Bruce Dickinson – Anthology
Reviewer: Anne Wollenberg
Issue 79 July 2006
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Review: Bruce Dickinson has certainly got a thing or two to show the rockers and metallers of the 21st century. Dickinson hails from an era that was harder, louder and far, far sweatier. With more studio albums, compilations, live albums and box sets under his belt than most people have had hot dinners, he’s been there, done that and got the T-shirt sales to prove it.
While he may be best known for fronting legendary metallers Iron Maiden, with a new album expected from the band around October this year, the 1990s saw Dickinson carving out a successful solo career. A compilation DVD has been on the cards for some time, but the release was pushed back from early 2005 to avoid clashing with Iron Maiden’s schedule. The Anthology has been well worth the wait though, with three live performances comprising a total of 40 live tracks, as well as 14 promotional videos plus another hour’s worth of bonus material.
The first of the three discs in the set is jammed full of live performances, with two complete shows from Bruce’s early solo days. In fact, ‘Dive Dive Live’ was actually his first ever solo show. It was recorded at the Los Angeles Town and Country Club in August 1990 as part of the ‘Tattooed Millionaire’ tour, with Iron Maiden’s Janick Gers among Bruce’s band members. ‘Skunkworks Live’ was filmed six years later, across two dates in Spain in June 1996, while ‘Scream For Me Brazil’, which appears on the second disc, documents the tail end of Dickinson’s solo career. Shot in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1999, shortly before Bruce returned to the Iron Maiden fold, it’s basically a bootleg, given that no official filming was permitted at the show. The footage here was taken from the crowd screen feeds, and as a result the sound quality is pretty patchy, but it’s still decent enough to be enjoyable. In fact, it isn’t nearly as bad as you might expect.
The live shows are accompanied by a total of 14 promotional videos spanning Bruce’s entire solo career, complete with optional audio introductions explaining the ideas and concepts behind each one. The ‘Tyranny Of Souls’ interview features a track by track commentary on the ideas behind the album of the same name, while the ‘Biceps Of Steel’ featurette explains the story behind Bruce’s video debut, which was filmed and directed by The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle helmer Julien Temple.
With so many songs on offer and hardly any duplicates, this is very much a crammed compilation of Bruce’s best bits. The visuals might not be particularly polished, but you could certainly do a lot worse for 20 quid.
Bruce almighty.
Film: 7
Extras: 7
DVD Info:
Certificate: E
Director: Various
Distributor: Sanctuary
Original Release: 2006
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0
Visuals: 4:3 Fullscreen
Running Time: 203 mins
Special Features:
Track Selection
‘Samson – Biceps Of Steel’ Featurette
‘Tyranny Of Souls’ Interview
Music Videos With Optional Introductions:
Tattooed Millionaire
All The Young Dudes
Dive Dive Dive
Born In ‘58
Tears Of The Dragon
Shoot All The Clowns
Back From The Edge
Inertia
Accident Of Birth
Road To Hell
Man Of Sorrows
Killing Floor
The Tower
Abduction
Tracklisting:
Disc 1:
Dive Dive Live: 1.Riding With The Angels 2.Born In ’58 3.Lickin’ The Gun 4.Gypsy Road 5.Dive Dive Dive 6.Drum Solo 7.Zulu Zulu 8.The Ballad Of Mutt 9.Son Of A Gun 10.Hell On Wheels 11.All The Young Dudes 12.Tattooed Millionaire 13.No Lies 14.Fog On The Tyne 15.Winds Of Change 16.Sin City 17.Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter 18.Black Night
Skunkworks Live: 1.Space Race 2.Back From The Edge 3.Tattooed Millionaire 4.Inertia 5.Faith 6.Meltdown 7.I Will Not Accept The Truth 8.Laughing In The Hiding Bush 9.Tears Of The Dragon 10.God’s Not Coming Back 11.Dreamstate 12.The Prisoner
Disc 2:
Scream For Me Brazil: 1.King In Crimson 2.Gates Of Urizen 3.Killing Floor 4.Book Of Thel 5.Tears Of The Dragon 6.Laughing In The Hiding Bush 7.Accident Of Birth 8.The Tower 9.Darkside Of Aquarius 10.The Road To Hell
