I wish credits would say who writes what.

I believe that when Bruce is involved in writing a song, then he's the one doing the lyrics. If he isn't, then it's Steve.
 
Yeah. After discovering that Janick wrote lyrics to The Pilgrim, I was listening to BNW on friday and started paying attention to the way the lyrics on The Mercenary are quite poetic as in The Pilgrim. I think Jan wrote at least some of the lyrics to The Mercenary.
 
Also, Maiden has a pattern for credits: the first name or the first two names - when it's a trio composition - is usually by who wrote the music or came up with the idea first, and the last name is for the one who wrote the lyrics. But as you can see in Sun And Steel, Dickinson's name comes before H's and as we all know Bruce is into swordsmen and fencing, the musical idea and the lyrics are by him with Adrian helping with shaping up the instrumental. So, that's a pattern break.
 
I know Steve has a writing credit on every song on TFF, but I wonder how many were originally his idea?
WTWWB obviously, but after that...?
I gotta think TFF is Adrian's and Coming Home is Bruce's. Mother of Mercy doesn't sound like a Harris composition.
El Dorado sounds like a pure collaborative effort.
The other five all sound like things he wrote lyrics for, or helped develop and/or arrange.
But Wind is the only thing on here I go, yep, that's Steve.
Which, of course would be unheard of for Maiden.
Thoughts?
 
mckindog said:
I know Steve has a writing credit on every song on TFF, but I wonder how many were originally his idea?
WTWWB obviously, but after that...?
I gotta think TFF is Adrian's and Coming Home is Bruce's. Mother of Mercy doesn't sound like a Harris composition.
El Dorado sounds like a pure collaborative effort.
The other five all sound like things he wrote lyrics for, or helped develop and/or arrange.
But Wind is the only thing on here I go, yep, that's Steve.
Which, of course would be unheard of for Maiden.
Thoughts?

In the BBC interview, Adrian states that Steve is more interested in melody's and lyrics these days. That he's more of a filter, everyone brings him what they have, and he takes what he likes, and then adds to them. I think that's true for all the songs with the exception of the last.
 
That's exactly what it sounds like.
And the album certainly didn't suffer for it.
 
I usually get the impression that Steve's biggest contribution to the individual songs are the melodies (instrumental and vocals). But I'd like to think that he writes many songs mostly alone these days; I mean, he wrote the two first albums practically on his own.
 
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