The Iron Maiden Thread v. The Merge of Souls

[nick_z]

Yeah, I will bust it out soon.  Looking forward to it.

In other news, you can all point at me and laugh now about how I was wrong...

Infinite Dreams played in the car earlier on shuffle.

The light bulb came on.

Great stuff.

Love when that happens. 

 

  indeed!!

On top of being a fantastic song all-around, Infinite Dreams has one of those "quintessential" Maiden moments - the instrumental section starting just past the 4-minute mark (and then reprised a minute later). That simple harmonized lead, and Nicko just on fire. Amazing. Come to think of it, the whole instrumental section is fantastic. I love Infinite Dreams 

[fadetoblackdude7]

Infinite Dreams is my favorite song off that album 🤘😛🤘

[Dream Team]

Tim, you always come up with the coolest gifs  .

[425]

Yeah, I will bust it out soon.  Looking forward to it.

In other news, you can all point at me and laugh now about how I was wrong...

Infinite Dreams played in the car earlier on shuffle.

The light bulb came on.

Great stuff.

Love when that happens. 

Awesome, so glad to hear it!

The instrumental section Nick mentioned is great, but I also think it has one of their better finales. "There's got to be just more to it than this" And the first verse is great, too. Just a great song all around.

[KevShmev]

I was telling this the other day to a friend (who is a massive fan and is the one with whom I did the run through last fall): what's wild is that even though I didn't hear these albums until recently, there are moments on both Somewhere in Time and Seventh Son... that remind me of my late grade school/early high school years.  They both just have that later 80s hard rock sound and mix and tones that just remind me of other music at the time that is ingrained in my head and bring me back to the times like the summer of '87. 

[TAC]

The 7th Son shows I saw were in July of 1988.

[KevShmev]

The 7th Son shows I saw were in July of 1988.

Like this one?

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/iron-maiden/1988/centrum-in-worcester-worcester-ma-6bd3ae7a.html

[TAC]

The 7th Son shows I saw were in July of 1988.

Like this one?

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/iron-maiden/1988/centrum-in-worcester-worcester-ma-6bd3ae7a.html

Yes. I actually bought a solo seat on the floor with the hopes of getting up front. It worked!

July 17, 1988
Worcester Centrum

















Ace Frehley opened!






I saw them in Providence 3 days later. No pics though.

[KevShmev]

Gotta love those 80s haircuts. 

Looking at the below, looks like Stanger in a Strange Land hasn't been played nearly enough, if you ask me.

https://www.setlist.fm/stats/iron-maiden-3bd6803c.html

[TAC]

Yeah, they played it on the Somewhere In Time tour, and an the first few shows of the Ed Hunter reunion tour in the summer of 1999. Unfortunately, Boston was the first of a handful of shows that Adrian missed due to his father passing away. I was so bummed he wasn't there.

[nick_z]

Uh, I didn't realize they had resurrected it in 1999...

[KevShmev]

I pick that song often lately when going through this new little Maiden binge. Definitely one of my favorites.

Interestingly, I find that of the five 80s albums with Dickinson, Piece of Mind is the one I rarely go to for anything lately.  Good album for sure, but it just feels like the others are better.  Of course, I said that about Seventh Son a week or two ago , so my mind is ever-changing with this stuff lately, but it just feels like it's the least best of the bunch...right now.

[TAC]

Uh, I didn't realize they had resurrected it in 1999...

https://youtu.be/jLxeR9pNF0g?t=2366

[nick_z]

Uh, I didn't realize they had resurrected it in 1999...

https://youtu.be/jLxeR9pNF0g?t=2366

Neat!!  Quality of the recording aside, they sound great. And Bruce, my goodness, he's in such good shape, vocally. I always thought, back then, that he sounded 100% rejuvenated in his solo work, and that definitely carried over to the Maiden reunion...

[TAC]

Interestingly, I find that of the five 80s albums with Dickinson, Piece of Mind is the one I rarely go to for anything lately.  Good album for sure, but it just feels like the others are better.  Of course, I said that about Seventh Son a week or two ago , so my mind is ever-changing with this stuff lately, but it just feels like it's the least best of the bunch...right now.

So hearing all of these albums as they came out in real time..  To me, Piece Of Mind has a really organic sound that will always resonate with me.

[nick_z]

I pick that song often lately when going through this new little Maiden binge. Definitely one of my favorites.

Interestingly, I find that of the five 80s albums with Dickinson, Piece of Mind is the one I rarely go to for anything lately.  Good album for sure, but it just feels like the others are better.  Of course, I said that about Seventh Son a week or two ago , so my mind is ever-changing with this stuff lately, but it just feels like it's the least best of the bunch...right now.

Kev, you might have done this a few pages back when you did the run, but I'm lazy  What's your ranking of Maiden's 80s albums? Curious to see your perspective from having (re?)discovered them recently...

[TAC]

Uh, I didn't realize they had resurrected it in 1999...

https://youtu.be/jLxeR9pNF0g?t=2366

Neat!!  Quality of the recording aside, they sound great. And Bruce, my goodness, he's in such good shape, vocally. I always thought, back then, that he sounded 100% rejuvenated in his solo work, and that definitely carried over to the Maiden reunion...

I was never a huge Bruce fan per se back in the 80's. I kind of always thought he was full of shit. But when I first heard Balls To Picasso, his talent jumped out at me. I agree with you that he returned to Maiden stronger than ever in all facets.

