Most Important Iron Maiden Member is Steve Harris

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MrKnickerbocker said:
To judge any band member we have to judge them by their current output and performance.
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So, why are Nicko, Janick and Dave going out first if they are (also) judged by performance then? The answer is simple: because their performance is not judged. People just don't give a damn about that. People are in awe of Bruce, Steve and Adrian. And they overlook the importance and quality of the other three. It doesn't matter f*ck if Dave writes an interesting song on the latest record, it doesn't matter what Janick does, because he's Janick (doesn't matter that he was co-responsible for the title track and highlight of the new tour). And Nicko? Ah, Nicko is a drummer. Case closed.
 
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Forostar said:
So, why are Nicko, Janick and Dave going out first if they are (also) judged by performance then? The answer is simple: because their performance is not judged. People just don't give a damn about that. People are in awe of Bruce, Steve and Adrian. And they overlook the importance and quality of the other three. It doesn't matter f*ck if Dave writes an interesting song on the latest record, it doesn't matter what Janick does, because he's Janick (doesn't matter that he was co-responsible for the title track and highlight of the new tour). And Nicko? Ah, Nicko is a drummer. Case closed.
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I'm voting based on this criteria. Doesn't mean other people are. There are certain people around here who don't give a shit how good Janick's songwriting is, or how consistent of a live player Davey is, or how solid Nicko remains to be in-studio or on stage. Some people just hate Janick cause he's still around, or think Clive Burr's ghost could play drums better than Nicko.

I don't want anyone to leave the band, but this survivor is about who is the most essential to the band currently. Personally, I think that Dave's writing has been weak since Brave New World and so has the quality of his solos. He is a great live player, but he adds very little to the records. Same goes for Nicko, who also has the added handicap of not playing a melody instrument and thus appears to contribute less.

As far as the "big three" you're talking about: sorry, but they deserve that awe. I agree that people discount Janick, Dave, and Nicko sometimes, but the other three are more impressive. Everyone isn't equal, that's all there is to it. Bruce Dickinson is a modern f*cking marvel of a human being. He excels in everything he puts his mind to, so much that he outperforms most in his field. Steve Harris has steered the ship of the best metal band for 40 years and written the majority of their songs. Out of all the guitarists, Adrian Smith has proved to be the strongest (and most active) songwriter and the most complex player.

Based on my criteria, output (songwriting contributions and quality of those contributions - which is of course subjective and I'm sure will lead to many arguments) and performance (recorded and live), I would currently rate the band members as such:

STEVE HARRIS - Output: 95%, Performance: 100%
BRUCE DICKINSON - Output: 95%, Performance: 100%
ADRIAN SMITH - Output: 90%, Performance: 100%
JANICK GERS - Output: 85%, Performance: 90%
DAVE MURRAY - Output: 40%, Performance: 95%
NICKO McBRAIN - Output: 5%, Performance: 100%

Only reason I put Steve as the most important is because of his role as band leader, ship guider, ruler of all things Eddie.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
I agree that people discount Janick, Dave, and Nicko sometimes, but the other three are more impressive. Everyone isn't equal, that's all there is to it.
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Are? Okay, well not in my book (of souls). E.g., when I watched Wacken's live stream I was mostly impressed by Bruce (amazing voice), Nicko (steady, superb) and Dave (flawless and enchanting playing). I do not think that a lot of people are really taking the performances of Nicko, Dave and Janick very much into consideration. And if they do, then this criteria is almost unimportant because they do not write many songs.

I dare to say that Adrian makes more mistakes than Dave when playing live. At least on at least Wacken Open Air. Man, did he fuck up that note in his Tears of a Clown solo.
 
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Of course, like anything involving music our opinions are...opinions. They're subjective. I'm sure everyone has their preferences and what they consider to be more important.
 
Collin said:
Almost every Maiden song is better than Age of Innocence..
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Age of innocence is flawless. Top 10 . I do not know how it's overlooked here. I freakin love that song. And saying anything negative about Breege is just unimaginable. But Both of these guys can flat out bring the heat as far as songwriting.
 
