Balls to Picasso [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED]

Bruce Dickinson

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 6, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording reissued
• Label: Proper Us
• ASIN: B00005QK37
• In-Print Editions: DVD Audio
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #297,240 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Release by one of the Greatest Singers in Rock History, December 17, 2005

By	NWOBHM is Awesome (Monument, Colorado) - See all my reviews

This album is maybe the best release by Bruce after he left Maiden. THIS IS NOT HEAVY METAL. It's hard rock but still, it kicks ass. Bruce is a different singer from the Maiden years. Lucky for us he carried the change over Maiden a second time with Brave New World and Dance of Death. So we have a new Bruce Dickinson with the same classic line up awesome. The album is completly flawless. Great guitar riffs and vocals make this a must for any hard rock/heavy metal fans. Before I start rambling I'm going to go through the songs.

Cyclops- Nice way to start of the album. The intro is killer with the wierd effects on the guitar. THen goes to a pick slide and a great guitar riff. The chorus is great, it almost sounds like classic Maiden(almost). Overall it's a great song 10/10

Hell No- This song is my second favorite song on the album. A cool guitar intro goes into some killer vocals. I also love the pre chorus with the pinch harmonics. The chorus is insane. Great guitar but the vocals are what make this song kick ass even more. 10/10

Gods of War- Yet again another Dickinson Masterpeice. Starts out with a cool drums intro. Then an awesome guitar riff with Bruce singing "OHHHHHHHH". Then the tempo slows down and Bruce sings quietly. The chorus has the same riff and tune as the intro but Bruce actually says words. 10/10

1000 Points of Light- Another killer song. THe guitar riffs are insane. The verse contains an awesome guitar riff. Bruce's vocals are not the same as any other song on this album. But they changed for the better. The chorus is great because in the background you can hear a faint acoustic guitar playing. Amazing. 10/10

Laughing in the Hiding Bush- One of the heavier songs on the album. The verse is really cool and then burst into an awesome guitar riff leading into the chorus where Bruce sings in his sometimes raspy voice(like on No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of the Dark). Great song. 10/10

Change of Heart- A semi ballad. It has some beutiful guitar riffs in the intro. Then goes to a nice slow verse. The chorus is also pretty slow but it is still great. The guitar solo is really pretty. A great song. 10/10

Shoot All the Clowns- Killer song. Really heavy and fast. Maybe the most unique songs on the album. Bruce sounds exactly like he did in the song Tailgunner. Really raspy vocals but it is still the most up beat on the album. I really like this song but the intro sucks 10/10 anyway.

Fire- Pretty cool guitar riff to start of the song and a killer bassline thats to damn quiet. I like Bruce's vocals during the chorus. The guitar is amazing in this song. Great track. 10/10

Sacred Cowboys- Great riff sounds like a thrash metal song then Bruce screams sounding like Brian Johnson from AC/DC. The verse is so cool. Bruce talks in monotone. God knows what the hell he was saying. Then it goes into a killer prechorus. The chorus sounds like one from Dance of Death. It's extremely catchy. Great song. 10/10

Tears of the Dragon- My favorite song on the album and a killer way to finish up the album. Great acoustic riff that stays the same for about two minutes. This song is just great. The chorus has incredible vocals. At about three minutes it goes to a killer guitar solo. THis song is as epicc as Hallowed be Thy Name or Rime of the Acient Mariner. Great six minute gem. 10/10

This album is Bruce's best of his career. Not a single bad song on the album. It's a very relaxing album. There ar not too many fast heavy songs but change is good. This album is completely different from Iron Maiden. Do not buy unless you have heard any of his solo stuff before. I would recommend Powerslave by Iron Maiden, Hall of the Mountain King by Savatage, Steelheart by Steelheart(that guy has some pipes), or The Divine Wings Of Tragedy by Symphony X. Rock on and UP THE IRONS

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Weird title but very nice album, February 20, 2004

By	Muddy Moe (Plano, TX United States) - See all my reviews

As a long time Maiden fan and a big fan of Bruce Dickinson's "Accident of Birth" and "Chemical Wedding" albums (both of which are superior to a lot of Maiden's post 1990 output), I was slow to purchase "Balls to Picasso" because I hadn't heard much about it that was all that positive and because the cover looks rather low-rent and the title is kind of off-putting. Shallow reasons, I'll admit but there you go.

When I did finally pick this up I was VERY pleasantly surprised from the first track all the way through. This isn't really metal, per se. It's hard rock in spots, alternative rock in spots, and even a little bit experimental. It's hard to categorize well, but I think even a lot of non-metal fans would appreciate it due to the great songwriting and genre stretching feel of it. Maiden die-hards who expect only true metal from Dickinson might be disappointed. But anybody with an open mind should get a big kick from these great tunes.

Roy Z does a great job on the the guitars. The Adrian Smith type lead lines aren't here, but Roy Z is no slouch at all, displaying a bit of blazing speed in short bursts and playing very tastefully. Also the album employs varied rhythms to it with even some latin type feels here and there in addition to hard rocking drumming.

Bottom line is I still don't like the title but the music speaks for itself. Even if Bruce had not returned to Maiden, I could be happy if he continued to produce great albums like this one, "A.o.B." and "C.W."

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice album, April 3, 2003

By	Diogo Camacho (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A very good effort by Dickinson in his second solo album. The last track is one of the best songs I've heard, featuring a blend of a nice ballad and some good guitar riffs. The album is very powerful as Bruce attempts to depart from the Iron Maiden sound, and guitarist Roy Z gave him that sound in this album and the ones that followed. Overall, an album that should please Maiden and non-Maiden fans.