cds

Harrison Be Thy Name: 50 Years of IRON MAIDEN episode 13: Maiden England post-show summary

Clash of the Titans!  Mike and Harrison disagree sharply on one song on Maiden England ’88 and you’ll see it happen in this live episode of 50 Years of Iron Maiden from Friday night.

In this celebratory episode, we dissect this double CD song by song, including all the encores.  We discuss, and show off, different releases.  We talk about the mix, the video, the cover art, and all the usual details.  We also allow Slash from Guns N’ Roses a minute of showtime to talk about touring with Iron Maiden.  His answer angered some Maiden fans on YouTube.

The lively comments section allowed us some back and forth, and a looseness that we don’t get with the pre-recorded episodes.  For that reason and more, this was a very fun episode!  Check it out if you missed it.

See you in two weeks, for No Prayer for the Dying with Reed Little.

Past episodes:

Handy YouTube Playlist:

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHOW NOTES:

 

Recorded 27–28 November 1988 Live at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham

Released 8 November 1989 (VHS) 1994 (CD/VHS)

Length 95:00 (video, approx.) 74:27 (audio) 100:30 (2 CD reissue)
Label PMI / EMI
Director Steve Harris
Producer Martin Birch

1. “Moonchild”

Recorded intro is from album.  New track up for #1 and a great opener it is.  Bruce’s voice is absolutely stunning here, as he goes slightly off album format and lets it rip without rasp.  Baby crying represents birth of the seventh son and is new audio.

2. “The Evil That Men Do”

New track up for #2 and Bruce still powering through, and not an easy song to power through.

3. “The Prisoner”

Back to Beast for #3, and the audience is all there for it, punctuating the riff with “YEAHS”!  Adrian sounds great on backing vocals – integral to the live version.

4. “Still Life”  (single B-side)

Finally a live version of Still Life!  It is everything you want it to be, if you are a Piece of Mind fan.  Heavy parts are faster and heavier, Bruce’s vocals are more off the hook.  He messes up the second last line:  “Coming all the time, now we rest in peace!”  Should be “Always after me”.

5. “Die with Your Boots On”

Solid workmanlike version.  Bruce has a little more fun with varying the vocal line than on Live After Death.

6. “Infinite Dreams” (single A-side)

Wisely alternating new and old material.

7. “Killers” (single B-side)

“Gimme some bad dreams, this one!”  One of the best live versions of Killers on CD.  Absolutely vicious and perfect for following Infinite Dreams.

8. “Can I Play with Madness” (VHS only)

Backing vocals are flatter live (Steve?) but this is the first live version released of this now-classic single.  Bruce throws in lots of extra “yeah yeah yeah-hah” lines.  Set tends to focus on newer songs for the next batch.

9. “Heaven Can Wait”

A song for those who might be worried about their ultimate disposition up there or down below!  Top notch live version of this now-overplayed song.  It was fresher back then.  Faster; drags less especially in the woah oh oh section.  (I also like “That’s it – end of the song!” at the end.)

10. “Wasted Years”

And finally a live version of Wasted Years!  First real time Bruce struggles with the song, but it still sounds brilliant.  It’s a challenging song of course.  Minor differences in Adrian’s solo too.

1. “The Clairvoyant”

This single sounds great live; tad faster.  This is not the live version from the previous single A-side.

2. “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”

Without any introduction, we go forth into the concert epic.  Replacing Rime of the Ancient Mariner, the song proves its mettle in filling that role.  Perhaps superior to the album more?  More drive, Bruce more off the chain?

3. “The Number of the Beast”

Back to the classics not much to say here.

4. “Hallowed Be Thy Name”  (VHS only)

Vocally awesome – Bruce holds that one note nice and long.  Equal to the Live After Death version?  Vocally Bruce is weaker, but singing it more “straight” without weird accents.  Davey’s solo – bonkers!  Adrian’s – composed intensity!  Pick scrapes galore!

5. “Iron Maiden”

“Yeah let it rip!”  Oldies to the end, with plenty of Di’Anno era rock.  This operatic version of Iron Maiden is fast and fun.

6. “Run to the Hills”  (2013 CD)

Abrupt sonic shift; you can hear  that these are the “bonus tracks”.  The obligatory Run to the Hills is here and there’s not much more to say.

7. “Running Free” (2013 CD)

Great version here.  Pay special attention to Nicko’s drum fills, which are animated and plentiful.  Bruce says this is the biggest indoor crowd they have played to in England.  Bruce does tell them that they are recording a video.  No big long “I’m Running Free, yeah!” section – just a couple times.

