Judas Priest and Iron Maiden are featured on this weeks Retro Throw Down. Watch as Jexander The Great and Wasted deKe go into detail on two platinum selling albums from 1986. Will Priest leave Maiden “Out In The Cold” or will Maiden leave Priest behind in a “Sea of Madness?” Just push play and find out who the winner will be!
My pal Snowman every month posts all his findings on Vinyl, Compact Disc, Cassettes and even 8 tracks at time’s.
I made the comment when Johnny posted his October Scores that this may be the one month I actually outscored him in his purchases.
We had a laugh and he told me to post my stuff…
Challenge accepted Sir!
Here’s John’s post and if you haven’t already give his excellent site a follow!
https://2loud2oldmusic.com/2022/10/31/october-2022-purchases-vinyl-cds/
Here we go…
So it was off to Toronto back on October 8th with Tbone coming along as we were going to see Iron Maiden on the 11th.
Other than seeing Maiden live the other bit if business we had to take care of was scoring Vinyl.
‘Sonic Boom’ and ‘Kops Records’ were our two focal points of dropping serious cash in which we did.
It was a no brainer for me to buy vinyl but I was glad to see Tbone jump both feet in and grabbed what turned out to be 11 albums of his own!
Atta boy Old Man!
The day before we left (Oct 7th) Amazon dropped off an album at my house that was a gift from Tbone which was The Cult’s latest release ‘Under The Midnight Sun’ which is a fantastic record. What a way to start our trip the following day.
So here are the scores from ‘Kops’ and ‘Sonic Boom’ posted below..
Some more T.O finds except for ‘Skid Row’ which I ordered from Amazon.
As I mentioned earlier we were there to see Iron Maiden and of course a visit to the merch table is a must…
We also hooked up with Brent Jensen who brought us gifts including T shirts, books and for myself basically what is a demo version of Brent’s ‘Leftover People’ book before he sent the final copy off to get published. What a gift and its the only one is existence!
One other thing and that was the latest copy of ‘Rock Candy Magazine’ which I have been a subscriber since Day 1. Always a great read!
There ya have it folk’s…
Coming up..
November 12th- Record Fair
November 18th- Iron Maiden Triple LP vinyl set of ‘The Number of the Beast’ and the super deluxe box set of KISS ‘Creatures of the Night’ on (ugh) CD!
November 22nd- Headstones live in Tbay and kicking off there Canadian tour here of all places!
Going to tackle something that I have not done in almost 5 years and that’s devote a full month of posts on one act!
For the month of October, I’m going to blog about the 7 studio albums and 1 E.P that Iron Maiden released from the years 1980-88.
These reviews, of course, will talk about the music Maiden created during this time but more or less it will be about the stories behind each record on how basically each one impacted me as a listener growing up in the 80s upon there initial release back then and now!
Hope you will all join me on October 5th and share your stories as well…
dEKE
I basically could do a whole series on the brilliant back cover drawings of former Maiden artist Derek Riggs.
For this edition of Back Covers I have decided to feature not one but Two… yes Folks Two Iron Maiden albums. The stellar debut album Iron Maiden from 1980 and 1981’s classic release Killers!
These first two Maiden worldwide releases show Maiden in their earliest form and you can see by the two Back Cover Pics how Maiden within a span of a year was developing a huge fan base that resulted in what the Facecrack Generation would say “Trending”.
Actually these first two Maiden albums are the only two studio releases that show live shots of Maiden. The rest of Maidens back covers were continuations of the album covers drawn by Riggs. (Yes those will be discussed at some point down the road)
The debut Maiden back cover picture shows Maiden playing the pubs/bars gaining momentum in regards to the fan base and as you can see right about Drummer Clive Burr’s(RIP) Drums is Band Mascot Eddie in his earliest form as a prop. Course years later Maiden hit the big time and rode right into Arena level status.
These pics are cool as it shows that Bassist Steve Harris and Manager Rod Smallwood had a focus. If you’re playing a bar. Pack the stage with Amps/Drums/Props and the buzz will get out.
Get out it did….
1981 comes into view and Maiden really goes for the jugular and release Killers. With another brilliantly drawn Rigg’s cover comes the back cover with a real cool live shot upon when I first seen this album(Killers was my first Maiden purchase back in July 1981).
As you can see by this picture that graces the back of the Killers album Maiden was indeed trending in the upward position as you can see the difference in the two pics all within a year. The back of Killers is a great shot and as a 13-year-old going on 14 that pic sold me big time! Look at Eddie spewing smoke from his mouth smothering Burr’s drum set. Maiden in full flight! A total action shot! What a game changer and look at that stage with all the punters down in the front.
Also each dude in Maiden gets there pic and what instrument they play/vocals etc. Martin Birch the Producer of Killers gets his own pic as well! Kudos to photographer Robert Ellis who took all these shots!
The whole back cover is a great selling feature as even the song titles are bad ass! Wrathchild/Drifter/Murders In The Rue Morgue/Innocent Exile/Genghis Kahn. Man, the song titles were just plain cool!
These two Back Covers show Maiden in a span of the year making huge strides. I’m glad I’ve been part of that ride since 81!
1981 was a real interesting year in my world of music! Beginning in January 81 I had gone to a local record shop to pick up John Lennons “Double Fantasy” album as the whole world was still shocked after Lennon was assassinated in December 1980!
My intentions were all about getting the Lennon album until I walked into out local Sam The Record Man and seen on the racks these four long-haired guys calling themselves Van Halen that had them posing on the front cover. That album was Woman & Childern First and to this day it for me is perhaps the album that most impacted me. All Nine 9 songs on WACF are stellar. I had never heard guitar sound or played like that! I had never heard a singer think he is Tarzan yodeling away at the beginning of Track 2(Everybody Wants Some!) The Drums and Bass on the album sound like a runaway locomotive about to come off the tracks. The band is on who knows what chemically but whatever keep the party rolling and by golly David Lee Roth/Eddie Van Halen/Alex Van Halen/Micheal Anthony did just that!
