Bruce Dickinson
The Best of Bruce Dickinson

THE REVIEW

In 2001, Bruce Dickinson's return to the ranks of the Iron Maiden had firmly been established, and the historic singer decided to summarize his solo career that between highs ("The Chemical Wedding") and lows ("Skunkworks") had ultimately proven to be a decent interlude to his work with the Iron Maiden, which ceased after the release of "Fear of The Dark", but fortunately resumed and continued well with "Brave New World" (2000) up to the recent and excellent "A Matter Of Life and Death" (2006).

He summarizes this deserved part of his musical career with "The Best Of Bruce Dickinson", one of the best compilations I've ever listened to, not only for the perfect song selection but also especially for the presence of unreleased tracks, b-sides, and live pieces, a presence that is indeed concentrated in a rich "bonus disc" that spans from fillers not published on albums, to even fairly old recordings, including a speech by Dickinson himself lasting 13 minutes and 45 seconds. The first disc obviously features many classics of Bruce's career and two new songs. The first disc opens with "Broken", a new song written by Dickinson and guitarist Roy Z, a good track featuring the classic anthem-like chorus and riffs that are at times very heavy and in other "Celtic" moments, and towards the end, epic choirs appear in full "Brave New World" style. In a sense, it can be considered the most Maiden-like song of Bruce Dickinson's solo work. From the heavy metal of "Broken" we move to the more hard rock-style "Tattooed Millionaire", the title track of the 1989 album where the raw guitar of Janick Gers is immediately felt, a solid and compact piece with an exciting chorus and solo. The third track features a live performance of the song "Laughing in the Hiding Bush", an excerpt from "Balls To Picasso", one of the less fortunate albums in his career (despite the famous ballad "Tears Of The Dragon"), yet this piece proves to be quite convincing live, thanks to its very heavy riffs, even if at times repetitive.

The fourth song features the already-mentioned ballad "Tears Of The Dragon", which deserves all its fame for being a very well-played song with a very convincing melodic approach, as well as its anthem-like chorus which is convincing. The first excerpt from "The Chemical Wedding" (which I consider the singer's best album) is "The Tower", a song with a measured rhythm and excellent guitar work (Roy Z and Adrian Smith are not just any two guys picked up from the street). We return again to "Tattooed Millionaire" with the song "Born In '58", a classic of Dickinson, often replayed by his band live. It might not be a masterpiece, but its very rock-style flow (thanks to Gers' rocker soul) enriches a piece that would otherwise have been forgotten. The following song is the title track of "Accident Of Birth", one of his hardest and most "metal" albums, 4 minutes and 28 seconds of pure Dickinson-style: assault rhythm, lyrics sung with a certain professionalism, and impactful riffs. The next "Silver Wings" is another unreleased track, a very interesting piece as it approaches the old speed metal works of Iron Maiden (songs like "Invaders" or "Back In The Village") enriched, however, by the epic spirit of the more recent Bruce. A melodic and dark arpeggio introduces "Darkside Of Aquarius", one of what I consider the best and most exciting pieces from "Accident Of Birth". If it weren't for their melodic attitude, the riffs could be associated with any speed/thrash band, the final choruses are very epic and majestic. Another masterpiece of the artist follows, "Chemical Wedding", with its almost orgasmic anthem-like chorus, a Bruce Dickinson in great shape aided by his band that produces a song halfway between the darkest Ronnie Dio's Black Sabbath and Maiden's "Piece Of Mind".

In this album, there is also room for "Skunkworks", one of the least convincing albums of the Englishman, represented by "Back From The Edge" which honestly isn't much despite the good chorus. We return to decisively heavy metal shores with "Road To Hell", an impactful heavy/speed song, needless to say, it became a classic in concerts. The live performance of the Sabbath-like "Book Of Thel" with a lively Dickinson and a participative audience concludes the first disc. The bonus disc begins with the original version from the Nightmare 5 soundtrack of "Bring You Daughter...To The Slaughter", the much-talked-about song (which unjustly received the title of worst song of the year) that Steve Harris and the other Maidens would make their own on the "No Prayer For The Dying" album, this version doesn't stray far from the Maiden one, only the solo at the beginning appears different and the drum approach is more hard rock, an approach that transforms "Bring You Daughter..." into a perfect AC/DC style song. The first rarity is "Darkness Be My Friend", one of my favorite songs, reminiscent of the folkier Led Zeppelin, Dickinson is accompanied only by an acoustic guitar and a flute that evokes Jethro Tull. "Wicker Man", recorded in 1997, has nothing to do with the namesake song from "Brave New World", on the contrary, it presents a quite different sound, appearing as a rough and raw metal/rock song with a tasty introduction and a not bad chorus.

"Real World" is a decent b-side that is summarized in a heavy rock piece with a somewhat predictable chorus but that quickly sticks in your head. "Acoustic Song" is, as the title suggests, an acoustic piece, Bruce sings calmly and the accompanying guitar is well arpeggiated. "No Way Out-Continued" is a rock song well accompanied by keyboards, has very commercial and pop rock-oriented moments and recalls the less "heavy" productions of the Kiss, but it's excellent. "Midnight Jam" is a session recorded at night by Dickinson and Adrian Smith perhaps struck by insomnia, yet it's decent and makes us understand well that to play rock you can get out of bed two minutes before midnight (!!!). Among the gems of this bonus disc, "Man Of Sorrows" must be included, a song in the style of "The Chemical Wedding" with an emotion-laden chorus, background keyboards, and a power-packed solo. "Ballad Of Mutt" written by Dickinson and Gers represents the artist's most playful and experimental aspect, a song completely unrelated to metal but that ventures into country territories in full "western style", on the contrary, the progressive-oriented "Re-Entry" proves convincing. We touch the comic/farcical with "I'm In A Band With An Italian Drummer" another country song where at the end the Italian drummer showcases a hilarious Sicilian dialect. We return to more serious levels with "Jerusalem", a beautiful epic song of "The Chemical Wedding" performed live, especially wonderful in the arpeggiated parts and the chorus (at times reminiscent of "Dance Of Death"). Followed by a speech by Dickinson, "The Voice Of Crube", a speech that seems to be assembled on the basis of other lyrics from other songs. This rich bonus disc closes with the first song written by Bruce Dickinson, "Dracula", a sufficient song that harks back especially to the progressive and is still very far from the metal territories to which the singer will subsequently arrive.

To conclude this review, I invite all fans of Bruce Dickinson and Iron Maiden to purchase (or download) this collection, very well prepared and rich in rarities that may appeal to said fans.