Grab a Stack of Rock / LeBrain Train

🅻🅸🆅🅴 50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 13: Maiden England

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 13:  Maiden England

A special 🅻🅸🆅🅴 episode

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #103

50 Years of Iron Maiden arrives at the cottage for the first time!  Like we have for past live albums such as Live At Hammersmith and Live After Death, Harrison and I will be doing this episode for Maiden England as a live broadcast.  Much like Live At Hammersmith, this album often falls under the radar.  It was recorded for a home video release, directed by Steve Harris.  Unusually, this home video spawned one single, “Infinite Dreams” live.   A live album was an afterthought and was not even released as one until Bruce Dickinson was out of the band in 1994, and even that CD was missing two songs from the VHS for time reasons.  It was finally reissused as a full show in 2013; an expanded 2 CD set with the encores restored.

The band were recorded on the Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour, over two nights in Birmingham, playing a number of new songs from the album.  They also resurrected a couple from Somewhere In Time, and Piece of Mind, that were a delight to hear.  Reaching back to the Di’Anno years, they provided a pleasing setlist full of fresh songs and refreshing oldies.  Harrison and I will break it down for you, and hopefully entice you to give it a listen.

For physical media, we have a CD copy of the “Infinite Dreams” single from the First Ten Years box set, the 2013 double CD reissue, and the 1994 CD/VHS combo pack.

Please drop in and say hello for this special live analysis and appraisal!

🅻🅸🆅🅴 Friday May 23 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T.  Enjoy on YouTube and Facebook.

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

The Contrarians Live: Turn It Down! Album Covers You Can Hear!

We have a busy week here at Grab A Stack of Rock HQ, and it all starts tonight with my 25th appearance on the Contrarians!

From the mind of Martin comes “You Can Hear This Cover!”  Album covers that feel like you can actually hear what’s going on.  There are a variety of albums from many genres that you will hear all about on tonight’s live show.

Then tomorrow, John Snow and I have an epic interview to record, that we can’t tell you about…

Friday we’re going live with 50 Years of Iron Maiden…from the cottage!

And Saturday we’re recording with Tim’s Vinyl Confessions!

It all starts tonight.  Don’t miss any of it!

THE CONTRARIANS – Turn It Down! Album Covers You Can Hear! – Wednesday May 21 –  7:00 PM EST

My Contrarians appearances to date:

  1. Nicknamed Album Covers
  2. Minimalist cover art
  3. Brown album covers
  4. Yellow album covers
  5. Albums with Fire and Explosions
  6. Spaceships! Aliens! Robots!
  7. This Album Cover is Hell!
  8. Toys & Games
  9. Dreaming in Stereo:  Beds & Sleep on album covers
  10. Favourite Bands…WORST Album Covers
  11. They Swapped Covers!
  12. Great Album Covers From Bands We Despise
  13. Top 10 NWOBHM Covers
  14. It’s A Piece of Art!
  15. Compilation Kaos!
  16. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Hipgnosis!
  17. Amped Up!
  18. Packaging Fails
  19. Where’s the Band?
  20. Slippery When Wet
  21. Greetings From New York
  22. Done With Mirrors
  23. Eyes Without A Face
  24. Rock Out With Your Clock Out!
  25. Album Covers You Can Hear
  26. Album Covers You Can Smell

A Far-Ranging Chat: The First Ten Years box set and More…

I’m a bit of a perfectionist.  I felt our episode on The First Ten Years box set by Iron Maiden was longer and more comprehensive.  Harrison also felt the episode deserved some expansion.  That’s why we did a live post-show chat after 50 Years of Iron Maiden last night.

An informal but semi-formatted chat, Harrison and I showed off a Japanese printing of the Purgatory / Maiden Japan CD that we forgot to show on the actual episode.  We also brought you some interesting facts from the fine people at Reddit.  This live bonus chat really is an essential part of the actual bonus episode.  That sounds confusing, but you know what I mean.

We also delved a little into the solo careers of Blaze Bayley (thank you @darcyska for the question) and Bruce Dickinson.   That tangent took us to the Ripper era of Judas Priest, and a discussion of the bleak 1990s.  We foreshadowed some coming episodes in 50 Years of Iron Maiden.  Next week will be a live show, and the first 50 Years of Iron Maiden episode to come to you live from the cottage.  We are doing Maiden England next.

As an added bonus we, re-told the story of how I acquired this holy grail of a box set.  We also ran a clip (Inception-style) that didn’t make it into our 100th episode, and finally a very special video showcasing the comedy of Jex Russell.

Thanks for watching, a shout-out to Henry Wright, John Clauser, Chris Sarre, Melissa Nee and D’Arcy Briggs for the comments.  We’ll be back for more soon.

Check out the full show below.

