Top 5 Reasons Janick Gers is Still a Member of Iron Maiden

Eddies Wingman said:
... and Revelations. Hell, I like many of Janick's solos, but the one he plays in Revelations is plain butchery.
Click to expand...

Maybe he fucked it up at your concert, but I really like his solo in this song.

Check this link, if interested, it features a beginning a la his solo in "Holy Smoke", something that he doesn't too often anymore. As always, tastes differ, of course.

Music-wise, Janick plays the part which Bruce always played, so he surely contributes something.

It's probable that this overplayed song will never return anymore. I am not going to shed a single tear about it because it's time for other (POM) material.
 
1. technically is a good player
2. he is a good song writter (Fear is the Key, Pilgrim, Legacy)
3. he was there during the difficult years, faithfull
4. he don't creat any problems
5. Maiden are quite a good guys they didn't want to thow him after
 
EW, you misunderstood me. 
I meant that Janick playing the third guitar melody that Bruce plays on LAD made the song better, because it allowed Bruce to concentrate on singing.  Musically he didn't add to it, but it freed up Bruce which I'm happy about.
 
Invader said:
EW, you misunderstood me. 
I meant that Janick playing the third guitar melody that Bruce plays on LAD made the song better, because it allowed Bruce to concentrate on singing.  Musically he didn't add to it, but it freed up Bruce which I'm happy about.
Click to expand...

I see yer point, Invader, and this I agree with.
Still, unlike Forostar, I simply don't like how Janick plays the solo in Revelations. Really, I don't enjoy his versions of H solos much, but I like many of Janick's own solos from No Prayer and later.
 
Gers was a good replacement for Smith when he left. But 3 guitarists seem a bit much. And when I saw maiden a couple month's ago Gers played Smith's solo part in Hallowed Be Thy Name and botched it all up. I hate Gers being in Maiden and his songwriting doesn't impress me at all, and I owned all of the albums up to and including X factor. He also looks like an idiot on stage, and he needs to stop playing Adrians solos. Maiden would do fine without him, I honestly believe Dave Murray and Adrian Smith together are one of the best metal teams in Metal history.
 
The Ides of March said:
I hate Gers being in Maiden and his songwriting doesn't impress me at all, and I owned all of the albums up to and including X factor.
Click to expand...

That means you have 2 albums with Gers. Are you aware Maiden has done 4 more albums since then? Janick's songwriting has gotten better on every album.

As for the Hallowed solo:
I will agree, the first time I heard Gers play it like that, I thought he made a mistake. But then I heard it more times (2 live albums and 2 more concerts since that first one.) And it's clear that he's not making any mistakes. That is indeed the solo, as Gers intends to play it.

Yes, it is longer and different from Adrian's solo. So what? The point of a solo is for the soloist to express himself. Gers has every right to play that solo as he wants. And if you're open-minded enough to get used to it, it's a pretty good solo.
 
SinisterMinisterX said:
That means you have 2 albums with Gers.
Click to expand...

Don't you mean 3? Or are No Prayer or Fear of the Dark so bad that they don't exist anymore?  :P

Janick doesn't get as much criticsm as Blaze does, but he certainly seems to have a rediculous amount of bad talk about him. I think just as with Blaze, some fans just don't seem to want to be open-minded about the sound of Maiden and have some obsession with keeping the band as they were in the "Golden Years".

I am personally glad that the band refuses to stay the same constantly and has changed their sound a fair bit over the years without losing their identity. Most people seem to want the band to be stuck in a repeated cycle of playing the World Slavery Tour setlist with the same line-up and to never write any new music - very much alike to oh so many old bands who got stuck playing their hits because thats what the audience wants.
So in this sense, I am glad that they decided to keep 3 guitarists, expand their sound and continue to evolve and continue to write and, importantly, support new material.

I just hope the band hasn't been scared out of doing another tour like the AMOLAD tour - playing the whole of the new album was brilliant and really made the shows feel special, because I knew some of the songs would never be heard live again and also that I was hearing the songs played live for only the first ever tour. Its a pity many people, critics and fans alike couldn't see this and once again complained about the lack of songs like "The Trooper".
 
For No Prayer, Janick jumped in just before they started recording. He didn't contribute to the songwriting on that album.
 
I think if the X Factor had been better produced people would have much better opinions of Janick and Blaze.
 
SinisterMinisterX said:
That means you have 2 albums with Gers. Are you aware Maiden has done 4 more albums since then? Janick's songwriting has gotten better on every album.

As for the Hallowed solo:
I will agree, the first time I heard Gers play it like that, I thought he made a mistake. But then I heard it more times (2 live albums and 2 more concerts since that first one.) And it's clear that he's not making any mistakes. That is indeed the solo, as Gers intends to play it.

Yes, it is longer and different from Adrian's solo. So what? The point of a solo is for the soloist to express himself. Gers has every right to play that solo as he wants. And if you're open-minded enough to get used to it, it's a pretty good solo.
Click to expand...

Yes I did own the Gers albums as well, and I accepted him like everyone else when Smith left. Personally I think when Adrian came back they just didn't want to ask him to leave because they are all close. I just don't see why they need him anymore is all when the have Smith back. And Hallowed is a sacred song and if he is gonna play a solo is should be closer to Adrians. His version just didn't click with me at all.

