Janick joining Maiden
- Thread starter nuno_c
- Start date
Dr. Eddies Wingman
Brighter than thousand_suns
And then a mumbling sound can be heard among the crowd ... "wow, Adrian told the truth all those years .. he couldn't remember the solo"
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CriedWhenBrucieLeft
Meme Only Account
This whole Janick can't play bullshit is really tiresome. The guy is a great guitar player, no question; has contributed some excellent songs to Maiden's catalogue; and, in my view, is one of the most entertaining members of the band on stage. Janick is the only guy in the band that's had to play someone else's solos. Adrian doesn't do this & Dave doesn't do this. I doubt very much if Adrian or Dave could play Janick's own leads, like Janick; the criticism is nonsense & unfair. It's not his fault Maiden don't rotate their live setlists, so we could actually hear songs with his own leads, played by him. Janick's lead work, when he ever gets a chance to play them, is just fine; he just doesn't approach playing Adrian's leads in the manner people seem to accept.
SirRobbins
Ancient Mariner
if they played Alexander the great, it'd be 8 minutes of shutting up from everyone
Black Wizard
Pleb Hunter
I wouldn't shut up. I'd be singing along.
SirRobbins
Ancient Mariner
^ I would likely too but would honestly prefer Caught Somewhere in Time. More of a head banger and of course sing along chorus
Who here said he can't play?
I don't think that has been said here as such, but there are Maiden fans outside of this forum who do equate Janicks's not-Adrian solos and messing about on stage with him being somehow lacking as a guitarist. That said, using the term 'butchering Adrian's solos' implies that his personal attempts at reworking a solo are ham-fisted.
I suspect giving Janick prominent slots to do his own thing in a very Janicky way is a conscious part of showcasing all three guitarists in the live shows. Whether it's a good way of doing it, is another matter!
The audience is meant to hear and take note of all three guitarists individually, each playing in a distinct style. Reunion era songs such as No More Lies have been written with this idea in mind imo, but you can't do that in pre-Janick era songs, hence they 'find' a slot for Janick when playing history tours.
I suspect giving Janick prominent slots to do his own thing in a very Janicky way is a conscious part of showcasing all three guitarists in the live shows. Whether it's a good way of doing it, is another matter!
The audience is meant to hear and take note of all three guitarists individually, each playing in a distinct style. Reunion era songs such as No More Lies have been written with this idea in mind imo, but you can't do that in pre-Janick era songs, hence they 'find' a slot for Janick when playing history tours.
Welsh Phantom
Ancient Mariner
CriedWhenBrucieLeft
Meme Only Account
Did I specifically say someone on this forum said he couldn't play? I was talking generally, as other members also were e.g. see Brig's comments on first pg. in reference to other online forums. However the words "sloppy" & "Janick" seem to slip out even on this forum pretty frequently. On this forum people have clearly implied Janick isn't the player Dave or Adrian are. Hell, in this very thread there have been a few comments:
I can't read this any other way other than: the guy can be unprofessional & his playing is sloppy. How else would one interpret this comment?
Your own comment reads as if you broadly agree.
Here's some more sloppy talk, in case you missed it...
None of this reads particularly favourably. Why bother with two guitarists? Can't tell the difference between players...
More high praise.
Your own comments run pretty close to a criticism of his actual playing here. Again I bring you back to his approach. And, again, I bring you back to comparison: compared to who? Neither of the other two guys have had to do this.
I just feel that too many times when Janick is discussed, the conversation moves quickly and predictably on to his playing of Adrian's solos; as if this represents the sum total of his contribution, as a band member, to Iron Maiden. It's relentless. And, of course, it's negative. I think it's very unbalanced & focuses on something that really doesn't matter that much.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
And you're not supposed to. Playing sloppy because you'd rather throw your guitar around your neck and run your hand up and down the fretboard like you're washing a floor is unprofessional when done in a professional setting. My comment wasn't meant to have multiple levels of interpretation.
