Label: EMI
Year: 1998
Home: England
Members: Steve Harris ~ bass/keyboards
Blaze Bayley ~ lead vocals
Dave Murray, Janick Gers ~ guitars
Nicko McBrain ~ drums
Additional: Michael Kenney ~ keyboards
Iron Maiden's second & last album with Blaze Bayley on vocals. Where to start? First, honesty: I'm a super casual listener of Maiden. You're not getting insider's insights here. I've only heard 3 albums by them, two of which are on this blog, & the other is The Final Frontier I had mixed feelings over. I have heard stuff by the members outside the band, though. I enjoy Paul Di'Anno's stuff. I've also never seen a concert video of them other than clips. They aren't bad. I don't hate them. I just have never been bitten by the exploration bug, as there's so much music out there & so little time. But, after listening to the Virtual XI I want to listen to more of their albums. No, Virtual XI hasn't made me a fan. I simply want to know if they are ... if they could be ... if this is ... okay, I'll say it, given their reputation they can't be this bad. I want to know if the other albums are such a slog. Putting their reputation aside, & since I can't compare any of their classic albums to this, its not good from a general point of view. Or, let me rephrase. Its not bad. Its far far from the worst album I've tortured myself with. But, I drafted this review 24 hours ago & now can't remember a single song from the album, nor a lyric, nor a riff, nor anything other than it just never seemed to end. I remember feeling bored by it & wondering why their producer didn't step in with a pair of scissors, meant literally in cutting away reels of tape. Which means before I post this review I'll have to listen again, as I'm now re-writing a review of music I can't remember. Given I have a head full of songs that I can recall in seconds, which is pretty scary how my mind remembers all that, given I can remember lyrics from something I heard decades ago, given all the trivia I also retain, given listening to some musicians has made me an instant fan, if I can't remember something a day later than it must be pretty bad. The rest of this review is going to be a re-write of the notes I took hearing this album yesterday. I always like to think that Maiden is such a musical powerhouse that even without Bruce Dickinson wailing away things will be alright with Steve Harris' rolling bass lines, his interesting lyrics & the intertwining guitar parts. While I don't know them well, I think of the Maiden crew as a dynamic entity that is bigger than any one player. Yet, listening to Virtual XI my opinion might be in error. Maybe its the songs themselves, but without Dickinson something is dramatically lost. The vocals don't feel quite up to par, but neither do the songs nor the band. Using the opener "Futureal" as an example, its not a bad song but its not something I need to hear again. There's still the tongue-twisting fast moving lyrics & bouncing music, but it dies before it ends. Bayley is a good competent singer, but he doesn't have the dynamics of Dickinson, nor does he have a particularly memorable voice, also like Dickinson, nor a particular phrasing style. Due to these three things he doesn't bring anything much to the table, which means he doesn't have anything to give to the song. Thus, it never really takes off, but just plods along. He can sing well, no question on that, but he doesn't add to the dynamics I think of when I think of Maiden. He doesn't even sound very inspired. The music isn't driving him. The lyrics aren't emotionally grabbing him. He's just singing & not giving any energy or feeling to it. I'm actually bored listening to him & I hate to say that about a singer, particularly one who obviously knows how to sing. To clarify, one doesn't need dynamics or Whitney Houston chops to have emotion. Listen to jazz sing Jimmy Durante for someone with an average voice but a wonderful since of nuance & feeling. Its about using what you have to express as much as you can. I don't know the history of the band, so I'm asking if he was the best Maiden had to choose from. Did they owe someone a favor & thus got stuck with him? Or, were things going back & he was figuratively mailing in his performance counting the days to his departure? Paycheck collected, next! At least when Phil Collins was replaced in Genesis Ray Wilson brought a new distinct sound to the band, both loved & hated by fans, but Bayley doesn't seem to be offering anything other than an ability to sing in key. I picture him as the guy you hire for a wedding covers band. One need only hunt up live versions of "Futureal" with Bruce to hear how the song may not be the best Maiden have ever done, but with a shot of some vocal dynamics its much better. "Futureal" sadly sets the tone for the album, which is more like a dirge. It goes on & on, but goes nowhere, with the good moments all musical & all lost in the clutter. I really hate to lay the blame all at the singer's feet, but really there's nothing here that grabs me & says to me this is a legendary band I want to hear more of. There is also one other problem. The lyrics. Harris gets credit for all but one song, while Bayley gets some writing credit. This is not inspired writing, or if it was the arrangements are mailed in doing the writing no favors. Maybe this is good writing for the band, but the arrangements are ruining everything. I don't know, but I'm so tired of hearing the last minutes of a song consisting of Bayley repeating one line over & over with no vocal variation. Those last 3 words are the key. Bayley drones, but I'd rather hear the shimmer of a tambura than this wedding singer. Anyways, I plan to get married with an Elvis impersonator doing the singing. So, I'm not looking for a wedding band. Where was the producer with a pair of scissors going, 'We shall end the song here, not way over here.' One of the things I think many bands do wrong is they don't know when to end a song. Sometimes you don't need to drag it out or add in yet another solo or repeated chorus. I speak from experience helping guitarist Allen Peterson with his second solo album. Nobody was listening to the entire songs in their original form or having much good to say about the album. He was distraught. Having heard the album many times both in his house & his truck while we drove around, I told him to crop at least a minute or two off each song. Just ditch some solos & extra lyric repetitions. He did, hesitantly I'll confess, & suddenly everyone was more attentive. What was happening, he found, was the songs were indeed too long & people were getting bored. There was no surprise in the last couple minutes. That's what is happening here with Virtual XI. & when you're bored you get forgetful of what you've just listened to, then you're going into the next song bored. If you're going into the next song bored, you not hearing what good parts there are. So, if the guitarist has a good solo, nobody is really in tune with the album to hear it. I'll confess on my first listen to this album I couldn't make it to the end in one sitting. Generic rock with a generic bored singer. Though, "Lightning Strikes Twice" is worth a mention, as I enjoyed that, but it just makes me want to hear Bruce attempt it. All the above is based on my previous day's listen. Finishing this up now I've listened to the album 2.5 times in total. It hasn't improved with age. On today's front to back listen I'll add one more thought. I enjoyed "The Educated Fool" & "Don't Look To The Eyes Of A Stranger", though they aren't going into my playlist & didn't lift the album up. Also, to note, after my last listen I went & listened to The Final Frontier. Not becoming a Maiden fan. I basically come to the same conclusion I always have: I like a few singles, but not rushing to hear complete albums. But, I do plan to listen to more of them before solidifying this opinion, such as Powerslave & maybe a few other classics. I do like to do my due diligence.