8. “Sanctuary” (2013 CD)

A smashing closer!  Steve’s bass is perfect in the – prominent enough to hear his upper neck melodies but not dominant.  Bruce does a short “Yeaaaaah” thing, but not as annoying as before.  Lets the crowd do it.

🅻🅸🆅🅴 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:

GREAT Friday with Ash Geisler and Johnny Metal

A record-setting Grab A Stack of Rock Good Friday afternoon was had yesterday afternoon!  With co-hosts Johnny Metal and Ash Geisler (awake at 4:00 AM just to do this show!), we had views exceeding the legendary 2023 Good Friday show that featured, as Jex’s mom put it, “a good view”.

Unfortunately Jex Russell was heading out of town for his Easter weekend, and was unable to attend (though Johnny Metal had him on a shirt).  Ash showed off some cool Australian finds, from pop punk to harder edged tunes.  Johnny Metal’s new arrivals included the complete CD catalogue of Dr. Kathryn Ladano, so we spent a little time talking about brain injuries and the album Anatomy of the Recovering Brain.  Of course, Johnny Metal also brought plenty of metal, including one LP that tied into 50 Years of Iron Maiden.

As for me, I had three main things to focus on:

  1. A brand new record sent to me by Dan Chartrand, from OfftheCharts…and some bonus music, of his own band Dead Culture Society!
  2. A batch of new music that arrived this week.  My thoughts on Epitaph by April 16th, Dreams On Toast by the Darkness, and Rock N Roll Party Tonite by Mystique.
  3. An absolutely epic purchase of rock CDs from old friend Len Labelle.  More to come on this in a future video showcasing even more CDs from the bulk purchase.

If you liked this episode, then join us next week for our 100th.  We’re going to have a party!

 

Good Fridays Past:

Good Friday Afternoon April 7 2023:  @MarriedandHeels and Jex Russell began the tradition for a special episode celebrating California music, Easter manicures, and shiny silver boots!  Our first Good Friday afternoon episode, we did it at this time slot to enable @MarriedandHeels to join us from California.  It was a fun afternoon, and look how shiny those boots are!

Good Friday Afternoon March 29 2024: Top 5 Albums From Our Birth Years with Jex Russell and Uncle Meat.  This was a special episode!  Jex and I wanted to continue the Good Friday tradition, but this was a special reunion for Meat and I, who had not done a show together in a year and a half.  Jex surprised me – and my surprise is in the thumbnail image!  A blessed good show!

NEXT WEEK:  OUR 100TH EPISODE!  A LIVE MIX TAPE WITH JEX, HARRISON AND JOHNNY METAL!

 

🅻🅸🆅🅴 GOOD FRIDAY AFTERNOON! New Music Mania with Ash Geisler and Johnny Metal

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man
Episode 99:  Good Friday Afternoon – New Music Mania with Ash Geisler and Johnny Metal

A Good Friday tradition:  For the third time, Grab A Stack of Rock goes LIVE this afternoon with special guests and special music!  We have a ton of new music here to discuss at Grab A Stack of Rock HQ.  You’ve heard all about the new Darkness album Dreams On Toast?  Well now it’s my turn.  I have SEVEN COPIES (six physical and one digital) to get all the tracks, and I will be discussing my impressions.  I also have the new Rock N Roll Party Tonite EP by Mystique, and some vinyl from Dan Chartrand from OfftheCharts to unbox!  What could be inside?  You’ll be electrified.  Time permitting, I may also show off my massive haul from a forthcoming video on a big, BIG purchase.

We’ll see how much we can get through, because joining me will be Ash Geisler and Johnny Metal, with their own new musical scores to show off.  What could be new in southern Australia and the state of Alabama?  We’ll find out this afternoon!

The Good Friday afternoon episode is a tradition now in its third year (see below).  Sadly, Jex Russell could not be with us this time, but Ash and Johnny should be up to the task, even if the time zones make it tricky.  Remember, this episode is LIVE so join us for the fun and let us know in the comments that you’re with us!  See you this afternoon to Grab LOTS of Stacks of Rock!

Friday April 18 at 3:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 4:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or Facebook.

Good Fridays Past:

Good Friday Afternoon April 7 2023:  @MarriedandHeels and Jex Russell began the tradition for a special episode celebrating California music, Easter manicures, and shiny silver boots!  Our first Good Friday afternoon episode, we did it at this time slot to enable @MarriedandHeels to join us from California.  It was a fun afternoon, and look how shiny those boots are!

Good Friday Afternoon March 29 2024: Top 5 Albums From Our Birth Years with Jex Russell and Uncle Meat.  This was a special episode!  Jex and I wanted to continue the Good Friday tradition, but this was a special reunion for Meat and I, who had not done a show together in a year and a half.  Jex surprised me – and my surprise is in the thumbnail image!  A blessed good show!

