Iron Maiden Song By Song Thread

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

  1. Brenald79

    Brenald79 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    If it's not too much trouble I'd be curious to know. I don't have that book but I do have Riff Kills Man, the Collectors Guide Vol. 1, 3, and 4 and couldn't find it.
     
  2. Cheevyjames

    Cheevyjames Forum Resident

    Location:
    Graham, NC
    On the BBC Sessions set there are a couple of good shows with Di'Anno. Agree about the quality of Maiden Japan, but the EP and the "extended" one.
     
    Zoot Marimba likes this.
  3. Cheevyjames

    Cheevyjames Forum Resident

    Location:
    Graham, NC
    Maybe it was the version from Metal For Muthas?
     
  4. rubberhead

    rubberhead I've never made a bad record

    Location:
    NYS
    It's been a long time so I don't remember any details, but in the waning years of the 70s my tastes strayed from the Styx and Kansas tripe popular among the rock kids in my mostly-disco area toward harder bands like Van Halen and early BOC and some punk like Ramones. But as I was winding up high school in the spring of 1980 three records were released within six weeks of each other: On Through the Night, Heaven and Hell and Iron Maiden. Think about that and dream of a time machine, why don't you? Anyway, I don't remember exactly how I first heard of Maiden or where I bought the debut, but it was around the time of release. I was probably the only kid in the vicinity of JFK with it; if there was another, I never met them.

    And thus was my course set for college, where for four years I was known (mostly derided, sometimes admired) as "that metal guy." I mean, I went to class dressed like a cross between Richard Hell and Steve Harris, so I was begging for whatever I got.

    A few random thoughts:

    • During the summer of '81 I went to a party somewhere in Brooklyn organized by a friend/occasional early girlfriend, an Iggy and Thunders-loving NYC punk. At some point I slipped "Prowler" onto the turntable; no one noticed anything for about 20 seconds until she jerked her head up and was like, "WTF is this?!" and took it off. I don't remember a lot from my childhood, but I remember that.

    • The debut is, as others have mentioned, one of the all-time greats regardless of genre. Easily one of the three best records I've ever heard.

    • One of the first things I did when I got to college was locate the Billboard collection in the campus library, where I found the full-page ad for the debut and tore it out. It's framed in the garage in my weekend place; I'll take a photo when I get back up there.

    • I also have several of the first ten Kerrangs in a box somewhere. In one is an an interview with Steve Harris in which he swears he's not kicking Di'anno out of the band. In the next issue is the news that the singer from Samson is set to be the new frontman for Iron Maiden.

    • Their show at an old dinner theater on Long Island for Piece of Mind remains, at least in the metal mythology of one of my oldest friends and myself, the Best Concert Ever.

    • Like so many other idiots I lost most of my records during the CD era, but held onto my box of seven-inch singles so still have all my IMs. Alas, my "2 Minutes to Midnight" 12-inch, with the immortal "Mission From 'Arry," is long gone. Also still have my Samson "Riding With the Angels" picture disc single.

    • I stopped listening after Powerslave but sometime in the late 90s I was driving down the New Jersey Turnpike to a business event and "The Clairvoyant," which I'd never heard, came on the radio. I went out and bought all the Dickinson CDs I'd missed and settled in to wait for Brave New World (which I don't like but thankfully things got a bit better starting with Dance of Death.)

    Good band. Long history.
     
    Last edited: Nov 8, 2017
  5. Zoot Marimba

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

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Awesome story and can't wait for your input
     
  6. raginghessian

    raginghessian Well-Known Member

    I'm with you on LAD, I honestly hate listening to it. I think Bruce is a better singer these days than he was when that came out. Though I am partial to the Paul Dianno stuff.

    this may be an odd opinion here but I think "Wasted Years" is one of the greatest pop/rock songs of all time.
     
  7. Bingo Bongo

    Bingo Bongo Music gives me Eargasms

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    Got into them when Paul D'Ianno was their singer. That was the good stuff....
     
