“If you have purchased this then you have no doubt heard of Iron Maiden at some point during the band’s career over the last two-and-a-half decades.” – from the liner notes by Steve Harris
Clearly this CD (released simultaneous with the Eddie’s Archive box set) was not designed for the existing Iron Maiden fans. The die hards were not the intended target market, they got the box set to satisfy them.
In fact, Maiden wisely made the cover art (a ho-hum piece by someone named Tom Adams) available for free download. They knew some fans would just want it, and didn’t to force them to shell out for an album full of songs they already had. Again.
Yes, this was Maiden’s third compilation CD since 1996’s Best of the Beast. To keep things interesting, at least they shook up the format a bit. Unlike Beast, this is not a career spanning anthology. Unlike Ed Hunter, the fans did not vote on the tracks. Edward the Great was a simple chronological compilation of singles from 1982 to Brave To World. It ends with a recent track, a live version of “Fear of the Dark” from 2001’s Rock In Rio disc. I don’t understand the lack of Di’Anno tracks while still including two Bayley songs.
(NOTE: Maiden have also re-released the disc with an updated tracklist. I don’t have that, so I can’t really talk about it. Except to say it still has Blaze stuff on it!)
There’s an attractive booklet but not enough pictures. For a CD called Edward the Great, I think a few Eddies from the past would be in order. Oh well.
With the exception of the Blaze material, which simply breaks up the flow of the disc, every song belongs here. You could argue about exclusions, certainly. Most conspicuous by its absence is “Aces High”. You could also make a case for including the original studio version of “Fear of the Dark”. Playing Devil’s advocate, perhaps Maiden included the live version to demonstrate the power of an Iron Maiden concert to the initiated.
Whatever the case may be, as a greatest hits set I find this one lacking a bit. Considering the format, I would have chosen to call it the “Bruce years” and remove the Blaze tracks. Then you’d have room for two more classic singles (perhaps “Aces High”, “Tailgunner”, or “Be Quick of Be Dead”. As it stands I don’t understand excluding Di’Anno classics in favour of more recent Blaze material (two songs that they weren’t playing live anymore anyway).
IRON MAIDEN – Eddie’s Archive (2002, limited edition)
Eddie’s Archive was released simultaneously with another (!) greatest hits compilation called Edward The Great. We’ll talk about that one next. This is the real meat of it all!
This box set defines limited edition. I’m not sure how many copies were made, but the first printing with blue inlay was sold out nearly immediately. That’s the version I have. It was soon reissued with a red inlay to differentiate it, but even it is long out of print.
Inside you will find three individually packaged jewel cases, each containing 2 CDs for a total of 6 discs. These three “double albums” (for lack of a better term) are:
BBC Archives Beast Over Hammersmith Best of the B’Sides
The main reason to buy this set are the first two albums, BBC Archives and Beast Over Hammersmith. To me, the Best of the B’Sides only scratches the surface of the treasures to be found on the numerous Iron Maiden singles and EP’s. And as loyal LeBrain readers know, I’ve talked about ’em all.
BBC Archives contains numerous goodies. It starts off with a rare four song session by an ealy version of Maiden featuring Doug Sampson (drums) and Tony Parsons (guitar). Listening to “Sanctuary” as an example, you can tell it’s a guitar player you’re not familiar with. This is Parsons’ only recording with Maiden, but “Sanctuary” was previously released on the very rare NWOBHM compilation that Lars Ulrich put together. I love the pure fire and raw youth of these early recordings. “Transylvania” feels very different from its album incarnation. You can tell it’s a different drummer. And of course since it is the BBC, they are expertly recorded.
From there it’s a scorching ’82 set with Dickinson at Reading. Then back to 1980 for a Di’Anno Reading set, and finally to 1988 for a Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour (Donington) recording. All of these are pure smoke and it’s great to hear Bruce in peak voice. Unfortunately, on this album alone, you will hear “Iron Maiden” four times! It is what it is. You wouldn’t want them to leave any tracks out, would you?
