Yeah, I didn't hate Book of Souls, but seriously, would it kill them to mix up the lengths? Not every song has to be ten minutes.
Phantom of the Opera (Harris) 7:08 Looks like I differ from much of the crowd on this one - although I like all of the guitar solos, my issue with this song is that the fast-tempo vocals don't work for me as well as the slower ones. And the faster riff that goes with the faster vocals is just not a favorite for me. Slow parts good, fast parts not so much, so I will rate this a 7.5 out of 10.
Totally off-topic, of course, but since "Astronomy" (in particular the Some Enchanted Evening version) has been my favorite song since 1980 I'll jump in and say the Metallica cover ain't great, but it's allright. I can't complain about such an obviously fond tribute. I do prefer their "Turn the Page" to the Seger original and when I was a bit younger and more active the Metallica cover was one of my go-to karaoke songs.
Transylvania (Harris) 4:19 This instrumental is decent, but part of what works here is the way it works transitioning to the much slower Strange World, so I'll rate them together instead of separately. There is a groove here that I wish Phantom had and decent solos. Strange World (Harris) 5:32 This is a melancholy song that works pretty well. I'm no guitar expert, but I know what I like, and I feel like Stratton's solo (pretty sure its the first one) sounds a little like something Ace Frehley would do, and I like it. It's more of a throw back. Murray's feel more prog, but also more metal than Stratton's. I like them both quite a bit. Di'Anno's singing well here, and I agree with @Musicman1998 that the emotion comes through and it sounds honest. I wont touch the Dio/Ozzy comparison however, not today! 8.4 out of 10.
Ha, I never anticipated such a strong reaction! Well, I don't really like Seger (meat-and-potatoes rock has never been my thing) and Metallica doesn't mean much to me but their "Turn the Page" is aight by me.
Precisely why the original US track listing is the definitive order, IMO. Why they didn't just retain this order for the '98 reissues I have no clue.
You know, that’s the interesting thing about really putting an album under the microscope for a thread like this. I have to say I’m not a huge fan of this song, either. I’m not saying it’s bad but it’s a bit too busy and there’s very little melody to it. The vocals are sparse and it feels more like an instrumental. I mean, I like it, but I don’t think it’s one of Maiden’s best songs. I think it, “Prowler” and “Charlotte” are probably the weaker songs on the album, but that’s relatively speaking.
I never knew that Sanctuary was written by 'Iron Maiden' which made me wonder if it came out almost fully formed in a rehearsal setting. So I checked Wikipedia (and apologies if this has been mentioned already) but this is what they have for the song. I have no idea if any of that is true but it is interesting. Also, while I don't see this information mentioned at the following link, below is the link to a fantastic Iron Maiden fan website that I've been checking out for many years. Hasn't been updated since 2011 but I used to spend ages enjoying the information and pictures etc. | The Iron Maiden Commentary |
the flow of Transylvania into Strange World is indeed incredible. I'm also a sucker of the flow from Powerslave into Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
SANCTUARY Cool little song. Kind of cool to have a straightforward, bash it out song after several more "progressive" or "moody" tracks. My first exposure to "Sanctuary" was the Live After Death video. I thought Bruce announced the name as "Centuries." (What's worse, I thought "Scream for me, Long Beach!" was "Scream for me, Lung Mates!") Of course, it's not farfetched to think Maiden would have a song named "Centuries," what with their interest in history. Continuing the theme of misunderstood Maiden, I also thought the line "spending my money on gambling and guns to survive" was "spending my money won't give me the guts to survive." I really like this early '83 performance of the song with Bruce. It's used to kick off the show. This was a legendary festival in Dortmund. IIRC other bands playing that day were Judas Priest, Ozzy, Whitesnake, Quiet Riot, Krokus, and MSG (talk about early '80s metal heaven!) There were two stages opposing each other to allow for ease of changeover between bands--whoever was in the front row for band A would be in the back row for band B.
I often find myself loving the 5-6 minute tunes in latter-day Maiden's songbook. Pilgrim, Virus, etc..
One wonderful factor in the early Maiden sound was the spacey jazz/classical inspired guitar riffs and leads, all brought down to Earth with Mr. Di'anno's down to earth, sincere vocalisms. I felt that a few Blaze Bayley era tunes also presented a similar feeling to this, making the songs highly resonant and uplifting - knowing that someone out there feels like you, the listener.
That's probably why it's one of my faves by them. My big attraction to Maiden has been the dual guitar (or I guess now multi-guitar) assault, and the lyrics and vocal performance is secondary.
Regarding Sanctuary, what a blast of pure energy and aggressive melody! My favorite from the debut album sessions (was it recorded after the release of IM though?). Absolutely love - Clive Burr's rhythmic leadership of the band (am I the only one here who hears Burr as a milisecond ahead of the rhythm guitars, while Nicko is often a milisecond behind? They both serve their purpose in certain songs, but on Sanctuary I can't image the rhythm any other way. really dig Steve's bass playing here, and as I listen I can't help but press repeat, again and again. So many juicy tidbits that I just have to listen again.
I love the raw guitars and the pop-punk vibe I get from the first couple of minutes. Songs like this always makes me wonder what Maiden’s ceiling would have been without Dickinson. I don’t see how this lineup of the band could have gotten to Piece of Mind, but maybe they would’ve become a 3-4 minute punchy song band with the formula of having some moody tracks woven in between them? How long would that have lasted? This is one of those Maiden songs that grabbed me from first listen. It’s great, and a favorite from this era, but it’s pretty much straight ahead - what you hear is what you get. Not a lot of nuance for me, but you don’t need nuance when you are kicking a$$.
A point well made by a few so far.....the artwork, the whole developing Eddie theme. As great as the early album's are it cannot be over emphasized how important the band's developing artwork and mascot are. I wonder how many teenagers bought the albums just on the strength of the album sleeves? It's played a major part in why they became so big.
"Sanctuary", sometimes it's just essential and mandatory to have little breaks (like "Strange World") but also these rocking, energetic, punky songs between all the more epique, longer songs. Powerful package here. This song does what it meant to, fairly simple and catchy song, which start with that groovy riff and then bang as the band joins and the actual song starts, it feels like they are pounding hammer right through to you. It gets straight to the point, feels like some major force that you just can't stop, like the galloping horse and like the galloping rattling sound of the bass, you're just left there to wonder as you can't stop them. I've always liked this one, even on the many concerts I've seen, it's always been pleasant song and one of the usual spots where Bruce gets to introduce the band to the audience. I first heard and saw this from Live After Death. Not sure why Steve feels that way towards punk, I think the punk and it's influnces are very evident on the debut-album. You can't escape those facts. The attitude and energy is very present on the album, it doesn't take anything away or should feel like ashamed or anything. The songs and the whole production (even if it is what it is really, and one could wonder what it could have been if done by Martin Birch) just as awhole are great, the atmosphere and all those memories still take me years back as Im listening to these songs.
