Iron Maiden Song By Song Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Zoot Marimba, Nov 8, 2017.

  1. The Slug Man

    The Slug Man Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Carolina
    22 ACACIA AVENUE

    Ehh, I often skip this one. I'm not crazy about any of the Charlotte saga. I'm not offended from a "moral" standpoint re: the subject matter, I just don't enjoy them that much as songs. The beginning sounds like a slowed down version of the "Paranoid" riff (just a palm muted E5). I first head "22 Acacia Avenue" first, not knowing it was part II of a saga. I didn't hear the first album until several months after NOTB.
     
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  2. Meyer

    Meyer Heavy Metal Parking Lot Resident

    22 Acacia Avenue falls in the bottom half of NOTB songs for me, but I do like to compare/contrast how the band tackles the same subject with different singers. Again, for me, the difference between the Bruce lineup (just one album into their run) and the Di'Anno lineup is quite striking. Most of the songs seem more complex, which can also simply be a result of the band finding their groove three albums into their careers.
     
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  3. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Not a fan of this one now or then. It always seemed a bit dull and dragged on too long. I don’t like the melody much.

    “Acacia Avenue” in England is shorthand for a average, middle class suburban street. I guess kind of like “Main Street” here in the US or whatever. There are sixty “Acacia” avenues in the UK and nine in the greater London area. Charlotte was not a woman of means you see ....
     
  4. Standoffish

    Standoffish Smarter than a turkey

    Location:
    North Carolina
    22 Acacia Avenue

    Love the crunchy guitar buildup, and when Bruce's vocals kick in. Some nice drum work by Clive to bridge into the catchy chorus.

    Then we get get the dual solos - one slow & bluesy, the other fast & metal. A cool bass run before the song ends.

    Count me in as one who really likes this track.
     
  5. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    22 Acacia Avenue

    The intro reminds me of Queen Now I'm Here. The riff in the verse is classic Maiden with a descension and then ascending.
    I like the rhythmic shifts as well in the verse. I really enjoy the pre chorus section with the Sabbathy sound and riffage. Lots of contrast. Dickinson kills on it. The chorus is fine IMO.

    The solos are great that follow the bridge. The solo section is contrasting as well. Lots of different sections.
    Awesome song. The bass is nuts throughout.
     
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  6. Station17

    Station17 Time to play B-sides...

    22 Acacia Ave. was one of the first Maiden songs I liked, and while the lyrics seemed better when I was in high school in the 80s, I still like the music a lot. Gritty, crunchy, etc. It sounds pretty unique to me.
     
  7. Station17

    Station17 Time to play B-sides...

    The Prisoner has always been one of my favorite Maiden songs...as someone mentioned, it’s almost like power pop...love the energy of this song and the lyrics get me pumped. (I always thought that this song and Clampdown by the Clash were pretty similar in energy and sentiment)
     
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  8. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I really like 22 Acacia Avenue. It fits in well with the rest of the album. I like how it goes back into the chugging riff after the first chorus. Great rocking tune.
     
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  9. RichC

    RichC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charlotte, NC
    The Prisoner.... One of the rare Maiden tracks with a major-key chorus. (In fact, NOTB actually has TWO major-key choruses among its nine tracks, the other being "Run To The Hills." I don't think that happened again for quite a while?....)

    Both this one and 22 Acacia Avenue are solid, if not stand-outs. Again, the sequencing of NOTB is curious.... Most of the classic Maiden albums have a stronger Side 1, whereas this album saves its best material for Side 2. (YMMV of course... But it's telling that 75% of Side 2 has shown up on almost every tour since, while everything on Side 1 was rare as diamonds live after the mid-80s.)
     
  10. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    I never thought about that. Good point.
    The chorus to Run To The Hills I think is G Mixolydian. G-F-C chords. Close enough to be major though.
     
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  11. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    I see what you mean. :D
     
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  12. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    I agree. I like Dave I guess for his tone and attack but overall Adrian is more interesting to me as far as solos go. He definitely has a better sense of creating melodic cells and has a more interesting sense of variation.
     