Next disc has the ’82 Hammersmith show. A couple tracks from these were issued as B-sides on the “Run To The Hills” single from Rock In Rio. Anyway, like the BBC discs, this is pure smoke. It is a pleasure to finally have a full concert with Clive Burr on drums and Bruce in top form. Of course you will hear “Iron Maiden” and numerous others again. With a box set of this nature it’s inevitable. If you’re a Maiden fan, you don’t care. Do you?
Finally, the B’Sides. Everything here has been made available before on singles. There is nothing truly “unreleased” here as far as Maiden goes. There’s also nothing that is previously unreleased on CD unfortunately, like Maiden Japan or “I Live My Way” from the “Man On The Edge” 12″ single. For me, these discs are more just a “best of”. There are some cool tracks here such as the Montrose cover “I’ve Got The Fire”. (Maiden chose Dickinson’s version rather than Di’Anno’s, which is fine.) Other highlights include the pop metal goodness of “That Girl” and “Reach Out”, as well as originals such as “Burning Ambition” and “Invasion”. The covers that Maiden selects are mostly obscure enough (Nektar? Marshall Fury?) that they may as well be originals.
Then you get some of Maiden’s little-known jokey material: “Sheriff of Huddersfield” for example. I’m not sure how well it works as an overall listen. I prefer the singles in their original context, personally. As I mentioned, this is far from a complete set, and you can argue all you like for what you would have included. Certainly you can make solid arguments in favour of the Thin Lizzy cover “Massacre” or the rare “I Live My Way”.
Each CD jewel case features its own extensive booklet with photos, Derek Riggs cover art, and liner notes, with the exception of Beast Over Hammersmith. That one contains a booklet which is a reproduction of the original tour programme! Works for me! Otherwise, there is no book for the box set itself.
What you do get includes a neat scroll with the Iron Maiden family tree on it, wrapped inside a metal ring. (I’m sure this family tree is loaded with errors like the previous one included inside A Real Dead One, I’ve never bothered to check.) You also get this cool shot glass with Eddie’s face in the bottom. A cool treat. The box itself is a shiny tin masterpiece. It snaps shut securely and it is very detailed and cool looking.
What are you willing to pay for this set? That’s entirely up to you, but if you don’t have it, expect to pay through the teeth. Personally, to me it’s all about the music. Decide how much you’re willing to pay for approximately four discs of previously unreleased Maiden and purchase accordingly.
With Bruce coming back and all, you just knew Maiden had to do a live album. It would have been a great disservice not to do one.
Almost everyone and their pet Schnauzers will agree that Live After Death is the greatest live Maiden album of all time. Some might even argue it’s the greatest live metal album of all time. I would gladly invite any of those people over for perogies and conversation.
Where we start to differ is, what is the second best live Maiden album?
This is just LeBrain’s opinion, but I say it’s Rock In Rio.
I do remember carrying this in store when it was released in March 2002. I also remember some customers saying, “Yeah, I’m not buying this one. I don’t know any of these songs!”
Maybe they’d been living under a rock and missed the awesome Brave New World CD? Whatever the case may be, I’m not the type that likes to buy the same live album over and over again. Give me tracks that have never been released in live versions before. Let me hear the new stuff, when it’s good enough to be on a live album. And having enough good new stuff was not a problem for Maiden after Brave New World.
Maiden bravely started with an opening salvo of fresh music: the first three songs from Brave New World: “The Wicker Man”, “Ghost of the Navigator”, and the title track itself. And the Brazilians went nuts. Singing along at the top of their lungs, they clearly didn’t have the problem of not knowing the songs like my customers did!
Then, wisely, Maiden dug way back and pulled “Wrathchild” and Adrian’s classic “2 Minutes To Midnight” out of the hat. And it sure is great finally hearing the old stuff played by the Three Amigos. The three guitar lineup works so well, that I definitely never want Maiden to go back to two.
Another newbie is up next, “Blood Brothers”. Once again, the crowd goes crazy singing along. It must have been an incredibly loud night.
