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…

 

VIDEO: How far can a TRANSFORMERS G2 Rotorforce toy actually fire?

Some long-awaited TRANSFORMERS content for you today!  Yes, it has been a few years since we’ve done a posting on those robots in disguise.

My main focus in collecting is Generation 1 (1984-91) and Generation 2 (1992-95) Transformers toys and characters.  “G2” began with a lot of recolours and reissues of G1 toys, but new molds started arriving in the early waves.  Many of them were gimmicky, with firing weapons being a popular accessory.

In 1994, Hasbro issued the Rotor Force:  four toys (two on each faction) that featured firing rotor discs.  I managed to acquire a couple nice samples of two figures with rotors intact.  Each toy came with two, in case you lose one.  I have one with two rotors, and one with a single rotor remaining.

The idea was you wind up the mechanism, twist, and fire!  But how far could those rotors fly?  Today’s scientific experiment featuring Dr. Kathryn will tell us.

 

 

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!

PHOTOS: KISS – Off The Soundboard – CD version Japan exclusive – Asylum Tour San Antonio TX 12-3-1985

Fresh in today’s mail, it is the latest KISS Off the Soundboard CD, Asylum Tour 1985, in Texas!

“But Mike,” you query.  “I thought that was a vinyl exclusive, and I thought it sold out too.”

True, it was a stupid coloured 3 LP set, exclusive to the KISS store, and now sold out except in bundles with a shirt.

The Japanese record company said いいえ and issued it on CD anyway.  They did a smashing job of it!  Some fans received a free sticker; I did not.  Inside the cardboard gatefold sleeve was a mini KISS poster, and 2 CDs, each one within its own plastic sleeve within its own printed paper sleeve.  The design for this album was a little different from the previous five in that this time there is a picture on the outer cover.

The CD sounds great, and it’s classic fastfastfast 80s Kiss with the unforgettable Eric Carr on drums.  That’s why you only see CD 2 in this photo.  CD 1 is in the deck!  This could have been released officially in 1985.

 

VIDEO: @darcyska Album Review: AFI – Sing the Sorrow (2003)

On the weekend I had the pleasure of doing a show with D’Arcy Briggs from the YouTube channel @darcyska.  The topic was the recently reviewed Sing the Sorrow by A.F.I., which D’Arcy recently picked up thrifting as well.  With this happy coincidence, we sat down and reviewed the album.  It turns out we mostly agreed when we split it down track by track.

Check out this fun review, and a lot of praise for an album you should get!

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:

#1187: The Spider

RECORD STORE TALES #1187: The Spider

2008.  Jen and I were newlyweds.  A few people had told us that it was the best wedding they’d ever been to, including some Record Store party people.   I will take partial credit for assembling some killer tunes, but the truth is we did a cool mixture of traditional and unique.  We don’t play by the rules and that’s what our wedding was like.  For instance, I was told that I had to stand at the front of the church and wait for people to arrive, all serious and stationary.  Screw that!  I joined the ushers and I greeted people at the church door as they arrived.  I mingled, I chatted, and I had fun.  I made sure the guests did too.  Later on, the reception was off the hook.

The glow lasted weeks.  Jen and I were the “new couple” and we basked in it a while.  Soon, however, we had to pass the baton on to the next couple.  Some old school friends of Jen’s were tying the knot in Toronto that fall.  While Jen and I still felt like the gleaming new couple, this time we were just guests.  It was kind of a cool feeling.  We were dressed up nicely, but since we were just guests, I didn’t bother with a tie, and I felt way more relaxed.

I didn’t know this couple, but they were very nice and made me feel welcome.  That was difficult, since the guests were almost entirely old highschool friends that I didn’t know, and they’d all break into inside jokes and stories that left me feeling like a 13th wheel.

There was one guy who was definitely not one of their old schoolmates.  Dressed in suit and tie, this man was 10 or 15 years older than us.  He had long black hair specked with grey, in a ponytail, and a fancy goatee.  He sat in the chapel, in the row in front of us.

“Who’s that guy?” I asked somebody.

“Their weed dealer,” came the surprising answer.

“Cool,” I said.  They invited their weed dealer. Nothing more to add.

The bride entered, the ceremony began, and I sat quietly in my seat.  Then, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye.

Movement where there should be no movement…in the drug dealer’s hair.

I watched with mouth agape as the tiniest spider crawled up and down a thread of silk in the man’s hair.  Up and down, up and down.  I could not believe it.  I whispered to Jen.

“Jen…look at his hair…”

It took a moment, but when the spider scooted down his silk fireman’s pole, she saw.

“Oh my God!”  Jen has a fear of spiders.

I just laughed behind my hand.

We may have had a unique wedding, but we definitely didn’t have any hair spiders.  That was something I’ve never seen since.  The happy couple is still together today.  As for the dealer…I do not know what happened to him, but I pray that Shelob never had a meal of him!

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!