The Crooked Wanderer

Sanctuary

Purgatory

Aces High

Wasted Years (you are here)

Virus

Rainm aker

Stranger In A Strange Land – The Iron Maiden Singles Series

On April 20, 2023July 23, 2023 By bigbadburchIn Iron Maiden Singles Series32 Comments

Moving along with the Iron Maiden singles, we are now to the band’s 6^th studio album Somewhere In Time. This beings the two-album “synth” arc that saw the band expand their sound a bit and, while opinions vary of course, this period is well acclaimed.

It’s also worth noting that my decision to use my Discogs stuff as my reference for this list is biting me in the ass right now – today’s single is out of order and was the second released from Somewhere In Time. No real big deal to me, but this series has been attracting quite a bit of attention and I wanted make sure it was stated that I’m aware of the order not being proper.

Today’s single features the lead track as well as two pretty unique and worthwhile cover songs. And the covers have pretty deep ties to Maiden lore and trivia so there’s a fair bit to go over. And we have again very nice and unique cover art. Here Eddie is decked out like an Old West cowboy, though also sporting the futuristic bells and whistles fitting of the album’s cyber sci-fi theme. Eddie’s pose was based on Clint Eastwood’s famous “Man With No Name” character from the old Western movies. The cover’s background setting gives a bit of the Star Wars cantina vibe to everything. There are a few cool easter eggs on the playing cards, I’ll let people go over those on their own.

There were quite a few different versions of this single, with several 12-inch and 7-inch releases, as well as a cassette. I have a 12-inch version and thus the extra B-side. And, for the first and only time in this series, I also have a 7-inch version. This was a 2015 reissue the band did of their singles, I saw it at a record store for not much one day and figured what the hell, I’ll snag it up.

As is usual with these, this first video includes the single and the first B-side as it represents the 7-inch version.

Stranger In A Strange Land

The feature track is a mid-tempo song that eases off the acceleration a bit and lets the song operate through its atmosphere. Lyrically it’s about an explorer who was frozen to death exploring harsh cold climates and then found many years later, the song bears no relation to the novel of the same name. Adrian Smith was the songwriter here and he also gets a fair bit of time on an absolutely beautiful solo that is a prime example of how a solo can be complimentary to the music without needing to be guitar wankery to be good.

This is one of my absolute favorite Iron Maiden songs, probably second or third if/when I get to the business of actually ranking them. I love everything about it and anytime I’m debating on what Maiden album to play, the chance to hear this song again often influences me to go with Somewhere In Time. It’s one I’d give a kidney to hear live, so hopefully it’s in the set for the next tour which focuses in part on this album and the band make a run through the US with it.

That Girl

The first B-side is a cover from a band with deep connections to Iron Maiden. The band in question is FM, in this case the British band and not the Canadian one. The story leading to this cover version is not a short one but it has bearing on both B-sides so on we go.

FM originally formed in the early ’80’s and secured a record deal based on the strength of a demo, which included That Girl. In 1985, Iron Maiden were taking time off after a grueling world tour and Nicko McBrain got bored. He called up Adrian Smith and the two hatched a plan to get together with some friends and play a few secret gigs. The first and more famous of these gigs was under the title The Entire Population of Hackney. Appearing with the Maiden duo was Andy Barnett, formerly a bandmate of Smith’s in Urchin, as well as Dave Colwell and Martin Connoly. Each brought songs from various points in their careers to play at this gig, which included this FM song as both Barnett and Colwell had some early involvement with the group. (Barnett would later join FM)

So after the secret gig, Maiden decided to work up a full band version as a B-side. It’s a very well done song and fits the vibe of the full album pretty well, something both of these B-sides do fantastically. It’s also interesting because the cover is based on FM’s original demo recording. FM had reworked the song a bit before releasing their debut album and went more melodic AOR rock with it, very fitting for the time.

It’s also interesting because Maiden’s cover was released barely a few months after the original was out. FM’s debut album Indiscreet came out a week before Somewhere In Time and this single was released just two months later. So this was two versions of a song out at essentially the same time.

Juanita

This song was also done at the secret gig outlined above. Even more interesting than the last one is that the original of this was never actually released. The song was originally composed by a group called Marshall Fury, of which Martin Connoly had been a member. The band never released the song and info on the group is scarce – in fact, looking them up on Wikipedia redirects to this very single.

There’s no original to compare here, but Juanita is a pretty well done track for a Maiden B-side. It’s a straightforward rocker and the band handles it very well.

That (finally) does it for this single. If you thought there was a lot here, wait until next week. Another song from the secret gig will be there and it’s probably the most-discussed Maiden B-side in existence. And someday I’ll get into the bootleg of The Entire Population of Hackney, but the bootlegs are a ways off so don’t hold your breath waiting for that one.

The Iron Maiden Singles Series

Sanctuary

Purgatory

Aces High

Stranger In A Strange Land (you are here)

Virus

Rainmaker

Iron Maiden (Album of the Week)

On April 17, 2023April 16, 2023 By bigbadburchIn Album of the Week10 Comments

As of last Friday, April 14, Iron Maiden’s debut album is 43 years old. Seems like as good of time as any to explore it here.

