Janick's role in post-reunion Maiden

I have slowly, but surely come to the conclusion that Janick is da man. First of all, I can now safely say his songwriting is one of the reasons I love Maiden so much. He wrote or co-wrote BQOBD, The Edge of Darkness, The Unbeliever, Como Estais Amigos (one of the most underrated songs by Maiden, IMHO), Navigator, Dream of Mirrors, Dance of Death, The Legacy, The Talisman, The Alchemist, now TBOS and SOTV… Many of the songs I return to on a regular basis. That alone would be enough to love him in my book. With every new album he is usually the songwriter I know won’t disappoint. His works are highlights to me and I simply couldn’t imagine new album without at least one of his songs. His works have been my personal “Best track of the album” for the last 4 albums in a row! Five, if you count Navigator as “his”.

Also - and I admit I might be wrong about this - his solos are those that vary the most. Take his work on Blood Brothers, The Alchemist, The Pilgrim, The Fugitive, The Unbeliever, The Talisman… and don’t tell me he doesn’t experiment. Sometimes it works better, sometimes it’s not so hot, but he really tries, I think more than those other two (not to put down Dave or H, of course; it's not like they've been playing the same stuff over and over again :D).

He is very passionate about the music he makes and I like that. His hyperactivity appeals to me very much.

He’s the one who’s not afraid to improvise live and “butcher” (as the naysayers call it) the solo, because he’s so into it, into the moment and it brings a whole new level to a Maiden show. Dave does that a bit too, if I’m not mistaken, but not to that amount.

Also, watching him on the stage is just pure unadulterated fun. You can’t watch him dancing around up there and not like him at least a bit.

So, while a lot of people on the web - not here, thankfully - (mostly from the PlayClassics crowd, I guess) keep calling for firing Janick, I personally would be very angry about that and a Janick-less album would keep me rather cold.

Also...

mckindog said:
Janick is the cool, easygoing one who will help you clear the yard, gut a fish, share a beer, laugh at your dirty jokes and cheer her guts out during the football game.
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This is the one I'd choose. I've always had a soft spot for tomboys. :D
 
Janick Gers..

I like his writings, I like his playing of rhtymns and harmonies and melodies and licks and what not. I love his raw and burning guitar tone. I love his solos on albums. I like his stage appearences.

But I heavily dislike his way of handling solos in concert. He has no phrasing, no coherense and no detectable structure to his solos and it's almost always a garbled, out of place collection of notes.
 
Not fond of his reworking of other people's solos live, but some of his own are a completely different matter!
 
Some of his solos are amazing (DOD, Blood Brothers), and many others are instantly forgettable. I guess that is bound to happen when you prefer to improvise the way he does, sometimes without even doing a few takes. As a songwriter, he's been incredible though, producing many of my favorite songs of any era. My only criticism is he does tend to repeat himself a bit with guitar parts.
 
Im not ashamed to say Im a Janick lover! After being there for 25 years I honestly dont think it would be the same without him - I think he brings a lot to the band that the others dont, particularly in a live setting - takes a lot more risks which sometimes pay off, sometimes dont. And he's always entertaining to watch if you happen to be stood on that side of the stage! If you asked me for my favourite guitarist/songwriter of the 3 I would always go for Adrian but I'd still not have anything said against jan or davey.
 
Lately, Dave Murray would have been my second choice in the category of dissatisfactory live solos, not H.
Murray also seems guilty of playing endless legato hammer on and pull offs without any sort of phrasing.

With 'messing up' I don't refer to mistakes, but playing a solo ugly, like no phrasing, leaving out signature passages that appear on the album etc.
 
He's a very valuable composer, writes awesome melodies, his solos are great, sleek and vital plus he has an energetic stage presence. I'd like to hear his rhythm parts more, especially live and I've to admit, some times his extreme dancing is not particularly fitting with some parts, but they're basically minor complaints. I'm happy he's in the band!
 
The Nomad said:
With 'messing up' I don't refer to mistakes, but playing a solo ugly, like no phrasing, leaving out signature passages that appear on the album etc.
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No phrasing? Ever noticed how his fast passages are blurry, often muted and when he finally strikes the melodic end note of the phrase it's crystal clear? That's phrasing. And very intentional. Compared to the standard blues school of phrasing H went to, it's very unconventional, and compared to most musicians it is indeed in the extremes - but it's very far removed from something without thought.

When looking at the extremes of phrasing, Janick's solo on "Tattooed Millionaire" is a very useful example (especially the live version from Dive! Dive! Dive! (1990):

(3:05-3:34)

Let's look at the first part of this solo: He begins with a lightning-fast lick, sounding sort of 'muffled'. These notes are more suggested than played. Then he changes to another fast lick, that sorts of speeds up until it's blurry - then comes the melodic phrase that binds the whole thing together and ends the section, all notes clear and audible. Would it have the same impact had the beginning of the solo been in the same dynamic?

It's all taste in the end, but to say that Janick's phrasing is non-existent or even approaching simple is clearly wrong.
 
Maturin said:
No phrasing? Ever noticed how his fast passages are blurry, often muted and when he finally strikes the melodic end note of the phrase it's crystal clear? That's phrasing. And very intentional. Compared to the standard blues school of phrasing H went to, it's very unconventional, and compared to most musicians it is indeed in the extremes - but it's very far removed from something without thought.

When looking at the extremes of phrasing, Janick's solo on "Tattooed Millionaire" is a very useful example (especially the live version from Dive! Dive! Dive! (1990):

(3:05-3:34)

Let's look at the first part of this solo: He begins with a lightning-fast lick, sounding sort of 'muffled'. These notes are more suggested than played. Then he changes to another fast lick, that sorts of speeds up until it's blurry - then comes the melodic phrase that binds the whole thing together and ends the section, all notes clear and audible. Would it have the same impact had the beginning of the solo been in the same dynamic?

It's all taste in the end, but to say that Janick's phrasing is non-existent or even approaching simple is clearly wrong.
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He obviously doesn't get it wrong 100% of the time but far too often he is.
 
This is a thought that crossed my mind again when Halloween recently announced their reunion with Kai Hansen and Michael Kiske. They went for the seven member line-up and kept the replacements in the line-up (Andi Deris and Sascha Gerstner). Now keeping Blaze as a co-singer was just not a possibility. Halloween can do it because they didn't lose as much popularity compared to what they had with Hansen and Kiske. Maiden on the other hand took a huge dive compared to their previous success. The reason for keeping Andi Deris and Sascha Gerstner is probably similar for keeping Janick in the band. But then again, if you are already firing members, why not get rid of the guitar player performing on what the general public regards as the weakest albums? Remember, at that point the 90's albums competed with the seven first.

I always had a theory that if Janick wasn't featured on Fear of the Dark, and more importantly, the song itself, he wouldn't be involved with the band beyond the reunion. It must have been weird for some fans when the 6 member line-up was announced.
 
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