Forostar said:
Are? Okay, well not in my book (of souls). E.g., when I watched Wacken's live stream I was mostly impressed by Bruce (amazing voice), Nicko (steady, superb) and Dave (flawless and enchanting playing). I do not think that a lot of people are really taking the performances of Nicko, Dave and Janick very much into consideration. And if they do, then this criteria is almost unimportant because they do not write many songs.

I dare to say that Adrian makes more mistakes than Dave when playing live. At least on at least Wacken Open Air. Man, did he fuck up that note in his Tears of a Clown solo.
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At Wacken I distinctly heard one big Adrian flub and one big Dave flub, but otherwise they played pretty great. Nicko was steady the entire time, better than either night I heard him in the states. Janick's live musical performance is, imo, the weakest of the entire band. He frequently misses the landings of riffs, plays out of time, or literally plays nothing at all because he's wanking around with his guitar. When he wants to, he plays great, i.e. his impeccable performance on BOS throughout the tour. However, he's normally more interested in looking interesting than on nailing his parts 100%. On the flip side, his performance in the studio is pretty much perfect nowadays. With performers as seasoned as Maiden, I do think songwriting is more important than live shows because it's what keeps the band from stagnating and becoming a dreaded cabaret act.
 
This is pure bullshit, Knicks. Janick's performance at Wacken was excellent; if anything he outshone both Dave & Adrian in the execution of his solos. What stream were you listening to? Look at the technique in his FotD solo; neither of the other two guys are doing anything like that. Your assessment is total nonsense.
 
CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
This is pure bullshit, Knicks. Janick's performance at Wacken was excellent; if anything he outshone both Dave & Adrian in the execution of his solos. What stream were you listening to? Look at the technique in his FotD solo; neither of the other two guys are doing anything like that. Your assessment is total nonsense.
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I'll watch it again when I get a chance, but I distinctly remember hearing flurries of notes during the solos that weren't always coherent. Having watched him the entire time in Chicago, I can say that he didn't play more than a few notes on Iron Maiden so that he could throw his guitar around. Again, I didn't say that he is terrible, he turns it on and off. When he wants to play well and tone down the antics, he's great. It just doesn't always happen.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
I'll watch it again when I get a chance, but I distinctly remember hearing flurries of notes during the solos that weren't always coherent.
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There's nothing incoherent about his playing. You need to listen to guys playing fast more! :p
MrKnickerbocker said:
Having watched him the entire time in Chicago, I can say that he didn't play more than a few notes on Iron Maiden so that he could throw his guitar around.
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Who cares? IM is a throwaway track anyway. Dave used to smash guitars up when they played it.
MrKnickerbocker said:
Again, I didn't say that he is terrible, he turns it on and off. When he wants to play well and tone down the antics, he's great. It just doesn't always happen.
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Point is, the caveat isn't fair. It sounds like you're saying; he's shit, but decent when he tries. Janick is a superb guitar player. There's more technique there than people here give him credit for. Lots of technique. Does stuff the other guys don't. Why so negative? The band would be piss dull without Janick on stage. And they would sound shitter too. Where is this one-note crap coming from? We've all heard Adrian's isolated live tracks; they don't sound that shit hot. Where is the evidence Janick is air-guitar playing? I watch and hear Janick playing the intro to WY faster than Adrian seems to be able to handle bridging over the neck. We can all see it. I can hear it. Where's the shit playing?
 
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bornless1 said:
Age of innocence is flawless. Top 10 . I do not know how it's overlooked here. I freakin love that song. And saying anything negative about Breege is just unimaginable. But Both of these guys can flat out bring the heat as far as songwriting.
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Not according to your top ten in your signature. :p
 
My bad . 'Reunion top ten' is what I meant . And that may even be ...... A little bit of a stretch:innocent: but it Is way underrated round' here...
 
That came up on shuffle this morning. It's a good song, way better than at least 4 songs on DoD.
 
Adrian. Without Steve, Maiden wouldn't sound like Maiden. Not necessarily in a bad way ofc, but just wouldn't be the same based on Adrian and Bruce's solo careers. And Bruce is irreplaceable.
 
Bruce vs Steve will be fun. I could be convinced either way. First time in a survivor I'll probably need convincing.
 
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