  13. purple-lazy

    purple-lazy Forum Resident

    I heard "Long hair". I knew it wasn't right, but I couldn't work out what it was supposed to be.
     
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  14. 22 Acaicia Avenue
    Strange this... because reviewing each song as we go, I'm finding I'm somewhat indifferent to tracks I've long thought great.
    A good track...I actually love the simple palm muted intro.
    Bruce really fleshes this one out for me...his voice shining, showing a wide range of emotions.
    So why do I not feel as strongly as I once did before?
    I used to have this down as a classic!!!
     
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  15. SammyJoe

    SammyJoe Up The Irons!

    Location:
    Finland
    "22 Acacia Avenue", so it's the continuation of the Charlotte Saga is what we got here now and this continues the story we have known of the prostitute living there..
    There's really fresh breath of energy, variety and progressive passage and elements in this song, as it goes around it feels exciting and hectic from the start to the finish.
    As this was written by Smith and contains different pieces from older material from him, I think it just shines and sounds here exactly, because guitar is in kind of a spotlight here, of course along to the voice of Bruce.
    Very melodic song, as it's so busy and complex it's just challenging but also very exciting to follow this song. Doesn't even feel like how long the song lasts..this is just examplary great work that I love from Maiden.
    Everything works out here examplary well, Bruce's varying vocal abilities and wide range is truly shown, we got some great guitar solos from both Murray (moody, bluesy) and Smith (faster, more metal).
    Clive delivers great drumming. I've always liked this one, but maybe it became some sort of a different beast when they performed it live in concerts, atleast the recordings prove so.
    This could have been still be added to the setlists in the last few tours (atleast on Early Days Tour?), but they have so many great songs already and seem to be really picky on what to play in those time-wide limited setlists..
     
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  16. The Hud

    The Hud Breath of the Kingdom, Tears of the Wild

    I have never been a big fan of 22 Acacia Avenue. It is okay, but I rarely listen to it. Charlotte The Harlot is much better, IMO.
     
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  17. Madness

    Madness "Hate is much too great a burden to bear."

    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    ****in' A Tweety Bird!!!
     
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  18. Madness

    Madness "Hate is much too great a burden to bear."

    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    I am so far behind!

    First things first...and most importantly...a huge shout out to @Musicman1998 for keeping this thread going.

    The Number of the Beast

    I've been headbanging to this album for decades; I dare say this is my favorite Iron Maiden album out of all of them. I didn't have this album first...Piece of Mind was my first Maiden album.

    Invaders

    Great rocking song and a great album-opening track. Sets the mood for what's to come. 4.5 Cranks.

    Children of the Damned

    One of my all time favorite Maiden tunes, and so glad they still play this live, including the most recent BOS tour. Love this track. 5 Cranks.

    The Prisoner

    Love this one too, and was thrilled when they played this live when I saw them in 2012, the weekend of the Deracho in the DC/Virginia/Maryland area. It was probably 105 that day, and Alice Cooper, who opened for them, did not die on stage of heat exhaustion even after several leather costume changes. Will never forget 'Arry throwing his head back and seeing about a gallon of sweat go flying back. Guitar solos and bass lines are ****ing epic on this track. I am not a number, I am a free man! 5 ****ing Cranks.

    22 Acacia Avenue

    I really wish they would do this one live. Love this. And like The Prisoner, some of the best solos and bass lines ever. 5 resounding Cranks.
     
  19. Cheevyjames

    Cheevyjames Forum Resident

    Location:
    Graham, NC
    22 Acacia Avenue

    This is one of my favorite Clive songs. I'll get to that, though. I never thought about how the verses are VERY similar to the first verse in the upcoming title track. I think the song has a good pace until the "she'll teach you more than you can know" part. Everything up to that point is fine, enjoyable, but really just kind of average. Once that change happens, however, 22 really kicks in and it's a wild ride for the rest of the song. I guess those two verses are kind of an intro in a way.

