THE Iron Maiden Thread

[Perpetual Change]

I really like TFF too. Even though it's probably my third for fourth favorite reunion album, I rank all the reunion albums up there with the 80's albums, so it's still pretty high in the rankings.

I feel like TFF and En Vivo get shunned for the same reasons: You see 'em on a shelf, and you're like "Geez, another one? I can't keep up with this band!", but then you listen and you realize why they keep churning material out. Maiden have proven again and again that they continue to churn out quality material just as often as younger bands. Why should they stop?

As far as TFF being irrelevant, I don't think that at all. While I do feel like the album is a bit more "safe" than the last three, it's still very good. There's also a good bit of general hard rock (rather than "metal") on TFF too, which seems like a natural progression for the band at this point.

[Dream Team]

^^ Regarding the metal thing, yeah they've never been crushingly heavy by any means. That's just not the school those guitar players are from. But their "heavy rock" style has always been plenty heavy enough for the average Joe.

[theseoafs]

In general, TFF seems to me to be just as heavy as Maiden ever was.

[bosk1]

I feel like TFF and En Vivo get shunned for the same reasons: You see 'em on a shelf, and you're like "Geez, another one? I can't keep up with this band!", but then you listen and you realize why they keep churning material out.

Yeah, exactly.  I wasn't necessarily planning on buying En Vivo.  But based on all the high praise and based on my loving the audio of Rock In Rio, I wanted to pick up a live video.  So I just went to the local shop to see what they had for reunion-era shows.  My choices were En Vivo or Flight 666.  En Vivo was cheaper and had more songs I was not familiar with, so I went with it solely based on that fact (as well as your recommendation).  I'm REALLY glad I did.  Just a spectacular find.  And it made me go back and pick up TFF, which, as I've already said, I am also really enjoying.  And the interesting thing is that while I really like TFF, I like the live versions of all those song better.  I think When The Wild Wind Blows is decidedly better, in fact.  The sinister bass and guitar riffing right after the solo sound much heavier and more prominent in the live version.  They tend to get buried and muddy on the studio version, and the song has a much different overall vibe as a result.  But I prefer the live versions of the others as well.

[Dream Team]

OK, here's a different topic to tackle: which Maiden songs have the best lyrics in your opinion? Without doing any research, here are some off the top of my head:

Where Eagles Dare
Revelations
Sea of Madness
Infinite Dreams
Mother Russia
The Thin Line Between Love & Hate
Paschendale
Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
El Dorado
Isle Of Avalon
When the Wild Wind Blows

[Cyclopssss]

Ahhhh....yes, please!

[bosk1]

I can't really do that yet.  Even the songs that I find to be the most contagious, I still am not overly familiar with the lyrics. 

But a couple of standouts would probably be El Dorado (just brilliant, actually) and When The Wild Wind Blows.


Let me also give my general opinion of Maiden so far as well.  I know I've expressed that I like a lot of what I've heard over the last few weeks.  But let me be crystal clear:  I went into this expecting to find some songs that made me say, "Yeah, that's pretty good."  If that expectation had been met, I would have been satisfied.  But while there are defintely some things I don't care for, and some things that I would say I consier "pretty good," when taken as a whole, I jsut flat out LOVE a lot of what I have been hearing and seeing from this band.  This is a grade-A musical discovery for me, and I can't believe it took me this long to really find this band.

EDIT:  Hey, I just realized something.  Did you guys know there is an Iron Maiden logo in those pics?

[Scorpion]

OK, here's a different topic to tackle: which Maiden songs have the best lyrics in your opinion?

Oooh, difficult question. Definitely the following.

Hallowed Be Thy Name
Revelations
Still Life
Powerslave
Paschendale
Journeyman
For the Greater Good of God
The Legacy
Isle of Avalon
When the Wild Wind Blows

Iron Maiden have always been very good at imagery or at creating certain atmospheres, and these tracks do that best in my opinion.

[JayOctavarium]

Iron who?

[Perpetual Change]

I feel like TFF and En Vivo get shunned for the same reasons: You see 'em on a shelf, and you're like "Geez, another one? I can't keep up with this band!", but then you listen and you realize why they keep churning material out.

Yeah, exactly.  I wasn't necessarily planning on buying En Vivo.  But based on all the high praise and based on my loving the audio of Rock In Rio, I wanted to pick up a live video.  So I just went to the local shop to see what they had for reunion-era shows.  My choices were En Vivo or Flight 666.  En Vivo was cheaper and had more songs I was not familiar with, so I went with it solely based on that fact (as well as your recommendation).  I'm REALLY glad I did.  Just a spectacular find.  And it made me go back and pick up TFF, which, as I've already said, I am also really enjoying.  And the interesting thing is that while I really like TFF, I like the live versions of all those song better.  I think When The Wild Wind Blows is decidedly better, in fact.  The sinister bass and guitar riffing right after the solo sound much heavier and more prominent in the live version.  They tend to get buried and muddy on the studio version, and the song has a much different overall vibe as a result.  But I prefer the live versions of the others as well.

