The musical depth and the lyrical depth have both been kicked up a notch. I'm really not going to go into a track by track breakdown or anything,
Alright, well I thought that by picking out songs it would be more clear to show what you're talking about. Kicked up a notch is not really saying much, if you don't say why you think so.
but a lot of old Maiden songs used to revolve around a couple musical ideas - mainly Steve's bass gallop and the twin guitar harmonies. In recent years, we've seen more variations in Steve's bass playing (which really started around TXF),
So that's a good side of the nineties then. Did Steve use again new ideas in this century or did he stay with what he made up in previous decades? I agree that the others certainly contributed in doing new things, but I am not sure of Steve's contributions. E.g. also songwriting-wise, I think that the last excellent song he wrote by himself was on
The X-Factor. I am not sure what he did when he collaborated with others so that's harder to say.
the addition of extended acoustic guitar passages, more use of multi-octave range from Bruce (and more restraint when necessary), synth additions (which started back in the SIT days), multi-layered guitar passages thanks to the addition of Janick, tempo and time change experimentation, etc. etc.
Indeed, some of these have been new indeed, although not entirely. Most striking to me are some rhythms Adrian brought in, in e.g. Paschendales. He was doing such stuff already with Psycho Motel. Good he brought it to Maiden. But in Blood of the World's Hands there's also odd rhythms coming up.
And the different guitar layers that the amigos brought on e.g. the couplets in Brave New World (Dave: open clean chords, Adrian: rhythm, Janick: melody line) are refreshing.
Still, when I think of depth, I do not merely think about using different
techniques. Melodies can also be deep (to be honest, in my view, they are the core of Maiden's sound), or atmospheres, moods. Admittedly, this is perhaps more difficult to describe, but I miss such depth on relatively many newer Maiden songs.
As for the lyrics, they've abandoned a good majority of the "cheeky" humor, the songs about hookers, or simplistic yarns about chasing girls and killing them for more mature topics such as mortality, the afterlife, philosophy, and war and its effects on the human mind, body, and soul.
I don't think Maiden did that many of these cheeky things. And they actually started doing all these more serious things in previous decades.
I'm not saying that the earlier material was always immature and sophomoric, or that the newer material is incredibly intellectual and poetic, but overall they have definitely matured from a lyrical standpoint. I'll take the lyrics to Starblind over 22 Acacia Avenue any day.
That's an easy one, because 22 was about a hooker, and yes Starblind is quite something. But as I stated, 22 is not exactly representative. I take the lyrics of Hallowed Be Thy Name over The Fallen Angel any day. ;-)
They seem to look at the overall message of an album much more now. AMOLAD could almost be called a concept album, a trend which started with SSOASS, but was quickly dropped for the "let's write about whatever and throw 'em on the same album" idea used for NPFTD and FOTD.
I think you make a mistake here. First
Fear of the Dark:
Fear is one of the basic emotions. It is explored in most songs, if you (want to) make the connections with feelings and thoughts that are connected to fear.
Fear is indeed not always the main element in the songs, but sometimes, something is caused by it, or leads towards it, so it runs in most songs (not all indeed) as the "red thread" through the album.
Certainly this is a mind album. Maiden's first psychological album, dealing with real -often common- issues. A deep one.
Be quick or be dead
.... a bit of a warning song; be careful or else... (being careful of something; that's something that's driven by fear; something could go wrong)
From Here to Eternity
.... in essence, this song is about not being afraid, so in a way it is about (overcoming) fear as well, although bandmembers have stated that it is not a serious song but a good laugh, a joke, and just a follow-up in the Charlotte series.
Afraid To Shoot Strangers
.... that's a clear one.
Fear is the Key
.... also obvious, about fear that exists in sexual relationships, because of aids.
Childhood's End
.... fear of the world (a doomy prospect for children; people afraid of having children).
Wasting Love
.... about continuing to have short-termed relationships, caused by fear of loneliness, fear of feeling a void.
The Fugitive
.... obvious, someone is afraid to be caught, because he wants to clear his name. An "on the run"-theme certainly involves fear.
Chains of Misery
... tough one. Well, it is about being affected by the little devil on your shoulder, causing often in feeling miserable, or guilty, and these are emotions that are connected to fear as well. Also a moral to the story could be "don't be afraid of that devil, or its consequences".
The Apparition
.... I think the lyrics are urging to not be afraid of living your life (with passion).
Judas Be My Guide
... this one might have the least to do with fear (although the wish of having a guide, can come out of fear of doing something without something/someone else).
Weekend Warrior
... social behaviour done out of fear of not belonging; I admit it's more about the behaviour and the dealings with it, than about fear itself.
Fear of the Dark
.... obvious.
Now
No Prayer:
No Prayer is also not "let's just throw anything on this". For the first time, the band deliberately wanted to make songs about matters that moved them in the real, outside world. Social awareness. After
No Prayer, I think that with
Fear of the Dark the band went further into a certain 'realistic, down to earth' direction and therefore I don't think it is a coincidence that the topics deal with all kinds of mental uncertainties.