In 1990, Iron Maiden reissued all their 20 singles/EPs (except The Soundhouse Tapes) individually, on CD and vinyl.  Each CD and record held two singles/EPs.  The only missing track was “Wrathchild” from Maiden Japan, which will be discussed in the episode.  But what about the box itself?  You could send away a special coupon for the box that holds them all, for either CD or vinyl formats.  As the fortunate owner of this box set, we has to cover it in this bonus episode.

 

 

 

 

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Running Free” & “Sanctuary”
1. “Running Free”
2. “Burning Ambition”
3. “Sanctuary”
4. “Drifter” (Live in 1980)
5. “I’ve Got the Fire” (Live in 1980) 3:14
6. “Listen With Nicko! Part. I”

“Women in Uniform” & “Twilight Zone”
1. “Women in Uniform”
2. “Invasion”
3. “Phantom of the Opera” (Live in 1980)
4. “Twilight Zone”
5. “Wrathchild”
6. “Listen With Nicko! Part. II”

“Purgatory” & “Maiden Japan (EP)
1. “Purgatory”
2. “Genghis Khan”
3. “Running Free” (Live in 1981)
4. “Remember Tomorrow” (Live in 1981)
5. “Killers” (Live in 1981)
6. “Innocent Exile” (Live in 1981)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. III”

“Run to the Hills” & “The Number of the Beast”
1. “Run to the Hills”
2. “Total Eclipse”
3. “The Number of the Beast”
4. “Remember Tomorrow” (Live in 1981)
5. “Listen With Nicko! Part. IV”

“Flight of Icarus” & “The Trooper”
1. “Flight of Icarus”
2. “I’ve Got the Fire”
3. “The Trooper”
4. “Cross-Eyed Mary”
5. “Listen With Nicko! Part. V”

“2 Minutes to Midnight” & “Aces High”
1. “2 Minutes to Midnight”
2. “Rainbow’s Gold”
3. “Mission From ‘Arry”
4. “Aces High”
5. “King of Twilight”
6. “The Number of the Beast” (Live in 1983)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. VI”

“Running Free” (Live) & “Run to the Hills” (Live)
1. “Running Free” (Live in 1985)
2. “Sanctuary” (Live in 1985)
3. “Murders in the Rue Morgue” (Live in 1984)
4. “Run to the Hills” (Live in 1985)
5. “Phantom of the Opera” (Live in 1984)
6. “Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra)” (Live in 1984)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. VII”

“Wasted Years” & “Stranger in a Strange Land”
1. “Wasted Years”
2. “Reach Out”
3. “Sheriff of Huddersfield”
4. “Stranger in a Strange Land”
5. “That Girl”
6. “Juanita”
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. VIII”

“Can I Play With Madness” & “The Evil That Men Do”
1. “Can I Play With Madness”
2. “Black Bart Blues”
3. “Massacre”
4. “The Evil That Men Do”
5. “Prowler” (1988 Version)
6. “Charlotte the Harlot” (1988 Version)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. IX” McBrain

“The Clairvoyant” (Live) & “Infinite Dreams” (Live)
1. “The Clairvoyant” (Live in 1988)
2. “The Prisoner” (Live in 1988)
3. “Heaven Can Wait” (Live in 1988)
4. “Infinite Dreams” (Live in 1988)
5. “Killers” (Live in 1988)
6. “Still Life” (Live in 1988)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. X” McBrain

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode: The First Ten Years box set

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN bonus episode

The First Ten Years box set

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK bonus episode

 

Welcome to a short episode this week, as we already covered every one of these songs in our comprehensive series to date.  Without going over all the songs again, Harrison and I revisited the best Iron Maiden box set that money could buy:  The First Ten Years.  

In 1990, Iron Maiden reissued all their 20 singles/EPs (except The Soundhouse Tapes) individually, on CD and vinyl.  Each CD and record held two singles/EPs.  The only missing track was “Wrathchild” from Maiden Japan, which will be discussed in the episode.  But what about the box itself?  You could send away a special coupon for the box that holds them all, for either CD or vinyl formats.  As the fortunate owner of this box set, we has to cover it in this bonus episode.

Check it out and let us know in the comments if you’ve ever seen this box set before in the flesh!

Airing Friday May 16 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube.

BONUS!  Harrison and I will be LIVE tomorrow night at 7:15 PM E.S.T. after the show airs, to talk to you, add information, and tell more stories about this incredible box set!  Don’t miss the post-show chat!

Live stream launches Friday May 16 at 7:15 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:15 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube and Facebook.