You know, I've noticed that too. I think, in the studio, Maiden have a tendency to be a bit lazy and under-rehearse before recording. By the time you get to the live show, though, things are much tighter. I've noticed this about a number Maiden songs, in fact.

And, I said earlier, I absolutely love how WTWWB segues into TETMD. There isn't really a segue at all, but those two songs back to back works really, really well for some reason.

OK, here's a different topic to tackle: which Maiden songs have the best lyrics in your opinion? Without doing any research, here are some off the top of my head:

Where Eagles Dare
Revelations
Sea of Madness
Infinite Dreams
Mother Russia
The Thin Line Between Love & Hate
Paschendale
Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
El Dorado
Isle Of Avalon
When the Wild Wind Blows

Pretty weird choices, IMO. But, cool idea for a topic. Some of my favorites

Out of the Shadows (Actually, all of AMOLAD is absolutely fantastic, lyrically)
Revelations
Still Life
2 Minutes to Midnight
Wasted Years
The Evil That Men Do
Only the Good Die Young
The Educated Fool
Como Estais Amigos
Blood Brothers
Dance of Death
Paschendale
Montsegur
Age of Innocence
Journeyman
Isle of Avalon
Starblind
When The Wild Wind Blows

Let me also give my general opinion of Maiden so far as well.  I know I've expressed that I like a lot of what I've heard over the last few weeks.  But let me be crystal clear:  I went into this expecting to find some songs that made me say, "Yeah, that's pretty good."  If that expectation had been met, I would have been satisfied.  But while there are defintely some things I don't care for, and some things that I would say I consier "pretty good," when taken as a whole, I jsut flat out LOVE a lot of what I have been hearing and seeing from this band.  This is a grade-A musical discovery for me, and I can't believe it took me this long to really find this band.

EDIT:  Hey, I just realized something.  Did you guys know there is an Iron Maiden logo in those pics?

Welcome to the club. I got into prog before metal, but once I discovered Maiden, they slowly began to replace DT as my favorite all-time band. I'm confident that they will always be now.

[bosk1]

I should also say that I am not the only one in my house that has been "infected."  The other day, when I was sitting at the desk at home working, my 2 1/2 year old daughter came in the room.  I wasn't aware that she really recognized any music that I listed to, but apparently, she does.  She climbed up in my lap and said, "Dad, you watching Iron Maiden?" 

[Zydar]

[bosk1]

I also just realized that now that I have The Final Frontier, once I get around to revising my top 10, Snapple's head is going to explode now that Rime will have fallen another few spots. 

[El Barto]

Anyway, to keep this thread from always being the place where we pre-emptively discuss next week's discography topic, I'm gonna put something out there: Michael Kenney should just become an Iron Maiden member.

The dude's been on Maiden albums and been touring with Maiden since the late 80's. Despite that, I don't even know what he looks like. Yet, he's there, and no-one ever knows; he might as well just be piped in string sounds, for all anyone knows, but he's not! He's really there, probably behind someone's stack, plugging away at keys.

At this point, Maiden should let him out of the shadows. Though great, TFF kinda sent the signal to a lot of people that the "reunion" album formula could use some shaking-up. "Brave New World" really was a second wind for Maiden, but now that the wind is dying down and Maiden has nowhere relevant to go for another nostalgia tour (a tour centered around the Donnington show? Please.), maybe it's time for another paradigm shift.

Let's see Maiden go into the studio with Michael Kenney adding some classy string patches and dirty organ. Or, at the very least, let's actually see him on stage.

He was onstage briefly on their last tour. Don't recall the song, but the organ from PotO rose out from one of the risers for him to play a solo.

[bosk1]

^Well, that's pretty cool, actually.

[Dream Team]

Man, blasted Paschendale on the way home - that song just gets better every time. A contender for the greatest metal song ever.

One other thing I realized, you know how many times I've listened to an IM song and thought "this would be better with double bass"? NEVER. ZERO. To me that just goes to show how much modern drummers spam the double bass and often use it as a lazy cop-out instead of doing anything interesting.

Bosk, you're going to continue to like IM more and more (after you finally make it through all the good stuff). In some ways, they are everything DT are with all the unnecessary parts removed (IMO), but DT are probably still my favorite band.

[TAC]

TFF came out while we were on vacation in Chicago. I bought it out there to listen to on the drive home. I literally had tears in my eyes listening to it. My wife was like WTF is wrong with you?!?
I said its the new Maiden album. 

  Tim, you are one of my most favoritest people that I've never met. 

I almost feel that way about the album myself.  I've been listening to it nonstop, and it is SO good!

Thanks Bosk, I appreciate that!

  My choices were En Vivo or Flight 666. 

The thing you missed by not getting Flight 666 is the documentary. Easily one of the best music docs ever made. Perhaps you've already seen it on VH1, Youtube, etc...
But what you find is that the guys in the band are so damn likeable and humble...I mean, Bruce can rub someone the wrong way, and I would understand that, but these are guys that you would literally love being neighbors with. Couple that with the music and you can see why they are held in such high regard.

  This is a grade-A musical discovery for me, and I can't believe it took me this long to really find this band.

Gee..