Janick is a good player. He is a good writer. He is a good showman. But there are ways to put on a good show without sacrificing your playing. When showmanship becomes more important than playing, his playing can sound sloppy.
I don't care which solo Janick is playing, I just want to hear it played correctly or smoothly. Janick doesn't solo like Adrian, nor do I expect him to. Just like I don't expect Dave to solo like Janick or Adrian to sing like Bruce. They are different for a reason and they all contribute interesting elements to the band. But mucking up your guitar parts cannot be argued as part of your inherent playing style.
cynick
Trooper
then Janick comes in playing Adrian's solo.
I don't know what are the motives behind his butchering of Adrian's solos. maybe it is his approach, this only means his approach sucks... that's it. he needs to put more thought in his approach...
as a fan who bought a ton of their stuff and still does to this day I have the right to not like it and to complain about it.
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My favourite solo by him is the outro to Wild Wind - very Richie Blackmore.
I was watching a pro - shot vid on YT of the VX1 tour, done for TV I think. Steve, Dave and Nicko are on fire, really good, and proving that those songs can be strong but Janick's playing is, err, messy and Blaze is out of tune. Maybe just a bad night for them. I'm being kind.
Janick's style fits in well with tracks like Paschendale. Dave starts with naive optimism(over the top), Adrian has a gritty realism(shit this is tough) and Janick ends it in confusion, panic and death(aaarrgghhh!).
I was watching a pro - shot vid on YT of the VX1 tour, done for TV I think. Steve, Dave and Nicko are on fire, really good, and proving that those songs can be strong but Janick's playing is, err, messy and Blaze is out of tune. Maybe just a bad night for them. I'm being kind.
Janick's style fits in well with tracks like Paschendale. Dave starts with naive optimism(over the top), Adrian has a gritty realism(shit this is tough) and Janick ends it in confusion, panic and death(aaarrgghhh!).
That makes sense, yes. Paschendale is one of the songs I was thinking about, that appears to have been written around making use of very different soloing styles.
harrisdevot
Priest of the Holy Wristband
Could you provide a link please ? I'm curious about this.
D
Deleted member 7164
Guest
Yeah, that solo is fcking great...especially the En Vivo version.
Blackmore is really "audible" in Janick's solos, but sometimes he goes Blackmore without being Blackmore, and that doesn't pay out live. Ritchie can be a mess too, but he's doing long leads in concert. I never counted it in aggregate (duh!), but i'd bet that Blackmore does > 20 minutes of lead at each show. Janick, maybe couple of minutes overall, and half of that can be really sloppy. If somebody watched Perfect Strangers DVD (1984), on Gypsy's Kiss he really botches the main solo with some sloppy sweep arpeggios that were clearly improvised on spot and lead nowhere. But still some sound can be heard from his guitar, more like an effect than real notes, but it can be heard. That's because it's the only distorted guitar in the mix. Jon Lord's Hammond riffing covers bottom and low-mid spectrum, leaving mostly evertyhing else for electric guitar.
With Janick? He does some sloppiness while Dave and Adrian are riffing all the way and he gets drowned. His improvisations usually lack the precision and the attack on notes needed for the sound to really cut through.
But that's mostly with Adrian's solos. Jan's studio work is great and he usually plays those solos properly. I miss H on Revelations, his second solo was really integral to the whole instrumental section, which is one of Maiden's best (if we take only their 'classic' heavy metal stuff).
Regarding VXI pro material, t's fucking awesome stuff, especially Lightning Strikes Twice and When Two Worlds Collide. These two songs get that Maiden factor live. I like them on album also, but album lacks much in the production and 'feel' department. Blaze did fuck up and he did it frequently. I have and I have played through all pro-shot (or pro-recorded), and a lot of audience ones (no Educated Fool pro shot :| ) TXF and VXI bootlegs, and Blaze wasn't on the performance level required, overall.
But Janick was, and still is.
search Iron Maiden Skol Rock 1998. It's from Brazil.