“Sign of the Cross” is the one I had been waiting for. Anybody who felt that all the Blaze Bayley material would have been about 150 times better with Bruce singing will be happy campers. “Sign of the Cross” is a brilliant song that finally reached it full potential with Bruce at the mic. There is simply no comparison.
“The Mercenary” from Brave New World, and “The Trooper” provide a much needed fast-paced adrenaline boost after spending 10 minutes on the epic “Sign of the Cross”. Bruce begins “The Trooper” with a stanza from Tennyson’s poem, but once he starts singing the crowd follows every word! It’s hard to imagine how you could have even heard the band if you were in that crowd that night.
A couple more songs of recent vintage kick off disc 2. “Dream of Mirrors” is one I personally could have done without, as its 10 minute length could have been taken up by two shorter songs. But the crowd doesn’t seem to mind, clapping and screaming along with Bruce’s nightmare. And then, “The Clansman”. Once again, if anybody felt that the song never came to life with Blaze singing, then listen up. This is a song that was built for performing live.
“Freedom!” And once again, Rio goes wild.
And that’s it for the new stuff. It’s nothing but back to back hits on the home stretch: “The Evil That Men Do”, “Fear of the Dark”, “Iron Maiden”, “Number”, “Hallowed”, “Sanctuary”, and of course “Run to the Hills”.
Production by Kevin Shirley is crisp, clear, with great separation of the three guitars in the stereo field. Absolutely no complaints. And if that’s not good enough for ya, you can get the whole thing on a nice (5.1 surround) DVD package too. The DVD in fact has some cool behind the scenes footage of all six Maiden members killing time. Adrian likes to fish, for example. It’s a chance to get to know all six members as people.
The single was “Run to the Hills” (again — third time this song was chosen as a single!) but I’m not going to bother discussing the B-sides too much. While they are great, great vintage live recordings from 1982 with Clive Burr on drums, all of them were issued later on the massive Eddie’s Archive box set, as part of a live disc (and that happens to be our next stop anyway). Check out the photos below for the tracklists. “Total Eclipse”! I like the painting of Bruce as Eddie.
“Scream for me Brazil!” And scream they did. And unless you’re stuck in the 1980’s like many of my old customers, you will too.
I’m not sure what prompted Iron Maiden to put out their first greatest hits disc in 1996, but at least they did it in style. Originally available as a limited edition 2 CD book set, it was pretty extravagant packaging for the time. My only beef is by the nature of such packaging, the paper sleeves will always scratch your discs, 100% of the time.
This album was also available in a standard edition single disc, with the songs in a different running order. I don’t have that one so I’m not going to talk aboot it.
The 2 disc version, perhaps to emphasize that Blaze Bayley is the current Maiden vocalist, starts at the present and then rewinds all the way back to the beginning, closing with The Soundhouse Tapes! An interesting approach indeed. As a listening experience I’m not sure that it works that well.
Since we’re starting at the present, the album kicks off with a new song. “Virus” is 6:30 of same-old same-old X Factor Maiden, but not as good as anything on that album. It drags and drags for three minutes before finally kicking into gear, but it is otherwise repetitive and boring until then. Lyrically, it is another attack on the sicknesses in society, much like “Be Quick Or Be Dead” and “Justice of the Peace” were.
Then back in time one year, to “Sign of the Cross”, the dramatic 11 minute epic from The X Factor, as well as “Man on the Edge”. (I would have preferred “Lord of the Flies” to “Man on the Edge”, but perhaps “Man” was the bigger single of the two.)
To bridge into the Fear of the Dark album, a new live version of “Afraid To Shoot Strangers” is featured, with Blaze Bayley singing. It’s a good live version, but it’s immediately obvious that Blaze is no Bruce.
Bruce takes over on the next track, “Be Quick Or Be Dead”, and we’re back in the saddle. Singles (including the popular live version of “Fear of the Dark”) and album tracks are counted down from 1993 to 1986’s Somewhere In Time album, ending disc 1 with “Wasted Years”, a great closer. My beef here: I would have preferred the single “Stranger In A Strange Land” to the album track “Heaven Can Wait” (but I know the Heavy Metal OverloRd doesn’t agree with me!)