Just 3 short months later VH’s Fair Warning came out and was a real score for me as well! Here’s my favourite new band that I just discovered and another new album? Ed Van Halen by this time solidifies his greatness in my world making him to this day still my numero uno fav-o 6 stringer!
Can Con started to make a dent in my listening habits as well as Triumph put out the super cool Allied Forces. Triumph were a Canadian 3 piece that featured two lead singers and a freaky dude on Bass! Triumph meant business back in 81. I mean it was about Allied Forces and Rock Troops. Magic Power/Fight The Good Fight and real classic wallop to the head opening track Fool For Your Love. Man Triumph were a lean mean fighting machine back than…
Judas Priest put out for what myself and Tbone could easily call our favourite Priest album and that would be Point of Entry, Love the sonic’s of this album with just straightforward Rock tracks like Heading Out To The Highway/Desert Plains and the very brilliant very underrated Turning Circles!
Rush made a double dent in my listening habits with both Moving Pictures and Exit Stage Left! My first foray into the term Prog Rock! Seriously these guys are singing about Honey Dew/Hash and Trees? Course Rush played at a level that was seriously sick I mean who the fuck plays drums like that? Neil Peart does Bitches that’s who!
Another huge game changer was Iron Maiden ‘Killers’. Maiden opened Killers with a musical only number Ides of March that segued way into Wrathchild and I had never heard Metal like this! It was brilliant as the guitars of Davey Murray/Adrian Smith just wailed like no one’s business and what the hell the Bass Player writes all the tunes?? Steve Harris was and is still the deal! Paul Di’anno had a great set of pipes back than and I think took it for granted his situation in Maiden that cost him his spot…
Those ol Horndogs AC/DC released For Those About To Rock(We Salute You) and Tbone was the first one to get this album. We stared at that gatefold pic of the live shot for hours while we listened to Brian Johnson once again sing about the birds and bee’s! We all bought into the program folks and so did you!
Whitesnake with the live Ain’t No Love In The Heart of the City was my first time dabbling with a Snake album. Whitesnake circa 1981 featured three ex members of Deep Purple laying down that old school Hammond B3 old blues rock vibe 6 years before that Crazy Bird slid all over the hood of the Cov’s Jaguar in those Snake Vid’s!
Aerosmith Live Bootleg made such a huge impact on my listening habits in that it was the first live album I had ever heard where the band sounded blasted and in another zone yet what was in the grooves was so good/so classic/so stoned!
Last not least as KISS release The Elder which has KISS wanting to write a concept record! Fair enough but when your 14 and you have heavy hitters like Maiden/Priest/VH/Rush/Triumph putting out hard hitting slabs of rock! Why the F**k am I hearing a flute on a KISS album?
So my Brother Todd back in January of this year received an email saying that Iron Maiden would be playing the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St Paul Minnesota on June 16th.
Todd was working up in the area of Hudson’s Bay(Manitoba) back in January when the pre sale happened so with crappy WiFi where he was working he drove 60 miles to get a decent signal and viola grabbed us two tickets which was good as all 15,000 tickets sold out in less than a few hours!
Todd was pumped that not only Maiden was showing up but they were bringing Ghost as an opener. Todd vouched for them but I was on the fence with Ghost as I tried watching some of their live stuff on YouTube but for some reason I could not grasp the concept of the whole Ghost shtick! Would they convert me?
Keep Reading…
So the day of the show we took off bright n early and headed to St Paul Minnesota which is right next door to Minneapolis Minnesota(Twin Cities the locals call it) and Todd was on the ball and got us a hotel within a 10 minute walk to the Xcel Center.
So about 3 hours before show time we headed towards the Xcel Center (where there was a bunch of Maiden fanatics hanging out by the doors a good 3 hours before door’s would open. We realised later why as the floor was general admission)which has a bunch of Burger N Booze establishments so we picked one and had a few beers and you knew Maiden was in town as there were a ton of Maiden shirts everywhere. Let me clarify that. A ton of dudes wearing Maiden T’s with a handful of woman wearing some as well…Kinda like being at a Rush show!
It was funny as once as we headed back to the Xcel Center on the entrance side of the building that we were going to enter into I counted 7 poh poh cars and one K-9 Unit sitting right beside the Arena. Ha! Guess they were calling in extra’s for the Maiden show thinking there was going to be trouble! Strong Arm Of The Law!
Once inside and tickets scanned it was off for me to the Merchandise tables and there must have been about 12-14 different Maiden T’s (One T was an Xcel exclusive in which we snagged a few of those stat) There was another table set up that was selling a bunch of silk screen covers of albums. All the bases were covered! Todd was talking to a guy who drove in from Des Moines Iowa for the show and he bought a couple of these Maiden only Minneapolis T’s and told Todd that he puts a couple up on eBay and gets about $150 U.S per shirt as Maiden fanatics will pay for rare shirts!
At 730 pm sharp Ghost hit the stage opening with Square Hammer and I was hooked! What a great opening song and let’s for a second talk about these guys.
Ghost consists of 6 members with the Lead Singer going by the name of Papa Emeritus while the 5 other fella’s names or well they call em Nameless Ghouls. Papa looks like during the first three numbers an anti Pope. Seriously but I will say he has a wickedly good voice that with an excellent band of musicians around him whoever the Ghouls in real life are. Opening number Square Hammer is a great track but it was the tune Absolution that made me really take notice. This tune blends heavy and melodic rock with a smattering of Alice Cooper vocally mashed with the Keys of Deep Purple. The two Ghouls on guitars are a show upon themselves getting the crowd into it with their demonic like silver masks. Papa after awhile ditches the Anti Pope deal and goes for Think Andrew Loyd Weber with a mix of Phantom Of The Opera. He even has quite a bit of humour at times between songs when addressing the crowd. Good to see these guys don’t take themselves that seriously except when it comes to the music its taken very seriously! I posted a clip of Ghost from St Paul playing the track Cirice. You can see how they have that edge throughout but can snap into a real melodic bit and snap right out of it. Great stuff.
