Balls to Picasso
Encyclopedia
Balls to Picasso is a Hard rock
album
by Iron Maiden
vocalist Bruce Dickinson
, released in 1994
. It is the second effort in Dickinson's solo career and the first released after he had officially left Iron Maiden
.
This record marked the beginning of Dickinson's collaborations with Roy Z
, who would work on many of Dickinson's later albums including Accident of Birth
, The Chemical Wedding
and Tyranny of Souls
. Stylistically it departs from Tattooed Millionaire but is still more traditional-sounding than the follow-up album Skunkworks
released in 1996. Later, Dickinson said that he and Roy Z were talked into making the album less heavy than it should have been.
Dickinson started working on his second solo album while still in Iron Maiden. For the very first recording sessions he recruited the British band Skin. Not satisfied with the style of the effort, Dickinson aborted the recording. His next attempt at a second solo album was a collaboration with producer Keith Olsen
. Dickinson decided to scrap this project as well and teamed up with guitarist Roy Z and his band Tribe of Gypsies
to write and record Balls to Picasso. Songs from the previous recording sessions later resurfaced as b-sides on singles from Balls to Picasso and subsequently also as bonus tracks on the album's 2005 extended edition (see below).
In the Anthology DVD, Dickinson said that he regrets not naming the album "Laughing in the Hiding Bush" after one the song of the same name. The song itself is dedicated to his son, Austin, who penned the title.
Balls to Picasso was also released in DVD-Audio
5.1 mix and DualDisc
(CD/DVD-Audio 5.1 mix) versions.
All songs by Bruce Dickinson/Roy Z, except "Laughing in the Hiding Bush", by Bruce Dickinson/Roy Z/Austin Dickinson, "Fire", by Bruce Dickinson/Roy Z/Eddie Casillas and "Tears of the Dragon", by Bruce Dickinson.
The ballad
"Tears of the Dragon
" stayed for many months on top the of charts in countries like Brazil
, where Dickinson has a large fanbase.
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
vocalist Bruce Dickinson
Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson is an English singer, songwriter, airline pilot, fencer, broadcaster, author, screenwriter, actor and marketing director, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden....
, released in 1994
1994 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so....
. It is the second effort in Dickinson's solo career and the first released after he had officially left Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
.
This record marked the beginning of Dickinson's collaborations with Roy Z
Roy Z
Roy Z is a guitarist, songwriter and producer known for his work with Bruce Dickinson , Rob Halford and Judas Priest. He also is the founder of Tribe of Gypsies, a hard rock band with Latin influences.-Biography:...
, who would work on many of Dickinson's later albums including Accident of Birth
Accident of Birth
Accident of Birth is a heavy metal album released in 1997 by Bruce Dickinson. It was published by Zomba Music.This is the second album made in collaboration with guitarist/producer Roy Z and is therefore much different from Bruce's previous Skunkworks album. It marks Bruce's return to his more...
, The Chemical Wedding
The Chemical Wedding (Bruce Dickinson album)
The Chemical Wedding is the fifth solo album by English heavy metal singer Bruce Dickinson, released on 14 July 1998 through Sanctuary Records...
and Tyranny of Souls
Tyranny of Souls
Tyranny of Souls is a heavy metal album released by Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson on 23 May 2005. The cover art is a work by renaissance artist Hans Memling. It is Bruce's first solo album since rejoining Maiden in 1999 and his most recent studio album as a solo artist.The songwriting on the...
. Stylistically it departs from Tattooed Millionaire but is still more traditional-sounding than the follow-up album Skunkworks
Skunkworks (album)
Skunkworks is a hard rock album released in 1996 by Bruce Dickinson.Originally, Bruce intended for Skunkworks to be the debut album of a band by the same name. However, the label would not publish the record under any other name than Bruce Dickinson. Consequently the album sounds quite different...
released in 1996. Later, Dickinson said that he and Roy Z were talked into making the album less heavy than it should have been.
Dickinson started working on his second solo album while still in Iron Maiden. For the very first recording sessions he recruited the British band Skin. Not satisfied with the style of the effort, Dickinson aborted the recording. His next attempt at a second solo album was a collaboration with producer Keith Olsen
Keith Olsen
Keith Olsen is one of the most prolific and successful music producers in the industry.-Career:With over 120 albums produced netting a 1 in 4 Gold or better ratio, of which more than 24 are Platinum or better, and more than 14 are multi-Platinum, sales from Keith Olsen’s work exceeds 110 million...