Please step away from the Winger albums!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[bosk1]

The thing you missed by not getting Flight 666 is the documentary. Easily one of the best music docs ever made. Perhaps you've already seen it on VH1, Youtube, etc...

Yeah, I've heard that it's good, and I want to eventually see it.  But right now, I wanted a concert, primarily.  And En Vivo just seemed better in that regard.  I'll pick up F666 soon I'm sure.

Please step away from the Winger albums!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  Heh.  No worries there.  I've heard that their musicianship is actually top notch, and I don't dispute that.  But I never liked their sound at all, so I never bothered to own anything from them.  Don't plan to change that in the near future.

[TAC]

Bosk, I'm glad you finally found them, but I wish so much that you could go back in time to the 80's arena days. They were the best band on the road in those days.

In fact, we went to see the Providence Bruins yesterday at the Civic Center, and all I kept thinking was ..I sat "there" for the Powerslave tour, "there" for the Somewhere In Time tour, "over here" for the Seventh Son tour, and "right down there" for the No Prayer tour!

[cramx3]

Anyway, to keep this thread from always being the place where we pre-emptively discuss next week's discography topic, I'm gonna put something out there: Michael Kenney should just become an Iron Maiden member.

The dude's been on Maiden albums and been touring with Maiden since the late 80's. Despite that, I don't even know what he looks like. Yet, he's there, and no-one ever knows; he might as well just be piped in string sounds, for all anyone knows, but he's not! He's really there, probably behind someone's stack, plugging away at keys.

At this point, Maiden should let him out of the shadows. Though great, TFF kinda sent the signal to a lot of people that the "reunion" album formula could use some shaking-up. "Brave New World" really was a second wind for Maiden, but now that the wind is dying down and Maiden has nowhere relevant to go for another nostalgia tour (a tour centered around the Donnington show? Please.), maybe it's time for another paradigm shift.

Let's see Maiden go into the studio with Michael Kenney adding some classy string patches and dirty organ. Or, at the very least, let's actually see him on stage.

He was onstage briefly on their last tour. Don't recall the song, but the organ from PotO rose out from one of the risers for him to play a solo.

I believe that was on SSoaSS, which he also did during the original tour which you can see on the Maiden England DVD.

[Nel]

Hey, I just realized something.  Did you guys know there is an Iron Maiden logo in those pics?

All I see is the Maiden. Specifically, her nice a-- er, her nice album cover on the back of her jacket. 

[snapple]

I also just realized that now that I have The Final Frontier, once I get around to revising my top 10, Snapple's head is going to explode now that Rime will have fallen another few spots. 

But, I came to post this..

www.ironmaidenbeer.com

[countoftuscany42]

from IM's Facebook:
FORMER IRON MAIDEN DRUMMER CLIVE BURR PASSES AWAY

We are deeply saddened to report that Clive Burr passed away last night. He had suffered poor health for many years after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and died peacefully in his sleep at home.

Steve Harris said “This is terribly sad news. Clive was a very old friend of all of us. He was a wonderful person and an amazing drummer who made a valuable contribution to Maiden in the early days when we were starting out. This is a sad day for everyone in the band and those around him and our thoughts and condolences are with his partner Mimi and family at this time."

Bruce Dickinson adds “I first met Clive when he was leaving Samson and joining Iron Maiden. He was a great guy and a man who really lived his life to the full. Even during the darkest days of his M.S., Clive never lost his sense of humour or irreverence. This is a terribly sad day and all our thoughts are with Mimi and the family”

As Maiden fans all know, Clive joined Maiden in 1979 and performed on the first three albums Iron Maiden (1980), Killers (1981) and The Number Of The Beast (1982).
Prior to that he was a member of Samson, the band Bruce fronted before he too joined Maiden.

 

[Zydar]

Terrible news. I shall play the first three Maiden albums tonight in tribute to him

[Cyclopssss]

Damn. Way too young. RIP, Clive.

[Perpetual Change]

Terrible news. I shall play the first three Maiden albums tonight in tribute to him

Same here.

[Ruba]

Oh  . He was very underrated drummer, I like his style. Rest in peace, Clive.

[tartarus250]

Good by Clive an all round nice guy and my favourite maiden drummer:-(

[Jaq]

Damn, that's a shame. Such a brilliant drummer. RIP.

[El Barto]

Sorry to hear that. Think I'll watch the early days concerts this afternoon.

[TAC]

Terrible news. I shall play the first three Maiden albums tonight in tribute to him

Same here.

And here.

Very sad.

[theseoafs]

  RIP Clive.

[Scorpion]

Terrible news. I shall play the first three Maiden albums tonight in tribute to him

Same here.

And here.

Very sad.

Basically the same for me.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Oh wow, that's so sad to hear! You were/are a huge inspiration for me as a drummer and countless other drummers around the world and your history and legacy with Maiden will never be forgotten. RIP Clive!! 

Clive Burr drum solo at Reading 1982

[kirksnosehair]

Just heard about this....bummer....dude wasn't much older than me. 

Edit:  Some great video of Burr kicking fucking ass and taking names right here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-i-9dgSD78