Disc 2 is the glory years, if you will, everything from Live After Death to the beginning. It begins with the epic “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, a ballsy move for a greatest hits album, and the live version at that. Chasing it is the live single version of “Running Free”. Then we count them down, all the singles from Powerslave to “Run To The Hills”, plus “Where Eagles Dare” and “Hallowed Be Thy Name” thrown in for good measure.
Then it’s the Di’Anno years, which are given an unfortunately brief expose. “Wrathchild”, from Killers is one of the best songs from that era, but the only included track from that album. Maiden’s first epic, “Phantom of the Opera” and the single “Sanctuary” represent the debut Iron Maiden. Finally, an unreleased track from The Soundhouse Tapes sessions (“Strange World”), and the rare Soundhouse version of “Iron Maiden” close the set. To read my review of The Soundhouse Tapes and these tracks, click here.
There was also a 4 LP vinyl edition available, with 7 extra tracks: “Seventh Son of a Seventh Son”, “The Prisoner”, “Killers”, “Remember Tomorrow”, an exclusive live version of “Revelations” from the Piece of Mind tour, plus the final two songs from The Soundhouse Tapes, “Prowler” and “Invasion”. You can read a story about the 4 LP edition by clicking here.
And there you have it, Maiden’s first greatest hits set, with lots of the hits and plenty of rarities thrown in for the collectors. I confess that I don’t listen to it often, and this time for this review was the first time in roughly two years.
The cover art was once again by Derek Riggs, doing a sort of mash-up of his (and nobody else’s) Eddie’s. It’s a suitably glorious piece of art for such a monument of metal. The inside of the book is loaded with concert dates, lyrics, liner notes, and chart positions, as well as more Eddie’s and photos!
I still want to talk about the single, “Virus”, but I think that it should get an article of its own. Check back soon for that!
Curiosity: the cover features an ad for the never-to-be Iron Maiden video game, Melt! Maiden did eventually release a video game, but we’re not going there yet….
IRON MAIDEN – The Number Of The Beast (1982, 1996 bonus disc)
One of Maiden’s greatest album covers happened to house a great album inside. There was a segment of Maiden fans that were very much against the replacement of Paul Di’Anno, but Bruce Dickinson was undeniably the right man for Iron Maiden. Formerly known as the ridiculously monikered “Bruce Bruce” of rival band Samson, Dickinson fit in quickly and triumphantly.
From the first song, “Invaders” (a history lesson on the Norman invasion), The Number Of The Beast does not disappoint. “Invaders” is a storming opening, but not nearly the quality of the next number: “Children of the Damned”. Along the lines of the older “Remember Tomorrow”, this song proved why Bruce was the man for the job. The dramatically powerful music is only enhanced by Bruce’s wail. They nicknamed this man “Air Raid Siren” for a reason. “Children of the Damned” still sends shivers up my spine…
Another classic, “The Prisoner”, follows. Significantly, this is the first Adrian Smith co-write on the album, and in Iron Maiden. He has three co-writes on the record, and Adrian’s writing lent a melodic hard rock side to the band. His composition style is unique from the other members of the band, and identifiable. “The Prisoner” starts with that famous intro: “We want information… information… information!” The band had McGoohan’s permission to use it, and effective it is! It’s a catchy, singalong Maiden song, the kind of thing that worked great live. And Bruce really delivers on that chorus.
Charlotte the Harlot makes her return on “22 Acacia Avenue”. The lyrics boast, “You can tell her that you know me, you might even get in free.” But it’s not as simple and straightforward as that anymore, as Maiden have grown musically, so have they lyrically. Another character, perhaps a family member, turns up and asks Charlotte, “isn’t it time you stopped this mad life?” But if you’re not paying attention to that because the song rocks so hard, I understand. This one too bears the stamp of Adrian Smith who was no doubt responsible for those terrific riffs.