NEXT WEEK:  OUR 100TH EPISODE!  A LIVE MIX TAPE WITH JEX, HARRISON AND JOHNNY METAL!

 

#1137: A Little South of Sanity: What I’ve Been Up To…In Photos

RECORD STORE TALES #1137: A Little South of Sanity: What I’ve Been Up To…In Photos

Madness reigned.

As you may be aware from the last cottage video, disaster struck when we returned home on June 23.  My old shelves, which I’ve had over 40 years, finally fell apart, and a few hundred of my precious CDs hit the ground.  Some were damaged, some just have broken cases.  This was a pretty traumatic experience for a collector.  After considering quitting the hobby for good (more grief than it’s worth?), and wasting time and money with a carpenter, I decided to rip my music room apart and see what I could do.

I moved everything around to make space, and then got to work.  I chose a couple bookshelves on Amazon.  They’re not ideal for CDs, but the music is off the floor now.  Shelves are better than floors, even if the discs are in stacks and not rows.  The two shelves I chose can hold 350 lbs each.  More than enough.  They arrived on Saturday.  In the time it took to listen to all of Aerosmith’s double live A Little South of Sanity, Jen and I had the shelves built.

A Little South of Sanity more than describes the week I had, mental health-wise.  I told people I was done with physical music, and therefore the show and site would be ending.  I’d move on to drone videos.  I really was ready to sell it all.  Looking at my damaged Metallica Live Sh*t box set, which was mint when I bought it in 1997, was heartbreaking.

The new bookshelves were so surprisingly easy to put together (even we could do it!), that I ordered a third to replace an old ugly wooden unit.  Then, I began sorting.  I’m maybe halfway through putting everything back in alphabetical order.  The discs used to be scattered through three rooms.  Now I’ve got it down to two!  In the end, there will be two CD towers, three of these new bookcases, and a few shelves for box sets.

It’s a work in progress.  On Sunday, I spent six hours filing.  It felt amazing to see my entire Iron Maiden collection in one place again (excluding box sets and abnormal sized boxes).  Soon, all my Deep Purple, Marillion, Aerosmith and Kiss will join them.  It’s a long process hindered by a shortage of space, but it’s coming together.

By Saturday, my mental health was good enough that Jen and I went out to the Farmer’s Market for the first time together since her dad was alive.  We stocked up on schnitzel, sweets and cheese curds, but the main reason we went was actually quite epic, and relevant.  We met, in person, the incredible Nurse Kat.  She is the first Grab A Stack of Rock guest that I didn’t know previously, that I have now met in person.  And she too had great success, finding lilies to replace the ones eaten by a rabbit.  In happy coincidence, both she and Jen were decked out in AC/DC gear.  So it was success all around!

I will say with cautious optimism that this summer is looking up.  Wish me luck and hope that nothing got permanently destroyed in my music avalanche of 2024!

 

 

 

Too Much Music? Grab A Stack of Mike’s CD Collection

How much music constitutes too much music?  This was a question I asked rhetorically during the recording of this 50 minute episode of Grab A Stack of Rock.  It is clear, whatever the number is, I have hit it and then some.

We had an interesting show and tell tonight, including the below:

  • Stir of Echoes, a 2008 band of Ray D’Auria’s (Mystique)
  • A Harem Scarem box set
  • A Max Webster box set
  • A defective Black Sabbath CD
  • An Iron Maiden bootleg with Blaze Bayley
  • Some gifts from Rob Daniels
  • White Snake
  • A Def Leppard bootleg
  • Some Rush and some jazz
  • Japanese import Deep Purple
  • Promo DLR
  • Deluxe Foo Fighters
  • Alice Cooper
  • Greta Van Fleet
  • A gift from Kevin Simister
  • A lot, lot, lot, of sealed Marillion
  • An avalanche!

This pre-recorded episode was an experiment and I think it went very well.  I was able to interact via the comments on YouTube and we had a lively discussion on the side.

While I will always prefer going live, these shorter solo shows will offer an alternative way of making it through the cold snowy winter together.  Thanks for watching and dropping the comments.  This was fun!

Next week will be a re-run, but Mike and the Mad Metal Man will be back on January 26 with John Snow and Tim Durling to show off music DVDs.  Then, on February 2, Marco D’Auria will be back to talk about the new 95 minute version of the Mystique movie that has been getting glowing accolades at festivals.  These will both be live shows and I hope you can join us!

Too Much Music? Grab A Stack of Mike’s CD Collection Tonight!

