58. Bruce Dickinson / Alive In Studio A. 1998. 4/5.

Bruce Dickinson’s career post his split with Iron Maiden in 1993 was one that started off with ambition but with varied difficulties in getting it fully off the ground. His debut solo album, the one that had initially began getting him thinking about leaving the band with whom he had conquered the world, was three years in the past, and now that he had cut ties with the band with which he had risen to fame he was under as much pressure as they were to show he could make it on his own. After some false starts he teamed up with all rounder Roy Z and his band, and wrote and recorded his second solo album with their backing.
“Balls to Picasso” was released in 1994, and Z and the Tribe of Gypsies left to work on their own material for the next step of their career. This left Dickinson with the task of recruiting new members to fill out a touring band with which to promote the album. In this pursuit, he found guitarist Alex Dickson, bass guitarist Chris Dale and drummer Alessandro Elena to fill out the empty places in his band. The new band then went out and toured throughout Europe and the UK as well as North America. The setlist comprised only of songs from his two solo albums, “Balls to Picasso” and the pre-Maiden split debut of “Tattooed Millionaire”. This tour was concluded with the visit to Sarajevo in war-torn Bosnia on December 14, 1994, where the band played a gig to ecstatic locals, the documentary of which was eventually released under the name of “Scream for Me, Sarajevo”, a documentary that everyone should watch.
During this tour, there were two performances that were recorded. One was at Metropolis Studios in London, where the band ran through their live set list in the studio but played entirely live. This was recorded with the intention of being used on American radio to help promote the upcoming tour to North America, but apparently this never occurred, and the recording was held in limbo. Then there was the final date of the first leg of the tour which was at the Marquee Club in London, the site of many early gigs for a band called Iron Maiden before a certain lead singer had joined the band. This show was recorded as well on October 18, 1994. Now the band had two live recordings, but what to do with them?

The good thing about these two discs and two gigs is that they are quite different. “Alive in Studio A” of course is still a live recording of the band, but it is in the studio and is restricted to how it sounds by the way the setup was for that day. It sounds great of course, and the versions of the songs played here pop off the CD more than the studio versions, which is always a great indication of good material, because they sound better in the environment that they are ultimately designed for. And Bruce’s vocals singing these songs live in the studio showcases just how superb he really is. The band takes ‘live’ liberties with the songs here, which is terrific, and is the real reason to listen to this particular CD of the double album.. The version of “Shoot All the Clowns” and “Son of a Gun” especially on the Metropolis recording is far superior to the album versions. And of course, the full majesty of “Tears of the Dragon” comes to light here, perfectly played by all four members in this environment.
Bruce in later years was critical of the record company promoting this album as containing new material when of course it was just live studio re-recordings of songs that had already been published. But in a way, it really is a new album full of updated versions of all of these tracks. Alex Dickson in particular adds his own touch and flavour to each song, which could not have been an easy thing to achieve given the excellence of the two guitarists who actually recorded the original versions, Jannick Gers and Roy Z. And, as well as both Chris Dale and Alessandro Elena play on this recording, Dickson is the out and out star of the first disc. His solo spots are especially enjoyable. And of course Bruce’s vocals are supreme, and without the overdubs and doubled vocals that come on the studio albums these songs actually are improved because we get the REAL Bruce, just him and his voice. And every song is improved by Bruce and Alex on this release. Only three songs are taken from “Tattooed Millionaire” here, and all three are improved here. The extra pace of “Born in ‘58” makes this a better listen than the original.
Onto the second disc, and we have the Live at the Marquee recording, taken from the final gig of the first leg of the tour. And you can hear by the atmosphere in the venue and the vibe of the band itself that it was a good gig to record. As a snapshot of where Bruce and his band was at this point it showcases exactly how much of a groove they were in, and how they were able to take the studio versions of these songs and make them come alive on stage. Whereas the first disc has that studio sound, warm and comfortable because of the surroundings, the second disc has that more open set sound, the slightly less perfect sound of the drums and the bass, both mixed in a different way for the actual live setting that the studio setting. This is more exhilarating, because the band are reacting to the crowd in attendance, and given the live setting they are played slightly differently with added pieces as bands will always do when playing live, and that is the main point of difference between the two discs. Both are excellent in their own way.
The Marquee performance sounds great. Bruce is in perfect form, and gives songs such as “Cyclops”, “Laughing in the Hiding Bush”, “1000 Points of Light”, “Sacred Cowboys” and “Tears of the Dragon” a real kick which brings out the best in all of them in this environment.

Look back in retrospect, it’s a shame that I didn’t pick this up at the time of its release. It would certainly have changed the way that I listened to the Bruce Dickinson discography. After having had a customer where I worked give me a copy of “Balls to Picasso” about a year after it had been released, then listened to it, I didn’t feel the need to investigate more Dickinson releases down the track. 1995, as regular listeners to the Music from a Lifetime podcast would be aware, was a black hole for me in my life, which resulted in a lot of things being missed by me over that 12-month period. So, I missed this release, and indeed everything Bruce did up until January 1999. That in itself is a story for another episode. After that time though, I became reacquainted with his work, and one of those albums was this one, which I first came across in 2001 or 2002. At that time, I hadn’t listened to either of the first two albums for some years, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. As a matter of fact, I remember looking forward to hearing more of the first album live, as had been the case in the live video “Dive! Dive Live!” from back in 1990. But once I got the album and saw that the song list was mostly taken from “Balls to Picasso” I was slightly disappointed. But I still put it on and gave it a listen. And it was great! Both sets sound fantastic, all of the songs sound better, and all four members of the band put in sterling performances. I actually went back to “Balls to Picasso” with a much more positive mindset having heard this album and heard the versions of these songs in those live environs. Hearing the way that Dickson in particular played the songs on the first CD was really ear opening. It gave me a far better appreciation for that album than I had had previous to that.
Nothing much has changed having had this back in the CD player for the past week or so. I still enjoy both discs and the differences between the two live recordings. And I still love Alex Dickson’s performance on guitar, I think it is a standout, and his interpretations of the songs is excellent. And it goes without saying how terrific Bruce is, and the continued amazement that he can sing all of his songs the same way he laid them down in the studio. Sure, none of these songs stretch his vocals like Maiden songs do, but it is still so comforting to listen to a live album and hear him so naturally keep everything just as it should be.
I would be remiss if I didn’t state my usual line about live albums, that they should almost always be 5/5 albums because they contain the best tracks in their best environment. Perhaps this feels like it shouldn’t be a 5/5 live album because the majority of tracks come from one album so early on in the band’s career, and that many just don’t like a lot of those first two Bruce Dickinson albums. But the performances are terrific and make this an easy and enjoyable couple of hours. If you haven’t experienced this album or have not been back to it for a while, then I think it is worth going back and listening to what Bruce and his band have compiled here. 30 years on, it may make you change your mind.