Tournament of Iron Maiden Solos: 2nd poll (qualification stage)

Which solo do you like the most? (pick your favourite)

  • 01. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 1st solo (see 1st link)

    Votes: 3 60.0%

  • 02. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 2nd solo (see 2nd link)

    Votes: 1 20.0%

  • 03. Mother Russia (see 3rd link)

    Votes: 1 20.0%

  • 04. The Educated Fool (see 4th link)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    5
  • Poll closed .
5) Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Flight 666) (9:41-)
Adrian never fails to spice up his solos live. He executes them so well that often you don’t even feel the need to go back to the studio version. Knowing this, it's sometimes sad to see some of his solos being done by Janick nowadays. After a proper build-up, Adrian unleashes an immense rain of notes with his beautiful white Jackson. What makes this solo complete is yet again tapping. The man does it with such passion and class that even the simplest tapping patterns sound glorious, sent down from heaven. Not for the slightest moment does he hesitate, but keeps the thunderous bends coming, filling the concert hall with wild energy. He soon unites with the other two amigos to create one of the most eargasmic minute-and-a-half ever.
 
4) Wicker Man (2:14-)
In my opinion, Brave New World was a massive evolving point in many aspects, one of them being the solos. All three guys seemed to be more professional and masterful than before, especially Janick as he wasn't the greatest in the 90s (Virtual XI had some great leads). In Wicker Man, Adrian leads in his lead (punny) with a riff nothing short of genius (2:14-2:32). Very original playing, the high notes are gorgeous. Shows again how many great compositions can be made in the very same key. In the actual solo (2:33-), he shows some fast fingers. It sounds ridiculously smooth, especially the high legato runs (could be fast picking as well but legato runs sound better) at the end. The more laid-back drum beat compared to the rest of the song also helps. The Wicker Man truly is Smith's time to shine!
 
A little reminder of what's happened thus far before sinking into the final 3:

Alexander the Great (5:49-)
AtG is a true Maiden epic with solos that really define and bring out the quality of this masterpiece. This time, it is Adrian who starts to lead. It's a mid-tempo solo - the pace really gives time to play emotionally and accent certain parts - begun using some bends, artificial harmonics and playing over the high strings after which Adrian plays a low, more rhythmic part. There is a small pause, leaving one wonder what will come next. He proceeds up the guitar neck again, entertaining us with some fast well-timed notes, and then goes down again with a nice Smithy pattern, again leaving us interested. This time he cuts to the highlight of this solo - the tapping part. This needs fast fingers to pull off. He then concludes the lead by, for a moment, returning to a part in the beginning and then stylishly makes way for what Dave is about to enter with.
The solo had a really close call in reaching this list but I thought and thought, and couldn't find anything to replace it with. The downside for this lead is that it's not as well-bound and tight as some of his material but still involves great technical aspects and solutions.

Different World (2:40-)
The solo is led in by a simple but nice little harmony. Once again, Adrian shows his taste for beautiful compositions, set in the evergreen E minor, varying between different techniques, at one part again tapping. The solo isn't a very long sophisticated one but one that fits a "short rocker". I would say this is a rather fast and short song for Maiden. The notes are clear and certain. I like the ending where Adrian plays a couple of palm muted bass-y notes and then rises to the top string to end with a bend.

Heaven Can Wait (4:26-)
One of the less praised songs off of the most praised album in the forum. Most of us can probably agree that the "ooo-o-oo" chanting in the middle is the peak of Heaven Can Wait. As the solo hits right after that part, the power and majesty of it strongly remain. Adrian does a great job at delivering a different feel here, maybe more progressive one than his usually polished leads, but that's what makes HCW special, imo. The experience I get from listening the solo is as if I'm flying through space, a nocturnal kind of warmness, if you understand. The combinations seem to be really deep and meaningful. I love the way he plays with the tremolo bar and lets loose a cluster of bends and tremolo picked notes. Adrian's lead tells a melancholic story in an otherwise happier song.

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (7:57-)
Opposed to most of Adrian's work, the solos here aren't as melodic but they have a different approach to them: one more experimental and abstract. He enters with a dive bomb, plays an interesting partially palm muted pattern and jumps to the high part of the fretboard, not hesitating to speed it up real fast. It feels like the 3 amigos are all combined in this lead. The middle part works well as a divider of the solos and keeps up the epic theme illustrating the song. The second part involves moving back and forth wildly. Classy bends, rising from the depths and back to cool bends, proceeding to the grand finale, a definition of Maiden's musicality. All the solos are quite tough to play but very fun once mastered.

Caught Somewhere in Time (4:05-)
I don't listen to this lead too often but the masterful work and Adrian's great touch of this era cannot be denied. This solo was one of the first memorable ones for me, when I started listening to Maiden. I do believe Dave had an important job on the good first impression as the "build-upper" this time. His solo takes the listener on a new wave, readying us for the "towering display of guitar wizardry" - Sara. Once again it feels like Mr. Smith is being as diverse as possible, and in a totally good way. Every note is where it should be. The fast tempo does miracles for the whole song, keeping up the energy as they go on with harmonies right away.

Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Flight 666) (9:41-)
Adrian never fails to spice up his solos live. He executes them so well that often you don’t even feel the need to go back to the studio version. Knowing this, it's sometimes sad to see some of his solos being done by Janick nowadays. After a proper build-up, Adrian unleashes an immense rain of notes with his beautiful white Jackson. What makes this solo complete is yet again tapping. The man does it with such passion and class that even the simplest tapping patterns sound glorious, sent down from heaven. Not for the slightest moment does he hesitate, but keeps the thunderous bends coming, filling the concert hall with wild energy. He soon unites with the other two amigos to create one of the most eargasmic minute-and-a-half ever.

Wicker Man (2:14-)
In my opinion, Brave New World was a massive evolving point in many aspects, one of them being the solos. All three guys seemed to be more professional and masterful than before, especially Janick as he wasn't the greatest in the 90s (Virtual XI had some great leads). In Wicker Man, Adrian leads in his lead (punny) with a riff nothing short of genius (2:14-2:32). Very original playing, the high notes are gorgeous. Shows again how many great compositions can be made in the very same key. In the actual solo (2:33-), he shows some fast fingers. It sounds ridiculously smooth, especially the high legato runs (could be fast picking as well but legato runs sound better) at the end. The more laid-back drum beat compared to the rest of the song also helps. The Wicker Man truly is Smith's time to shine!
 
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Saapanael said:
A little reminder of what's happened thus far before sinking into the final 3:
10. Alexander the Great (5:49-)
9. Different World (2:40-)
8. Heaven Can Wait (4:26-)
7. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (7:57-)
6. Caught Somewhere in Time (4:05-)
5. Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Flight 666) (9:41-)
4. Wicker Man (2:14-)
Click to expand...
Ahh, that's better...
 
3) Powerslave (3:52-)
An infamous lead, and although Dave is the main guy here, they both do an incredible job. Dave starts out calm and accentuates the beauty of his notes while Adrian takes us to a faster, more aggressive journey of excellent musicality. We are treated with both classic never-failing bendwork and sad-sounding passages in minor. The solos, as the whole song, create an undeniable atmosphere of Ancient Egypt. The energy and speed are so very consistent that boredom is the exact opposite word to describe it. Adrian's lead is followed by the climax that is a simplistic, yet genius harmony, just like Maiden at their best.
 
Don't worry, I listened to the new material as well while ranking :D. But you could say 2,5 since Rime is a live version from Flight 666.
 
I was actually just getting at the idea that Adrian's 80's leads are genuinely so good, that his more recent ones don't really get a look in; not that you ain't been listening to his output on more recent albums.

When I posted my top 10's, I put it like this:
CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
I don't know if anyone else thought this too --but I feel over the last few albums (TFF particularly) many of the leads are far more blended & integrated into the tracks; more atmospheric, often longer & more broken up, & just generally less standard "rock solo". All part of Maiden's development (especially with three guitarists now), but for this reason (alone) I found less standouts from more recent albums. I found this particularly true of Adrian, where I had noted (to myself) when listening to AMoLoD & TFF things like: no standout, all VG --etc.
Click to expand...
Do you know what I mean?
 
Actually, that's one of the reasons why the guitar work on TFF is some of the best imo.
 
2) Wasted Years (3:13-)
Is this a Smith song or what? Not only does he play the recognisable intro riff but in my opinion also the second greatest solo he's ever recorded. He enters with one hand tapping and gets the listener excited. A couple of single notes spiced with a slight depression of the tremolo bar and he's ready to take this to a more serious level. We can see, again, how he can combine speed and ultimate melody. A great flow is in his blazing playing as he descends down the neck of the guitar at the later part of the solo. I like the way he plays for a few more seconds when the vocals hit again, really puts a finishing touch to this hell of a solo.

Honourable mention:
Dance of Death - a newer pearl with fantastic artificial harmonics, crazy vibrato and what sounds like quite the use of effect pedals.

And now, for number 1 Adrian Smith solo of all time...ladies and gentlemen, place your bets and make your guesses because I'll be back tomorrow.
 
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Mosh said:
Actually, that's one of the reasons why the guitar work on TFF is some of the best imo.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

On the list I posted to this thread (first page), I talked about the same thing.

The Flash said:
10. Starblind (2:34 - 2:53)

Since Starblind has many guitar licks thrown on it, it's hard to come up with just one to appear on this list. I'm gonna go with this one, which I call the "summary" of Starblind's musical feeling. Great atmosphere, notes flowing gracefully and ending with a great way to end it. Note that Starblind is my favorite song of all time.
Click to expand...

I love all the leads on the track, but the one I picked to appear on the list was the one that I felt was the summary of the feel of the song. This is a thing that I really love about recent H leads.
 
Saapanael said:
I get the idea, but what does VG mean?
Click to expand...
Very Good.
Mosh said:
Actually, that's one of the reasons why the guitar work on TFF is some of the best imo.
Click to expand...
The guitar work overall is very, very good; more consistent, more progressive. I still find some of the older lead work more memorable though.
Saapanael said:
2) Wasted Years (3:13-)
He enters with one hand tapping and gets the listener excited.
Click to expand...
They're just pull-offs. This isn't tapping.
(Unless you're going to start calling every hammer & pull-off "tapping" :D.)
Forostar said:
Sea of Madness?
Click to expand...
Sounds like a smart guess!
 
A one hand tapping is essentially a combination of hammer-on/pull-offs isn't it? I think they're actually called a "trill" though.
 
I think they're actually called a "trill" though.
Click to expand...
No, a trill is just two notes played rapidly. Looks like this:
trill.gif

A good example is found in the melody for The Trooper.

I don't really like the term "one hand tapping", I suppose I would just call that playing legato.
 
I did know there was a trill in The Trooper but I guess I don't know what I'm doing while playing that melody. :D
 
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