Fear is more directed inwards: personal, feelings of band members.
You're right, there's also songs that deviate from what I just wrote, there's e.g. Hooks in You, Bring Your Daughter, Tailgunner and The Assassin. The first two are more goofy, and the last two try more to identify with people who need to kill, motivated by two entirely different causes (war and mind).
But AMOLAD has Benjamin Breeg, Different World, Out of the Shadows and The Pilgrim which have nothing or hardly to do with its main theme(s).
So, seriously, I do not think much has changed, although some goofiness has disappeared and Bruce became more poetic in some songs. Still, I think you are wrong with your (dis)qualifications on the lyrics when it comes to the first two albums of the nineties.
Although I'm not a big fan of TXF, it was around that time that you noticed a bit of difference in album structure and consistency. Steve seemed to get more serious, which we know was actually the case, and I think the band has finally reached a place where they are better for it.
As stated, the band had already become more serious about their lyrics. The X-Factor was an album that took very long to make, and Steve went through personal tragedy (I think his divorce). This gave the album a moody, gloomy touch. But actually, the lyrics draw inspiration from different things, most not being the happiest topics. Introspective songs, songs inspired by novels and cinema, songs about the outside world (war), philosophical songs. The goofiness is gone, but it already was on
Fear of the Dark (o no, not totally --> From Here to Eternity).
As for SIT, I'm talking about lyrics. I find Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner to just be absurd lyrically.
Have you seen the film or have you read the book? This is not just about distance running. There's a whole psychological concept (loneliness, dealing with expectations of others, self discipline) behind the sports topic in the original story. I am sure that such aspects motivated Steve to write a song about it (although I have the idea that he changed the main plot somewhat).
Deja-Vu is a killer song but the lyrics are quite lame. Alexander is a great idea for a song, but the lyrics are textbook and boring.
I don't find Deja-Vu's lyrics lame. I think the words had to be simple and speedy, and the sentences short, because it fits the songs dynamics.
You're asking too much, Foro. I'm not going to explain how I feel about every song on the reunion albums. Also, how could I describe when they were good? When I first heard them? Or when they were relevant? Not sure what that means.
Well, you already explained more than you earlier did, but I've found it hard to find out what you find good. But you've told more now. E.g. I found out what you find bad. Certainly, to you, an album suffers when it has one or two goofy songs. So as long as Maiden stays serious, they're going to have bonus points. ;-)
Still, I hope you don't mind me saying, but I feel that you shouldn't discard some albums too early. They can grow, especially when you see there's more to it than meets the eye.
Anyway, thanks that you took the time for your feedback, much appreciated.
Good observation on Fear of the Dark's variety, Foro - it may actually be the band's most varied album.
The difference with TFF for me is FotD has too many songs that are simply OK and one I actively dislike.
I actively like everything on TFF.
One of the issues with FotD in my view is the addition of Janick as a writer.
It was something entirely new and I'm not sure that it had entirely meshed with the band's sound yet.
Be Quick (which works completely), Wasting Love, Fear is the Key, The Apparition, and Weekend Warrior remain some of the least maiden-like songs in the catalogue.
Cheers Mckindog. Well, I prefer to talk about personal opinions, but I take it that you yourself agree with this statement. I think that it has to do with taste. What do we search for in a song? I can't really identify with the lyrical subjects of Wasting Love and Fear is the Key, but I absolutely can with The Apparition. You might have seen me bragging about these lyrics before, but I find them so stimulating, even inspiring. Also, I find it interesting how Steve tries to face a topic like hooliganism. Now the music, these are -for Maiden at least- rather slow songs. Also, the typical harmonies that we were used to in the eighties were stripped. Check out this comment by Dave Murray, taken from an interview from the
IM-Commentary:
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As far as Fear of the Dark is concerned there's the aforementioned diversity, but conspicuous by its absence is the patented Maiden twin lead sound that the band have used to such effect in the past. Murray is quick to pick up on the point.
Dave Murray: I guess we've used a lot of harmony parts in the past and everyone's got used to that. With this album though it wasn't that we tried to move away from that, it was just that they didn't fit. There's a classic track on there called 'Afraid To Shoot Strangers' where there could've been harmony parts all over the place, but they just didn't seem right so we took 'em off. Sometimes that harmony stuff can just sweeten things too much and we felt that although we'd used keyboards to maybe add textures to songs, we didn't want the song to lose any of that power.
- - - - - - -
I admit that it took a while for me to appreciate these new directions. But they did try new things. You could call them failed experiments, but at least Maiden did something else; they did it in a serious, dedicated way. Most songs that I like less on newer albums, I don't like because they do
not sound new (recycled).
I honestly believe people when they say they hate these songs, but I am often curious to know what drives them. There is a song, and there is the listener, and there are others... circumstances and people (e.g. on a forum ;-) It all comes from more directions. I find them all interesting to learn to get the total picture.
I also feel that the works of the nineties have been stigmatized, because they are in between two successful decades. Who knows some members can still discover things in these albums. Same goes for me with the newer albums. I should not be done with them yet.