I don’t think I have ever seen an opening act get this much stage space and a real good use of lights(purple and green dominated the set ) from a headliner. Than again it’s Maiden!
The crowd was stoked as this was Maidens first appearance in the St Paul/Minneapolis area in 17 years!
At 8:55 pm the opening keys of UFO’s Doctor Doctor filled the arena and you knew once this song was over it was time for Maiden.
I have to say the whole Mayan like themed stage is very slick-looking and as it filled with smoke out appears Lead Singer Bruce Dickinson perched above Drummer Nicko McBrain’s Drums and does his Capella opening to the first song of the night If Eternity Should Fail for a few minutes than the rest of the Maidens hit the stage amidst a blast of pyro it is definitely show time.
It’s official I lose my shit!
Speed Of Light is up second and everyone is at the front of the stage with Bruce handling his mic stand like a Fencer swinging his sword. Guitarist Janick Gers is a show upon himself. Doing a bunch of wind mill’s on his guitar like Townsend. The dude is a throwback to the late 70’s early 80s look complete with the bullet belt around his waist. Flinging his guitar around his neck/back,legs stretched out over the PA and at times tossing in a solo for good measure. Must mention I dig Bruce’s stage attire for this show. Cargo pants/Hoodie and Boots. The dude is hanging with Mayan’s!
Great to hear Nicko and Bassist Steve Harris lock in at the start of Wrathchild. Bruce lets off his patent Air Raid Siren scream and wow man the guy is so good! Childern of The Damned is played this night and right before Children, Bruce addressed the crowd and asked how many people at the show where born after 1982. (The year COTD was released) The response was pretty loud as this is what Maiden wants to hear. Kids getting into Maiden from their parents and plus it keeps Maiden themselves from becoming a straight nostalgia act! Case in point there was Dad sitting beside me with his two young teenage son’s.
Death or Glory and The Red And Black from the current album Book of Souls are front and centre and Death And Glory is a great track with Bruce “Climbing Like A Monkey” as he gets the crowd into it(watch the video below) and Adrian Smith plays some real slick slide guitar during the solo. The Red And The Black is epic and clocks in at over 10 minutes with spectacular lights and a boatload of guitar solo’s!
1983’s classic The Trooper complete with Bruce in a red war jacket jostling a Union Jack Flag cranked up the crowds even more as this is one of those tracks that you will always be played. My brother who plays guitar says that Dave Murray is one of the smoothest Soloists out there as you don’t hear his picking and he flawlessly goes up and down the fret board during his solo’s. Todd also mentioned on the drive home between Ghost and Maiden we heard probably over 60 guitar solo’s between the act’s. An exhibition in axemanship I would say!
Powerslave encompasses everything I love about Maiden. Ripping verse’s huge chorus/total chill out in the midsection of the tune and the solos of Smith/Murray bring the song back up and Nicko does those crazy rolls right before the song goes back into its final verse! Told Todd that this track takes me right back to when I first bought Powerslave the day upon its release back in 1984! Must mention as well the huge wall of fire upon Bruce’s entrance…Impact!
The Great Unknown with its melodic opening and ramps up and ends with an extended melodic jam with all three guitarists getting there shot at playing some bluesy like riffs while Bruce works the crowd( all night Bruce was pointing to the front/back/upper deck’s all sections were acknowledged throughout the show)
Bruce soars vocally on the track Book of Souls and basically is a 13 minute Maiden Metal Masterpiece especially when Nicko lifts the tune off into a crazy tempo during the solo and here comes at least a 12 foot Eddie swinging at Janick before Bruce takes Eddie’s heart out and chucks it into the crowd! Steve Harris has written many classic tracks but this tune is one my fav’s. Like Powerlsave (song) it encompasses everything I love about Maiden!
Fear of The Dark has Bruce running back and forth behind Nicko on and not missing a line vocally. Endurance the man has! Janick throws down a great solo on FOTD. Love the last verse as the band just rip it up and just like that it’s time for …
Iron Maiden! The classic tune from the self titled 1980 release is performed and there’s Eddie behind Nicko rising up and Bam out comes the fire/pyro off of Ed’s noggin and just like that …the show is over!
Kinda….Encore please…
The stage goes red and The Number of The Beast is dialled up and you want a ton of fire set off look no further than this track complete with another round of Bruce’s Air Raid Siren wail at the start of the track. Love Smith/Murray’s solo’s and Harris when he razzle dazzles with that bass riffing after the guitar solo’s…
Blood Brothers is next and I’m going to post the video and Bruce actually thanks Dekes and Todd for showing up(kinda thanks us..check it out it’s at the beginning of the song about the minute and half mark)
Wasted Years closes the show and it’s a great Adrian Smith track complete with A Plus solo. Maiden end things on a high!
First of thanks to Todd for making this trip happen! Maiden is still the best live act around and considering Nicko just turned 65 it’s crazy that these guys are still playing at this level! The solo’s/vocal’s it’s like its 1985 again! No dip in anything folks!
Bruce mentioned that there putting this show to bed at the end of July and they will go away for a bit but will be back. So it’s not quite the end yet.
Umm… yeah when they come back…..Myself and Todd will be there again!
Long Live Maiden!
Yes folks today I’m cheating with a repost of this review from April 2016! The reason? Well I’m off to see Maiden Live in Minneapolis tonight(June 16th) and that’s thanks to my brother Todd who got us tickets on a presale as the show sold out in 2 days back in January! So thanx to Todd I’m outta here but fret not…Full Live Review….ASAP!
