Official top 75 Iron Maiden songs thread!! (Top 2 revealed on 07/15!!)

[TAC]

EDIT - I am however, going to spend some time the remainder of this week trying to refamiliarize myself with the reunion material. I know the old stuff like the back of my hand but I need to give some fresh ears to some of the newer stuff

Only a real man makes such a shameful admission like this.

[KevShmev]

I’m going to try to be a little smarter on this one. I’m not gonna put myself through the torture of ranking every single song. I don’t see the need to put things like TAATG on the list. Sometime this week I will come up with a rough list of probably a little over 100 songs and then throw that into the ranking engine.

EDIT - I am however, going to spend some time the remainder of this week trying to refamiliarize myself with the reunion material. I know the old stuff like the back of my hand but I need to give some fresh ears to some of the newer stuff

Same here.  Given how many songs there are, the ones I know have zero chance of making my top 75 will get chucked when I enter the songs into the ranking engine, meaning almost every song from the 90s except Fear of the Dark. 

[TAC]

I would never rank every song. For all of the countdowns, I just do a nomination process. Nominate just enough to cover how many songs the countdown is. I ranked 106 songs for this.

[jammindude]

EDIT - I am however, going to spend some time the remainder of this week trying to refamiliarize myself with the reunion material. I know the old stuff like the back of my hand but I need to give some fresh ears to some of the newer stuff

Only a real man makes such a shameful admission like this.

It’s not that I don’t know it. But some of it I know more than others and it’s just not imprinted into my psyche the way that the first six or seven albums are. I could practically recite every song from those albums note for note. Especially IM-PS.

[wolfking]

Yeah, I never quite understood why people went through ranking all the songs.  That seems like unnecessary work.

[Cool Chris]

The laziness in me requires I whittle down the list to the appropriate length before activating the ranking engine*. If I know a song won't make the final rankings, why am I bothering to determine where it will fall outside the list?

*That is getting cumbersome to type out. Can we give it a name, like "Ranky"?

[TAC]

I have long called it The Ranker.

[wolfking]

I'm interested in how many reunion songs make it in my list in comparison to the rest of the catalogue.

[KevShmev]

I am not sure any songs from the last two albums will make my top 75, as both albums seem like blurs to me, and the songs I did think were good seem good but not really notable, but I will give them fresh spins as I work through this exercise, so time will tell. 

I am pretty sure at least half of the songs from A Matter of Life and Death will make it for me.

[wolfking]

I do hope everyone participating at least know and have an idea of the entire catalogue.  I guess if people don't like the reunion era and never bothered and just rank on the classic era I guess that's their prerogative but that would be a shame.  I hope people give the Blaze albums a fair assessment too.

[TAC]

I'm interested in how many reunion songs make it in my list in comparison to the rest of the catalogue.

My Top 75 at this point looks like this...

Dianno...7
Classic..37
Blaze...9
Reunion...22


...though I still make make a manual adjustment or two...

[KevShmev]

I gave the Blaze albums fair shots last fall when I went through my Maiden binge.  They aren't getting any more time with me.  Even the two 90s albums with Bruce were mostly pretty dodgy; I don't see me returning to those either. 

[wolfking]

That's a nice spread Tim.

[TAC]

Even the two 90s albums with Bruce were mostly pretty dodgy; I don't see me returning to those either.

9 of my 37 Classic era tracks come from those two albums.

[wolfking]

Tim's all over this.  There will be about the same for me, perhaps more.

[TAC]

I realize not everyone will love every album, however, every album has a handful of great songs.

I have 4 tracks from V11. One may be controversial, but the other three are simply great songs.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I'm interested in how many reunion songs make it in my list in comparison to the rest of the catalogue.

My Top 75 at this point looks like this...

Dianno...7
Classic..37
Blaze...9
Reunion...22


...though I still make make a manual adjustment or two...

Mine is shaping up like this so far...

Dianno - 4-6
Blaze - 1-2
Then it's probably going to be a 50/50 split between the classic and reunion eras.

Unfortunately the Blaze albums just never clicked with me. I also doubt anything will make it from Senjutsu.

[TAC]

You should really check out Senjutsu. It's pretty good.

[Cool Chris]

Even the two 90s albums with Bruce were mostly pretty dodgy; I don't see me returning to those either. 

I haven't listened to those two albums in ages before this week, and doubt I will again anytime soon. I had actually forgotten I never got around to buying NPftD. I didn't even care to buy it for completionist's sake.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

You should really check out Senjutsu. It's pretty good.

I've listened to it a handful of times and it's not bad by any means, but it hasn't really resonated yet.

[The Realm]

Still working on my list but I will have minimal songs from the blaze era and minimal songs from Fear of the Dark and No Prayer for the Dying. All other albums will be fairly well represented I'd say. Not that there aren't good songs on those albums but we are only looking for a top 75.

[Stadler]

Song listed updated with Burning Ambition, Invasion and Reach Out.

Sorry, Tim, obscure or not, Women in Uniform is a cover, so I did not add it.

But VH's covers were included?

Not that it's going anywhere near my list, but still.

Yes, because they were on actual studio albums.

Were any of these Maiden covers on actual studio albums?  If the answer is no, then there is your answer.

"Women In Uniform" was included on some releases of "Killers", in place of "Twilight Zone".   

All three of those songs are potentials for my list.  I like those songs.

[Stadler]

I can tell you right now that I am going to have several Blaze songs on my list, and I’m positive that one will be in the top 3…so ya, the discussion will happen.

