Iron Maiden Song By Song Thread

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

  1. ian christopher

    ian christopher Argentina (in Spirit)

    Location:
    El Centro
    what Paul lacked in vocal range, he made up in rhythmic phrasing.

    he likely listed to quite a few Stones records in his formative years.
     
  2. ian christopher

    ian christopher Argentina (in Spirit)

    Location:
    El Centro
    the "rhythm as lead" tandem harmony passages are a huge positive for the Maiden sound though.

    Murray/Smith are quite underrated in this department. and they rarely do the "chugga chugga" that so many of today's metal bands play too often
     
  3. Meyer

    Meyer Heavy Metal Parking Lot Resident

    "Prowler" is a great intro for what you are getting into during the Di'Anno era albums.
     
  4. Zoot Marimba

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

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Definitely. It's not that "chugga chugga" is inherently bad, but it's been beaten into the ground three times over, and there are so many ways to create a great rhythm part. Ask Malcolm Young and Keith Richards, and their music isn't even that complex, which really shows you.
     
  5. Jeff Kent

    Jeff Kent Forum Resident

    Location:
    Mt. Kisco, NY
    Maiden doesn't chug, they gallop.
     
  6. Madness

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

    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    Re-listening to this album for the umpteenth-millionth time and still get pumped!
     
  7. Zoot Marimba

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

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Damn right!
     
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  8. SammyJoe

    SammyJoe Up The Irons!

    Location:
    Finland
    I have always liked "Prowler" it's great, steady and energetic song to open the album with. Story of lurker and flasher, who stalks at night and tries (desperately?) to find way to do what he needs to do..
    I think I like the both studio-album, "Soundhouse Tapes" or almost any other incarnation. I think it works really well for opener for album and similar case been on each early Maiden-album.
    Too bad that album has that really weird production, it would have been so awesome to get Martin Birch to produce it. But of course, I've grown with what the album is so, I can deal with it.
    I can so remember the times I heard this album for the first time, I had borrowed the vinyl from the local library (around '86 or so I think so), as I listened to the songs I kep looking at the great album-cover.
    And also inspected the back-cover which was the shot from live-show. In fact, back then as I saw the Ruskin Arms live-clip from "12 Wasted Years" video, all this early Maiden really felt like different band to what I had first thought of them.
    Nowadays both are great, the Dianno-years were more to the honest street-like, energetic punk-influenced thing and the Bruce-years was that bombastic over the top heavy metal dream that I had.
    All the way from the debut to "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son", I think it's true fine line of albums, each is masterpiece which I love very much. Maybe Im too biased to comment these albums.
    Since, you talked about gallop, I think it was Maiden who really developed and invented the whole term, of course it's been used before Maiden but I always connect it with Harris.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Nov 9, 2017
  9. SammyJoe

    SammyJoe Up The Irons!

    Location:
    Finland
    That always happens, for whatever the reason really is, but Im happy that I can get so pumped still nowadays.
    [​IMG]
    In case anybody's wondering, I might post couple pics here and there, just for the fun and because this is the ultimate Iron Maiden thread here. :cool:
     
  10. Mark Wilson

    Mark Wilson Forum Resident

    I'd actually argue that his anger and personal weaknesses are part of what he Gave to early Maiden, for better or worse.

    Maiden have always been "dark", but the darkness in the Paul years always strikes me as being more inwardly personal and close to home compared to what came after. There's a marked change in lyrical content (and artwork i.e. Margaret Thatcher stabbed in the street) from songs about murder, torture, angry youth and other messed up people on the first two albums, to broader themes about war and social commentary almost immediately thereafter. IM and Killers have a disturbing quality that's unique to that era, and I think Paul had much to do with that. Maybe a quality Steve wanted to move away from later, I don't know.

    When it comes to metal bands, sometimes the "image" of the band is different from the real personalities of its members. Based on what I've read about Paul and his history post-Maiden, I wonder if he may've been closer to the "real deal" than some.

    I'm not saying that's a good thing, just how it strikes me. But the difference between the Paul and Bruce years is much more than just the vocal style.

    Matk
     
  11. Zoot Marimba

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

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    This is true, indeed. Maiden was certainly more of a pissed Off band when Dianno sang for the band.
     
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  12. Mark Wilson

    Mark Wilson Forum Resident

    As I mentioned in my last post, I don't think the first two could've been created with Bruce. Not just the voice, but the content and vibe. They're just such different people. I've wondered sometimes if Bruce is even very comfortable singing those songs, subject matter wise.

    And I love Bruce too, don't get me wrong.

    Mark
     
  13. Mark Wilson

    Mark Wilson Forum Resident

    Are you talking about Maiden or The Who?!! :)

    Mark
     
  14. panicproject

    panicproject VinylVinylVinylVinyl

    Location:
    London
    Maiden were my first band. I was brought up on my dads music. Quo, Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, Queen etc. Loved it all but I wanted something that was mine.
    My cousin Edward who lived in France (RIP) had Somewhere in Time on tape, I was 12 in 1987 when I came across that album. The cover art blew my mind and he copied it for me. I listened to it day after day for weeks on end. I knew I wanted to delve deeper. I picked up Piece Of Mind on vinyl from my local record shop and from that day on I was a Maiden fanatic.
    Admittedly, I lost interest after No Prayer for the Dying like a lot did. I was listening to a lot of thrash and death metal at the time and modern maiden were not ticking the boxes anymore. In recent years I have caught up with the remainder of their discography and am fond of quite a bit of it. Great band, saw them live in London earlier this year, for the first time since 1990.
     