It wasn’t for the fact that Maiden after 35 years of albums would release a double studio album too psyche me out! Nope! It also wasn’t for the fact that Maiden as per protocol would have some tunes that clock in at 13 minutes and one at over 17 minutes! Nope…
It was the fact that in the credits as it listed the bands names their’s lead singer Bruce Dickinson credited with both vocals and piano!
Scccccreeeeeeech…..HALT! Yep my fine readers at Stick It In My Ear that is the difference between Maiden 2015 and Maiden 1985!
If you’re looking for Maiden speed metal in Aces High from yesteryear just keep on trucking. They can still hold down the Metal Fort thank you very much but their sound has advanced proggy,epic in spots,a different kind of recording beast in 2015!
Just like how Rush stepped up and delivered a classic in Clockworks Angels back in 2012. Iron Maiden step up and deliver what I would say is there best album since Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son(1988)
Rush and Maiden have nothing left to prove but how they managed to step up and release such majestic epic recordings pushing the age of 60 years young is mind-boggling but yet for us Lovers of Hard Rock its a win win…..
Bruce Dickinson(vocals) Dave Murray,Janick Gers,Adrian Smith (all guitars) Steve Harris(bass) and Nicko McBrain (drums) are still alive and kicking into The Final Frontier(Ha!) ….No slouching around at Maiden HQ when Commander Harris is at the controls!
IF ETERNITY SHOULD FAIL- Ahhh so the proceedings begin with Bruce and some Voodoo Hoodoo Mayan like vibes. Yep all is fine with the Air Raid Siren and at age 57 his vocal pipes are as strong as ever and why wouldn’t they be? Before too long the rest of Maiden shoots out of the gate and I like the production courtesy of Kevin Shirley who keeps things dry in other words he doesn’t overproduce Maiden he keeps things sonically balanced. First thing is that I notice is Harris bass is mixed down and not that twangy vibe like some sonic beef was added to the grill. Great chorus and Bruce’s vocals just sail over and Frigg his voice is outstanding. Dig how the song shifts into a Steve/Nicko mashup before the solos are launched by the Three Amigos on guitar. What a powerhouse opener as Maiden always deliver on the first song on each of their albums! Stand up and take notice Fokkers! Must also mention that I dig Bruces old creeper voice at the end of this song where he talks…”Good Day My Name Is Necropolis…….” Love it! Also a round of Hip Hooray for a close to 9 minute opener!
SPEED OF LIGHT- When I preordered this album from iTunes they dropped this tune Into my iPod! Read how at the age of 48 I still go Bonkers over these guys! …https://superdekes.wordpress.com/2015/08/25/iron-maidenspeed-of-light/
FYI- I posted a live clip of this tune from Mexico a few weeks back! Check out the crowd at the beginning as you see now nutty the crowd is with beer flinging through the air people just flat-out Rockin! Well done people of Mexico! Plus you see how a frontman aged 57 named Bruce has not lost a step like the frontman he was at the age 27!
THE GREAT UNKNOWN- It starts off chill with some nice electric picking along with Bruce’s voice and then builds up into a heavy kick of Maiden Prog as Nicko sets the tempo with his driving Sonor drums and the chorus here is the money shot. Bruce soars vocally (Shocker! Not!!) and lifts the song as only he can do. Nice guitar work and as the song wraps up its back to where it began with some nice electric picking and Bruce’s voice!
THE RED AND THE BLACK- How about a 13 minute plus Maiden Attack as Bruce and Steve lead the charge from the get go and now about that guitar that cruises along with Bruce’s vocals during the verses. The Red And The Black has a bunch of music and it gets heavy proggy at the end and when you think it ends it keeps going and why not? Stop? Naaaa when the riffs are rolling keep em rolling! Nice interplay between all three guitars and I’m sure this song will go down a storm when played live! As per protocol the song ends as it started!
WHEN THE RIVER RUNS DEEP-Kinda could have been on the Somewhere In Time album from 1986 me thinks! The song super charges ahead and theirs Nicko riding that Paiste Cymbal like no ones business. When the song crashes into the verse Maiden slip gears and crank it up with a slower doomed pace with some slick backing vocals perhaps Bruce doubling up but regardless When The River Runs Deep is a great track! Freight Train Maiden Full Steam Ahead!
THE BOOK OF SOULS- 10 minutes of the title track and if you want tempo change look no further! This track sweeps through all kinds of musical landscapes meshed with the Maiden Synth firmly entrenched in the background but not overstepping the boundaries of the guitars of Dave,Adrian and Janick. One of the things I love about Maiden is right around the 5 minute mark the song does indeed shift gears and that’s thanks to Nicko as he does his smooth as silk drum n tom rolls and Maiden go into the zone and blast off with solos and its back to the Prog but Maiden Heavy Prog!
DEATH OR GLORY-A nice little ditty that kicks ass! It launches right out of the Maiden Gate with all hands on deck! Nicko is smashing the cymbals while the guitars play off each other and man oh man there’s the Air Raid Siren stretching his tonsils and laying down a great vocal. Believe it or not it’s a Maiden tune under 6 minutes! Video is posted so play it please!
SHADOWS OF THE VALLEY- The beginning riff is straight outta Wasted Years kinda and this tune would have fit nice and snug on side 1 of Somewhere In Time! Tons of Maiden synth fill the backspace along with Maiden ensemble! Great tune and better solos. Nice pace as well!
TEARS OF A CLOWN- A song inspired by Robin Williams (RIP)and its a fabulous piece of musicianship,lyrics and voice! It’s all here. Love the Crispy Crunch sound of the guitars and the amped up Maiden Synth during the chorus. One great track but I have been saying that all along this review haven’t I!?
