Paul/Bruce period songs that Blaze did well/better

King Of Twilight said:
But, I also don't think Bruce has ever done the Paul songs justice, with the exception of Iron Maiden and perhaps Running Free.
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Bruce also sounds really good on Phantom of the Opera. Some of the old videos show him sounding terrible on Sanctuary - the staccato rhythms of some of the early stuff just doesn't suit him at all (but it suited Paul down to the ground). He needs something that can be really sung. Running Free - really not sure. Musically it's fine and it was their first single and became a popular staple of the live set and all but even so I think they've really just outgrown the lyrics to that one. "Pulled her at the Bottle Top, whiskey dancing disco hop" - it's entirely the sort of thing I can imagine Paul having done in 1980 but not Bruce in 2013. And as for "Just sixteen" - I mean I know they're all wearing really well but even so, who are they trying to kid?!!?
 
Black Abyss Babe said:
Bruce also sounds really good on Phantom of the Opera. Some of the old videos show him sounding terrible on Sanctuary - the staccato rhythms of some of the early stuff just doesn't suit him at all (but it suited Paul down to the ground). He needs something that can be really sung. Running Free - really not sure. Musically it's fine and it was their first single and became a popular staple of the live set and all but even so I think they've really just outgrown the lyrics to that one. "Pulled her at the Bottle Top, whiskey dancing disco hop" - it's entirely the sort of thing I can imagine Paul having done in 1980 but not Bruce in 2013. And as for "Just sixteen" - I mean I know they're all wearing really well but even so, who are they trying to kid?!!?
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Absolutely agreed on all points, especially the old lyrics being really outdated. Bruce definitely slays on Phantom.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
Absolutely agreed on all points, especially the old lyrics being really outdated.
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Ah yes but I didn't say the lyrics were outdated, I said that the band had outgrown them - subtle difference. What I meant is that songs about being sixteen years old and skint and pulling birds in some sleazy dive were all well and good when they were in their early twenties and playing pubs in the East End trying to get themselves established. But now they are all approaching sixty (and past that milestone in one case), have made their fortunes, have been happily married for years and have grown-up children. So there is an incongruity there. I have absolutely no problem with them still doing it live (I sang along as loudly as anyone at the O2 last month :edmetal:), I was just pointing out that their lives have come on a long way since they wrote it (at which point it may quite possibly have been true). On the other hand it does serve to highlight how long Maiden have been around and at the top of their game. Assuming anyone needs reminding of course.:)
 
Black Abyss Babe said:
Ah yes but I didn't say the lyrics were outdated, I said that the band had outgrown them - subtle difference.
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Semantics! I was saying the same thing. :)

Black Abyss Babe said:
What I meant is that songs about being sixteen years old and skint and pulling birds in some sleazy dive were all well and good when they were in their early twenties and playing pubs in the East End trying to get themselves established. But now they are all approaching sixty (and past that milestone in one case), have made their fortunes, have been happily married for years and have grown-up children. So there is an incongruity there.
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Now the lyrics have taken on a new meaning, whereas they once came from the perspective of 20-somethings in a bar band, they are now cautionary tales for their kids. So, Bruce is singing about the children of the band, warning them not to attend "whiskey dancing disco hops" because they'll end up running from the law if they do!

Or, now that they are old, the songs simply become pieces of their funny songbook or comic cannon, such as "Holy Smoke", because they are now those old dudes singing about young people stuff!

Justified! :p
 
I don't think that when Maiden are up there performing Running Free they are thinking about themselves all that much. They have a very young audience out there in most countries still so the overall theme of the song; letting yourself go and that rebel attitude expressed in the song is surely something every 16 year old in the crowd can relate too, maybe they ditched school to go to the Maiden show, maybe their parents hate Maiden...that sort of stuff.. Maiden wrote Wildest Dreams a lot later but I would say the two songs aren't really that different thematically....Anyways I sometimes see Running Free as kind of Maiden's Detroit Rock City or something :p

...Also it's just a great sing-a-long song ;)
 
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No analysis needed, it's a fun rock song with dumb teenage lyrics. You either like it or you don't.
 
Mosh said:
No analysis needed, it's a fun rock song with dumb teenage lyrics. You either like it or you don't.
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Pretty much. I do not go out of my way to listen to it at home, but I did listen to the LAD version semi recently and like it ... it is fun live. Same with Sanctuary.
 