With the addition of Smith and Dickinson, the band had obviously grown and intensified. But the next two songs, opening side two, blew the doors off. “The Number of the Beast” and “Run To the Hills” were a double whammy: two awesome singles in a row that would help send the band off into immortality. I’m not saying that with a shred of hyperbole. If you’re reading this and don’t know these two songs, then I don’t know what’s wrong with the world!
I won’t dwell on either song. Yes, “Run To the Hills” is one that I never need to hear again, but I’m sure glad I heard it the first time. It’s the song that got me into the band. I absolutely loved the video for “The Number of the Beast”, and those chiming opening guitars. Then Bruce screams, and we’re off to the races. Great song, awesome video, funny too. This is the kind of image that people have of Maiden, that persists forever: Bruce, long red hair flowing like a precursor to Axl, that fringe of his in front, and those spiked armbands. Classic!
“Gangland”, the only unremarkable song on the album, is a co-write between Adrian and drummer Clive Burr! My understanding is that with 20/20 hindsight, Steve would have preferred to have “Total Eclipse” on the album instead. “Gangland” does have a good bridge, but is otherwise pretty stock.
Finally, “Hallowed Be Thy Name”. I remember this was misspelled “Hallowed By Thy Name” on the old cassette that my buddy Bob had, so I thought that really was the name. “Hallowed” was to be Steve’s new 7 minute epic, something he’d become known for. “Hallowed” is one of the best epics, and something that absolutely required the vocals of Bruce Dickinson to bring to complete fruition. Bruce nails that mournful slow opening, and then absolutely lets rip with some pretty intricate words. Seriously, do you ever try to sing along at album speed? I always trip up words somewhere.
“Mark my words, believe my soul lives on don’t worry now that I have gone, I’ve gone beyond to seek the truth.”
And to sing it at his volume with that much emotion? Unbelievable.
And that’s the album. The 1998 remasters tacked on “Total Eclipse” as a bonus track, and it’s here on my bonus disc. This was the B-side to “Run To the Hills”. My younger sister actually had this single and I don’t know why. (Kathryn, comment below please!) “Total Eclipse” was actually performed live, and can be found on the Eddie’s Archive box set. It’s a mid-tempo rocker with a fast breakdown in the middle, come solo time. It’s catchier than “Gangland”, and is also co-written by Clive Burr, with Dave Murray and Steve Harris!
The bonus CD this time only has two tracks. That’s all they released at the time, two singles, two B-sides. The second B-side is a stunning live version of “Remember Tomorrow” with the new guy singing. I always prefer Di’Anno, because he co-wrote the song, for his voice, and made it legendary to start with. But Bruce is no slouch. Much like Dio used to sing Ozzy’s stuff with more skill and range, so does Bruce in this case.
You’ll notice one guy is absent in the writing credits: Bruce Dickinson. Due to lawyers and rigamarole with his old band, Samson, he wasn’t legally able to write with Maiden. Don’t worry though, he’ll make up for it on the next album!
I don’t want to give Beast a perfect 5/5 score for two reasons. One, “Gangland”. Two, better things were still to come. There has to be room for improvement. Therefore:
I don’t know exactly why, but some countries got four songs on this EP while others got five. Something to do with what would be considered a single vs an EP. Fortunately for me, Canada was one of the countries that got all five.
A cross section of the best songs from the first two albums, Maiden Japan (how can you not love the title?) was an almost instant love for me. Expertly recorded by Maiden and Doug Hall, the EP breathes new life into “Running Free” and “Remember Tomorrow”, two songs from Iron Maiden. Di’Anno’s screams are absolutely awesome. By and large I often prefer these versions to the originals.
This EP was relatively easy to find here when I was growing up, so it was my first exposure to early Maiden aside from the “Women In Uniform” music video. A lot of the time, if you hear a good live album first, that is the version that sticks with you through life.
This would prove to be Paul Di’Anno’s final release with Iron Maiden. The band were already planning his replacement. An early cover with Eddie decapitating Paul was quickly replaced with another, in light of these developments!
