"Wasting Love", count me in to the little group of people who like this song, atleast it seems to be here on quick look that this just doesn't get much love. I totally understand how you feel. So, for me it feels really that this album proved to be the point of experimenting stuff as were going throught the album here, only 6 songs in and it feels that no songs are the same. Never thought of this aspect concerning FOTD. Some people always claim that some bands take the safe route of using the same formula and repeating stuff from the past albums, but Maiden doesn't actually do this sort of thing and I let it to some other bands. But, you gotta give it to Maiden, 6 songs in on this album and so far none of the songs use the same template as the previous albums. Remember it was early 90's, the heavy metal wasn't that most exciting thing on planet. Mighty ballad is what we got here, penned by Bruce but also have to give him some credit because this is fine example of his skills on doing ballads and he would do much wider stuff on his successfull and interesting solo-career. Bruce does really incredidle performance on this song, he just is so emotional on those lines. He puts himself to the game fully and shows the side we don't necessarily get to hear too often on Maiden-albums. Deep stuff really. Great song, all the performances really serve the purpose and we get great solo from Janick here. Nothing really more add here, I think this is just song works greatly and I can't do nothing but rank this as follows: 5/5 @Cheevyjames I wholeheartedly agree on what you said and I think you summarized it perfectly.
...lest it appear that I'm a worshipper of all things Nicko: when I add my .02 on Be Quick Or Be Dead, I will level some criticism towards the man. Namely, he (Nicko) is fantastic at building and releasing tension throughout a song's progression. His accents are often unexpected, yet after a few listens they fit just right. And it's these unexpected accents (listen to each verse and chorus in the title track to Seventh Son for an example - he rarely plays the same pattern or fill twice - definitely not thrice!) which make a song sound just as good (if not greater) on the 10,000th listen! Where Nicko lacks is on a fast barrage song like Be Quick Or Be Dead - I can only imagine Clive Burr tearing it up here. To put in simply, Nicko plays a little bit behind the beat (adding a bluesy feel which works for many Maiden tracks,but not for the faster-punkish ones), while Clive plays a little bit ahead of the beat. While Be Quick or Be Dead doesn't completely falter with Nicko's drums (he really tries on this track, plus the rhythmic pulse of the bass and rhythm guitars really help pick up the slack), most of the Clive-era songs falter a bit when played live by Nicko.
and for those keeping score, my little black book (of souls!) has Wasting Lov tied with Afraid To Shoot Strangers as the 2nd best song on FoTD thus far ...
I can definitely feel a sudden *chill* when Bruce sings "on a cold October morning, as frost lay on the ground" --- 100% success as a singer and musician there!
"The Fugitive", this is another often overlooked and forgotten song from the period. I remember listening a lot to this when I bought the vinyl in 1992. Liked it already then. Atmospheric setting, sound and feeling of the intro is very cool here and it only gets better once the wheels start rolling on. The lyrics are excellent as they take me there to the happenings. I've always thought about the Harrison Ford movie "The Fugitive" when listening to this one and never even checked what the original inspiration was for Harris when he penned this one. I like the build-up and instrumental-section with great solos. Just the nice pace going through the track. Cool use of the keyboards. All in all, just great little song but maybe it lacks something to click with everyone. I've always liked this one so I will give it the rank it deserves: 4/5
great rollicking intro to the Fugitive - not quite "Where Eagles Dare", but I think I prefer the overall soundstage and the clarity of the instruments here over the POM era classic. Starting a song heavy and hard - something that Maiden doesn't seem to do much anymore? Is it just me,or does post-reunion Maiden start fully 4/5 of their new songs with the slow, brooding progression at :47 - but instead of going back to a faster/heavier part after 20-30 seconds (as they do here on The Fugitive), they stick in this slow rut for minutes upon minutes? Mild criticism here, but we will of course touch on these as we get into the 21st century Maiden recordings. ooh those icy keyboards here on Fugitive - perfect compliment to Bruce signing about cold frost and mist! Really like verse part 2A - "I'm sick and tired of running - hunger and the pain" -- Nicko picks up the pace nicely here, makes the verse never grow stale or old. Like how Bruce sings clean in the first part of the chorus and then switches to gruff on the 2nd part. great rocker and very close to a 5/5 to these ears - maybe only missing out on a 5/5 because it doesn't quite meet the high standard of other 5/5 Maiden tracks>
first solo at 2:47 has to be Davey? those arching and grooving licks he plays so much? then Janick in for a more chaotic 2nd solo. The key/rhythm bit is awesome too - love how it leads into another guitar solo section (vaguely harmony-ish but with some intersting bends that aren't used frequently in Maiden dual harmony leads). pretty cookin' solo section - I honestly hadn't listened to this song too often,but I'm really digging the solos -- solid 4.5/5 for me.
methinks that if The Fugitive was on No Prayer for the Dying, it would be a 5/5 track. Much more passion and energy than just about any NPftD track.