    Zoot Marimba likes this.
  8. Synthfreek

    Synthfreek I’m a ray of sunshine & bastion of positivity

    I honestly can't remember the first time I heard Maiden, but I love 'em to death...at least up to Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son :p

    I can't wait to read everyone's contributions. I'll have to cut and paste my Powerslave tour story in here when the time comes.
     
  9. gad999

    gad999 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    Like many others I was a reader of Sounds magazine which introduced me to Iron Maiden as well as many others: KISS, Rush, Ted Nugent, Diamond Head, Def Leppard etc. (I blame Geoff Barton!)
    I bought all the albums, 7" & 12" singles until CDs were invented, & then bought them. Unfortunately, I missed out on the Soundboard Tapes!
    Saw them live at Hammersmith on the Powerslave tour (I think Queensryche were supporting but I could be wrong). Also saw them on the Brave New World tour supported by Entombed & Slayer. I went with one of my brothers & can remember being scared for my life when the crowd went wild when they first came on!!
    They're one of the bands who I'll follow until they pack it up.
    Loved the Di'Anno era slightly more than the Bruce two but also enjoyed the Blaze albums up to a point (I may have to compile a single album from the 2!!).
    Looking forward to the on going discussion - let battle commence :)
     
  10. Silksashbash

    Silksashbash Forum Resident

    Location:
    Finland
    Maiden's vocals could also have sounded like this:

    Sweet - Over my head

    That's Paul Mario Day, the original Maiden singer from 1975-76, also the lead singer of Sweet in the late 80s.
     
  11. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    After being inspired by this thread, I listened to the s/t yesterday (because it's awesome) and noticed that there are some slight backing vocals on this one ("Running Free" and a couple of others), but I don't recall many Maiden songs having them. Is that right or am I off on that? I cannot recall that many Dickinson tunes use them at all. If I'm wrong someone please correct me. Again, my familiarity with their material ends around 1985 or 86 so I might be completely off here.
     
    BluesOvertookMe likes this.
  12. StuJM84

    StuJM84 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, UK
    Emm, possibly on the earlier songs. I'm 100% sure that Steve Harris backed up Paul Di'Anno on the live sets, its visible him doing it on a video i had of a gig on "Live at the Rainbow". I think on Phantom of the Opera, so its possible he does on the album too?
     
    Zoot Marimba and GodShifter like this.
  13. GodShifter

    GodShifter Forum Member

    Location:
    Dallas, TX, USA
    Yeah, I'd bet. These aren't good backing vocals, but they are there. "Phantom of the Opera" is definitely a song on the album that has them.
     
    Zoot Marimba likes this.
  14. Jeff Kent

    Jeff Kent Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mt. Kisco, NY
    Around 1985 (I was 14) I saw a 'copy' of The Soundhouse Tapes on the wall at a record store in Boston. I knew enough to know that it probably wasn't real, but I bought it anyway just to hear the music. It was probably $20 or so. I know where there's a real version if I ever want to spend big bucks for one.

    About the same time I was an avid reader of Ron Quintana's Metal Mania zine and he would make dupe tapes of bootlegs and other rare material via mail order. I got one with some BBC recordings, SHT and some live shows. I still have it somewhere.
     
    superstar19 and Zoot Marimba like this.
  15. yarbles

    yarbles Too sick to pray

    Harris & Stratton are both credited with vocals on the 1st album.
     
  16. Jeff Kent

    Jeff Kent Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mt. Kisco, NY
    Zoot Marimba likes this.
  17. Zoot Marimba

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

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Yeah, I figured Stratton had something to do with the backing vocals, since by all accounts that was the kind of thing he was into.
     
    Mark Wilson and GodShifter like this.
  18. Smokin Chains

    Smokin Chains Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashua, NH
    Boy, it must have been 1982. I was 10 years old. My mom was going through a very religious phase for a few years around this time. Iron Maiden and bands like that was demonic, and scary to me. I remember we were at a mall (Trumbull Shopping Park). I was allowed to go to the toy store by myself while my mom did other things.