MAN OF SORROW-A mid tempo track that is paced once again by Nicko and the features a ton of Maiden triple guitar combo attacks and also features some real slick bass playing by one Mr Harris! Nice Cymbal riding at the end of this tune!
EMPIRE OF THE CLOUDS-And Here It Is …Piano! Ha! But well done and played by Bruce(what can the guy not do!) Cellos sweep across the backing of Bruce’s Piano playing and it’s a great hook! Nicko does his marching snare to Bruce’s vocals! Amazing that Bruce composed this tune about a Military Airship ( to understand the scope of this the Titanic could have fit in this Airship!)pre Hindenburg and can keep the song and more importantly us the listener interested as the song clocks in at 18 minutes! Yep 18 minutes! It’s a journey it’s not Metal but Maiden keep it moving as for the first time ever in Maiden History the piano drives the tune! Epic comes to mind! I know people were going on about Bruce only writing a couple of tracks for Book Of Souls. This qualifies as about 3 plus tunes! Give the guy a break! Ha! Fantastic song! It ends how it started with Bruce at the piano!
Holy Heck Maiden show up yet again and knock me on my ass! A double bubble epic album release. If you’re a reader at Mikeys site you know this was my Numero Uno #1 of album releases in 2015! No one came close!
Live After Death is in the upper echelons of my all time favourite Live Albums Period! Still to this day!
Shall we rewind back Somewhere In Time?
A week after my 18th Birthday in October of 1985 Iron Maiden drop on my senses this Double Whopper Of A Live Album. The Double Whopper being its a Double Album.
Live After Death was released on Friday October 15th 1985 to be exact and I remember this day well as I had seen the ads in Circus Magazine pre hyping it’s release a month or two before and I was chomping at the bit to go and fetch this upon its release which I did after the school bell rung on that Friday. Basically barricaded myself in my bedroom with this album for the whole weekend! Frigg ya as Maiden as per their protocol went all out on this album. Cool artwork by Derek Riggs Double Gatefold Sleeve/Tons of Pictures/All the tour dates/Lyrics/Pics/Stats (like how many guitar strings and pics were used and how much booze was consumed) you know the important stuff involving suds! Even the Road Crew schedule was posted!
I drooled as here I am in Tbay with my head fried from my Grade 12 Sociology Class yet Maiden and band mascot Eddie made me forget the hard trials of school that day and well….
So here it is Iron Maiden recorded over 4 Nights in Scream For Me Long Beach( California ) on there very successful World Slavery Tour 84/85. Plus a an added kicker they released this on VHS Video as well. A few years back as Maiden released this on DVD with a bunch of extras…. They still know how to package their product!
Maiden Men…
Losfer’s Words & Music…
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Intro: Churchill’s Speech“ | Winston Churchill | 1:09 |
| 2. | “Aces High” (from Powerslave, 1984) | 4:07 | |
| 3. | “2 Minutes to Midnight” (from Powerslave, 1984) | Adrian Smith, Bruce Dickinson | 5:52 |
| 4. | “The Trooper” (from Piece of Mind, 1983) | 3:59 | |
| 5. | “Revelations” (from Piece of Mind, 1983) | Dickinson | 5:59 |
| 6. | “Flight of Icarus” (from Piece of Mind, 1983) | Smith, Dickinson | 3:21 |
| Side 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” (from Powerslave, 1984) | 13:03 | |
| 2. | “Powerslave” (from Powerslave, 1984) | Dickinson | 7:06 |
| 3. | “The Number of the Beast” (from The Number of the Beast, 1982) | 4:48 | |
| Side 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | “Hallowed Be Thy Name” (from The Number of the Beast, 1982) | 7:17 | |
| 2. | “Iron Maiden” (from Iron Maiden, 1980) | 4:11 | |
| 3. | “Run to the Hills” (from The Number of the Beast, 1982) | 3:52 | |
| 4. | “Running Free” (from Iron Maiden, 1980) | Harris, Paul Di’Anno | 8:16 |
| Side 4 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
| 1. | “Wrathchild” (from Killers, 1981) | 2:54 | |
| 2. | “22 Acacia Avenue” (from The Number of the Beast, 1982) | Harris, Smith | 6:04 |
| 3. | “Children of the Damned” (from The Number of the Beast, 1982) | 4:19 | |
| 4. | “Die with Your Boots On” (from Piece of Mind, 1983) | Smith, Dickinson, Harris | 4:51 |
| 5. | “Phantom of the Opera” (from Iron Maiden, 1980) | 7:01 | |
| Total length: | 98:09 | ||
YUP! Just over 98 Minutes of Maiden! Now you know why I locked myself in Bedroom with my stereo blasting this album on that cold October weekend! Special mention must be made to my parents who never ever once told me too turn it down but at times they must have wondered what the hell was going on in my bedroom! No worries Folk’s I was on the Flight Of Icarus!
Basically you have the first three sides recorded in Long Beach and man oh man did Bruce trademark the “Scream For Me Long Beach!” If he hadn’t he should!
Of course with Maiden on this tour was the stages of all stages with a Mummified EDDIE leading the way! Massive is what I would call it!
The album opens with Churchill doing his War Speech and about never surrendering and Bam! Here’s Maiden ripping into Ace’s High and tons of rolling/rolling turning/turning through out! The songs are crisp and clear. The Musicianship is second to none! Bruce’s vocals soar through out the whole album.
This is just one rock solid album from start to finish! The songs all stand on their own merit! It’s basically a Greatest Hits set done live while spreading throughout songs from the current Powerslave album that had walloped me outside the noggin the previous year!
