Part Two:
Somewhere in Time I love this album, this was the first new Iron Maiden album released after I became a fan. I’ve always loved those “cul-de-sac” albums that some bands have released, where they experiment with a slightly different direction and then chose not to take that path, and this is probably the ultimate cul-de-sac album, coming as it does between the two high-points in the band’s career. I also love the way the album has a definite sequencing – both sides open and close with a Steve Haris epic, with two more commercial tracks in between. You can play side 2 first, then side 1, and the album stilll has exactly the same flow. Wasted Years is unlike anything I’d ever heard before, Sea of Madness is brilliant, and Heaven Can Wait an all-time classic, I really don’t understand people who don’t love this song, before ‘Arry wrote Fear of the Dark this was the big sing-along anthem at shows. Stranger in a Strange Land is one of my favourite Maiden songs of all time, and Alexanader the Great manages to recreate something of To Tame A Land without repeating it. The other big Harris tunes are good enough in isolation, but with 4 epics on the album, they do tend to sound a bit much of a muchness.
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son The 80s tinny production does it no favours, but this is still Maiden’s best album. Every track is a scorcher, including The Prophecy, which I still love. The intro to Moonchild still manages to send chills up my spine and get my fist punching the air, Infinite Dreams is the point at which Harris abandons any pretence at verse-chorus song structure, the singles are sing-along classics, and the ending of the title track, with the second half being instrumental, is one of Maiden’s greatest and most under-appreciated moments. Even after all these years I can still sing along with every word, every note. I love it.
Note: I’m listening to the 1998 EMI remasters, and this is the first album I’ve had a problem with – the remastering is brickwalled to death and is truly, truly horrible, it’s a screech of clipped cymbals and actively hurt my ears. I wish I’d still got the original 1988 CD to compare it to. I note the booklet doesn’t include any remastering credits, all the albums so far have, but after this they don’t. This version is all but unlistenable - Does anyone know if the new remaster is any better?
No Prayer for the Dying Oh dear. I understand the band’s desire to go back to a more basic sound, but they don’t quite manage it, and let’s be honest, the songs aren’t there, with too much juvenile humour sneaking into the lyrics. Fates Warning is the worst Maiden song to date, truly, truly terrible, but apart from that there’s nothing particularly bad on here, just nothing that good either, most of it is simply turgid. That said, the band is on top form throughout, with Bruce especially giving it 100% even on the duff tunes. The best stuff is on side 2, The Assassin is a pleasant surprise, with Jannick Gers’ scratchy guitars offering something new and different. Hooks In You is probably the best of the commercial songs, and really shows how the band would miss Adrian Smith as a songwriter. I really, really wanted to hate Bring Your Daughter…To The Slaughter, but I couldn’t, it is enormous fun, and I loved every minute of it. Still, this is a contender for Maiden’s weakest album, and coming straight after their best makes it even more disappointing.
Fear of the Dark The received wisdom on this album is that the first and last songs are great, but everything inbetween is filler. That’s not far from the truth. The album has a big, open sound, and is well mixed, but the advent of the CD age meant that albums were getting longer, and yet again Maiden lacked quality material. A shorter album would definitely have helped. Be Quick or Be Dead is a great opener, Afraid to Shoot Strangers is a classic, but Bruce sounds like he’s going through the motions, Blaze always sang this one so much better. I’ve always liked Fear is the Key, with its odd little Zeppelin-style interlude, a real highlight of the album for me. Wasted Love sounds great, but the song itself isn’t good enough to be the big power ballad hit I guess they were hoping for, they should have gotten Dianne Warren to write something for them instead. Biggest surprise was The Apparition, I loved this one! Biggest disappointment was Weekend Warrior, a truly awful track that shouldn’t have made it onto a B-side, let alone an album track. The title song is a classic, of course, but I’d never realised the recorded version was so fast. Overall, the album has a lot of contrasting styles on it, which doesn’t always work and leaves the whole thing feeling a bit directionless. I actually enjoyed it less than NPFTD, although it is probably marginally a better album. Still can’t believe how much Weekend Warrior sucks though.
So bye-bye Bruce. Next up, Part Three, and enter Blaze…
Topic: The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls (Read 573281 times)