I’ve never been a big fan of “The Fugitive,” but the posts above have encouraged me to give it another shot. I don’t know. It’s not terrible. But it’s very pedestrian, and the chorus doesn’t work for me. It just sounds like a band out of ideas at this point.
not the great ideas of their 80's heyday but performed with vigor and passion - in light of the general lack of this on No Prayer, I elevate the rating for Fugitive a bit - a strong song for its era.
one interesting aspect of post-Adrian/pre-reunion Maiden albums is the clear demaraction between the guitar solos. While my learned ear can now more easily distinguish Dave's solos from Adrian's, there was little chance that one's ear couldn't distinguish between a Dave and Janick solo, lol!
Wasting Love Like it. Though I always felt it belonged more in Bruce´s Tattooed Millionaire album than here. Same vibe to me. It´s enjoyable and kudos to Maiden for exiting their comfort zone. 4/5 The Fugitive Not a big fan of this one, but by no means my least favourite track of FOTD. I usually skip it, but not always. Great Bruce vocals here, though. 2/5
This is a great write-up on Nicko. I'm so used to all little weird and complex things he does in these songs that sometimes I forget how I felt when all this music (Maiden in general) was new to me and I was just blown away by how amazing Nicko was. Now when I listen to him, it's perfectly normal...but when I listen to so many other drummers I think they're horribly boring, when in reality they're fine. It's just that Nicko is THAT good.
I agree, doing this thread has made really understand the depth of his talents and contributions, like, I knew he was good, but now I really understand.
The Fugitive: Another totally unfamiliar tune to me. I like Nicko’s reoccurring heavy drums throughout the song. I think they add some beef to the song. Steve also shines on this one. Some nice driving guitars in the verses. The chorus falls a bit flat and the lyrics are a corny which really damages the song. I can't help but picture picture Tommy Lee Jones chasing Harrison Ford around during this song. Listen-able for sure and has grown on me a bit with repeated listens. 3 stars out of 5. I could be talked down to 2.5.
It was a great refresher for me to listen to his pre-Maiden work because I wasn't familiar with it and I could really hone in. I've been listening to those two Pat Travers albums so much the past few weeks.
The Fugitive The heavy intro is great, love Nicko's tom work here. It's interesting that they go back and forth between the "heavier" bit and the slow part before settling with the first verse (they'll later do this to overkill on Virus). I think the keys work here, builds suspense. When Bruce sings "and took the wall!" is my favorite part of the song. If we stop the song right here at 1:20 I'd be extremely psyched for what comes next. This whole first 80 seconds is wonderfully proggy and sets up the song to be an *adventure*. My body is ready. And then...oh no, it's raspy Bruce singing these bad lyrics singing over this boring rehash of what we heard before. Then comes the chorus. I always equate this one and the Assassin in my mind (The Assassin, The Fugitive, the Quilter...). Both have horrendous choruses. "I am a fugitive, being hunted down like game...I am a fugitive but I've got to clear my name". Come on, Steve, this is bad. One of the worst choruses on the album, it just grates on my nerves. Then we come back to the bad part same as before, this time with more keyboards which don't belong. They worked as atmosphere in the beginning and then you really don't need them again. Agree with you guys about the drums sounding so lifeless. Once we hit this 2nd verse, I'm done with this song. What started out as something quite cool just ends up as filler. Of course they try a bit harder when Dave's guitar solo comes in. It's a good solo, but what really makes it is the backing that Steve, Nicko and Janick do. It's really, really cool with some great changes. This whole middle section feels like it belongs in an epic. Like, everyone really steps up for the whole middle part. Then the vocals come back and it's difficult to listen to. This song has a lot of good elements and the start of what could be a cool song, but nearly all of the vocal sections just ruin it. Scrap this one, even for the good stuff. It's not a complete song IMO.
Think i have Wasting Love and Afraid to shoot strangers as pretty much level, ive never really been able to split them.
The Fugitive - Not a big fan of the drums which seem not quite in sync with the rest of the track, certainly on the first section. Chorus is okay, very much a middling Maiden album track. Not bad, not great. Some have mentioned this album is too long, i'd suggest this is track is one that maybe could've been cut and happily ended up as a B-Side.
The Fugitive-I was hoping that I'd have a good reaction to a few of these lesser known (to me) songs from Fear of the Dark but so far that hasn't been the case. This is another disappointment. The vocal melody and lyric of the chorus is a very low point in the Maiden catalogue, right down there in the dumps with "better watch out, 'cause I'm the assassin" from the previous album. This seems like a band that is completely out of gas and just going through the motions. I'm dying to get to the reunion albums!
The Fugitive I agree with the comments about Nicko's drumming. He does a good job, but the production on this album is hit-and-miss. Some good verses, a lame chorus, and this is a filler track.