Adrian Smith and Dave Murray in my opinion are the best two lead guitar duo’s ever in the business of Music! There playing is friggin unbelievable even up till this day (Along with current sidekick Janick Gers) The solos’ are slick/well thought out and are hammered into our skulls as epic riff’s. Nicko the lunatic playing the drums does all the drum rolls and you want epic crash n smash style but keeping it smooth look no further than the track Powerslave after the Dave/Adrian solo’s man he just is so smooth as in making it look easy. Steve Harris being the main songwriter and he is the leader(much to Bruce’s chagrin at the time I suppose) as this was his vision put forth by him and manager Rod Smallwood.
So if you want an epic Harris track look no further than Rime Of The Ancient Mariner as it weaves over it’s 13 minutes of tempo changes and keeps you the listener entrenched and no boredom ever sets in with this track. Pure Greatness!
Course the big end of the set tune Iron Maiden pulls out all the stops! Just watch the clip below and see for yourself!
Side Four is recorded in England at the infamous Hammersmith Odeon and if my memory serves me correct this side was for the diehards across the pond as Maiden would mix up the set list as to keep the hardcore fans happy as America hadn’t caught on as quickly as Europe. I may be wrong here ….
22 Acacia Avenue rips accordingly and I love how Bruce drops the line of ‘Speak For Me Hammersmith!” over the guitars of Davey and Adrian before Bruce ramps back up vocally on the second verse!
Die With Your Boots On is another kicker of a track. Great everything about this one as well! Love the guitar playing on this track as Nicko drives the bus with his drums and keeps it all together!
Phantom Of The Opera always fascinated me back than as did the other tracks that were sung by original singer Paul Dianno on the studio versions before he got tossed and Bruce took charge. Of course now in 2017 it’s nothing new when Bruce sings the Paul tunes but back in 1985 other than hearing a B-Side of Bruce singing Remember Tomorrow you had no idea how the Dianno songs would come across with Bruce singing them!
Well the answer after listening to Live After Death was that Bruce basically took them over and made him his own.
Don’t get me wrong folks I love Dianno’s singing style on the debut Maiden album/Killers and especially Maiden Japan but the Air Raid Siren just belts it out like there is indeed no tomorrow!
Live After Death was the bridge gap between 84’s Powerslave and 86’s Somewhere In Time albums but this live audio/video showcase features a band showing everyone else in the Metal Spectrum how it’s done!
Maiden 1990 is a different animal than the band that released what I consider their best album ever 1988’s Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son!
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes……
Gone is Guitarist Adrian Smith who already had contributed a ton of Classic Tracks to the Maiden albums of years before. Case in point check out my review of Somewhere In Time as Smith is the MVP of that album in my eye’s. So when he bailed on Maiden I was disappointed but I knew Bassist and Maiden Creator Steve Harris would carry on as that’s Maiden’s tendency! Replace and move on!
Gone are the elaborate stage shows that came with each album release in the 80’s. A more stripped back stage with the backdrops and Eddie of course but more Marshall Amps added and yada yada. This did not bug me in the least as it’s the tunes that count right?!
So Harry and Crew recruit Janick Gers (playing guitar at the time in Lead Singers Bruce Dickinson solo band) and keep the Maiden Juggernaut heading into new frontiers. But are we ready for it?
1990 was a great year not only did we get like I mentioned earlier the fantastic Bruce solo album Tattooed Millionaire but along with it a new Maiden album as well.
October 1st 1990 is when No Prayer was released and SHOCKER I was not a first day buyer of it! I had purchased Peace OF Mind/Powerslave/Live After Death/Somewhere In Time and 7th Son all on their release dates. My first day Maiden purchase streak ended at 5!
Reason you ask? Simple a little less than a week later myself and Tbone were gonna be in Winnipeg going to see ZZ Top and per our protocol on road trips was to load up on discs! Tbone especially as he would drop coin on say 20-25 discs on a given road trip! So with this in mind I thought i would hold out and at least purchase 1 for myself! Haha….
Still recall unwrapping the plastic from No Prayer in out hotel room in the Peg and scanning the lyrics/pics as Maiden always delivered in the cd department!
Course when I got back to Tbay the first order was to listen to No Prayer….
The Verdict! Good not Great. Not a let down either but a band that I had thought was maybe trying to ditch a bit of the past(80’s) and move into the 90’s with a new kinda look and new Metal like sound.
Maiden Men …
Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals
Dave Murray – guitar
Janick Gers – guitar
Steve Harris – bass guitar
Nicko McBrain – drums
No Prayer Maiden Mix…
Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. “Tailgunner” Steve Harris, Bruce Dickinson 4:13
2. “Holy Smoke” Harris, Dickinson 3:47
3. “No Prayer for the Dying” Harris 4:22
4. “Public Enema Number One” Dave Murray, Dickinson 4:03
5. “Fates Warning” Murray, Harris 4:09
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. “The Assassin” Harris 4:16
2. “Run Silent Run Deep” Harris, Dickinson 4:34
3. “Hooks in You” Dickinson, Adrian Smith 4:06
4. “Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter” Dickinson 4:42
5. “Mother Russia” Harris 5:30
Total length: 43:42
Couple of things you may notice right away about the track listings! Steve and Bruce team up on three tracks. Dave Murray even steps up with 2 contributions as ex member Smith is featured in a co write with Bruce. Second of all the album clocks in at 43 minutes. Not only are Maiden cleaning house but there also doing away with the Epic Long Tune’s. All tracks are under 5 minutes except for album closer Mother Russia.
Let’s Do This…
Tailgunner has Maiden beginning studio album Number 8 with Harris and Nicko along with the guitars of Janick and Davey usher in Tailgunner! Tailgunner what a great name for a late night establishment don’t you think? I could picture it now with Tbone dialing his phone circa 1990 and a voice on the other end answering with a “Good Evening Welcome To Tailgunners How can I Direct Your call?” hahaha…oh wait this isn’t it a Dance Club? Gah! Sorry lost my trail of thought there! Maidens Tailgunner is a song about World War 2 Pilots…..Bruce as always delivers a great vocal “Nail That Fokker Kill That Son” ahh clever writing fella’s! It doesn’t take long to realize that Maiden to my ears is making a Street Sounding Album. The production by Martin Birch is dry sounding which kinda suits the vibe of the album.