 

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

 

 

 

 

 

“Running Free” & “Sanctuary”
1. “Running Free”
2. “Burning Ambition”
3. “Sanctuary”
4. “Drifter” (Live in 1980)
5. “I’ve Got the Fire” (Live in 1980) 3:14
6. “Listen With Nicko! Part. I”

“Women in Uniform” & “Twilight Zone”
1. “Women in Uniform”
2. “Invasion”
3. “Phantom of the Opera” (Live in 1980)
4. “Twilight Zone”
5. “Wrathchild”
6. “Listen With Nicko! Part. II”

“Purgatory” & “Maiden Japan (EP)
1. “Purgatory”
2. “Genghis Khan”
3. “Running Free” (Live in 1981)
4. “Remember Tomorrow” (Live in 1981)
5. “Killers” (Live in 1981)
6. “Innocent Exile” (Live in 1981)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. III”

“Run to the Hills” & “The Number of the Beast”
1. “Run to the Hills”
2. “Total Eclipse”
3. “The Number of the Beast”
4. “Remember Tomorrow” (Live in 1981)
5. “Listen With Nicko! Part. IV”

“Flight of Icarus” & “The Trooper”
1. “Flight of Icarus”
2. “I’ve Got the Fire”
3. “The Trooper”
4. “Cross-Eyed Mary”
5. “Listen With Nicko! Part. V”

“2 Minutes to Midnight” & “Aces High”
1. “2 Minutes to Midnight”
2. “Rainbow’s Gold”
3. “Mission From ‘Arry”
4. “Aces High”
5. “King of Twilight”
6. “The Number of the Beast” (Live in 1983)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. VI”

“Running Free” (Live) & “Run to the Hills” (Live)
1. “Running Free” (Live in 1985)
2. “Sanctuary” (Live in 1985)
3. “Murders in the Rue Morgue” (Live in 1984)
4. “Run to the Hills” (Live in 1985)
5. “Phantom of the Opera” (Live in 1984)
6. “Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra)” (Live in 1984)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. VII”

“Wasted Years” & “Stranger in a Strange Land”
1. “Wasted Years”
2. “Reach Out”
3. “Sheriff of Huddersfield”
4. “Stranger in a Strange Land”
5. “That Girl”
6. “Juanita”
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. VIII”

“Can I Play With Madness” & “The Evil That Men Do”
1. “Can I Play With Madness”
2. “Black Bart Blues”
3. “Massacre”
4. “The Evil That Men Do”
5. “Prowler” (1988 Version)
6. “Charlotte the Harlot” (1988 Version)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. IX” McBrain

“The Clairvoyant” (Live) & “Infinite Dreams” (Live)
1. “The Clairvoyant” (Live in 1988)
2. “The Prisoner” (Live in 1988)
3. “Heaven Can Wait” (Live in 1988)
4. “Infinite Dreams” (Live in 1988)
5. “Killers” (Live in 1988)
6. “Still Life” (Live in 1988)
7. “Listen With Nicko! Part. X” McBrain

Poison’s Best Songs: A Deadly Discography – Slogan’s Rock and Metal Extravaganza

Thanks to Sidney from Slogan’s Rock and Metal Extravaganza for inviting me to send in a video for this Poison-ous episode!  (Logan declined to appear – not a Poison fan!)  I was recently asked to participate in this list show, picking my favourite songs from each Poison studio album.  Of course, I had to do something different, so I included Swallow This Live too, so that I could use one of their best singles “So Tell Me Why”.  You will also get a list from Tim Durling in this video featuring Sidney and his guest Joseph Suto.

It’s pretty easy to slag Poison; I should know as I get enough troll-y comments about them.  However, as you will see below, Poison have plenty of great material.  You could make your own “best of” from these lists that are better than the ones you can buy at retail.

BONUS video:  Some Poison-ous backstory with Sidney and some OCD…

 

Bon Jovi don’t deserve all the hate! Tim’s Vinyl Confessions Ep. 654

Tim’s Vinyl Confessions Ep. 654:  In Praise and Defense of BON JOVI

 

If there is one band who takes the lion’s share of derision in the rock community…it is probably Poison. If there is one band that takes all that derision unfairly…then we come out in defense of New Jersey’s favourite sons, Bon Jovi.

There is much to say in criticism of Bon Jovi. Are they a real band? Is Jon the best singer in his own band? There are already plenty of videos about that, so here is one that takes the opposite tack: in praise and defense of Bon Jovi.

Joining Tim in this episode are myself, Chez, Jose, Chris Preston, John Snow, Drew, and Steve Deluxe. Enjoy the hardy defense!

Tim’s Vinyl Confessions Ep. 653: The Darkness (Dreams on Toast bonus tracks)

My written review of the Darkness’ new album Dreams On Toast will take some time, as there are 29 tracks to discuss.  29 tracks?!  Why yes, including the five studio bonus tracks, six live ones, and eight acoustic demos.  Nevermind that it’s one of the best new releases of 2025.  These things take time!

Don’t worry though.  Tim Durling has you covered.  On Tim’s Vinyl Confessions, they already reviewed the album, and now I’m here to tell you about the bonus tracks.  Let’s rip through ’em all like something that’s hot on your tail.  Check this video for all the bonus track details for Dreams On Toast!

