I really like the word usurp, but I don't have a chance to use it all that often. I got to thinking about that yesterday afternoon when I was driving around on my lunch break. I was mulling over the fact that Bruce Dickinson might just be my favorite English Pop Star Over The Age Of Forty, but then I realized that no one is ever going to usurp that title from Roger Taylor.
Although I must say that if anyone is poised to take over that particular niche, it is certainly Bruce Dickinson. He has all of the qualifications. Rock career that not only has longevity, it has quality as well? Check. Fabulous short hairdo to replace the fabulous long hairdo he once sported? Check. Horrific solo albums? Check. Leather trousers? Check. Wonderful new album recorded with his spectacular rock group that was just released yesterday? Uh-oh. Bruce Dickinson has got a little something that Roger doesn't have. Since that is due to circumstances beyond Roger's control, he certainly can't be usurped for that reason!
But I can love Bruce Dickinson more than ever, because the new Iron Maiden album, Dance Of Death, is fantastic. LCG bought it yesterday and last night I rushed over to his house so I could tape it. Of course I'm going to buy my own copy, because I want Iron Maiden to have my money. However, I need it on LP and I live in the United States. It doesn't look like the LP is being released domestically in my country, and it's going to take at least a week or two before any import LPs drift into my neighborhood.
So until I can give my money to Iron Maiden (and my favorite record store), the least I can do is lavish them with love for their new album. I give it an E for excellent, although I hesitate to use that particular rating scale because I stole it from Jeff J. The fact that I lifted it from Jeff J. isn't the problem, the problem is the fact that when he delivered that record review so many years ago, it was about a Poison record. I should probably think up something of my own because Iron Maiden is really much better than Poison.
When I got to LCG's house he was already browsing the booklets of his new releases. (Andrew W.K. and Iron Maiden-it was a big day for us yesterday.) I plopped myself down on the chair and was handed the Dance Of Death booklet. "Read Bruce's thank you list," was all LCG said to me. His thank you list consists of either five or six (I forget which it was) people, and the last two people he thanks are Merlin The Parrot and Kitty The Cat. That sounds to me like the man is thanking his pets. To sum up: if Bruce Dickinson thanks his cat on a record, he is dangerously close to usurping.
Anyway, we listened to Dance Of Death twice (with a brief Andrew W.K. break in between listens) and we like it very much. I'm not going to do the full review today, but at the very least I wanted to provide an overview of why we like the album.
We like it because it rocks.
The first couple of songs didn't gallop enough and LCG was getting concerned, but after about three or four songs the rock kicked into full gear and we were happy record buyers. (Even though I haven't bought it yet!) I wasn't too worried about the lack of galloping because I was loving the lyrics, which are classic Maiden. The musicianship is flawless, mystical topics still abound, and Bruce Dickinson's voice is holding up nicely.
I do need to mention that while the cover art is good, we do wish that Eddie was more prominently featured. Of course he is there, but he isn't as huge and scary as we would like. But that's okay, because the band photo makes up for any problems with the cover. They are all dressed in black and looking sharp, particularly Bruce, who is wearing one of the greatest pairs of leather trousers that I have ever seen, and a leather jacket identical to the one I wear. This thrilled me to no end. I would have to get an official estimate from LCG, but I'm guessing that I announced, "I have that jacket!" about four hundred times. Maybe it was only twice, I don't know.
I do know, however, that Dance Of Death rocks. It gets an E for excellent.