For the record after X factor I kind of gave up on Maiden and new music. From the first to Somewhere in Time are pretty much my favorite ones. However I just bought AMOLAD last night and gave it a quick listen in the car on the way to work this morning. So I am curious to hear how that turns out I only heard 4 songs. Believe me most of my life I have been listening to Maiden and collecting Maiden items, I am not a new fan, I just think Gers did his time when Adrian left and Maiden should just let him go.
 
The Ides of March said:
I am not a new fan, I just think Gers did his time when Adrian left and Maiden should just let him go.
Click to expand...

How do you know until you listen to the music created after H and Bruce came back?  Save for four AMOLAD songs, you've no experience with the outcome.  I think you may be surprised as you listen to the music.
 
LooseCannon said:
How do you know until you listen to the music created after H and Bruce came back?  Save for four AMOLAD songs, you've no experience with the outcome.  I think you may be surprised as you listen to the music.
Click to expand...

I don't know how to explain it really, maybe it was when I just saw them on this tour that I noticed it just not right with 3 guitarists. And From the songs I heard it sounds fine but Murray/Smith are so good together Gers just seems out of place and I think doesn't really add anything outstanding to remain.
 
Yeah, but you haven't seen the stuff created to employ three guitarists, either.  I mean, some songs sound pretty awesome with the third guitarist (I always thought The Trooper did).  But in general, they are songs with two guitar parts being played by three guitarists.  Not very fair to the third, and also, the material being played isn't from the time when Janick was in the band with Dave.  I think it's unfortunate they are doing so many greatest-hits tours, because it's not fair.
 
Let's quote Dave Murray (taken from the official band site):

In 1990, when Adrian left the band, Janick had just worked on Bruce’s solo album (‘Tattooed Millionaire’) and obviously, he was going to be the first choice as a replacement. But I remember at the beginning that Janick was actually defending Adrian - he was upset that he’d left the band and I think he was trying to talk him into coming back, which shows you what a good guy he is...

..He’s a good soul. He’s got a very good way of calming things down if they suddenly start to go overboard. He can pull everything together and make sure that people see things the right way. He’s very good at expressing himself that way, a very diplomatic man.

When he’s playing, he’ll push himself to the edge and really goes for it. There are two sides to it. His playing can be very controlled or it can be very spontaneous, but then he plays a lot of the melodic stuff. He’s got great feel, great dexterity, very fluid. So he’s fully rounded as a guitar player who goes from one extreme to another. He encompasses all aspects, from the quiet acoustic clean stuff into overdrive. It’s 360 degrees he plays everything. And he’s a great showman.

He wrote the track ‘Dance Of Death’ and it’s got everything on there, from the quiet moody melodic guitar to clean guitar to really heavy riffs, but done in the most complex and beautiful and sweet and heavy way, done with really good taste. If that song was the alphabet, from A to Z, it’s got every letter in it.
 
I am not doubting his (Gers) ability as a guitar player or a songwriter, and from what Dave says he seems like a good guy and that's great and all. But Maiden has mainly been a two guitar band best with Smith and Murray. And having two guys play the same rhythm part together while another solos seems pointless. Adrian was with the band from Killers onto 7th son which are primarily the best the band has done, also Smith wrote Wasted Years which is a great song, one of the best Maiden has done. Gers hasn't written anything that would compare with that.
 
The Ides of March said:
... Hallowed is a sacred song...
Click to expand...

Indeed. Hallowed be its name ::)

The Ides of March said:
Adrian was with the band from Killers onto 7th son which are primarily the best the band has done, also Smith wrote Wasted Years which is a great song, one of the best Maiden has done. Gers hasn't written anything that would compare with that.
Click to expand...

That's your opinion. I can easily think of a dozen songs by Gers I like better than "Wasted Years".
 
@Ides:

You say: "Maiden has mainly been a two guitar band best with Smith and Murray"

That's not true. These were the eighties only, which isn't even 33% of Maiden's existence.

For the rest you may have an opinion but you said yourself that you missed some work since TXF, neither have you seen new songs in a live situation.

So you don't know what you're talking about.

The Three Amigoes as they are called work out their guitar parts very well and often play different things.
 
I have to say that I'm surprised that this is still even a debate; if Gers is good enough for the rest of Maiden, he should be good enough for us!  I'm a fan of his, honestly, but I do get a little shocked when I find that someone thinks that they know what is better for Maiden than they, themselves, do.  Every one is entitled to their opinion, but there is no 'putting the genie back in the bottle'... He seems here to stay, try to enjoy him!
 
A good start is to buy and see Rock in Rio, a great DVD on which you could see what the guitar players do in various songs.
 
In an aside, I can't believe we're having this discussion again.  I think we ought to have a form response.

Attention: [username]

We understand that you have encountered an issue with [Blaze Bayley/Janick Gers/both] due to the fact that [you preferred Bruce/you don't like Janick's playing/BALZE SUXS].  We see, however, that [you have barely heard their work/you haven't listened to the band since 1988/you have a small penis].  Please consider [giving the Blaze albums another chance/listening to AMOLAD and BNW masterpieces like Dream of Mirrors and The Legacy/shoving your head up your ass].  In the future, we will ask you to please [be considerate of other opinions/consider all viewpoints/commit suicide] before posting on this topic.  You [are welcome to post how you feel/are appreciated if you differ/should have been aborted as a fetus].

Sincerely;
[Yourname/The Mod Squad/LOLZ L33T HAXOR].
Note: The above is not meant to insinuate anything about The Ides of March or anyone.  It's simply a joke.  Please don't take it too seriously.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top