Review by Ritchie Birnie for MPM
Bruce’s second solo album gets a makeover and it is well worth splashing out the cash for some of these reinventions.
Balls to Picasson was Bruce’s first solo album without the safety net of Maiden and it was when he decided lets do something very un Maiden and he really grabbed the Heavy Metal banner by the throat. He teamed up with Roy Z and Tribe of Gypsies and there was no looking back.
You just need to listen to openning track “Cyclops” to see how far Bruce wanted to put Maiden in the rear view mirror. It was brave, the easy option would have been to recreate Maiden tunes and bring along all those fans…job done and dusted but that just is not the way Bruce rolls.
He set the standard with an off kilter track that Maiden would never have touched and for that reason it became one of the most memorable tracks on the album. The guitar work on “Cyclops” is mesmerising and this version sounds clean, powerful utterly fresh.
Next track “Hell No” is another banger, a slow build with Bruce on the low end of his scale before he soars and lets rip with an anthemic masterpiece. I still remember seeing this tour. It was a much smaller venue than Maiden had played for a very long time at that point but it was incredible. So intimate, so sweaty and these songs were the backbone of the show and why this gig is still stuck in my memory banks.
The metal riffage of “Gods of War” scream from your speakers as Bruce chants his way to the first verse. as I look back at this album it basically hung drew and quartered his debut. Even the recently released reissue cannot capture the power and vitality of this record. It kicked ass then and it has not aged a day since and this track just has Bruce letting rip.
It is onto the quirky again with “1,000 Points of War”. He had obviously heard Living Colour at this point as that riff hits you instantly but as clunky as the song sounds it works to perfection.
My second favourite track of the album is up next in “Laughing in the Hiding Bush”. It goes for the jugular from the off and this was the new extreme Bruce, the man who wanted to reinvent himself and boy did he.
This album was a breath of fresh air for me as I was no fan of the Blaze Bailey Maiden era and this album and a track like this wiped the floor with those two Blaze albums.
From the brutal metal to another tangent Maiden would not go for…balledic numbers and “Change of Heart” plays to all Bruce’s strengths. I have always been a sucker for a ballad and now I had Bruce dipping in his toes and owning it.
“Shoot All the Clowns” sees Bruce’s wicked sense of humour come to the fore. This is the Marmite track, you either love or hate it with its horns, Jazz bass and very suspicious rapping.
“Fire” is the track I kind of forgot about for some reason but listening again it is a killer slice of Rock. It is sleazy as hell and one I need to listen to far more.
One song I did not forget about is “Sacred Cowboys”, another quirky start but this song is a fucking monster. It could well be a “Run to the Hills” part two based on the lyrical content but what cannot be disputed is just how good this is.
Final track on the original is basically one of the best songs Bruce ever wrote in “Tears of the Dragon”. On the new version we have some beautiful strings to accompany the masterpiece and it sounds epic.
Strangely to this day when I hear this song the first thing that pops into my head is that man ruined a perfectly good leather jacket in the video. It is quickly followed by holy shit this song just gets better with every listen. I was so chuffed to hear it live again last year in what was my favourite show of 2024.
Do I really need to say any more about this song? you all know exactly how kick ass it is.
As a bonus the album has two live(in the studio) versions of “Gods of War” and “Shoot All the Clowns” which sound excellent and gives you every excuse to splash the extra cash so you have this in your collection.
The original album was a watershed moment for Bruce but for me when it comes to Picasso you want as many, as big and as hairy balls as you can get as this version is now the definitive one for your collection. The production alone will make you fall in love with the album all over again.
Tracklisting
1. Cyclops
2. Hell No
3. Gods of War
4. 1000 Points of Light
5. Laughing in the Hiding Bush
6. Change of Heart
7. Shoot All the Clowns
8. Fire
9. Sacred Cowboys
10. Tears of the Dragon
11. Gods of War (Live in the Studio)*
12. Shoot All the Clowns (Live in the Studio)*
PREORDER HERE
This Summer, Bruce Dickinson will embark on his first extensive North American solo tour in almost 30 years in support of his current studio album The Mandrake Project, with a setlist encompassing his entire solo career. ‘The Mandrake Project Live 2025’ North American Tour kicks off in Anaheim, CA. at The House of Blues on August 22nd and takes the band across North America including shows in New York, Los Angeles, Texas, Florida and Canada, with festival appearances at Rocklahoma (OK) and Louder Than Life (KY) with more to be announced. The tour also includes a quick return to Brazil for the prestigious The Town Festival at the City of Light in Sao Paulo.
Fri, Aug 22 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
Sat, Aug 23 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues
Mon, Aug 25 Phoenix, AZ Marquee Theatre
Tues, Aug 26 Albuquerque, NM Revel
Thurs, Aug 28 Houston, TX House of Blues
Fri, Aug 29 Dallas, TX House of Blues
Sun, Aug 31 Pryor, OK Rocklahoma*
Tues, Sept 2 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
Thurs, Sept 4 Fort Lauderdale, FL Revolution
Sun, Sept 7 Sao Paulo, Brazil The Town*
Wed, Sept 10 Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn Paramount
Thurs, Sept 11 Boston, MA House of Blues
Sat, Sept 13 Pittsburgh, PA Stage AE
Sun, Sept. 14 Silver Spring, MD Fillmore Silver Spring
Tues, Sept 16 Toronto, ON HISTORY
Thurs, Sept 18 Montreal, QC MTELUS
Sun, Sept 21 Louisville, KY Louder Than Life*
Tues, Sept 23 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore
Thurs, Sept 25 Detroit, MI The Fillmore
Sat, Sept 27 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre
Sun, Sept 28 Minneapolis, MN Uptown
Tues, Sept 30 Denver, CO Summit Music Hall
Fri, Oct 3 Sacramento, CA Aftershock*
Sun, Oct 5 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
*Festival date
For ticket information go HERE.
