That was my first post on this thread. I've read this thread a bit and am interested. I was posting a little on the old vinyl reissues a while back...and I have been watching the recent reissues thread. On an aside, Bruce's book is great & I recommend for any fan of the band. Interesting life he has led. Much respect!
REVELATIONS From the first time I heard it, one of my favorite IM songs--if not the favorite. For me, the crown jewel of the (otherwise inconsistent) parent album. I love the rhythm guitar tone, the straightahead but authoritative rhythms, the mixture of mellow and hard parts. One of Bruce's best vocal performances. Had no idea it had anything to do with Aleister Crowley, but now that I know it, it's a net plus in my book. And speaking of books, several years ago my grandmother passed away and we were going through her house and I found a very old collection of the works of GK Chesterton. I'm too lazy to get up and see when it was published, but it was quite antique. I was able to find the "O God of Earth and altar..." and thus took possession of said book.
And the cool thing is that Bruce was looking at the philosophy of Crowley, whereas songs up this point were based mainly on the myth and the legend of Crowley, like Mr Crowley for example.
A lot to like here: Tempo changes, the main riff, thoughtful lyrics, sweet melodies. "Revelations" is one of the highlights on the album and on my short list for favorite Maiden songs. I go back and forth on the studio vs Live After Death versions. Agree the tempo on the studio is better suited for the song. However, I love the crowd screaming during parts of the song at Bruce's prompting, and miss that on the studio version.
Revelations This song takes flight in all aspects, and each member of the band delivers unique quality features. It's crazy to think that they were still reaching new high levels in their songwriting and arrangements. Excellent song. Excellent album. All around excellence again!!!! 4 !'s representing their 4 albums that continued to keep soaring higher in many different areas along the way. Up the Irons!
Flight of Icarus: And now we come to the third track and first single off the album, written by Adrian and Bruce, the latter basing the lyrics loosely on the Greek myth of Daedalus, which he modified to create an allegory for teen rebellion. The song was slowed down for airplay on American radio, and despite Steve's misgivings about this, the song proved to be the band's highest charting song in America, released with I Got the Fire as its B Side. The track is kicked off by the classic gallop, with Bruce riding in at :08, narrating a loose version of Icarus' story, where Daedalus warns Icarus to be careful, and Icarus ignores him and attempts to impress those watching (in the myth, father and son were escaping a prison discreetly), which horribly backfires on him. I love Dave's solo at 1:55, as well as Adrian's at 2:11, but Dave's solo at the end after some harmonizing is just epic, he totally wins this round for me. Overall, I think this is a great, catchy song, and a perfect choice for a single.
I love Revelations and Flight of Icarus. Two great songs. Flight has some of my favorite Maiden guitar solos and drumming. Love the video, too.
“Flight of Icarus” is a great tune and a classic case of Smith being able to write a good hook for a metal song. I’ve always liked it. It’s not too difficult to play and the chord changes are effective in the mood of the song. Great melodic lines from the guitars during verses.
Piece of Mind was my introduction into Maiden when it came out, and I've never looked back. One of my favorite albums, and I love from start to finish. Where Eagles Dare Great album opener! Love the opening drums, and keep hearing Nicko say it was so difficult to do with only one bass drum, and that he hopes they never ever decide to play that one live, especially now at his age. The interplay between Nicko and 'Arry is fantastic, not only on this track, but from here on out. Superb guitar work by Dave and Adrian. 5+ Cranks! Revelations It's actually relaxing to listen to the studio track after hearing the Live After Death version so many times; I cringe at how fast they played everything on that album (recorded on the fourth night in Long Beach which I was present for). 4.75 Cranks! Flight of Icarus This album is so burned into my brain from listening to it so many times, and this track is no exception. I think this might have been the first time I realized heavy metal could be about things not related to sex, drugs, and rock n roll. 5 Cranks!
Flight Of Icarus. I recall Maiden being accused of doing a Dio when this was released? A relatively simple song compared to where they were going...and not a bad thing as it gives the album light and shade. Another goodie.... 5/5
Flight of Icarus Simple yet awesome. Davey is indeed the standout here in terms of soloing. At 3:20 on the track his fretwork is crazy. I remember watching this bit over and over again on the LAD video and saying "how does he get his fingers to move that fast?" Now after playing guitar for a bit I get the tricks you can do to play this fast but before hand things like this is what made Dave a god to me. Funny how "musical differences" about the tempo of the song played live is probably why we haven't heard it played live for so long.
“Flight of Icarus” freakin’ rules. Bruce sings the hell out of it. When he sings, “IN THE NAME OF GOD MY FATHER I’LL FLY” I have to control the urge to leap off the roof of a tall building. Top 5 Maiden for me.
Flight of Icarus is the first Iron Maiden song I ever heard - Thus is will always have sentimental value for me. I'm also a big fan of Greek and Roman mythology so that adds further to this song. Combine those things with the fact this is just a great song to start with and you have one of my favorite Maiden songs. The long "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" at the end followed by the high pitched scream is epic. Even better on "Live after Death". It's really a shame they haven't played it live for many years. I've heard the band isn't fond of the song but can't recall the source.
Been out for a few days, so catching up... Where Eagles Dare Welcome Nicko McBrain! The opening flourish introduces him and then he lays waste to the rest of the track. He really sounds fantastic on this track - a great introduction. The vocal melody on the verses is horrible. Steve wrote WAY too many words for Bruce to try to cram them in. Bruce's vocal is otherwise good though. Musically the band really brings it. It's really interesting to hear Steve play such an open pattern during the guitar solo. This track seems a lot more rhythmic in its whole presentation. I really like this track and it's a great kickoff for the album.
