Janick's role in post-reunion Maiden

Spaldy said:
So if any of you spend time on various Maiden social media pages you'll possibly be aware of the ridiculous rumours by Janick haters (RE boomer fans who want Maiden to return to the "classic" line up) who insist, get this, that Janick doesn't plug in his guitar live and that he's basically miming his whole performance. I'm being serious. They actually believe this. It's even been spread by US rock FM radio host Eddie Trunk (who hates Janick). The sad thing is that many so-called fans actually believe this. Personally I love Janick and his wild performances but I'm perplexed as to why a significant portion of the fan base hate him. What gives?
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I like him a lot, his playing was more focused during the 90s but his songwriting is absolutely brilliant since the reunion.
Nobody can argue that some of his contributions are among the top Maiden songs.
If I remember correctly there wasn't any hate during the 90s, so my explanation is that fans dislike him because Smith is back and see him as redundant. He used to do a lot of moves during the 90s too but at that time everybody knew he was actually plugged so no complaints.
After the reunion, his moving on stage was exaggerated which enhanced the 'unplugged theory' and made him seem ridiculous to the eyes of many. Add this to the redundant feeling and Play Classics! attitude and you have your explanation.
 
Maybe, if you say so..
Then the next question would be: Was the hate during 90s nearly as bad as post reunion?
I actually know a few people that they weren't complain at all during 90s and after reunion they ridiculed him.
 
Jer said:
He seems to have one great epic song in him that he keeps rehashing — acoustic intro, slow build-up, big chorus — which has shown up as “The Legacy”
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I did a triple take at this and I still think you might have meant another song. Seriously, like it or not, one of the most unique Maiden songs in general and a very structurally atypical one at that (among others no chorus, let alone a big one, unless you count the ominous theme that keeps repeating throughout) is a "rehash" ... of what exactly? WTF?
 
For me - thanks to Janick we still have Maiden going after Adrian departure. His role in post-reunion Maiden? Amazing song writer and amazing showman during live shows. Does he 'rehash' ideas? Well... Lets talk about the gallop first.

His only weak spot is his soloing - it seems for me that it is either hit or miss. No middle ground.

This will be blasphemy but if someone today would ask me which one of the guitarists fire from Maiden - I would be most comfortable with Adrian & Janick staying.
 
Jer said:
NPFTD was Janick’s best Maiden album as a guitar player. He had something to prove, and you could sense it in his playing.

Since then, Janick’s contributions have been more limited.
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You leave out a lot of his important contributions and he didn't write anything on No Prayer! What about Fear of the Dark? Lots of great solos + writing credits on some top tracks - Be Quick Or Be Dead (Dickinson/Gers) and Wasting Love (Dickinson/Gers).

Then The X Factor- Lord of the Flies (Gers/Harris) and Man on the Edge (Bayley/Gers) - both songs made the set with Bruce and Adrian back in the band, and I think the re-arranged version of the former was one of the highlights on Death on the Road. Como Estais Amigos (Bayley/Gers) on Virtual XI had some great guitar work as well, even if Blaze's vocals didn't sound good.

And for Brave New World (the most popular reunion album generally) - Adrian only got 2 writing credits and he also only got to play 4(!) solos on the entire album, because much of the material was already in place, before he rejoined. That one was, contrary to common belief, Dave and Janick's album to a much higher degree - Adrian only played solos on The Wicker Man, The Mercenary (somewhat odd since it was a Gers/Harris track),The Fallen Angel and The Nomad.
 
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Spaldy said:
So if any of you spend time on various Maiden social media pages you'll possibly be aware of the ridiculous rumours by Janick haters (RE boomer fans who want Maiden to return to the "classic" line up) who insist, get this, that Janick doesn't plug in his guitar live and that he's basically miming his whole performance. I'm being serious. They actually believe this. It's even been spread by US rock FM radio host Eddie Trunk (who hates Janick).
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I think it's a great rumour to be fair. It let's anyone who believes it out themselves as a total fuckin' eejit. It's like saying "I believe the earth is flat".

Fair enough, some people don't like Janick, his songs, he's guitar playing, his dance moves, whatever. They are entitled to that. But if you genuinely think that he's on stage, not plugged in, unbeknownst to himself, and Maiden have been handing him a paycheck for doing nothing for 31 years then you're not playing with the full deck. And probably should get your ears tested too.
 
Janick's role?

He is important for the Maiden sound as much as anyone else - his sense of melody/melodic harmonies is perfect for the band.
He is a fantastic songwriter! (something really important).
Performer with great stage presence.
I like that he improvises live.
I like his style of playing and his solos (he has fantastic solos). He brought fast solos to the band's sound and overall his style of playing is different to Dave and Adrian, which is a good and needful contrast for a band with 3 guitarists.
I personally think that no one can copy his style of playing.
 