. Dickinson decided to scrap this project as well and teamed up with guitarist Roy Z and his band Tribe of Gypsies
Tribe of Gypsies
Tribe of Gypsies is a San Fernando Valley, California-based Latin rock group, best known for band leader/guitarist Roy Z who has produced, written for, and played with such well known artists as Judas Priest, Rob Halford, and Bruce Dickinson who has used various members of Tribe of Gypsies to...
to write and record Balls to Picasso. Songs from the previous recording sessions later resurfaced as b-sides on singles from Balls to Picasso and subsequently also as bonus tracks on the album's 2005 extended edition (see below).
In the Anthology DVD, Dickinson said that he regrets not naming the album "Laughing in the Hiding Bush" after one the song of the same name. The song itself is dedicated to his son, Austin, who penned the title.
Balls to Picasso was also released in DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio
DVD-Audio is a digital format for delivering high-fidelity audio content on a DVD. DVD-Audio is not intended to be a video delivery format and is not the same as video DVDs containing concert films or music videos....
5.1 mix and DualDisc
DualDisc
DualDisc was a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group and later under the aegis of the Recording Industry Association of America...
(CD/DVD-Audio 5.1 mix) versions.
Track listing
- "Cyclops" - 7:58
- "Hell No" - 5:11
- "Gods of War" - 5:02
- "1000 Points of Light" - 4:25
- "Laughing in the Hiding Bush" - 4:20
- "Change of Heart" - 4:58
- "Shoot All the ClownsShoot All the Clowns"Shoot All the Clowns" is the second and last single from Bruce Dickinson's second solo album, Balls to Picasso, released in August 1994. Allmusic described "Shoot All the Clowns" as a "lyrically challenged" song "which, stunningly, comes across like some sort of bad L.A...
" - 4:24 - #37 UK - "Fire" - 4:30
- "Sacred Cowboys" - 3:53
- "Tears of the DragonTears of the Dragon"Tears of the Dragon" is the first single from Bruce Dickinson's second solo album, Balls to Picasso, released on 28 May 1994. Allmusic called "Tears of the Dragon" a "magnificent" track,"by far the album's best song".- Track listing :...
" - 6:24 - #28 UK, #36 US
All songs by Bruce Dickinson/Roy Z, except "Laughing in the Hiding Bush", by Bruce Dickinson/Roy Z/Austin Dickinson, "Fire", by Bruce Dickinson/Roy Z/Eddie Casillas and "Tears of the Dragon", by Bruce Dickinson.
The ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
"Tears of the Dragon
Tears of the Dragon
"Tears of the Dragon" is the first single from Bruce Dickinson's second solo album, Balls to Picasso, released on 28 May 1994. Allmusic called "Tears of the Dragon" a "magnificent" track,"by far the album's best song".- Track listing :...
" stayed for many months on top the of charts in countries like Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, where Dickinson has a large fanbase.
Track listing for the 2005 Extended Edition (Bonus CD)
- "Fire Child"
- "Elvis Has Left the Building"
- "The Breeding House"
- "No Way Out...To Be Continued"
- "Tears of the Dragon (Acoustic Chillout)"
- "Winds of Change"
- "Spirit of Joy"
- "Over and Out"
- "Shoot All the Clowns (12" Extended Remix)"
- "Laughing in the Hiding Bush (live)"
- "The Post Alternative Seattle Fall Out (live)"
- "Shoot All the Clowns (7" Remix)
- "Tibet"
- "Tears of the Dragon (First Bit, Long Bit, Last Bit)"
- "Cadillac Gas Mask"
- "No Way Out...Continued"
Tribe of Gypsies
- Roy ZRoy ZRoy Z is a guitarist, songwriter and producer known for his work with Bruce Dickinson , Rob Halford and Judas Priest. He also is the founder of Tribe of Gypsies, a hard rock band with Latin influences.-Biography:...
– GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Eddie Casillas – Bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- David Ingraham – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Doug Van Booven – percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
Additional musicians
- Mario AguilarMario AguilarMario Ignacio Aguilar is the Chair of Religion and Politics at St. Mary's College of the University of St Andrews. Aguilar is also the director and a founding member of the Centre for the Study of Religion and Politics based within St Mary's.-Other Appointments and Responsibilities:*...
("Shoot all the Clowns") - Dean Ortega ("Shoot all the Clowns")
- Dickie Fliszar – Drums ("Tears of the Dragon")