  15. Mark Wilson

    Mark Wilson Forum Resident

    More psychopathic is how I'd put it! :)

    Mark
     
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  16. Smokin Chains

    Smokin Chains Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashua, NH
    Your cousin Edward, you say?

    [​IMG]
     
  17. panicproject

    panicproject VinylVinylVinylVinyl

    Location:
    London
    it's funny you know, when i typed that I had they same thought!
     
  18. Cheevyjames

    Cheevyjames Forum Resident

    Location:
    Graham, NC
    Wow, Paul is embarrassing. I like the guy for what he brought to the band, but that tirade was pathetic.
     
  19. Cheevyjames

    Cheevyjames Forum Resident

    Location:
    Graham, NC
    HAHA, Paul does that all the time, on seemingly every subject.
     
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  20. Cheevyjames

    Cheevyjames Forum Resident

    Location:
    Graham, NC
    Prowler

    Wow, the boys just sound fantastic on here, don't they? I love Dave's Hendrix influence coming out right from the beginning. The change to the unison section before the guitar solo is genius and that's what really sets Maiden apart. There's a definite punk flair to this, esp. in Steve's bass tone, but punk bands didn't do that sort of stuff. I love that the band doesn't use the word "prowler" in the lyrics. That was a nice trait of the early days where the song title would be the theme of the song, but not driven into the ground endlessly like later songs would. Anyway, Prowler. Dave's the star of the show here for me, as good as everyone else sounds. There's fantastic attitude and fire on this track. The band is tight as hell and powerful. This song really gets me pumped and I love hearing it, esp. in this early version from the debut. As many times as I've seen them live, I've never heard them play Prowler. I really hated missing the Early Days Tour.

    The Soundhouse version is really interesting in how much slower it is. The band doesn't sound quite there yet, but this version was recorded a year earlier than the version on the debut. Doug Sampson was fine, but Clive is a much better drummer. The arrangement is exactly the same on both versions.

    Prowler '88

    Do we know why they decided to re-record Prowler and Charlotte as b-sides in 1988? I like this version. It's definitely more polished than what they did in 1980, but it doesn't sound soft here. Bruce did a good job with the vocal and he sounds menacing enough, but still professional like he always does. He was at his most menacing in those first shows from 1981. Still, I like this version, but I will always prefer the original. There's nothing like the original fire.
     
  21. Zoot Marimba

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

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    As much as I adore Paul, I thought that rant was so low, like, I get it, hecklers suck, but have at least a little class. Hell, consider all the **** Bruce Got when he first joined, but he took it in stride, and he got one of his most popular nicknames from an insult:
    Bruce Dickinson Hater Gave Iron Maiden Singer His Nickname
     
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  22. raginghessian

    raginghessian Well-Known Member

    "Prowler" is one of my favorite Maiden songs and I think yeah, it was the perfect introduction to the album. Its funny that you had mentioned Popoff sorta slagging Steve Harris indulgent bass sound because I think this song is a perfect comeback for his argument. Those first two bass hits are monstrous and sound awesome …LOL!

    And about the "punk" sound of this record and how Steve hated punk. I think what you are hearing on this record is two guitar players interperating the songs as they were written on the bass, which would initially be playing power chords of the root notes. I think later on the interpretations became more fluid and musical but initially came off punk-ish. I have to give it up to Clive though for being one of the tightest drummers to play at that speed with any kind of finesse.
     
  23. The Slug Man

    The Slug Man Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Carolina
    IRON MAIDEN (s/t album)

    Right off the bat, a question: How come the original cover has been replaced on later CDs by a darker picture? Did they lose the rights to the original Riggs artwork?
    OK...on to the album. It was released on April 14, 1980 (which happens to be Ritchie Blackmore's birthday), and ironically, Blackmore claims he is the one who showed Martin Birch this album and said, "You should start producing these guys going forward." It's a great debut, but quite raw, and for those mostly used to Dickinson, Di'Anno's voice lets you know right away that this is NOT the same guy. Also, the trademark "gallop" is only present a couple of times on this album. Most of the songs are well known, the deepest cut probably being "Strange World."

    PROWLER

    What a great way to kick things off. I remember actually getting the first album last (since I started in '86 w/SIT and worked backwards), and I'd never heard "Prowler" before (it wasn't on Live After Death). I remember rewinding the tape and listening to "Prowler" over and over again. You can tell how relatively primitive the recording is, but man, is it raw, almost like Motorhead. I love the feedback on the 2nd guitar after the 1st one starts playing the riff. I love Dave Murray's soloing style--it's so fluid. He, like Tony Iommi, is a master at playing really fast trills.

    It will be interesting to hear discussions on the other songs, as far as what solos are played by Dennis Stratton. He was only in the band for one album so didn't have much of a chance to make an impact on their sound.
     
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  24. Zoot Marimba

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

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    I bookmarked a page on my laptop showing who played which solo, which, as a guy who sometimes has a hard time telling Two lead players apart, is insanely helpful.
     
  25. MusicMatt

    MusicMatt Quality over Quantity

    Location:
    California, U.S.A.
    I kinda like the newer darker picture better. Eddie looks more evil.
     
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