Second song Holy Smoke is bona fide classic in my humble opinion! Loved it in 1990 and still love it 27 years later! This song takes charge and at the time with all the corrupt TV Preachers goings on Steve and Bruce nail out a Gem writing about it. Super Duper catchy chorus! Super Duper Metal Slop Rock Solo from New Boy Janick and Wow Man! Gem! Posted the video to this song and look at those Brits! They are a funny bunch! Great video!
The title track No Prayer For The Dying almost sounds like at some spots like a Maiden Jig! A little slower tempo but like all Harris written tunes it’s gonna speed up and go into overdrive and lift off at which it does. Real cool leads from both Davey and Janick as they just do what they do.
Whoah! Another Gem in the form of Public Enema Number One. Janick and Dave take charge with those cool dual leads right out of the gate with Steve and Nicko taking charge in the rhythm department! Bruce as he always does take charge in his vocal delivery and man oh man another Great Track! Watch the live video! Actually I’m pasting the last verse in the tune which features my favourite paragraph of Bruce written lyrics on this album…
A million network slaves
In an advertising new age
I don’t need a crystal ball to sell ya
Your children have more brains
Than your drug infested remains
California dreaming as the Earth dies screaming
Woo-Hooooo!
Fates Warning is a straight forward no frill’s Metal Track. It’s a decent enough one for sure and it was interesting to revisit this one as on any other Metal Release at the time this would have been a great song but with this being Maiden they set they set the Bar High. Pretty good actually….WTF am I going on about?
The Assassin builds and builds with Harry and Nicko doing their quick snare and bass riffs. One of those tracks which is ok not great. The Verses build and build and the chorus is for me a little on the lacklustre side.
Run Silent Run Deep has Bruce singing in that sinister style vocal and man oh man after the last two previous songs kinda lagging things pick up with this track. Love the pace of it. Great chorus as well and love the guitar work and bass on this tune. Nicko man plays like only Nicko does and that’s awesome! Love how the tune ends with just Bruce and bit of guitar!
Speaking of Nicko you want Cowbell? Hooks In You leads off with a slick riff with added cowbell. Pretty good track nothing spectacular but still a decent round of Metal. Maiden man set and drank the bar high n dry.
Ok. Bruce is the only singer in the world who could sing the chorus to Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter and making it oh so catchy. Case in point when this album was first out I found myself singing it at work in a moment of pure unconsciousness except I wasn’t! Some one near by said “Pardon me” and snapped me back into reality and I mumbled away …. Great track actually and as an added bonus a real cool guitar solo! Bruce as always delivers in spades.
Mother Russia is your end of the album Harris concept piece as it’s another one of those epic pieces but for me I dunno I kinda missed the Metal Boat on this one. The playing/singing is all there of course but I just don’t get this one at all.
Maiden enter the 90’s with more of a street vibe and it’s a pretty decent album with some standout tracks and some not so standout tracks. Something has to give after a while really. I mean 8 studio albums over 10 years including tours it’s impressive to say the least.
So although Harry & Crew did not hit one totally out of the park No Prayer is still a decent album with a real couple of good standout tracks!
Faithful Stick It In Your Ear reader Robbo likes stories attached to the reviews….
Let’s Do This..
Summer of 1981 and I’m 14 years young and have basically become a Music Junkie(spending all my Allowance on Magazines and Records) So one Hot July afternoon I along with my good pal Muc headed into a local Record Shop ( Record On Wheels which was a cool shop but only lasted a few years in Tbay).
As per protocol a few times a week we would cruise on down to all the record shops and check out the Record Action going on in the Racks.
So that July afternoon on the Racks was two albums that caught my eye right away and that was Def Leppard’s High N Dry and Iron Maiden’s Killers. Both albums I wanted but I only had enough cash for one. I must have flipped each album over a 100 times as I couldn’t decide which one to buy that week! ( I would only have to wait a week until I could muster up more dough to go back and buy the other album that I didn’t buy)..
Muc made my choice much easier and he grabbed Leps High N Dry! Thank you Dude…So off it was to home with Killers and talk about a Game Changer in regards to my Young Musical Mind.
Look at the cover(if you recall from my Number Of The Beast review the importance of Marketing). Here it is the name of Iron Maiden in bright read lettering. I would find that the Band had a mascot named Eddie. He’s the one holding the Axe. In other words this cover is Bad Ass! Look for yourselves…
The back cover had the cool Live action shot of Maiden and you can see it’s Maiden putting on a show and by this pic you can see how quickly they progressed from Bars/Clubs/Arenas to Stadiums! This Picture on the back shows the band going for it and below it there are pictures of each of the Maiden Dudes and even a picture of the Producer Martin Birch as well! How many album sleeves or even CD Booklets could you recall seeing a picture of the Fella who produced the album your listening too?
Once the needle was dropped on my stereo. Mind Blower! How about the titles of these tracks! You want M-E-T-A-L look no further than Killer’s!
The Tunes…Even the titles to these tracks Sound Heavy…
SIDE ONE
1. “The Ides of March” (Instrumental) 1:48
2. “Wrathchild” 2:54
3. “Murders in the Rue Morgue” 4:14
4. “Another Life” 3:22
5. “Genghis Khan” (Instrumental) 3:02
6. “Innocent Exile” 3:50
SIDE TWO
1. “Killers” Paul Di’Anno, Harris 4:58
2. “Prodigal Son” 6:05
3. “Purgatory” 3:18
4. “Drifter” 4:47
Total length:
38:10
First thing you notice when you look at the tracks is that Bassist Steve Harris wrote the whole album solo except for the title track which vocalist Paul Di’Anno had a help in shaping.