Even though Maiden in the Reunion Era is still Steve's ship, Bruce is such a force in its' success.

[wolfking]

Uh, I didn't realize they had resurrected it in 1999...

Yeah, the whole Ed Hunter game thing.

[RodrigoAltaf]

Adrian played Stranger in a Strange Land with his band Psycho Motel in the mid 90's, and it sounded great. Too bad there are no videos of it on YouTube anymore.

Actually, the two Psycho Motel albums have aged quite well, especially the second one. I wish Adrian did a low-key type of tour with this band, like Steve did with British Lion.

[425]

I pick that song often lately when going through this new little Maiden binge. Definitely one of my favorites.

Interestingly, I find that of the five 80s albums with Dickinson, Piece of Mind is the one I rarely go to for anything lately.  Good album for sure, but it just feels like the others are better.  Of course, I said that about Seventh Son a week or two ago , so my mind is ever-changing with this stuff lately, but it just feels like it's the least best of the bunch...right now.

My two favorite 80s albums are Seventh Son and Piece of Mind! To me, it's hard to beat the run of the first five tracks of PoM, especially the opening trio.

[KevShmev]

Kev, you might have done this a few pages back when you did the run, but I'm lazy  What's your ranking of Maiden's 80s albums? Curious to see your perspective from having (re?)discovered them recently...

This seems to change every week, but I'd go with this for now:

1a Powerslave
1b Somewhere in Time
3 The Number of the Beast
4 Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
5 Iron Maiden
6 Piece of Mind
7 Killers

[TAC]

I'd go...

The Number Of The Beast
Seventh Son
Piece Of Mind
Killers
Powerslave
Somewhere In Time
Iron Maiden

[nick_z]

I go with:

The Number of the Beast
Somewhere in Time
Seventh Son
Powerslave
Piece of Mind
Killers
Iron Maiden

But they are all great, really 

EDIT: Switched Powerslave and Piece of Mind...again, it could go either way

[KevShmev]

Somewhere in Time would be my number 1 if track 7 was as strong as the rest. Deja Vu is not a bad song, but merely solid. 

[Podaar]

This is really difficult for me but I'd have to say:

Seventh Son
Powerslave
Somewhere in Time
Piece of Mind (it has my favorite Maiden song of all time)
Killers
The Number of the Beast
Iron Maiden

But they are all great, really 

[nick_z]

I really like Deja Vu...the one song I like but don't love on Somewhere in Time is Heaven Can Wait (although it's always a fun listen...)

[TAC]

Piece of Mind (it has my favorite Maiden song of all time)

Which is?

I really like Deja Vu...the one song I like but don't love on Somewhere in Time is Heaven Can Wait (although it's always a fun listen...)

I was never a huge fan of HCW, but I love it now. It might be their best aged song for me.

[Kwyjibo]

Piece Of Mind
The Number Of The Beast
Powerslave
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
Somewhere In Time
Killers
Iron Maiden

[Zantera]

For me the top3 stay the same but the order can rotate;

1. Powerslave
2. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
3. Somewhere in Time
4. The Number of the Beast
5. Piece of Mind
6. Killers
7. Iron Maiden

[425]

1. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
2. Piece of Mind
3. Somewhere in Time

4. The Number of the Beast
5. Powerslave

6. Iron Maiden
7. Killers

SSOASS is pristine and PoM has so many very high points that QFF doesn't matter much. SiT has a few songs that I don't like as well, but nothing outright bad, and the highs are really high. TNotB is consistent (Gangland aside) but not at as high a level as the top three. Tracks 3-5 on Powerslave just really drag that album down for me, but the obvious four are great. I might rank the album higher as a whole in a world where Live After Death didn't exist, but because it does, I almost never listen to the Powerslave album.

I'm not much one for the Di'Anno era. It's good music, but it's not what draws me to Iron Maiden. Those two albums default to third and fourth to last place overall, with NPFTD and FotD in the last two spots. I put the debut above Killers because Phantom of the Opera and Remember Tomorrow are far and away the best songs of the Di'Anno era, to the extent that I would take those two songs by themselves above the other 17.

[DoctorAction]

I can't do it!

Killers is my desert island Maiden album. And IM and PoM would be at bottom and next to bottom, respectively.

But I love em all!

[jammindude]

I take it we’re doing just the 80s?

The Number of the Beast
Iron Maiden
Piece of Mind
Powerslave
SSOASS
Killers
Somewhere in Time

[wolfking]

For me the top3 stay the same but the order can rotate;

1. Powerslave
2. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
3. Somewhere in Time
4. The Number of the Beast
5. Piece of Mind
6. Killers
7. Iron Maiden

Swap SIT and 7th Son and that's probably mine.

[The Realm]

Ranking the first 7 Iron Maiden albums is like splitting hairs to me. All 7 are without a doubt some of my favourite albums of all time and just mean so much to me and my musical journey.

However to put in order I think I would go with:

Number of the Beast
Somewhere in Time
Piece of Mind
Seventh Son
Powerslave
Killers
Iron Maiden

[WardySI]

Seventh Son
Somewhere In Time
Piece Of Mind
Powerslave
Number
Killers
Maiden

I think a lot of these lists certainly my own are steered by where/when it all started for us.  I mean Number is a classic yet there it is🤷 😉