    Instead, I nervously stopped at the record store on the way. I wanted to look at some of those forbidden album covers. I clearly remember, looking at all the Iron Maiden albums, looking over my shoulder to make sure no one was watching. They had all kinds of imports and everything, tons of albums. I remember looking at the covers so clear as day being so intrigued by the artwork. Made In Japan, Killers... wow, I thought it was so cool, and I was so nervous!

    A few years later, my mom stopped going to the church. Yeah baby, there were no restrictions on me! The first thing I grabbed was Powerslave!

    I kind of stopped following them after Seventh Son, but recently went back and slowly grabbed everything they released. I'm looking forward especially to going through some of the later albums song by song since I haven't listened to them in a while. I like them a lot, they could be long though, so going one song a day will help me appreciate them more.
     
  19. warewolf95

    warewolf95 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Greenville, SC
    I don't have time to read the 4 pages yet but I might as well make my intro post. :)

    When I was 10 or 11, about 12 years ago, the very first metal I looked into was Metallica and Iron Maiden. Everyone said those are the 2 to check out.

    For about 5 years I lived with the first 5 studio albums and was in love. Eventually I got (and adore) the rest of the catalogue, but the first few albums, especially the debut, will always be implantedi n my head.

    Prowler - what a perfect intro to the band. I still hear that wah riff in my head every time I even think of Maiden.

    Maiden is quite possibly my favorite metal band and one of my top 10 favorite artists of all time. I'm a die hard. UP THE IRONS!

    Bring on the thread! :)
     
  20. BurtThomasWard

    BurtThomasWard Guided by Loke In Memoriam

    Location:
    Norge
    It is indeed the Metal for Muthas version. Love that NWOBHM album Lars and Barton put together, btw. Also great for the ep version of "Getcha Rocks Off" by Def Lep.
     
  21. BurtThomasWard

    BurtThomasWard Guided by Loke In Memoriam

    Location:
    Norge
    As I mentioned in yer other thread, I got into the band in the summer of '85.

    I was some sort of a boat ride in the tiny town in the middle of nowhere (well, Norway) where I was born and this kid had brought Powerslave on vinyl with him. It was there, just resting against a wall. I remember staring at the cover. I had never really seen anything like it before. The colours and the logo. The pyramid. I was almost hypnotized.

    I few days later I went to the local bookstore. They were selling huge posters of various pop bands at the time. And among them I found that logo again. This time it was in blood red letters and on another picture. The Number of the Beast. I was a bit shocked. Not because I was religious in any sense but still. That gigantic red devil and what had to be the bands mascot towering over him. In addition you had lots of tiny figures at the bottom surrounded by flames. Some of them up to no good. This was pretty far out for someone who was mainly a Beatles fan at the time. One of my older cousins had tried to introduce me to Ozzy via Speak of the Devil a year or two earlier and I just thought is was noisy crap and shouting.

    As the year went on I got my first two hard rock albums by another cousin who had gotten his driver's license and no longer had any time for vinyl. Cassettes were the future he said and handed me a plastic bag containing Pyromania by Def Leppard and Bent out of Shape by Rainbow. Pretty tame stuff compared to what would follow for me, but it sparked an interest in loud guitars and pounding drums. Metal was everywhere in those days, even very begrudgingly in the pop magazines. We used to buy the Swedish ones because they had more metal content. Some months even a couple of pages!

    Some time during the autumn of next school year one of the girls in my class gave me a list that her brother had written. He was selling his record collection. On it were the first three Maiden records! I still hadn't heard a song by the band but this was my big chance! I bought all three of them. I remember sneaking them into the house. Not because my parents were religious or particularily strict. But because I had spent all that money on records! At least the equalent of 15USD today. I was also somewhat concerned what they would think about the music. Nobody was home. I put on side 1 of the first record and my 11 year old self was never the same again. It was so loud. So nasty and noisy. And still beautiful in a strange way that I'd never heard before. The ghostly voice at the end of "Phantom of the Opera" scared me almost senseless as I was staring at that corpselike creature on the front of the cover.