JudasMyGuide said:
I did a triple take at this and I still think you might have meant another song. Seriously, like it or not, one of the most unique Maiden songs in general and a very structurally atypical one at that (among others no chorus, let alone a big one, unless you count the ominous theme that keeps repeating throughout) is a "rehash" ... of what exactly? WTF?
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As I see it, the chorus is at the middle of the song, including the lyric “just think what a legacy you now will leave”.

You also didn’t read what I wrote carefully enough, I guess. I said that he has one great epic song in him that he keeps rehashing. “The Legacy” was the first version of it, and he kept rehashing parts of it on the subsequent albums in “The Talisman” and “The Book Of Souls”. A rehash doesn’t mean an exact copy, it means using similar musical pieces in a similar way that feels overly familiar.
TheTalisman said:
You leave out a lot of his important contributions and he didn't write anything on No Prayer!
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I never said he wrote anything on No Prayer. I said that was his best Maiden album as a guitar player, and I stand by that. His playing is at its tightest and most focused on that album.
TheTalisman said:
What about Fear of the Dark? Lots of great solos + writing credits on some top tracks - Be Quick Or Be Dead (Dickinson/Gers) and Wasting Love (Dickinson/Gers).
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I never liked “Fear Of The Dark” all that much. Too repetitive, cheesy lyrics, one of the weaker epic-style Maiden songs. Good, not great.

BQOBD has a good riff, unusually heavy for Maiden. I’ll give you that one.

“Wasting Love” is fine, but it’s a complete rehash of “Son Of A Gun” from Tattooed Millionaire, which Janick had written just 2 years earlier.
TheTalisman said:
Then The X Factor- Lord of the Flies (Gers/Harris) and Man on the Edge (Bayley/Gers)
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Both weak songs IMO.
TheTalisman said:
Como Estais Amigos (Bayley/Gers) on Virtual XI had some great guitar work as well, even if Blaze's vocals didn't sound good.
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It’s OK, not great, IMO.
TheTalisman said:
That one was, contrary to common belief, Dave and Janick's album to a much higher degree - Adrian only played solos on The Wicker Man, The Mercenary (somewhat odd since it was a Gers/Harris track) and The Fallen Angel.
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Not sure what this has to do with what I said. I think Brave New World is a middle-of-the-road Maiden album, not a modern classic. Maybe you’re assuming everyone thinks it’s great…?
Mosh said:
Stop feeding the troll.
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Not sure who you’re trying to label as a troll here. If it’s me, then I’d be curious to hear why.
 
Not trying to be an arse licking smoothie or whatever the correct expression might be, but even if I mostly disagree with @Jer above, I think his write-up is very good and he makes valid points and arguments.

As much as I like to agree and be agreed with, this forum wouldn't be as interesting if we just agreed about everything without changing thoughts. :p

As for Janick's songwriting, I think some of the stuff like Montsegur are among the most underrated in the entire catalogue. Then again, his work for the last two or three records does have quite a lot of recycling, but as most of the songs are very, very good overall, I can overlook it. The Book of Souls, for example, is structurally quite familiar, but I think it's a huge, impressive song nonetheless. I love it. Janick, despite having this trademark song structure thing, definitely seems to know how to make it really work.

However, I hope we'll see some Ghost of the Navigator, Montsegur etc. esque, slightly more innovative Janick stuff for a change on Senjutsu.
 
Jer said:
Not sure who you’re trying to label as a troll here. If it’s me, then I’d be curious to hear why.
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Reading your posts, The Center for Logic & Reasoning reports imminent threat of catastrophic meltdown and is ready to shut down to prevent further damage to sensitive tissue.
 
i personally don't care for his live histrionics on the fretboard (too spinal tap-ish) but Janick is a GREAT personality and a very good player with a very different style than Adrian and Dave. A&D will ALWAYS be the legends of the three but Janick has earned his spot in the lineup and he brings his own style and personality (in spades) to the proceedings - so no ill will at all from me. he's every bit a Maiden member as the rest at this point.
 
He is crucial to modern Maiden in every aspect.

However, I sometimes feel that his skills are not used to the max potential/not used correctly.

I'm thinking following the vocals with a lead line for half of the song... Lazy 3 guitar arrangements... But that's not his fault most of the time.
 
matic22 said:
He is crucial to modern Maiden in every aspect.

However, I sometimes feel that his skills are not used to the max potential/not used correctly.

I'm thinking following the vocals with a lead line for half of the song... Lazy 3 guitar arrangements... But that's not his fault most of the time.
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This could be said of all Maiden members: “….skills not used to max potential.”
That said, what they do works and even the term “max potential” is subjective, because what constitutes a “better” song is subjective.

Also, while I don’t agree with Jer’s opinion, I agree with his logic. Janick’s major contributions in the reunion era constitute longer songs with a folks acoustic intro, big build up, racing guitar lines and vocals, and a quieter denouement. Dance of Death, Legacy, Talisman, and Book of Souls all follow this routine and are all Janick. Where I disagree is that, to me, these are some of the best, if not outright best, songs on their respective albums.
 
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