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The final Iron Maiden-related album to be released in the 1980s was Adrian Smith’s first solo venture. And boy was it different! Silver And Gold Produced by Stephen Stewart-Short Released September 1989 Who’s that singer? It’s Adrian Smith, that’s who!

We all knew he was one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time, but the fact that his voice was so good had only been hinted at with the Wasted Years single B-side Reach Out in 1986, where Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson was relegated to background vocals. There’s something of Bryan Adams and Bruce Springsteen about Smith’s guttural but tuneful singing, and it was time to let it loose. We’re about to discuss much more of the here at Maiden Revelations, and Smith’s first solo album provides a bridge between Maiden in the 80s – the era that has been celebrated on stage, on DVD, and on vinyl over the last couple of years – and Maiden in the 90s.

Iron Maiden had decided to take a year off in the wake of their hugely successful album and tour in 1988, and Smith saw a window of opportunity to indulge a different side of his musicality. It was a watershed moment, and there would be no way back to the Maiden that fans knew and loved in the 1980s.

Find a ASAP* - Silver And Gold first pressing or reissue. Complete your ASAP* collection. Shop Vinyl and CDs. ASAP was a band created by guitarist and vocalist Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden. ASAP released an album in 1989 entitled Silver and Gold. Stands for 'Adrian. The final Iron Maiden-related album to be released in the 1980s was Adrian Smith’s first solo venture. And boy was it different! Silver And Gold Produced by Stephen.

In part because of encouragement from the Maiden camp, Smith had started completing song ideas that he didn’t necessarily think would work for Maiden. The Vamps Can We Dance Ep Raritan. Wasted Years on the album in 1986 showed the way, and in 1989 Smith decided to take things to their musical conclusion with the aid of old cohorts Andy Barnett and Dave Colwell.

Some of the songs had started with the 1985 one-off side project The Entire Population Of Hackney, and those were now embellished and joined by new songs. (Continues under pic!). Adrian Smith emerged as a bit of a solo force with Iron Maiden’s Somewhere In Time in 1986, even singing a single B-side, and that period of experimentation led inevitably to his first solo album in 1989. The only other songs on the album to qualify are After The Storm and Blood On The Ocean, but none of the tracks mentioned are more than pretty good. At the same time there are truly terrible pop-rock tunes present, like Wishing Your Life Away and Kid Gone Astray.

The latter certainly had a pertinent title Smith’s project is very sombre and serious, a clear attempt to impress critics and record buyers. And as such it is very much unlike his Maiden companion Bruce Dickinson’s debut solo album (1990), which was made at about the same time. The performances are strong throughout Silver And Gold, and the real joy of the record is hearing Smith sing. Ironically, he decided not to tour with ASAP, heading back to Maiden at the start of 1990 for a new album and tour. He would be out of his regular band within a matter of weeks of launching that project, but in the meantime ASAP was no more.