So Skunkworks, as much as I love it (i'm a 90s kid after all) almost feels a bit like someone arriving late to the party. Bruce makes this album and it felt like the general reception was "Come on keep up dad, we're already past that point and onto the next thing".
I don't know if that's EXACTLY right, but it's certainly the right idea. The whole concept of that grunge era was taking what came before - grunge is VERY heavily rooted in the sort of 80's rock that became a sort of joke - and stripping it of all the things that made it "excessive". It wasn't very long until people realized that musically there wasn't a ton of difference between Pearl Jam musically and it's progenitors (The Who, UFO/Kiss, The Doors). There wasn't a ton of difference between Soundgarden and it's progenitors (Sabbath, The Stones, The Melvins). It was more attitude than anything to do with the music; and I think it's not a coincidence that NONE of the "grunge" era records from established acts - Slang, Carnival of Souls, etc., there are others - really made any firm impact, and none of them really signaled any sustainable departure from those bands' established courses.
Bruce fell into that. I really like Skunkworks (contrast: I haven't listened to Slang or CoS in years and have zero desire to do so any time soon). I don't look at it the same way as many of you do; I don't look at Skunkworks as some huge departure or a "grunge" album or anything like that; it's just another record from a singer I like, and when I listen to it I get pleasure (I'm not as sold on the two "biggies" - AoB and TCW - as most people are; neither of those are necessarily my favorite Bruce solo albums). I don't think that record would have gotten traction if it was Sgt. Pepper's Number of the Lightning Puppets. It didn't have what the music industry was looking for at that time and that was fresh, new, young, attitude.
Ah, Skunkworks. Back when the world was young, it was just a couple of years since I discovered foreign rock music (thank you Bon Jovi with Always) and I eventually became a metalhead in 1995. Iron Maiden quickly became my favorite band and Bruce my favorite singer, and so the new albums from both parties since I became a fan were The X Factor and eventually Skunkworks.
Also in that time frame Load came out, not that it has anything to do with Bruce but imagine the situation: young fan, musical tastes still developing, a sort of "musical ignorance" 'cause I barely understood the difference between the genres, so the fact that grunge was a thing, what was "classic metal" and what not, and how Skunkworks could be labelled just fly over my head.
Bruce solo and "out of metal" so to speak was small enough to appear on random italian TV afternoon shows, back when MTV and musical programs were still a thing, and I taped the acoustic showcase and interview on a VHS; I still remember he performed (along with guitarist Alex Dickson) Inertia, Re-Entry (great b-side) and Tears of the Dragon.
It was a new album from my favorite singer, I liked it anyway and I still do. Yeah, anything that came after was better, but Skunkworks has still a soft spot in my heart 'cause it came when my musical world was still virgin and there to explore, and whatever song I'll hear live (if any) will be gladly welcomed.