Balls to Picasso


Balls to Picasso is the second solo album by Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, released in 1994. It is the first effort in Dickinson's solo career that was released after he had officially left Iron Maiden.
This record marked the beginning of Dickinson's collaborations with Roy Z, who would work on many of Dickinson's later albums including Accident of Birth, The Chemical Wedding and Tyranny of Souls. Stylistically it departs from Tattooed Millionaire but is still more traditional-sounding than the follow-up album Skunkworks released in 1996. Later, Dickinson said that he and Roy Z were talked into making the album less heavy than it should have been.
Dickinson started working on his second solo album while still in Iron Maiden. For the very first recording sessions he recruited the British band Skin. Not satisfied with the style of the effort, Dickinson aborted the recording. His next attempt at a second solo album was a collaboration with producer Keith Olsen. Dickinson decided to scrap this project as well and teamed up with guitarist Roy Z and his band Tribe of Gypsies to write and record Balls to Picasso. Songs from the previous recording sessions later resurfaced as b-sides on singles from Balls to Picasso and subsequently also as bonus tracks on the album's 2005 extended edition.
In the Anthology DVD, Dickinson said that he regrets not naming the album "Laughing in the Hiding Bush" after the song of the same name. The song itself is dedicated to his son, Austin, who penned the title.
Balls to Picasso was also released in DVD-Audio 5.1 mix and DualDisc versions.

Cover artwork

In a 1996 interview with Tom Russell of Glasgow-based Radio Clyde 1, Bruce revealed that the album was originally to be titled "Laughing In The Hiding Bush". The artwork was designed by Storm Thorgerson – but they couldn't afford it. His album's title was changed and he drew two squares on a toilet wall for the cover, and Thorgerson's artwork later ended up as the cover for the Anthrax album Stomp 442.
Thorgerson later did the artwork for Bruce's Skunkworks album.

Track listing

All songs composed by Bruce Dickinson and Roy Z.
  1. "Cyclops" - 7:58
  2. "Hell No" - 5:11
  3. "Gods of War" - 5:02
  4. "1000 Points of Light" - 4:25
  5. "Laughing in the Hiding Bush" - 4:20
  6. "Change of Heart" - 4:58
  7. "Shoot All the Clowns" - 4:24 - #37 UK
  8. "Fire" - 4:30
  9. "Sacred Cowboys" - 3:53
  10. "Tears of the Dragon" - 6:24 - #28 UK, #36 US

    Track listing for the 2005 Extended Edition (Bonus CD)

All songs composed by Bruce Dickinson, except where noted.
  1. "Fire Child" - 6:24
  2. "Elvis Has Left the Building" - 3:23
  3. "The Breeding House" - 5:18
  4. "No Way Out...To Be Continued" - 7:31
  5. "Tears of the Dragon " - 4:32
  6. "Winds of Change" - 4:14
  7. "Spirit of Joy" - 3:13
  8. "Over and Out" - 4:32
  9. "Shoot All the Clowns " - 5:39
  10. "Laughing in the Hiding Bush " - 4:17
  11. "The Post Alternative Seattle Fall Out " - 5:04
  12. "Shoot All the Clowns " - 4:17
  13. "Tibet" - 3:02
  14. "Tears of the Dragon " - 8:20
  15. "Cadillac Gas Mask" - 4:09
  16. "No Way Out...Continued" - 5:21

    Personnel