Revelations I go back and forth between this one and The Clairvoyant for my favorite Iron Maiden song. Both are amazing songs. The anthemic intro starts off the song in a magnificent way and I love how the main riff stays heavy. There's just a very, very slight groove to it, but the guys play it straight and it really works like that. The verses set the mood, but the first really big highlight is the harmony bit right after Bruce sings "take away our pride". It's a wonderful change of pace from the heaviness that comes before and after. Gorgeous songwriting there. Oh! The most important bit - I love that this is Bruce's first solo composition for the band. Bruce's songs fit in perfectly with the "Iron Maiden Sound", but they're also different enough that they bring something new and unexpected to the table. Songs like this one, Powerslave, Empire of the Clouds...all brilliant. Bruce is a f'n great songwriter and Revelations shows it off in spades. Going back to the harmony part, Steve does a wonderful counter melody and it's something he really excels at writing. He tends to do them in songs he didn't write which is a really interesting technique. It's almost like he's more restrained in his own compositions and lets himself be freer when playing Bruce or Adrian's songs. When the power chords come back in we know we're in for another ride...in a bit. First, the mellow section again this time with Bruce's vocals in place of the harmony. His voice is so dang good on this song! I always get a kick out of his big breath in the 2nd verse. Adrian's fantastic solo tells a great story and it's one of his best on the album. A very cool harmony bit leads us back into the first vocal section riff and gives a nice circular wrap-up for the song. Again, Revelations is such a well-written song. It's really moving for me every time I listen to it.
Flight of Icarus The main riff (verses) of this song is pretty much a copy of Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song, just played a lot slower. It doesn't change how I feel for the song, but it's certainly very noticeable. This is the first Adrian/Bruce co-write! This is one of their simpler songs, but they'll reach much higher levels in later years, esp. on 2 Minutes. I enjoy the studio version of the song, but I think it sounds better when the faster tempo is used, as on Live After Death. Steve and Nicko were right on that call. Good solos by the boys and I really like the riff change when Adrian's solo starts. Bruce's scream at the end is fantastic. I like the song, but when compared with others on this album it's only average. Video thoughts: I love seeing the footage of the guys in the studio and esp. Nicko in blue make up. The chroma key is overkill, but it was 1983 so I'm not gonna rag them too hard on it. The part when Nicko presents the brain is the highlight and I always laugh hard at it.
I don’t really think it’s fair to compare every song that runs off an E to F# figure as a rip off of the “Immigrant Song”. It’s a pattern used a lot in rock music; Led Zeppelin doesn’t have a patent on it just because they did a popular song based on the same chord structure. I really agree with you on your “Where Eagles Dare” commentary. The verse is, as I said, and you reinforced, just too busy. It’s a terrible vibe to an otherwise cool song and groove.
FLIGHT OF ICARUS I remember hearing the studio version some time after hearing the Live After Death version and being struck by how much slower it was on record. Sometimes I think the studio version is too slow and live, they end up doing it too fast. Regardless, it's a good song and relatively easy to play on guitar, riff-wise, compared to some of their other songs. The final solo reminds me a little bit of Deep Purple's "Mistreated," which is also in F#. But phrasing wise it reminds me of Blackmore and that may very well have been an influence, at least subliminally. Overall, I like "Flight of Icarus" but it's not in my top 15% of IM songs.
I can hear that. It sounds like something that could've been on "Holy Diver" or "LIL." I guess Dio returned the favor when he released "Killing the Dragon"--the title track always sounded Maiden-esque.
Apologies for backtracking to the previous album, but this is the first time I got a close-up look at the cover and I just noticed the Space Jockey from the movie Alien at the bottom center. So cool!
Flight Of Icarus Another great track off this album and one of my faves (of many) on this album, Bruce's singing of the choruses is a different approach and very cool, the excellent short but big in feeling effective guitar solo's, the thumping of the song and the chord ring outs, definitely some different things going on in this song and in the ever expanding and soaring levels of their songwriting and ideas. Just great. Up the Irons!!
"Flight Of Icarus", indeed excellent choice for single and it's very catchy piece from Adrian and Bruce. It benefited from the tempo-change in concerts. I like the slower pace of the song but still it retains that heavy sound (by Maiden standards anyways), sort of careful advancement on the song, the guitar-riff is catchy. Bruce in top form. Good solos from both and this song it kinda good example where, you don't necessarily have to make everything too technical or complex, as it's fairly simple song compared to their usual doings. To be honest, I don't have too much to add here, this song just rocks and chorus gets you going every time you hear it. It's just that great and catchy feeling there. I still like that video very much and remember seeing it on tv around the times I got to the band and this always takes me back to those times. Studio-footage of the guys playing, Nicko as blue faced grim reaper... I like the isolated tracks of some songs with certain instruments or Bruce's voice only, it's a true treat to listen to those as there's so many little details, which you don't necessarily pay attention on the album. And Im meaning all those tracks that come from the original album-versions and releases, ripped from there via some programs or taken from some RockBand/GuitarHero etc game tracks that have official recordings. There was some video (not available anymore I suppose?) that consisted of all Bruce's vocal mastertapes (of the songs that were available) and those were really awesome to hear.
