Skunkworks
Still trying to carve out an identity outside Maiden, Bruce went for yet another direction change for his third solo album. This one is by far the most drastic and most outside the heavy metal box. Apparently Steve Harris said at the time that Bruce would make a country album if he thought it would sell. It’s an interesting thought, and also fair. Bruce’s first three solo albums do seem to be reactions to musical trends that were happening at the time. Where Tattooed Millionaire and Balls to Picasso at least seem satellite to what we’re used to with Bruce, Skunkworks does seem pretty out of left field. But, like its predecessors, Bruce manages to do this sort of thing competently. I mentioned in an early post that Bruce’s solo albums were more interesting to me largely because of the people he worked with, I think this also explains how he was able to try so many different things and always make it work. He has a knack for choosing the right people for these different projects. If you’re going to make a modern sounding alt rock album, what better person to work with than Jack Endino, producer of the first Nirvana album? And listening to the album (in addition to a lot of the live tracks from the Balls to Picasso tour) it’s pretty clear that this isn’t really a group of metal musicians he’s dealing with.
I really enjoy Skunkworks, but I also tend to enjoy a lot of the 90s rock that Bruce is trying to emulate. It’s not the best that genre has to offer, but it’s a competent effort and, like Tattooed Millionaire, it’s a different take on the sound as a result of Bruce’s influences. It’s cool to hear him in another context. The style also lends itself more to songwriting, which is somewhat new for Bruce. Songs where the lyrical content and vocals are the main drivers. Songs like Dreamstate and I Will Not Accept The Truth which play more on dynamics and painting a picture based on the lyrics.
The songs on here are really strong. Like Balls to Picasso, you can hear the hunger of the young musicians Bruce is working with. Inside the Machine, Back From the Edge, Innerspace, and Inertia are some of the best songs Bruce ever worked on. On the other hand, this album is a bit heavier on filler material than Bruce’s other solo albums, but overall the good outweighs the bad. It’s pretty well known that Bruce wanted Skunkworks to be a new band. This definitely feels more like a debut album for a band than any other Bruce solo album. The general idea is there, the music is somewhat homogenous sounding, there isn’t a strong thematic structure as much as it sounds like a compilation of the best a young band has to offer. I imagine the follow up album would’ve been more focused and refined.
This brings me to my food for thought for Skunkworks: what would’ve happened with Bruce’s career if Skunkworks had become a huge success and the band stayed together? To go back to the original Steve Harris quote, Bruce’s decision to split up the band by the end of the year seems pretty reactionary and seems to support that the change in sound was commercially motivated. Interviews both from the time period and from later seem to suggest that he genuinely did see longer term prospects for this group.
Personally, I think a successful Skunkworks would’ve resulted in Bruce being seen as a Peter Gabriel like figure: someone who had quite a bit of success in a band but then really blossomed as a solo artist. Someone who wasn’t afraid to try new things and was rewarded for it by general audiences. Sure Peter Gabriel’s work as a solo artist was more commercial, but in some ways he also invented the sound of 80s pop. He was ahead of the curve. I think there’s a universe where Bruce has a similar footing in alternative rock music. Skunkworks is quite different from other 90s bands, it’s a little grittier and Bruce has a bit more to offer as a vocalist than a lot of other folks who fronted these sorts of bands. I also think that maybe the direction Bruce was going for is closer to what Radiohead was doing, and OK Computer was still a whole year away. I’m sure he would’ve been interested in that sound if he stayed in the alt rock scene.
Of course that also means Bruce probably would’ve never rejoined Maiden, and I think Maiden’s legacy would’ve probably shrunk, especially if Bruce started to see some actual commercial success as a solo artist. Where Peter Gabriel and Genesis seemed to be better off without each other, I’m not sure Maiden ever would’ve recovered without a reunion with Bruce.
It’s interesting to think about, but I have to say I’m pretty happy with the way things turned out.
Live At Santiago Chile
There’s a lot of quality material out there from the X Factour, including some pretty good pro shot footage. This is a full show from the end of the tour and captures the band in a pretty positive light. Based on this show, you probably wouldn’t guess that Maiden were on a commercial decline. They’re playing to a large audience and the performance is super energetic. This is a pretty feisty show too, it’s probably more infamous than famous due to an incident at the end of the show where Blaze was spat on by an audience member. While the incident is pretty incredible to watch on video, it’s a little unfortunate that this is what most people remember from the concert because it’s actually a pretty good performance.
The band sounds extremely energized, especially compared to the previous tour. If they were feeling dejected after playing smaller clubs in the US, you can’t tell from this footage. Janick, Dave, and Steve are having a ton of fun onstage and they sound as tight as they did in the early 80s. Some of the tempos are faster, but they aren’t off the rails the way they were in 92 and 93. The material from The X Factor is way more enjoyable live. You finally hear the power of the music and some of these songs are surprisingly energetic live. It also shows off the intricacy of guitar parts. Finally Janick/Dave are working out a chemistry akin to what the band experienced with Adrian/Dave.
Of course the thing that people are going to pay the most attention to is Blaze’s performance. Frankly, the biggest factor in assessing Blaze’s lack of fitness for Maiden is really the live performance. As a frontman, he wasn’t great. He seems very inwardly focused, understandable considering he was probably overwhelmed the entire time. As far as the vocal performance goes, Maiden really didn’t do him any favors with the song selection. They chose songs which were clearly out of his range and didn’t do anything to make the songs fit his voice better. One of the bigger head scratchers to me is that they didn’t lean into the Di’Anno era more.
Lots of underplayed songs from the first two albums would’ve sounded great with Blaze. Plus it would’ve been great promo for the tour. Come see Maiden play 5 songs each from the debut and Killers, or something. Instead they made The Trooper a centerpiece when it was one of Blaze’s weakest songs.
That said, Blaze handles the two songs from Fear of the Dark pretty well and even Heaven Can Wait isn’t terrible. What gets me is actually how poorly he handles his own songs. He’s frequently off pitch during several X Factor songs. The “out of his range” argument works for Dickinson era songs, but not so much on songs that he helped write. This has less to do with his voice and more due to the fact that Maiden were bringing in a fairly young and inexperienced singer on a grueling world tour for the first time in his career. On the other hand, Bruce also didn’t sound great live for a large part of his first stint with Maiden. I guess the difference is that Bruce had proven himself for the most part, live and in studio. Blaze had an iffy start both live and in studio. The subsequent album and tour would need to be pivotal, but we all know how that turned out. More on that later!
