Despite leaving
Iron Maiden for a spell in the '90s,
Bruce Dickinson's solo efforts were not that dramatically different than his albums with
Maiden. In fact, quite a few tracks could have fit on such albums as
Fear of the Dark with no problem. Thus, it shouldn't come as a surprise that two live sets from
Dickinson's '90s solo era sound as if he's fronting
Iron Maiden. In 2005, these concert sets, 1995's
Alive in Studio A/Alive at the Marquee and 1999's
Scream for Me Brazil, were compiled together as a three-disc set,
Alive. The only catch is there are no
Maiden classics included (not even "Bring Your Daughter...To the Slaughter," which was originally a
Dickinson solo tune, before
Maiden got a hold of it). It's all strictly renditions of
Dickinson's solo tunes here, including such standouts as "Tattooed Millionaire," "Tears of the Dragon," and "Born in '58," among others. With no bonus tracks added,
Alive will only appeal to
Maiden fans who passed on purchasing these
Dickinson live sets the first time around.
–
Greg Prato, Rovi