I'm already gearing up for the "The Angel And The Gambler" discussion.

That's another question; what about different versions?  The edit of TAATG is very different than the album version. There's a version of Wrathschild that is a little slower and more... rhythmic than the album version... is that on us to determine?

[Stadler]

So....   "Burning Ambition" is missing (it's the b-side to the first single, Running Free) as is "Invasion", one of the songs from their first EP, "The Soundhouse Tapes" and a b-side to their third single.

I would suggest that "Women In Uniform" should be on there, since while it wasn't written by the band (it's a Skyhooks cover) it was released as a single (the third single I mentioned above), and they performed it on Top Of The Pops.  It was a mistake that Harris has admitted, but it was a conscious effort by the band to release a non-album single to promote a British tour they were on.

I get it, they don't belong and I understand why, but I'm bummed that the Reach Out/Juanita/That Girl b-sides aren't there either; they are technically covers, but it's a fine line, since some are from the side project by Adrian and Nicko ("The Entire Population of Hackney").

So, yes, the original DiAnno tracks should be included.

But Reach Out is no more a cover as Bring Your Daughter. BYD was professionally recorded by Bruce and RELEASED. Jaunita and That Girl ARE covers though.

Reach Out is on my list..

That Girl is insanely different from the original that it's almost a new song, but yeah it's a cover.

Reach Out is amazing.

As is "King Of Twilight"; clearly a cover, but a medley of "Crying In The Dark" and "King Of Twilight".  Great tunes and the way I discovered Nektar, a great band (at least the original version).

[romdrums]

I have the run from Number of the Beast to Seventh Son, and then all of the reunion albums.  I don't have any of the 90's material, nor do I have the first two albums.  That still is about 109 songs, counting the b-sides. 

[Stadler]

Yeah, I never quite understood why people went through ranking all the songs.  That seems like unnecessary work.

I'm that guy.  I kind of like seeing the bottom.  It's fascinating to me that VHIII has 11 of the bottom 14 tracks.  There are songs in my head that I think I LOVE and songs in my head that I think I HATE but it's interesting on both ends to see where they ultimately fall.

[Stadler]

I realize not everyone will love every album, however, every album has a handful of great songs.

I have 4 tracks from V11. One may be controversial, but the other three are simply great songs.

That's average; 17 albums, 75 songs, that's just over 4 per album.  I'll definitely have at least two from every record except possibly The X Factor.

I'm definitely going to do a listen of all the albums before I do a final ranking.

[KevShmev]

That's another question; what about different versions?  The edit of TAATG is very different than the album version. There's a version of Wrathschild that is a little slower and more... rhythmic than the album version... is that on us to determine?

From the rules:

Any list with the same song mentioned twice will be not be counted.

Multiple versions of the same song cannot be counted.  You can list any song just once using any version you want (studio, live, alternate, whatever).

[Deadeye21]

Ran it through the ranker and I don’t know how accurate I find it. Will still be listening to everything again before I run it.

[nobloodyname]

I can tell you right now that I am going to have several Blaze songs on my list, and I’m positive that one will be in the top 3…so ya, the discussion will happen.

I'm already gearing up for the "The Angel And The Gambler" discussion.

I suspect it won't be in the top 75 (although it is in mine) so I don't think there'll be any need for discussion. Phew.

[nobloodyname]

Yeah, I never quite understood why people went through ranking all the songs.  That seems like unnecessary work.

I'm that guy.  I kind of like seeing the bottom.  It's fascinating to me that VHIII has 11 of the bottom 14 tracks.  There are songs in my head that I think I LOVE and songs in my head that I think I HATE but it's interesting on both ends to see where they ultimately fall.

I've rated every song, too. Even had to hunt one down that I never knew existed (the Bayswater one. That's eight minutes I'm never getting back. And it finished bottom!).

[425]

There's no way The Angel and the Gambler makes it.

As someone who did a top 60 list before Senjutsu came out, let me just say that 75 is a lot less than you probably think it is with Iron Maiden. It's less than half. A lot of songs that a lot of people like are going to be left out.

[nobloodyname]

Draft album count ahoy! Wonder if I'll get the highest score for The X Factor and Virtual XI combined?

A Matter of Life and Death 2
Brave New World 8
Dance of Death 4
Fear of the Dark   7
Iron Maiden 3
Killers 4
Piece of Mind 5
Powerslave 5
Senjutsu 7
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 3
Somewhere in Time 7
The Final Frontier 2
The Number of the Beast 5
The X Factor 8
Virtual XI 5

Nothing from The Book of Souls. Only just noticed. Interesting. I imagine people will go gaga over Empire of the Clouds but no, not me. I find it overly long and repetitive*. Sorry, Bruce.

* says the guy who's included most of TXF and VXI

[toro]

There's no way The Angel and the Gambler makes it.

As someone who did a top 60 list before Senjutsu came out, let me just say that 75 is a lot less than you probably think it is with Iron Maiden. It's less than half. A lot of songs that a lot of people like are going to be left out.

I did rank it, fairly low tho.

[nobloodyname]

I can tell you right now that I am going to have several Blaze songs on my list, and I’m positive that one will be in the top 3…so ya, the discussion will happen.

I'm already gearing up for the "The Angel And The Gambler" discussion.

I suspect it won't be in the top 75 (although it is in mine) so I don't think there'll be any need for discussion. Phew.

Turns out I lied. It's not in mine