    I became almost fanatical about the band and their records. When I saw the video for "Wasted Years" in September or October the following year, my love only deepened. And here we are, over 31 years later and still playing their records regularly.
     
    Last edited: Nov 9, 2017
  22. Zoot Marimba

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

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Iron Maiden
    [​IMG]

    Iron Maiden is the debut studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was issued by EMI on 14 April 1980 in the UK, and a few months later in North America, originally on Harvest/Capitol Records and subsequently Sanctuary Records/Columbia Records in the US. The North American version also included the song "Sanctuary", previously released in the UK as a non-album single. In 1998, along with the rest of the band's pre-1995 releases, Iron Maiden was remastered with "Sanctuary" added in all territories (but 2015 digital releases and all vinyl reissues use original tracklisting around the globe). It is the band's only album to feature guitarist Dennis Stratton.
    Although the band has since criticized the album's production, it went on to become a critical and commercial success and started a string of Classic Albums.
    Track Listing
    1. Prowler (Harris) 3:56
    2. Sanctuary (Harris/Murray/Dianno) 3:16
    3. Remember Tomorrow (Harris/Dianno) 5:27
    4. Running Free (Harris/Dianno) 3:17
    5. Phantom of the Opera (Harris) 7:08
    6. Transylvania (Harris) 4:19
    7. Strange World (Harris) 5:32
    8. Charlotte the Harlot (Murray) 4:13
    9. Iron Maiden (Harris) 3:36
    1995 Reissue Bonus Disc:
    11. Burning Ambition (Harris) 2:42
    12. Drifter (Live) (Harris) 6:04
    13. I Got the Fire (Montrose) 3:14
    Personnel
    • Paul Dianno: lead vocals
    • Steve Harris: bass, backing vocals
    • Dennis Stratton:guitars, backing vocals
    • Dave Murray:guitars
    • Clive Burr:drums
    Technical Personnel

    • Yuka Fujii – photography
    • Robert Ellis – photography (1998 edition)
    • George Chin – photography (1998 edition)
    • P.G. Brunelli – photography (1998 edition)

    And now we begin our journey with.....
    Prowler

    Prowler, the opening track of Iron Maiden the album and the band, written about a guy who lurks and flashes women. It was one of three songs on The Soundhouse Tapes, and was later re-recorded in 1988 with Dickinson on vocals (which I'll post under this review).
    The song kicks off with a crunchy guitar courtesy of Murray, before a wah-driven guitar lick kicks in along the drums at :06, with Dianno coming in at :26, and really growling these lyrics, giving them a sense of menace, and wow are Arry and Clive doing some great work on this track, very chaotic and sporadic, but very controlled at the same time, and it's so epic. And then, it slows down 1:23, with either Stratton delviering a solid rhythm before the band as a whole just pummel and themn Murray rips an EPIC solo and melts your little teenage mind at 1:59. Hot damn, I love Angus Young or Ace or Keef, but that solo is ssssssssmmmmmmoookin'! And then Paul comes back in at 2:20 and he just spits out the lyrics and really holding his own with the band before we reprise the beginning at 2:34, and you're still processing everything you've heard.
    This is such a stunner, an amazing opener, a real statement, these guys are hear to kick your asses and take no prisoners. Combine that with the cover and you are simply in awe. On a scale of one to ten, I give it Eddie.
     
  23. Zoot Marimba

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

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Here is them doing it live in 1980:

    Man this is so awesome, so raw, so pissed off, I love it. And very punk as well, as much as 'Arry tries to deny it.
     
  24. Zoot Marimba

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

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    In 2005 with Dickinson
     
  25. BurtThomasWard

    BurtThomasWard Guided by Loke In Memoriam

    Location:
    Norge
    Great review! Clive is close to my all-time favorite member of the band. I just think his drumming is so massively underrated. Especially his way with the cymbals is mindblowin'.

    This song in itself isn't one of their greatest perhaps but it kicks off the album in such a perfect way that it just ends up being a classic anyway. Dig Paul's attack and the dirtier sound of the guitars than on what is to follow.
     

Share This Page

molar-endocrine