REVIEW: Iron Maiden – Another Live (1981 bootleg)

IRON MAIDEN – Another Live (1981 recording, 1990 CD release by Metal Memory)

Maiden Japan is legendary.  It is a crucial EP for all Iron Maiden fans, but also a good solid find for any metal fan in general.  It was recorded May 23 1981 in Nagoya Japan.   The live bootleg that we are looking at today also claims to be from that same show.  That claim appears to be bogus.  An A/B test on the track “Remember Tomorrow” reveals they are definitely not the same vocal performance.  Maybe this CD is taken from a show on the same tour, such as Osaka or Tokyo.

Regardless of the whens and wherefores, Another Live presents a rare treat indeed, a live CD featuring Paul DiAnno on lead vocals.  It is the Killers lineup:  Paul, Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Clive Burr.  A young Iron Maiden just before hitting the crest of their wave…there isn’t much out there officially released besides Maiden Japan.  There are a number of tracks on the rare and expensive box set Eddie’s Archive, and a handful B-sides.  For that reason, if you stumble upon Another Live, you may as well go for it!

The audio is surprisingly great for a boot, almost official quality, except scratchy in some places.  It might be a rip from a previous vinyl edition.  Unfortunately the set (wherever it was) has a few songs chopped out for time, and therefore you’re missing some of the best.  “Running Free”, “Prowler” and “Phantom of the Opera” would have been nice to have.  On the other hand there is the track “Another Life”.  You will not find any official live versions of it with Paul singing.  The only officially released ones have Bruce:  one from Beast Over Hammersmith and one from “The Trooper” 2005 7″ single.  Then we have “Twilight Zone” which you won’t find in live audio form anywhere officially.  There is definite value here in the way of rarer songs.

The performance is stellar.  A serious highlight is Dave Murray’s guitar solo on “Strange World”.  Each member has the energy of a teenager and they just blast through.  The only speedbumps really are the awkward edits between songs.  They are not done well and it’s too bad because the CD is only 51 minutes.  However if Another Live did come from an earlier vinyl bootleg, that would explain the shorter running time.

Get it if you find it.  You may not play it often, but your Maiden collection will be that much cooler.

3.5/5 stars

 

25 comments

  1. Man, I know I’ve said this before, but a good boot is really worthwhile. I’ve owned a fair few over the years – most of them gone now, I’m afraid – and I can honestly say that the majority of them were soundboard recordings with performances and versions of songs that were better than those made available officially!

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    1. They must have more tapes in the can. It would be nice to, eventually, get a live version of every song they ever played live, both Paul and Bruce. This has one that Maiden’s never ever ever released live…the bootleggers have beaten Iron Maiden!?

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        5. A had the single disc edited version of that concert and a VHS tape! The double CD is what should have come out back in 1989…don’t know if it would have sold back then in 1989 prices though.

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        6. I ahd the VHS only of this until the re release a few years back.
          They probably did not want it to compete with Live After Death though..or over saturate the market as well. Price too as well…

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        7. Probably what you said about over-saturate. Only two albums between lives, it wasn’t enough time yet. Also I know STeve Harris spent about a year editing the home video release we had, so I think that was meant to be a video-focused project from the very start.

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        8. True but when the sales tanked when Blaze joined Harris was probably thinking..”Damn it should have put out that live album from 88″

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  4. They seem like a group that doesn’t dip below the 3.5 mark too often – and if they do, I imagine it’s more a criticism of the compilation than the compositions!

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  6. Have you heard of the Maiden Japan cd bootleg? It claims to be from the same show as the original EP and is of exceptional quality. Just a bit of scratchiness in the background of running free and some crowd segments. The other bonus is that they played all their songs (as well as a cover of I’ve got the fire) except prowler, prodigal son, Charlotte the harlot, and the ides of March. Highlights include twilight zone, as well as an incredibly fast phantom of the opera. It’s also available on YouTube. I highly recommend.

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      1. I bought it on cd because I liked it that much. Cost me $60 (AUD) including shipping to get it, but unlike your Virtual Lights purchase there are no regrets. On another note, are there any good quality Maiden bootlegs that you can recommend and where to get them as they don’t really sell physical bootlegs anymore in stores. Thanks for taking the time to reply to these comments.

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      1. Ah, yes. Fair point.
        On the topic of songs from Killers, I did a double take when I first heard the drum intro to Rainbow’s Lost in Hollywood. It certainly sounded quite familiar

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