to him on TBOS or Empire or most songs really
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
Steve being in complete control gets you The X Factor and Virtual XI. Bruce and Adrian without Steve's influence gets you Accident Of Birth and The Chemical Wedding. I know which horse I'd bet on.
You can say that "Steve is Iron Maiden", but that apparently doesn't mean very much when the other key songwriters aren't in the band.
Randalf
Ancient Mariner
While I definitely agree that Bruce's and Adrian's contribution to songwriting is very important, I think that Steve's songwriting in The X-Factor is rather strong, even with some dragging parts. And while Bruce and H are excellent songwriters, Roy Z's input also played a key role in AoB and TCW and TOS too.
Since 1990 really
srfc
Ancient Mariner
Some people need attention
srfc
Ancient Mariner
Any of those songs can be transposed to any other key and it won't suddenly make Steve a better songwriter. Also, the key is most likely chosen to suit the singer.
permanenteddie
Educated Fool
As time goes by I think what happens with Steve happens with - almost - everyone, no matter the area. They kind of find a certain way of doing things and tend not to stray too far from that. Is this a bad thing and does this make his songs less interesting and not as good as before? Well to each his opinion but if we carefully are going to analyze it, we'll see that most of the songwriters after a certain number of songs/albums tend to use the same formula over and over again (the same might happen with any job when you've been doing it for years, you may find yourself in automatic mode without even realizing it).
At the end of the day, I think we have two options: listen to a song without too much analysis and just see if we like it as it is or starting a deep analysis and then base our judgment of the song's quality on facts like the key it was written on, the chord progression and stuff like that. Imo, none is wrong or right, it's just a matter of opinions
At the end of the day, I think we have two options: listen to a song without too much analysis and just see if we like it as it is or starting a deep analysis and then base our judgment of the song's quality on facts like the key it was written on, the chord progression and stuff like that. Imo, none is wrong or right, it's just a matter of opinions
matic22
Ancient Mariner
Exactly. It's basically the easiest one.
stjerky
Educated Fool
That's how it should be, but has never been with Harris.
stjerky
Educated Fool
"Don't you stray from the narrow way"
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
Yes, some people feel this way. But if you look at people's album rankings and ratings of The X Factor in general, this is a minority opinion.
Of course, just as Janick and Dave and Blaze were key parts of The X Factor and Virtual XI. But Steve selected the people and ultimately ran the show on those albums, and Bruce selected the people and ran the show on his albums. Bruce just had the common sense to not try to produce the albums himself, and to select great people to collaborate with.
Steve’s control only really badly affected the blaze albums imo
The X Factor has bad production but overall I like the songs
Virtual XI however:
Choosing Angel and Gambler over Futureal as first single
Silly football theme
Bad production
Pretty awful songwriting with terrible repetitiveness on Angel and Stranger to the point of parody.
He did write Clansman though so there were bright spots.
The X Factor has bad production but overall I like the songs
Virtual XI however:
Choosing Angel and Gambler over Futureal as first single
Silly football theme
Bad production
Pretty awful songwriting with terrible repetitiveness on Angel and Stranger to the point of parody.
He did write Clansman though so there were bright spots.
After night one it should have been obvious that blaze flat out could not sing the trooper. At least in e. Yet it always remained in the set.
So even every show blaze sounds good on (like Gothenburg 95) always ends with a baritone butchering the trooper. Either tune down or drop it!
Kinda conveniently ignores stuff like Kid Gone Astray and Zulu Lulu, not to mention Sign of the Cross or the Clansman or Phantom of the Opera don’t you think?
Only thing Adrian has led that touches the Blaze albums is Awoken Broken. Accident and Wedding are masterpieces, but let’s not kid ourselves that Bruce hasn’t had his solo missteps.
Of course Steve is better with Bruce and H. The reverse is also true.
Jer
A window to the west, a blazing star above
A few things:
- Weak albums can have some good songs and vice-versa. I was talking about overall quality.
- I personally think that "The Clansman" is a steaming pile, and that "Phantom..." and "Sign Of The Cross" are wildly overrated, but I recognize that I'm in the vast minority there.
- You neglected to note that Tattooed Millionaire, the obvious punching bag when considering Bruce's solo discography, shares something rather important in common with The X Factor and Virtual XI -- Janick Gers.
In your opinion. In mine, all of Adrian's wide release solo work trounces them, including Silver And Gold and State Of Mind.
Tattooed Millionaire was a self-described "bit of fun" that was written and recorded over the span of just two weeks, and was never intended as a serious endeavor. If you want to judge that by the same criteria as Steve's obviously serious attempts with The X Factor and Virtual XI, that's certainly your prerogative, but it seems a bit misplaced.
Balls To Picasso would be a better choice for comparison, but then you're up against "Tears Of The Dragon". Good luck with that.
Any Bruce solo album after Balls To Picasso pretty obviously trounces the Blaze-era material on the merits. Some will disagree, but most won't. And you yourself admitted that Accident Of Birth and The Chemical Wedding are masterpieces, which kind of makes my point for me.
Mostly, sure. But Steve still couldn't phrase his way out of a wet paper bag, and he's way too repetitive with the lyrics.
Operations666
Educated Fool
What the hell am I reading here??? Worst Maiden thread ever.
Steve has never participated in anything I haven’t enjoyed. My takes in rough order:
All-time greats
A Matter of Life and Death, Book of Souls, Final Frontier, Powerslave, Piece of Mind, Somewhere in Time, Accident of Birth
Excellent
Awoken Broken, The X Factor, Brave New World, Number of the Beast, Seventh Son, Chemical Wedding
Very good
Dance of Death, Tyranny of Souls, Killers, Iron Maiden
Worthwhile
Fear of the Dark, British Lion, Silver and Gold, No Prayer for the Dying, Virtual XI, Balls to Picasso, Skunkworks
Hit and miss
Tattooed Millionaire
Meh
State of Mind, Welcome to the World
Poor
None
All-time greats
A Matter of Life and Death, Book of Souls, Final Frontier, Powerslave, Piece of Mind, Somewhere in Time, Accident of Birth
Excellent
Awoken Broken, The X Factor, Brave New World, Number of the Beast, Seventh Son, Chemical Wedding
Very good
Dance of Death, Tyranny of Souls, Killers, Iron Maiden
Worthwhile
Fear of the Dark, British Lion, Silver and Gold, No Prayer for the Dying, Virtual XI, Balls to Picasso, Skunkworks
Hit and miss
Tattooed Millionaire
Meh
State of Mind, Welcome to the World
Poor
None