First, thanks Wolfking, for the write-ups. I finally listened to the second disk last night - twice, as a matter of fact, while in the car - and I restate my observation: I'm not personally experiencing any of the complaints so far. The record sounds pretty good in my car, the keyboards are far more prominent, but I don't hear them as poorly played (and I trust Romdrums' opinion on this stuff!), Bruce sounds amazing, if not like the Bruce from 1985, the writing is tight, if you can call a 12 minute song "tight", and the choruses are memorable. For the Harris songs, his writing is eminently recognizable, yet there's almost always at least one time per album when there's that harmony melody and I go "wait, isn't that the same melody from Mother Russia/Alexander The Great/One of his other songs? I'm not sure there was even one time on this album where I had that thought.
Whether it's "their best" or not, I don't know. Whether it's the "album of the year" or not, I don't know. But I've been a Maiden fan since 1982, and I like all phases of their career, and at this point, this is the exact album I would hope for from them. They are certainly NOT phoning it in at this point or scrambling to reacquire some past glory (I'm looking at you, Scorpions and even Kiss), nor are they trying to be something they are not (hi, Dee! Good to see you, Motley!) or staying past their prime (as much as I love you, David Lee, it might be time!)
This album gives me pleasure, makes me want to listen again, and makes me want to see these songs live. $20 well spent, IMO.