GRAB A STACK OF ROCK With Mike and the Mad Metal Man

Episode 47:  Too Much Music?

A must-watch for fans of Harem Scarem, Marillion, Deep Purple/Whitesnake, and the CD format!

Trying something different tonight.  Regular viewers know the original concept of the show (courtesy of Uncle Meat) was to just “grab a stack of rock” and talk about it.  Strangely enough, we never really just grabbed a random stack of discs from my collection to go through them.   So that’s what I did this time!  Instead of going live, I recorded this episode ahead of time.  It took 45 minutes to go through a stack and a half of neglected CDs from my collection.  It’s my first solo show in a couple years.

What may shock and appall you is how many discs from these stacks are unplayed and unopened.  Too much music?  I believe this episode makes a case for that.

I also unboxed a surprise care package from Marco D’Auria (The Contrarians) and what a cool surprise it was.

Tune in tonight at 7:00 PM at the regular places!

Friday January 12 at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T. / 8:00 P.M. Atlantic.   Enjoy on YouTube or on Facebook!

#1101: In The Mix – An Uncle Paul Story

RECORD STORE TALES #1101: In The Mix – An Uncle Paul Story

At the dawn of the new millenium, technology was on the move!  I now had a CD burner on the family PC, and had just discovered this new thing called “Limewire“!  I was just starting to download all sorts of rare music, from out-of-print songs to live performances.  I had burned my first mix CD and was just starting to dip my toes into this new world, when Uncle Paul and Aunt Maria came over to visit one Sunday afternoon.

I was eager to show Uncle Paul what I could now do with a computer and an internet connection.  Making a custom CD was such a revelation back then.  It seems mundane now, but it truly was new and exciting in the year 2000.  For Uncle Paul, the wheels in his head started turning.

“Can you make me a CD?” he asked.  “With anything I want on it?”

“I can try!” I responded.  “What songs do you want?  Make a list…”

He only wanted two songs.  I wish I could remember what they were.  I know they were both car songs.  That’s all I can remember.  Two classic car songs from the golden age of rock and roll.

I searched for the two songs on Limewire, found decent copies, and began downloading.

“You still have about 70 minutes of blank space on this CD, what do you want to fill it up with?” I asked him.  I hated wasting valuable blank CD real estate.  Once you burned a CD, that was it.  You couldn’t go back and add to it.

“Can you repeat each song, twice?” he asked.

“Sure can.  But you’ll still have over an hour of blank space on the CD.”

“That’s OK,” he said.  “I just want each song, twice.  That’s all I need.”

“Really?  I can repeat them as many times as you want until the CD is full.  If you want me to,” I said, trying to convince him.

“Twice each is fine.  Can you do that?”  That’s all he wanted!

One the songs were downloaded, I started up the burning software.  Track 1…song 1.  Track 2…song 1 again!  Track 3, song 2, and track 4, song 2.  That was it.  It burned in no time, and we tested it.

“Thank you Michael!  This is exactly what I wanted.”

You’re welcome Uncle Paul.  A simple request that provided all the entertainment he needed.  A happy man, and a happy nephew to have done this one small thing for him, that he appreciated far more than it warranted.  He was a good uncle.

#1077: Lunch With Aaron & Son

RECORD STORE TALES #1077: Lunch With Aaron & Son

In the last five years, my world has changed drastically.  We lost Jen’s mom, we’ve lost friends, but on the positive side, we’ve also lost weight!  The world has gone through a transformative pandemic, but one constant is Aaron KMA, a man I have not seen since 2018.  I am happy to report that Aaron is still out there being Aaron – bearing gifts and warmth as always!

We met halfway, at the Elk & Finch in Southampton Ontario.  He brought his son, who I’ve never met before, but has good taste in hamburgers.  We sat down to some amazing food, including the best smoked salmon I’ve ever tasted in my life.  This is it: as good as it gets.

Food aside, I knew Aaron would arrive bearing gifts, and as usual, he did:  Books, CDs, and more.  Let’s have a gander, shall we?  Let’s go through the contents of Aaron’s gift bag bit by bit.

Not pictured, there were four bottle of Iron Maiden’s Trooper beer!  Not pictured because I didn’t think I should pull out liquor of my own at a restaurant.  You understand of course!  You are probably familiar with this acclaimed brew already.  That made up a lot of the weight of the gift bag.  Much of the rest of the weight was taken up by books.  One book specifically.

