Steve Harris - British Lion

Published September 26 2012

*=Staff's pick	This Is My God Lost Worlds* Karma Killer Us Against The World* The Chosen Ones A World Without Heaven* Judas Eyes Of The Young These Are The Hands* The Lesson

Genre	Hard Rock	Richard Taylor	Vocals
Tracks	10	David Hawkins	Guitar
Running time	52 Min.	Grahame Leslie	Guitar
Label	EMI	Steve Harris	Bass
Release	24 September 2012	Simon Dawson/Richard Cook	Drums
Country	England	David Hawkins	Keyboard
Producer	Kevin Shirley
Similar artists	---

After well over three decades with Iron Maiden, bassplayer, songwriter and bandleader Steve Harris is taking a giant leap away from what he's known for and explores new territories with the creation of his first solo record. According to Harris, we'll be taken on a journey back to his musical roots in the early seventies. I agree with him to a certain point and I also find heavy elements of stoner rock present. I realize as well that this is 2012 and no matter how hard you try, newer things will shine through eventually. Then how to write a review and not comparing the result with the patented sound of his main band and not comparing the singer, Richard Taylor, with Bruce Dickinson? Well, look further down this page and you'll see.

British Lion shows, as stated above, that this is seventies influenced hard rock. This is a rather plain effort with an apparent lack of highlights. In total, it's pretty weak and the few good parts pretty soon fade away to a blurry paste. The guitarplay and the hooks are striking and captivating occasionally and well deserved for the listeners, as the melodies as a whole has a total absence of catchiness. The bassplay can of course be heard as it sometimes is pretty loud in the mix and who would have thought otherwise? Vocalist Taylor has somewhat of a fitting voice for this kind of music, but with Steve's record, I guess the bassist has his reasons for choosing this man, as I find his voice a bit weak and powerless. The production is somewhat lame and definitely not my cup of tea, as I have a hard time finding the greatness in renowned producer Kevin Shirley, even if he has done some good work in the past.

I can only find a couple of songs really worth listening to and this release is nothing that will be played on my audio system, other than on some nostalgic trip in the future. The man has obviously created something he can't do with Iron Maiden and this is probably a record made by a man genuinely longing for some change after all those years and who at this point of his career and with this release doesn't care about any controversy or commotion from his fans that this might cause. On the other hand, when you create a solo record, why not go all the way and totally distance yourself from what you normally do? What would be the point if it sounded similar to your past work? British Lion isn't utter shit, but I was hoping for a lot more from a man that has written and participated on many outstanding albums before. This release will probably sell a few copies anyway, as fame, rather than quality, often has an impact on record sales.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
7	6	3	4	3

Summary
3 chalices of 10 - Tobbe