Ooh, never seen that before. Adrian miming Stratton's part, in fact interesting to see that line-up mimeing and have only seen their live performances, on 20th Century Box, 2x Top of the Pops and well, thats it i think. The wonders of youtube, thanks for posting.
I was sort of afraid that this would be one of those threads that you leave for two hours and you're five pages behind. Call the boss, I'm taking a sabbatical. It'll be interesting to see the ebb and flow as we go from the classic era to Blaze to the reunion. Anyway, my Iron Maiden debut album always followed up Prowler with Sanctuary so this is a left turn. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that Remember Tomorrow and Strange World get pretty jumbled up in my head. If nothing else this thread should provide me with enough listens in a compacted period of time that I should finally nail them down. This is a good track though it seems odd that it would be the second track out. That said, maybe not because the first two Bruce albums have Children of the Damned and Revelations in the second slot so possibly they had it figured out from the get go. Which makes me wonder who (Steve presumably, but anyone else??) was responsible for the album sequencing. Great song and a good song to hear on headphones to isolate the different guitars. Paul sounds great, the whole band does.
Remember Tomorrow - another long time favourite. After Prowler this shows the power and dynamics that Maiden went on to do so well many times. Just a great song. Superb performance by all but I'd like to mention Paul Dianno's great vocal. One of his best.
REMEMBER TOMORROW I have to really be in the mood not to fast forward past this song, because I like the next couple songs so much. Of the two slower songs on this album, I far prefer "Strange World." I actually remember liking the Maiden Japan version of "Remember Tomorrow" better than the studio, but it's been a while since I listened to Maiden Japan. But yes, for those who think the first two IM albums with Di'Anno were just mindless, punkish energy with no melody or dynamics, we get Exhibit A for the defense just two songs in. This song, while it starts quite simple with just E minor to F, becomes quite progressive as it goes on.
Not up to writing anything tonite. Just gotta say that I luv the thread. Keep up the good works, guys
Thanks. Even if I sit through some real crap, this will be a fantastic thread either way. I mean, we have only done two songs and The Soundhouse Tapes, and already we are at 11 pages.
You are the one deserving of thanks here. Great initiative. Not least a few extra thanks are in order for catching my pre-edited post. Think you can tell from the mangled sentences there that my mind is pretty gone by now Must have been that Metlic-cover. Seriously, there is some real crap here and there. That is inevitable when the catalogue gets this big. But most of the music is great, IMO. And quite a lot of it is just fantastic.
Oh yes, based on what I know, the good outweighs the bad. An I am sure I will discover some great songs I missed out on.
This starts off with quite the change of pace after the assault of "Prowler". I didn't hear this album until just a few years ago, and I couldn't believe that it took me so long. Like you write @Musicman1998, there's a lot going on throughout this song, and they pull it off fantastic. Love the version from Maiden Japan that you linked too.
"Remember Tomorrow", truly great song and I like feeling the whole atmosphere that the songs builds into, goes in the very same league as "Strange World". Moody songs with great lyrics and great vibe. There's something really emotional in these songs. I've played and listened to them so much throug the years and I just get always pumped and into my feelings when these songs are heard/played somewhere. I've always enjoyed this one a lot and it's just so pleasant that after such energetic opener for the album (which felt like bang straight to eyes) Harris&Co continue the strong output. Also, I have to give some real credit because they placed this song second on the album, it's just perfect companion and contributor to the overall great flow of the album. All the performances are great and especially truly great performance indeed from Paul, his voice just fits that mood of the song. Brilliant! So all in all, this is great song! Thanks for the people here, it's been great start and it's surely the kind of thread that Iron Maiden deserves. Let's keep this one going nicely along the road.. By the way, the streaming of the new live-albums videopart starts around in 2 hours and 30 minutes (or so).. Iron Maiden
Running Free: And now Track Three and the debut single, Running Free, credited once again to Harris and Dianno, the latter's time as a skinhead inspiring the lyrics to the song. The cover also debuts Eddie, although his face is hidden as the band did not want him unveiled until the album's release. In Japan, it was the B-Side to Prowler, forgot to mention that. The song kicks off with Clive delivering this rock solid beat that has a certain crunch to it. That may be due credit to Will Malone, although the band has said he was uninterested in the album which was largely self-produced as a result. That said, the production perfectly suits the song, as much as I love Martin Birch, I think if any song is just fine without him, it's this one. And also, Clive, again, has this great feel and groove to his playing, and as I said in my Damn the Torpedoes thread, when you nail your drummer down and he kicks off a tune, you are already set up for greatness. Steve then comes in at :05, and it's the famous gallop, and it locks in with Clive, and it's just magic. I love how Paul sneers "okay" at :15 and the guitars come in and lock into this groove. At :26, Dianno comes in and sneers these lyrics, and he has that angry, crazy young man vibe because he was that angry crazy man, and he is celebrating his victory over the coppers, he's behind the wheels and he is escaping the prison, out to wreck more mayhem in the process. You can't NOT feel like a bad-ass listening to this song, and the way Murray and Stratton harmonize at 1:07 right when Paul snarls at you to get out of his way is fantastic, it;s like he's stampeding you on his way out. And that is another thing to note, there are no solos in this song per se, and it works perfectly. And I love the sort of scratchy riff before the chorus resumes, and the little fills Clive does are fantastic. And the last verse where the cops are on Paul's tail and he's on the highway to hell is great, this freedom is short lived and volatile, and so it be for Paul. This is a classic song, perfect for a debut single, tells you everything you need to know about Maiden circa 1980. On a scale of one to ten, I give it escaping Alcatrazz.
Here is the Maiden Japan version: Absolutely love this one, but not quite up to the studio version for me
Hmm, Running Free has never been a favourite of mine. It's OK but probably my least favourite track on the album. I think this is one track that could do with a more powerful production. I like the version on Live After Death and also that they famously performed this totally live on Top of the Pops, which was very rarely done then. Here it is: It's a good commercial single and I do like it, but there's a lot of Maiden hit singles I prefer.
Here is the Live After Death version: Not keen on Bruce's voice here, but I love it musically, and I admit Nicko is really good on this one.
I do agree with people saying they don't like Bruce singing Dianno's songs, but the crowd singing section of this is great fun! I bought the 45 of it, with that bit edited out, before I got the Live After Death album so it was a real surprise. I loved it! The version on the video above is from a different show to the album.
Since this thread started I put the first album in my car. I was listening to Remember Tomorrow this morning and had a moment where the riff became a Sabbath riff to me. I've always put Maiden up on a pedestal and it was hard for me to hear anything but MAIDEN when I listened to them. Running Free is fun live, but not a favorite on the album. That said I was singing along loudly in the car this morning. I love that the cover of the single hid Eddie's face in anticipation of the reveal on the album cover.
As I wrote in an earlier post, Nicko really tries to play what Clive did originally and he does it with great enthusiasm and taste. Bruce's vocals on "Running Free" never sits entirely comfortably with me, but hey. Still like it. Great bass by 'Arry. The original studio version is simple and mindless, but that what makes it great. Obvious choice for a single. Catchier than the clap and even worse to get rid of once it has made it way into yer system.
As a teenager who only bought cassettes in 1984-85, I made an exception to get Live After Death on vinyl just to hear the long version of Running Free.