This is one of those records, where either you love or, you just don't know what to think of it, but you can't deny there was something about
Silver and Gold that just grabbed you, even if this was a shock to many. I mean it was a departure from what Smith had been doing in Maiden, but yet there was something about it that not only distanced him from his past, but yet it showed that he could do just about anything, literarily go solo, writing his own material, and still retain his stance as yet one of metal's great guitarists, bringing the singer/songwriter element to a heavier level.
Along with Smith are additional guitarists Dave Colwell (Samson, FM) and Andy Barret (FM) adding the triple threat to the axework as well as collaborating on the compositional material; the "FM" connection makes it more understandably song oriented.
Opening up with "
Lion," where Smith's gravely voice leads the harmonies within its catchy chorus, complete with synth intro and leads a-plenty, at this point, anyone will realize that this isn't going to be a Maiden clone by any means. It's the strengths of the harmonies in "
Down the Wire," where an acoustic solo is present, the ballad "
Misunderstood," and the anthem vibe within "
Fallen Heroes" and "
Blood on the Ocean" that makes the material stand out with all the riffs and hooks involved. It does have somewhat of an 80's production quality to it, with lots of reverb adding depth to the layered guitars and vocal harmonies (just the way we like it), but yet the overall musicianship was more complex than anything that might have been popular at the time.
For a record that was released in the post and pre-return-to-Maiden days, Smith showed us all what he could do. He would rejoin
Bruce Dickinson for the
Accident of Birth album in the late nineties, making that record as ballsy as it is, and, inevitably, re-join Maiden with Dickinson, sort of leaving this record in his past, but still
Silver and Gold still offers some captivating melodic hard rock that was unfortunately overlooked at the time, which was sort of a blueprint for some of the harder edged
AOR these days, another "lost classic."
Written by
Hashman Wednesday, April 6, 2005
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