This kinda blew my mind at the time as the bands I was listening to at (1980 On) like Van Halen/KISS/Queen/Cheap Trick and AC/DC had multiple songwriters in the band well except for Cheap Trick who had guitarist Rick Nielsen who basically wrote the Trick songs’ solo. As an 13-year-old at the time I understood the guitar player writing all the tunes solo but how the hell does the Bass Player write all the songs himself on just 4 strings? Haha….Silly Me!
So once I got home and dropped the Needle In The Groove(Mama’s Boy’s Name Drop!) I was forever Blown Away and became an Instant Lifer Maiden Fanboy!
Let’s Decipher Shall We?
1:48 Seconds of a Musical (no vocals )Stomp to my Noggin and it’s Steve and Crew Sonically laying down the Foundation with big Power Chords Guitar while the Late Great Drummer Clive Burr with his galloping drum rolls take charge and we call this ditty Ides Of March.
Welcome To Maiden Ville …….
Harris and Burr lock up musical chops in Wrathchild with Bass An Drums and here comes the Guitar Dual lead Attack in Dave Murray and his new Sidekick Adrian Smith( Dennis Stratton who played guitar on the self titled debut in 1980 got the Heave Ho from Harris and manager Rod Smallwood) lay down some serious ax work and if it means anything to you’s out there to this day they are still my favourite Dual Lead Dudes! That’s saying something after what? Listening to Maiden for 35 years! Whut?! Di’anno’s voice blew me away as he sang with a cool vibe, had a different aurora about him. In 81 Paul had a cool thing going but he too would face the Boot from Harris and Smallwood and be replaced by a fellow named Bruce Dickinson less than a year later.
Maiden shift gears and the beginning of Murders In The Rue Morgue is Metal as I never heard. The opening bit is just bass and guitar and before long Burr bashes his snare into submission and we are off. Paul with his Punky Metal like Voice that comes at you like he’s in your face singing while pointing his finger right at you! It’s so good and Maiden don’t play it safe! No sirree as time and tempo changes rule the Morgue and Maiden have kicked my Arse Hard! The solo’s between Dave and Adrian just take this band to the next level….
Burr as he does so well leads the Troops here at the beginning of Another Life. It’s only a matter of seconds before the song lifts off with some A+ Riffing that leads into Paul’s snarky drawl. This song is an instant classic. Another Life is Another Great Maiden Track and with Murray/Smith riffing along were what? Four songs’ in and Davey and Adrian are telling all Guitarists out there ….Watch Out!
Ok. Let’s get this straight! Genghis Khan is the 5th song on Side 1. Remember this is my first time hearing Maiden in July of 1981 when I was 13 and here’s Steve-O and Posse throwing down a second musical only tune as Paulie gets another break! We are only 5 tracks in! Who does this kind of stuff upon first impression? Maiden ….! By Golly they have already smashed my brains to smithereens with the heaviness of a sound. A sound I have never heard and it took less than 15 minutes!
Innocent Exile begins with some out of control Bass Work by Harris and before long everyone is on board and Innocent Exile is METAL. Love the last-minute of this tune as it ramps up and just goes into a whole other level! What better way to finish off Side 1 with a big galloping ending as all instruments mash-up….
Killers begins with Harris and Burr leading the charge and before long Davey and Adrian roar in and set the world on fire. Not to be outdone Paul steps up and Killers is a bona fide classic! “Scream For Meeeeeeercy” sings Paul and this song soars! Attack of the two mad axemen as Murray just shreds on the Strat while Smith matches Dave lick for lick in the solo Dept. Burr is a beast on his Kit on this tune… Just watch the video posted below for some Excellent Maiden Ass Kicking! Kinda cool that there’s different lyrics that ended up on the album than this live version! LIVE METAL FOLKS!
Prodigal Son is a slower like tune well by Maidens standards. Nice use of acoustics along with the electrics blended in with Burrs drums keeps the song pushing forward without losing steam. Dianno can even slow down his Punk Mentality Delivery and sing chill. Great tune that even though it doesn’t Roar like Murders In The Rue Morgue it can still pack a decent punch!
Purgatory is Maiden at it’s punkiest and once the guitars start it’s Maiden taking off yet again. Purgatory has a real awesome chorus witness for yourself the real clever wording of a Mr Harris. Speaking of which it boggles my mind that Steve was in his early 20’s writing this kind of stuff Lyrically and Musically. Genius that Dude is!
Oh another time, another place.
Oh another smile on another face.
When you see me floating up beside you,
You get the feeling that all my love’s inside of you.
Yes siree it does not get any better than that ..Heck I’m posting the video below as well.. Lyrics are posted so my pals Rockin Roberts and BMellis can sing along….
Drifter ends Killers with a stomp. Love the sync of the Guitars and Bass at the beginning and then Drums and Paul Screaming “Walk Away!” Great vocal by Paul in which he keeps pace with the band. Drifter is a Gem especially when the song breaks down and then ramps up with Burr once again reducing his snare drum to shreds. What a Finish…
Maiden! What an introduction from just being hooked by the red logo and Eddie with his bloody dripping axe and that s just the cover! The Back cover with the live action shot just won me over that day! I actually bumped into Muc the other day at work and mentioned to him that I was going to be posting about this album and our Trip that day to the old Record On Wheels Store here in Tbay! Muc still remembers it as well as he took home Def Lep’s album.
Killers hooked me as a fan from that day on. It’s really a shame that Di’anno came unglued personally and professionally and this was his Maiden Studio Swan Song. Than again we all know who Governor Harris and Smallwood recruited to replace Paul and Maiden than really took off. For some like fellow reader and Great Blogger Mr 1537 says he prefers Killers over anything else Maiden has done. Fair enough … I think he said that!
Crazy that it’s been 35 years! Time does indeed Fly!
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