    Bruce's screams in this 2nd section ("madness", "laying", etc.) are fantastic as are the following bass runs from Steve. Clive also plays a cool pattern there and a precursor to what he does in the chorus. Clive's durm part in the chorus is one of the coolest things he's done with Maiden. Just a fantastic groove. Bruce's voice on the chorus is stellar too. I'm glad that they left any "sexual" lyrics behind after this one, because they don't fit Maiden at all. The change of pace to the slow solo section is perfect and really gives Dave a chance to shine. It recalls his solo from Charlotte the Harlot wonderfully and a great way to join these two song together. I love how Adrian's extended solo takes us out to the end; we don't see that very often in Maiden. I love this song and it's strange that it doesn't seem to get enough love. Maybe it's just the lyrics?
     
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  20. Cheevyjames

    Cheevyjames Forum Resident

    Location:
    Graham, NC
    This is also my favorite version of the song. Absolutely ferocious. ON FIRE.
     
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  21. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group Thread Starter

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    The Number of the Beast:

    We come to the title track as well as the second single, loosely inspired by the 1978 movie Omen II as well as a nightmare Steve had. The opening spoken intro is a fusion of Revelation 12:12 and 13:18, and according to Bruce in an interview, the band originally asked Vincent Price to perform the intro, but he demanded a minimum of £25,000, so instead they found a theater actor who performed ghost stories at the Capitol Radio Theatre to deliver the intro. The song caused controversy in the United States among the evangelicals, which just brought more publicity for the band.
    That very intro begins the track, setting a certain mood for the track, and the riff kicks off at :24, and Bruce delivers this hushed vocal about a nightmare, as if second guessing himself and he delivers such a killer scream at 1:15, and I think this is the scream where Birch kept pushing him and pushing him until Bruce was kicking chairs, and you hear it. We must mention Dave's solo at 2:47, a really ripping solo, and then Adrian responds at 3:14, with this really warm, fatter tone and reminding Murray he ain't gonna go down that easily. And Arry and Clive are solid as hell throughout this track.
    This is another winner, people, another winner, fourth in a row!!!
     
  22. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    I talked a bit about this one at the beginning of The Number of the Beast introduction post. After just listening to "Night Prowler" by AC/DC this song fits right in with that one in terms of a song that caused a ton of controversy and gnashing of teeth by religious and conservative groups ("Night Prowler for different reasons, though, unfortunately). Never the less, this is a song that helped to put Iron Maiden on the top of the heap of heavy metal acts at the time. I've always loved Harris's melodic playing on this one. What he's doing in the beginning of the song is brilliant and works perfectly for the tune. For the most part, I find this to be an excellent tune with the trade off of the guitars and Harris's high bass run right before Dickinson re-enters for the final verse. I think this is one that really establishes the Dickinson led Maiden band in terms of their formula going forward.

    So yeah, this song might be a bit pandering and slightly calculated in terms of its subject matter (I mean, let's get real, Harris knew the whole satanic subject line/motif was going to cause some agitation; but, as they say, any press is good press, especially if you're a band on the rise and want to get as much notice as possible). It worked for Black Sabbath, Ozzy, and, as mentioned, AC/DC. Why not?
     
  23. MusicMatt

    MusicMatt Quality over Quantity

    Location:
    California, U.S.A.
    Number of the Beast

    A classic. Not much needs to be said about it. I love the story of Martin "the Farmer" Birch trying to get just the right scream from Bruce and the tales of furniture being tossed around in the studio because of it. Although you can clearly hear Dave playing the intro through a phaser effect pedal, he went a little overboard with the volume of it at Reading '82 :D

     
  24. ArpMoog

    ArpMoog Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit
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  25. The Hud

    The Hud Breath of the Kingdom, Tears of the Wild

    The Number of the Beast is my second favorite Maiden song after Hallowed Be Thy Name. I love the intro and everything that comes after it. It never gets old. Perfection!
     
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