British Lion (album)

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British Lion
Studio album by
Steve Harris
Released24 September 2012
Studio
  • Monkey Puzzle, Suffolk, UK (drum & vocal tracks 2, 4, 9)
  • Purple Studio, Norwich, UK (drum & vocal tracks 1, 2 7)
  • BL Studios, Harlow, UK (back tracks & vocal track 10)
  • Barnyard Studios, Harlow, Essex (back tracks)
  • Algarve Studio, Faro, Portugal (back tracks)
GenreHard rock[1]
Length52:11
Label
  • EMI (International edition)
  • UME (US edition)
ProducerSteve Harris
Steve Harris chronology
British Lion
(2012) 		The Burning
(2020)

British Lion is the debut solo album from Steve Harris, best known as the bassist and primary songwriter for the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The album was announced on 18 July 2012 and released on 24 September.[2]

Background

Following the initial announcement of the album's release in July 2012,

British Lion "more of a side-project" than a solo record.[1]

Stylistically, Harris argues that the record is "more mainstream rock, very British sounding, very 70s-influenced and quite commercial… but good commercial. There's all kinds of stuff going on, with nods to the Who and UFO and some classic British rock bands, but it's not the progressive rock album some might be expecting."[4] During his appearance on That Metal Show in September 2012, Harris revealed that he tried a number of bass-playing techniques which he would not do with Iron Maiden, such as letting his strings "go dead".[5]

Harris stated that he intends to tour the release at some stage, remarking that, although "there are no shows arranged yet", "I know we’ll be playing clubs, which is great because I’ve not played clubs for years", and that he intends to release a follow up album in the future.[4] A European club tour, taking place in February and March, was eventually announced on 10 January 2013.[6][7]

A music video for the song "This Is My God" was released on 2 October 2012,[8] followed by a video for "Us Against the World" on 28 November.[9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
About.com
[11]
AllMusic[12]
Artistdirect[13]
Classic Rock7/10[14]
Drowned in Sound3/10[15]
Kerrang![16]
Metal Hammer8/10[17]
PopMatters5/10[18]
Record Collector[19]
Revolver3/5[20]

Kerrang! deemed it "a brilliant album", describing it as "the sound of an incredibly talented songwriter stepping outside of what he'd normally do and indulging himself in something a bit different with a group of excellent musicians."[16] Metal Hammer were also very positive towards the release, praising the "infectious re-imaginings of the UFO and Thin Lizzy albums that inspired their creator as a kid," concluding that "This is a big hearted and ferocious triumph."[17] Although they criticised the album's lyrics, Classic Rock complimented vocalist Richard Taylor and guitarist Graham Leslie, concluding that "British Lion is an album that is both exactly what you'd expect, and far better than that."[14] Artistdirect awarded it full marks, stating that "As far as songwriters go, [Harris is] on the level with Jimmy Page and Tony Iommi, and his new album, British Lion, proves that tenfold".[13]

Track listing

All songs are written by Steve Harris, Richard Taylor, David Hawkins unless otherwise noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."This Is My God" 4:57
2."Lost Worlds" 4:58
3."Karma Killer" 5:29
4."Us Against the World" 4:12
5."The Chosen Ones"Harris, Taylor6:27
6."A World Without Heaven"Barry Fitzgibbon, Harris, Grahame Leslie, Gary Liederman, Ian Roberts, Taylor7:02
7."Judas" 4:58
8."Eyes of the Young"Harris, Leslie, Roberts, Taylor5:25
9."These Are the Hands" 4:28
10."The Lesson" 4:15
Total length:52:11

Personnel

  • Steve Harris – bass guitar, production
  • Richard Taylor – lead vocals, production
  • David Hawkins – guitars, keyboards (all tracks except 5, 6 and 8), production, recording
  • Grahame Leslie – guitars (tracks 5, 6 and 8)
  • Simon Dawson – drums (tracks 2, 4 and 9)

Additional personnel

  • Barry Fitzgibbon – guitars (tracks 5, 6 and 8)
  • Ian Roberts – drums (tracks 5, 6 and 8)
  • Richard Cook – drums (tracks 1, 3 and 7)
  • Kevin Shirley – mixing
  • Ade Emsley –
    mastering

Charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[21] 66
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 180
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 72
Finnish Albums (
Suomen virallinen lista)[24]
 22
French Albums (
SNEP)[25]
 85
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] 67
Italian Albums (FIMI)[27] 39
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[28] 19
Scottish Albums (OCC)[29] 35
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[30] 63
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[31] 30
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 40
UK Albums (OCC)[33] 39
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[34]
 2
US Billboard 200[35] 138

References

  1. ^ a b Garner, George (15 September 2012). "Beyond the Beast". Kerrang! (1432): 22–27.
  2. ^ "Iron Maiden's Steve Harris Announces First Ever Solo Album British Lion". Metal Hammer. 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  3. ^ Kielty, Martin (18 July 2012). "Maiden's Harris announces solo album". Classic Rock. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e Brannigan, Paul (27 August 2012). "Exclusive: Iron Maiden's Steve Harris talks about his British Lion solo project". Classic Rock. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  5. VH1 Classic
    .
  6. ^ Kielty, Martin (10 January 2013). "Steve Harris announces solo UK tour". Classic Rock. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  7. ^ "Iron Maiden's Steve Harris Taking British Lion On The Road – "It's Exciting, Going Back to the Roots, And It's Going To Be Fantastic"". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. 10 January 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  8. ^ Kielty, Martin (2 October 2012). "Steve Harris reveals his God". Classic Rock. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  9. ^ "Iron Maiden Bassist Releases 'Us Against The World' Video". Blabbermouth.net. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  10. CBS Interactive
    . Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  11. About.com. Archived from the original
    on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  12. AllMusic
    . Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  13. ^ a b Rick Florino (2 October 2012). "Steve Harris British Lion Album Review – 5 out of 5 stars". Artistdirect. Archived from the original on 6 March 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
  14. ^ a b Hotten, Jon (1 October 2012). "Steve Harris: British Lion". Classic Rock (176): 96. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  15. ^ Drever, Ryan (18 September 2012). "Steve Harris: British Lion". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  16. ^ a b Ruskell, Nick (5 September 2012). "Steve Harris: British Lion". Kerrang! (1431): 52. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  17. ^ a b Lawson, Dom (1 October 2012). "Steve Harris: British Lion". Metal Hammer (236). Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  18. ^ Ezell, Brice (12 November 2012). "Steve Harris: British Lion". PopMatters. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  19. ^ Patterson, Dayal (1 October 2012). "Steve Harris – British Lion". Record Collector (406). Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  20. ^ Grow, Kory (25 September 2012). "Review: Steve Harris – British Lion". Revolver. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  21. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Steve Harros – British Lion" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  22. ^ "Ultratop.be – Steve Harris – British Lion" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  23. ^ "Ultratop.be – Steve Harris – British Lion" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  24. Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland
    . Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  25. ^ "Lescharts.com – Steve Harris – British Lion". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  26. GfK Entertainment Charts
    . Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  27. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Steve Harris – British Lion". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  28. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Steve Harris – British Lion". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  29. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  30. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Steve Harris – British Lion". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  31. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Steve Harris – British Lion". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  32. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Steve Harris – British Lion". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  33. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  34. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  35. ^ "Steve Harris Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
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