 

 

Who better to talk about extra songs than Mr. Bonus Tracks himself, namely Mike Ladano of @GrabAStackofRocK! We attempt to sort through the various paths and travels one must make to procure all of the Darkness goodness of 2025. Or something like that.

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 12: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son with bicyclegs

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 12:  Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

With special guest bicyclelegs talks music

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #102

BONUS:  Click here to read an amazing 1988 interview with Bruce Dickinson, transcribed from Music Express Magazine by Jex Russell.

Please welcome back bicyclelegs, from the YouTube channel bicyclelegstalksmusic!  He is the first guest to make a return visit to 50 Years of Iron Maiden.  He got to talk about two of his favourites, Powerslave and now Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.

It’s another historic Iron Maiden album.  Not just songs with common themes about topics such as “time”, but this time Iron Maiden completed their first and only full concept album.  The topic was quite esoteric:  a seventh son of a seventh son.  Such people, born from an unbroken line of seventh sons without daughters in between, were rumoured to posses powers of healing or foresight.  What if such a character found himself a pawn in a game of power between good and evil?  Not every song on this album is a sequential part of the story, but together we try to walk you through the plot and the twist ending.

Musically, Iron Maiden were using keyboards, which caused some controversy.  Though Bruce Dickinson was back in the game and contributing songs and lyrics for the first time in four years, it was a time for change.  One member of the band found himself unhappy on tour, and the band’s longtime cover artist was also frustrated with his artistic expression.  We cover all this tonight on the show.

Not only that, but as usual you can count on us to cover all the B-sides* (and one unique A-side).  Physical product will include an original Seventh Son vinyl, a multitude of singles including a shaped picture disc, and of course CD.  As per our custom, Harrison will walk us through the setlists for the tour.

Can I Play with Madness?  Scream for us, YouTube, and enjoy this comeback episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden.

*The only B-sides we will not include in this episode are the tracks from “Infinite Dreams”, which were all re-released on Maiden England, a future live episode.

 

Airing Friday May 9 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube.

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

No Contrarians Live tonight

G’day,

No show tonight, as Martin is off and the rest of us need a break.

Having these shows on Wednesdays all winter really did me a lot of good.  It gave me something to look forward to in the middle of the week during the cold dark months.  Now that summer is arriving, I cannot say what my involvement will be in the future.  We haven’t discussed a topic for next week yet, and there is the question of how many more album cover topics there are, that are both interesting and allow for a large panel.  We’re also losing a couple cast members for the coming weeks, as John Clauser is on hiatus and another is taking a break.

Stay tuned… we’ll see what next week brings!  In the meantime, why not check out one of these cool subjects below?

 

My Contrarians appearances to date:

  1. Nicknamed Album Covers
  2. Minimalist cover art
  3. Brown album covers
  4. Yellow album covers
  5. Albums with Fire and Explosions
  6. Spaceships! Aliens! Robots!
  7. This Album Cover is Hell!
  8. Toys & Games
  9. Dreaming in Stereo:  Beds & Sleep on album covers
  10. Favourite Bands…WORST Album Covers
  11. They Swapped Covers!
  12. Great Album Covers From Bands We Despise
  13. Top 10 NWOBHM Covers
  14. It’s A Piece of Art!
  15. Compilation Kaos!
  16. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Hipgnosis!
  17. Amped Up!
  18. Packaging Fails
  19. Where’s the Band?
  20. Slippery When Wet
  21. Greetings From New York
  22. Done With Mirrors
  23. Eyes Without A Face
  24. Rock Out With Your Clock Out!

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 11: Somewhere In Time with Peter Kerr

50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 11:  Somewhere In Time

With special guest Peter Kerr

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK #101

Exit Pharaohs…enter synth!?

Please welcome Peter Kerr from Rock Daydream Nation to this epic episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden.  Now that we are done with the 100th Episode festivities, we can get back to celebrating the 50th anniversary of Iron Maiden.  After the lengthy Powerslave tour and resultant live album Live After Death, one member of Iron Maiden was completely burned out.  The new album would be the first since The Number of the Beast to lack a Bruce Dickinson writing credit.

Not that this major detail held anything back.  Bruce’s singing was still lung-burstingly powerful, and the band were writing amazing songs…this time with guitar and bass synthesizer.  It was a controversial decision, but our panel was not phased.  Check out what we have to say about all eight tracks, and all four B-sides.

We also take a serious deep dive into the album artwork, without any help from Wikipedia or other sources.

As usual, we close the show with Harrison’s deep dive into the tour (Somewhere On Tour) and setlists.

Scream for us, YouTube, and enjoy this comeback episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden.

 

Airing Friday May 2 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube.

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist: