Metal Reviews

Some fifteen years after the echoing of the "Scream for Me Long Beach!" command has had a chance to die down, we see just how the tide has turned during the last several years where Heavy Metal is concerned.

Bruce Dickinson, one of the more active figures in rock and roll these days, makes his latest statement for his solo career before resuming his full-blown duties with Maiden on their march toward the new millennium.

"Scream for Me Brazil" features the best of Bruce's solo material that spans five studio albums, one previous live, and lightly regarded recording, all captured in a place where he's at his peak of popularity. though he might want to brush up on his Portuguese for the next time, all things considered!

With a heavy emphasis on his last two and widely acclaimed releases, "Accident of Birth" and "The Chemical Wedding", Dickinson seeks to exploit his latest assembly of backing talent, integral parts them all, on the successes of his post "Skunkworks" material.

Sounding the "Trumpets of Jericho" to signal the beginning of the journey, you'll pass through the kingdom of the dragon during one of Dickinson's biggest hits back from the "Balls to Picasso" days (and how about the crowd singing along note for note?) before finally engaging "The Road to Hell" at the conclusion.

Trading off song introductions with building instrumentals, Bruce proves workmanlike in every facet of the performance, pushing an already obliging crowd to feverish heights at every note!

We're looking for big things from Bruce and the rest of his mates in Maiden but it's nice to know that during whatever down period that might occur, he and his own band will be ready to resume where they left off on the top of their musical game that's culminated here now for all of the world to hear!

Released by Air Raid Records.

Review by Vinnie Apicella.

Buy The CD

Hard to imagine this album first appeared only twelve years ago. Seems like a lifetime depending on your viewpoint… Or maybe not long enough once the first few songs reacquaint with your suppressed memory of the 1990 event that left many a Maiden follower foaming at their pursed lips.

Judge "Tattooed Millionaire" not on comparability factor, which of course was far away from their singer's soloist intent. Rather, "Tattooed Millionaire" was a playful jaunt into the resources of his Rock n' Roll past. Bruce, opting for a crisp, clean, cornball style for his first release, ventured away from the complexities and inflexibility of all things Maiden, beloved not only for who they were but what they represented.

"Tattooed Millionaire" in entering the 1990's, was freely more accessible and even agreeable with the many a Pop standard still being exploited by the then Rock/Metal crossovers of the day with the catchy hook, acoustic intros, and tales from the keg tap.

Bruce's pre-Maiden gathering that as with many a secondary NW'er of the time, had a vast assortment of Pop, Rock, and Ballad to go with the tight pants and power chords. And all these years later tunes like "Son of a Gun" and "Gypsy Road," two near tears power ballad faves still sound credible; "Tattooed Millionaire," the song, still sounds cheesy, as does "Hell On Wheels" or "Dive! Dive! Dive!" two popular flavors of the day with tongue in cheek heading the menu list of summer time snap shot and slap stick; Bowie's "All The Young Dudes" was solid as was "Lickin' The Gun" and it's Leppard-like version of Hard Rockin' ass slappin; "Zulu Lulu" is pure stupidity while "No Lies" captures a forthcoming "Bring Your Daughter…" essence with pick me up chorus and provided listeners lasted this long, one of the stronger points to fade out with.

"Millionaire" grew on you little by little and only up to a point; No deeply rooted evil or subdued outtakes from a lifetime's worth inactivity; it was straight and simple and for the hard core, hard to swallow; for the rest, there were a handful to groove too.

This reissue includes nice two page build up for Bruce and his list of no-name band mates that also featured future Maiden ax-slinger Janick Gers and drummer Fabio, "I'm in a band with an Italian Drummer" and now it makes sense, Del Rio.

Bonus tracks include Arthur Brown's "Spirit of Joy" (you figure it out), two Dickinson originals of the time, the misty "Darkness Be My Friend" and the "Tattooed" single flip side "Winds Of Change" that's not the Scorpions song but more a cross between his earlier "Dudes" cover and "Knockin' on Dylan's Door…"

Then there's "Sin, who in the world hasn't covered it yet, City"; The highlight flashback however has to be album finisher "Riding With The Angels (Live)," an old Samson cover that's akin to your average gale force gust while angling up to the putting green… Bruce's seen better days than this but if ya wanna step away from the expected for a bit and re-enter the fist raising phase and big hair and hooray for me days, "Tattooed Millionaire" can be both the cause and cure.

Released by Columbia Records

Review by Vinnie Apicella [va85@columbia.edu]
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METAL STORM PRODUCTIONS
Vinnie Apicella

P.O. Box 20252
New York, NY 10025
212-865-2848 / c:845-729-9977

Last we spoke Bruce outlined to me what his next solo output would be, that being a rare and unreleased double disc to be called "CATECOMBS." Somewhere along the line that idea was tossed in favor of this "Best of/Unreleased" double disc and I have to say, I think the choice was brilliant.

Instead of having the fleeting joy of owning something rare and seldom heard for the length of two discs here we have alternative versions of Dickinson's solo favorites on disc one, (the emphasis is rightly on the two CMC records that feature Adrian Smith), and a large chunk of what I imagine would have been "CATECOMBS" material filling disc two. The effect is to have every track an absolute winner with no filler or fluff. Twenty-six tracks with only "Bring your daughter to the Slaughter" crossing over, in name only, to Dickinson's IRON MAIDEN output.

Here is a probable scenario, You are an IRON MAIDEN fan, particularly of the Bruce era, and you have always wondered if the mans solo stuff held up to the classic MAIDEN fare well now you can have a sampling from each of his solo recording periods and not be out the hundreds of dollars to collect them all only to find out that you really aren't into some of them.

MAIDEN fans will most like the two CMC discs, "ACCIDENT OF BIRTH" and "THE CHEMICAL WEDDING," Dickinson knows this so here you will find versions of "Accident of Birth," "Dark side of Aquarius," "Book of Thel" and "Chemical Wedding" some of the best of those two discs. You also may have heard how un-Metal "SKUNKWORKS" was so you never gave it a listen, there are a few from that here that could change your mind, most notably, "Back from the Edge."

MAIDEN nuts will jump all over this version of "Wicker Man" which sounds nothing like the "Wicker Man" on MAIDEN's last disc but "I'm in a band with an Italian Drummer" will resuscitate memories of all those classically goofy "b-sides" that MAIDEN used to do as will "Ballad of Mutt."

At the end of it all there is so much here to bang with that you can't afford not to pick up a copy even if you have all of the other Dickinson solo discs. If you have always wondered, wonder no more, here is your bargain priced gateway to one of Metal's classic voices "other" work.

Released by Metal-Is Records: http://www.metal-is.com