The original cover art
I know this was released on CD, I saw it myself. It was with the 2 CD edition of Killers, Japanese import version. Yet another item that I wish I’d splashed out for!
Lineup: Paul Di’Anno, Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, Clive Burr.
Changing vocalists proved to be the right move to Maiden; it launched them into a whole new world and tranformed them into a bigger, better Beast…
After the masterful introduction that was the first Iron Maiden album, the band jettisoned guitarist Dennis Stratton to get the guy that Steve wanted years before: Adrian Smith. An old buddy of Dave Murray, Adrian fit like a glove and the next album was recorded.
Written entirely by Steve Harris except for one Di’Anno co-write, Killers was also produced by Martin Birch. Birch had already helmed the biggest and best albums by Deep Purple, and was more than capable of capturing the Maiden sound in the studio, unlike former producer Will Malone.
Popular opinion is split on Killers. Some fans see it as a significant up-shift from the previous, others see it as inferior. Both aruments hold water. There is no denying that the partnership with Martin Birch created a better sounding album, one more consistent with the band’s live intensity. The addition of Smith on guitar meant that you’re hearing a more unified sound, two guitar players in great sync with each other. The songs are also harder and more intricate, with even more sections and changes.
While Killers is a good album in those respects, the songs were not as memorable this time out. There are two scorchers on this record that are among my all-time Maiden favourites: “Wrathchild” and “Killers” itself. Then you have some second tier goodies like “Murders In The Rue Morgue”, “Innocent Exile”, and “Drifter”. Beyond that, there’s little else here that would make my Maiden road tape. I don’t know why, but time after time, listen after listen, year after year, the rest stubbornly refuses to grow on me.
Killers contains one ballad (“Prodigal Son”, which is almost like Iron Zeppelin) and two instrumentals (“The Ides of March” and “Genghis Khan”). Oddly enough, one of those instrumentals, “The Ides of March” is identical to a song by rival NWOBHM band Samson, called “Thunderburst”. The song was originally an Iron Maiden idea; Samson’s drummer Thunderstick was very briefly in Iron Maiden during the late 1970’s. Samson’s singer was some guy called Bruce Bruce, known to his mum as Bruce Dickinson.
This picture disc edition of Killers came with a bonus CD containing all the associated non-album songs. “Twilight Zone”, included here, is actually an A-side of a non-album single. The US version of Killers had “Twilight Zone” on the album. Its selection as a single ahead of something like “Wrathchild” seems strange with hindsight. I never really liked the song that much, aside from Di’Anno’s screamy chorus. This one was a Dave Murray co-write as well.
Another non-album single, the infamous “Women In Uniform” is also included. This is the one that the band hated, a cover from a German band called Skyhooks. I liked it because of my early association with the cheesey music video. I wouldn’t call it a standout track, but I like it better than “Twilight Zone”. This single acually pre-dated Killers, and Dennis Stratton is still on guitar. Its two B-sides, “Invasion” and “Phantom Of The Opera (Live)” are both included. “Invasion” is an improved remake of the song from the first EP, The Soundhouse Tapes. It’s still not up to the standard of anything on album #1, but it’s still an entertaining tale of the Norsemen comin’, “raping and pillaging, robbin’ and lootin’ the land.” An early Maiden history lesson from Steve Harris.
I’ll have to say something about Derek Rigg’s artwork as well: Now we know what Eddie was up in that back alley on the last album! No good, clearly, as he’s weilding a bloody hatchet, as a man’s hands can be seen grasping his shirt. Behind Eddie, you can see a “kinky sex shop” and the Ruskin Arms, where many legendary Maiden gigs went down. Is that Charlotte in the red window?
Rating Killers is very difficult. It’s still better than most band’s best albums, yet it’s one of my least favourite. Trying to be objective here, I will rate Killers:
3.5/5 stars
Also pictured below: A bootleg CD from the tour called Another Live.