The big one is The Art of Classic Rock by Paul Brushkin, with foreward by Alice Cooper.  Aaron has showed this off on my show before.  We also have rock magazines (with CDs)!  Other reading:  Gods of the Hammer by Geoff Pevere, the story of Teenage Head.  The “Hammer” in this case is Hamilton Ontario.  Keeping a punk vibe, Aaron also gave me Perfect Youth: The Birth of Canadian Punk by Sam Sutherland.  Finally, it’s The Story of Tommy which is really gorgeous!

I’m very excited about the music.  I actually didn’t own a copy of Garbage’s self titled debut, until now.  This one is signed by all four members, and lo and behold, it’s dedicated to Mike!  Just a coincidence I assure you but how cool is that?  I now also owned Backwaxed by Anvil, which I was missing until now, and now I also own the Hip side project Stripper’s Union.

I get more and more excited the further we go!

These Hot Wheels are really cool.  I think I need to open them.  The Yellow Submarine (Beatles) is groovy.  The USS Enterprise though…I just enjoy swooshing those ships around.  This Enterprise is NCC-1701 from the 2009 film Star Trek, directed by JJ Abrams and starring Chris Pine as Captain Kirk.  (I have to be honest, I prefer Paul Wesley’s Kirk from Strange New Worlds, which I am trying to get Aaron to watch!)  I enjoy these very much, and this is not the first time Aaron has found an appropriate Hot Wheels to gift me.

Onto the shirt, which was actually the first item in the bag.  Jeff Woods is legendary in my circles – he is THE Legend of Classic Rock.  Jeff Woods even contributed to the Sausagefest countdowns a number of times.  Aaron, however, isn’t a radio listener and isn’t intimate with the works of Mr. Woods as I am.   Yet Aaron found this shirt, thought of me, and put it in the bag.  I am thrilled.  This is a shirt I would have bought myself anyway!

Finally…

I just loved the Sheik.  I have always loved the Sheik.  He was one of the greatest villains in WWF history.  We talked to Spenny about the Iron Sheik back in May on Grab A Stack of Rock.  And now I have a little loveable stuffed Sheik of my own.   I couldn’t be more happy.  This is the kind of gift that just screams “Mike”.

 

Aaron, it was a delight to hook up again and finally meet your son.  I hope we do something like this again soon.  I could go for some salmon again.  And the coffee was great too.

Three cheers for Aaron!

 

 

#1047: A Pretty Good Day

RECORD STORE TALES #1047: A Pretty Good Day

The worst and most tiring kind of days at the Record Store were the ones with customers bringing in endless boxes of discs for us to buy.  These took up a lot of time and counter space to keep organized.  I hated it when multiple customers with multiple boxes arrived at once.  All you could say is say “leave your name and number and we’ll get through these as quickly as possible.  It could be a couple hours.”

Some customers understood, some did not.  That’s retail.

By contrast the best kind of days were often the ones without the pileup of CD boxes.  If everything came in at staggered times, that was ideal.  Even better if all the discs were in good shape.  Icing on the top of the cake if the customer wasn’t a jerk about pricing.  Everybody assumed their discs were worth solid gold.  To be truly the best kind of day, customers would be bringing in good stock that you wanted for yourself!  Whether it be a new release or something rarer from a back catalogue, those were the good days.  You’d slap your name on a post-it note, stick it to the CD and claim it for self-musical enrichment.

I may have mentioned this a couple times before:  the Big Boss Man hated when we bought stock for ourselves.  But that was 50% of the reason people wanted to work in a music store.  The best of days were those when the Big Boss Man and his underlings were not around!

One factor that didn’t affect whether the day was good or bad:  who I was working with.  I liked virtually every single person that worked in my store.  There were one or two who made me pull my hair out, but they never lasted very long.  I was very fortunate to have good working relationships with just about everyone in my staff.  I tried to show my appreciation by buying them CDs or dinner.

Speaking of dinner, one of the best days I had was in the late 90s.  A Jack Astor’s restaurant opened in the plaza across the street.  I was working one afternoon minding my own business when a guy showed up at my door with a “Jack Attack”.  I was shaking my head “no” as if to tell him I didn’t order any food, when he explained it was all complimentary!  A bucket of wings and six bottles (bottles! Not cans!) of root beer.  He dropped off a menu with ordering instructions for delivery.  That was a very good day.  I was working alone, but I left a couple bottles of pop for the night shift.  (A couple.  I was thirsty.)

I liked working alone, but eating a meal on a lone shift was tricky.  Even the best of days were food-free days.  The boss absolutely hated when we ate meals at the counter, but where else was there to go?  We were working alone, we couldn’t leave the store.  We couldn’t go into the back room to eat for 15 minutes.  So most days, at least the ones working alone, were junk food only.  Chips, pop, candy bars, pepperoni.  That was it.

But combined with good tunes and no bosses, a pretty good day!