SixesAlltheway said:
I don't think that when Maiden are up there performing Running Free they are thinking about themselves all that much.
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I think you hit the nail on the head there.

Even back in the 80s I never listened to Running Free as if it was actually about anyone in Maiden. No more so than when listening to The Trooper ("You'll take my life but I'll take yours too") as being about anyone in Maiden. Surely these lyrics are just scenarios and little stories, and written from the perspective of being a certain character, much as in a movie.
 
Wait for it left hand side, wait for it....

LAD version is among my favourite live tracks.
Always takes me back to the Slavery tour, probably because I never really liked that song until seeing it live.
 
Well, I never though it was autobiographical (ie based on actual events) but I did seriously think that in general Paul Di'anno was probably the model. It works very well live, partly because it's useful for audience participation but also because it's fast and energetic, but I think the main reason they still play it is simply because it's still more or less universally popular. Otherwise they would just have let it drop out of sight, like Holy Smoke, Bring your Daughter ... to the Slaughter and basically everything off X-Factor and Virtual XI.
 
Black Abyss Babe said:
"Pulled her at the Bottle Top, whiskey dancing disco hop" - it's entirely the sort of thing I can imagine Paul having done in 1980 but not Bruce in 2013.
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Did you already forget about that picture you posted? :) It wasn't 2013, but he sure was doing "naughty" things at an age older than us.
 
Well if I haven't it's not from want of trying! I'm starting to seriously wonder if we were ever supposed to have seen that picture in the first place. It has all the hallmarks of a private snapshot, taken by a mate who tried to stitch him up by pointing a camera at him in a gym changing room before he'd got his clothes back on. And though he made light of it at the time with the strategically placed sock (probably grabbed in a hurry) and the insulting hand gesture, it doesn't follow he'd necessarily be entirely happy about the end result finding it's way onto the internet.

When you asked me to post a link I thought, well the picture is out there and not at all hard to come across without trying so this isn't going to make it any worse. But ever since I can't help wondering if I've helped to invade Bruce's privacy by drawing more attention to it.:(
 
I think Running Free fits very much to Bruce's look at life, which is getting as much out of it as possible. Look at the passion (and freedom) that he takes with him to his business/speeches and all kinds of activities. So, when you don't take these lyrics too literal, you can see them as being symbolic (and they also stand for the drive this band still has).
 
Black Abyss Babe said:
Well if I haven't it's not from want of trying! I'm starting to seriously wonder if we were ever supposed to have seen that picture in the first place. It has all the hallmarks of a private snapshot, taken by a mate who tried to stitch him up by pointing a camera at him in a gym changing room before he'd got his clothes back on. And though he made light of it at the time with the strategically placed sock (probably grabbed in a hurry) and the insulting hand gesture, it doesn't follow he'd necessarily be entirely happy about the end result finding it's way onto the internet.

When you asked me to post a link I thought, well the picture is out there and not at all hard to come across without trying so this isn't going to make it any worse. But ever since I can't help wondering if I've helped to invade Bruce's privacy by drawing more attention to it.:(
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Why do you have to worry that much about that picture? It's not like you've shown us something outrageous. We've all seen him half-naked. Besides, this is not the only picture that is showing me more Bruce than I'd care to see. Having said that, I should point out that there's always the risk of people remembering you as The-Babe-That-Corrupted-Maidenfans.com.

As for Bruce, I doubt he'd even care. After all, we're talking about the band who has taken pictures of their bananas and cherry tomatoes to send to whatever company that was, I can't remember.
 
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We're talking about a guy who has done professional sessions with Ross Halfin like this....

Bruce+Dickinson+Bruce_Dickinson_28229.jpg
 
[quote="Black Abyss Babe, post: 416083, member: 24879"Like many people" is what I think you mean - it is possible that you speak for the majority but I rather think it would be quite hard to prove to any reasonable level of certainty.

All you Blaze haters would do well to remember that if Blaze hadn't been there holding the fort then there would very probably not have been a band left for Bruce and Adrian to return to. As such Blaze had his part in the fact that Brave New World was ever made, and I am grateful.[/quote]
I agree! I saw maiden live on txf tour & we were very impressed with his performance! He definitely sings pauls songs more like paul than bruce does.
 
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