IRON MAIDEN: Iron Maiden (1980, 1996 bonus CD, EMI)
Straight out of the gates, Maiden galloped onto the international scene, with their own sound and a debut album as strong as anybody’s. An incredible album in fact, Iron Maiden had the benefit of containing songs that Steve Harris had been playing for years, in various incarnations of the band. They were road tested and taut as muscle.
The cover by Derek Riggs depicts a prototypical, haunting version of Eddie. But there he is still, roaring under the streetlight of some London back alley, probably up to no good. This cover was re-painted for the 1998 remastered edition, but I think an original is always best.
Revised 1998 artwork
Although Harris despised punk rock, Iron Maiden is punk-like in its delivery. While plowing through intricate riffs and time changes, they do so with the intensity of their punk rivals, feeling like they’re about to fly off the rails. But they never do; Maiden were absolute pros even then.
Producer Will Malone did not capture the full-on Maiden sound, sonically. It is however a step up from their EP, The Soundhouse Tapes. Maiden would not find their studio sound until hooking up with Deep Purple/Rainbow producer Martin Birch, next album.
Every song is brilliant. The opening wah-wah guitar intensity of “Prowler” warns away the timid, before the song trounces forward, propelled by Steve Harris and new drummer Clive Burr. Paul Di’Anno is absolutely at his peak as a singer, with range, grit, and power to spare. He throws it all into “Prowler”.
“Remember Tomorrow”, co-written by Paul, is a slow-burner, along the lines of those old slow Black Sabbath songs. Paul sings his ass off, and if any one song was his showcase, I would say it has to be “Remember Tomorrow”.
The tempo picks up again with the first single “Running Free”, a song that I feel never peaked until released in a live verion. Live, it’s faster and more intense. In the studio, it feels like it never quite gets up to speed. However, a classic song it remains, with Maiden’s first undeniable sing-along chorus.
7 minutes of “Phantom Of The Opera” closes side one of the original vinyl. Steve’s first multi-part epic, this is the song that proved too difficult for many guitarists auditioning for the band. Long time axeman Dave Murray could handle the material no problem. Finding a second player proved difficult, until Dennis Stratton showed up and fit the bill. “Phantom” proved to be his undoing nevertheless. While the rest of the band were out, he overdubbed Queen-like choir vocals and guitar harmonies, which horrified Harris. It wasn’t so much that Stratton had initiative and ideas to present, it was that they were so far off what what Steve’s vision of Maiden was. Stratton proved to be the wrong fit, and this remains his only album with Iron Maiden.
Side two began with the instrumental stomper “Transylvania”. This fades into a spacey ballad, “Strange World”. “Strange World” is one of the most immediate songs on the album, perhaps because it’s different from the rest. If I had to compare it to something else, it might be “Solitude” by Black Sabbath, but with guitars instead of flutes! And solos too…Dave’s epic side of solo composition.
Dave’s first ever writing credit is up next, “Charlotte The Harlot”. This fast one introduces the character of Charlotte, who turns up again in future Maiden songs. This standout song is followed by the band’s signature closer, “Iron Maiden” itself. I think it’s likely that this song will remain in Maiden’s sets pretty much forever. Not only is the riff great, but the pace is absolutely perfect for headbanging!
The bonus CD comes with the associated B-sides for this album. From the “Running Free” single, there’s “Burning Ambition”. This is an early song that wouldn’t have fit on the album, as it is too much hard rock and not enough heavy metal for the album proper. The bonus CD also contains the non-album single “Sanctuary”, another classic up there with “Iron Maiden”. This song was slipped onto the US versions of the album. It’s awesome of course! Also from the “Sanctuary” single are live versions of “Drifter” and “I’ve Got The Fire”. “Drifter” was another earlier song that would show up in studio form next album. This version has Di’Anno’s reggae-ish “Yo, yo yo yo” singalong which I have always liked. “I’ve Got The Fire” is an excellent Montrose cover, and not the last time Maiden would cover Montrose (nor this song)!
With an album this this under their belts, the future for Iron Maiden would be bright indeed.
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