Iron Maiden – self-titled

Released April 14, 1980 via EMI

My Favorite Tracks – Iron Maiden, Transylvania, Phantom Of The Opera

Iron Maiden had spent five years playing in pubs and shifting line-ups in advance of their full-length debut, but the actual recording process for the record took all of 13 days. The band had mis-fired on two attempts to record the month prior and went through two producers before settling on Wil Malone. This would not be a fruitful partnership as Steve Harris recalls that the band did most of the actual production.

The recording line-up would be bassist and band founder Steve Harris, Dave Murray and Dennis Stratton on guitar, Paul Di’Anno at vocals and Clive Burr on drums. By album four, only Harris and Murray would remain of this line-up.

The cover art depicts the band’s legendary mascot Eddie. This was not Eddie’s cover debut as a shadowy form of him appeared on the Running Free single and the Japanese single release featured Eddie in full form, but this album still serves as the popular introduction. Derek Riggs was the artist behind Eddie’s appearances through Iron Maiden’s first decade of operation.

The album would release with 8 tracks, but I will be covering the US version which also offered the song Sanctuary. This was added to subsequent re-issues later on, though the current day pressings seem to omit it.

Prowler

The opener slams in with great guitar work between the Murray-Stratton duo and the signature rumble of Steve Harris’ bass. Di’Anno sings a desperate tale of a depraved man out to stalk and flash women.

I am warmed to the album’s production after decades of hearing it, but I will admit that Prowler is one song that maybe could have used a bit more work in the mixing stage. Still a very nice track but I can hear where it could be cleaned up a touch.

Remember Tomorrow

A remarkable song that starts out slow and contemplative but later launches into a Maiden guitar fireworks show fast break, showing that the band would forego typical pop-based song structure in their expressions. The song’s title was a phrase Di’Anno’s grandfather used frequently.

Running Free

This was the band’s debut single and still lives today as an iconic track. It is a simple banger that would get an extended live cut with a call and response passage added. The song is about the simple pleasures of being a wild and crazy youth and was based in part on Di’Anno’s young lifestyle.

For more on the single of this song, visit my recap of it as part of my Iron Maiden singles series.

Phantom Of The Opera

We move now to an extended cut and one with shifts and movement as Maiden take on the famous novel which has been adapted musically far and wide. The groundwork for the Iron Maiden sound to come can be found here, with a focus on epic storytelling. Phantom remained a staple of the live set long after Paul Di’Anno’s exit from the band and the song is hailed as one of the best from the early era.

Transylvania

Up next is the band’s first instrumental. The song was originally intended to have lyrics but after hearing the instrument cuts they decided to keep it as is. This is a fantastic song that plays out just fine without words and I’d say ranks at the top of the band’s handful of instrumental tracks. Transylvania would see a fair bit of stage time in the band’s early years and then again in 1993.

Strange World

Now it’s on to a song that’s aptly titled as this is very strange and a huge departure from what is recognized as the Iron Maiden sound. This is a trippy, atmospheric track that doesn’t feature the distinctive Maiden rumble at all. The song is maybe about vampires, or drugs or who knows what. It’s very odd and it’s jarring to hear when set against the rest of the album but it’s not bad in and of itself.

Sanctuary

The US bonus track slots here on original pressings of the album, note that re-issues can have it in different spots. This song about a killer on the run from the law would be a mainstay of early Maiden setlists. For more on this one, head to my rundown of the Sanctuary single.

Charlotte The Harlot

Here we have one of just a few songs written entirely by Dave Murray. This is celebrating a woman of the night and Murray has stated it’s based on a true story, though that story has never emerged. While the song itself is not the most celebrated track from this album, Charlotte would make three further appearances in Iron Maiden songs before her story was completed in 1992.

Iron Maiden

The album closes with an eponymous song, which is always a treat when a band does that on a self-titled album. And this one is truly a gem – there is no more signature Maiden sound than the guitars and bass on this song. Just as the chorus says, Iron Maiden’s gonna get you, and that they did with this track. This is the band’s most-played song live.

Iron Maiden marked the start of a heavy metal legacy. The album would hit number 4 on the UK charts and get platinum certifications in the UK and Canada. Critics took to Maiden right out of the gate, and the band found ready and willing audiences when they entered new countries to play there for the first time. The days of grinding in London pubs were over and the world was waiting. The New Wave of British Heavy Metal had been bubbling around England for years and Iron Maiden helped bring it into the light for the world to experience.

The raw production gave the album a “metal meets punk” feel, though band members insist they were not chasing punk as a sound. But the identity would follow Maiden through the Paul Di’Anno era and a subset of fans lament the turn toward something more akin to power metal that Maiden took when Bruce Dickinson stepped into the singer’s role. Those fans represent a minority of course, but they are out there.

For me I was a hair too young to catch this on release, I was not quite 3 years old when this album hit. It would be several years later when I got into Maiden and backtracked through the early stuff. This one was always a favorite of mine, I loved the raw energy yet still finding a lot of the band’s signature sound that was present on later albums.

This album was the start of something very special and a legacy that has now run close to half a century. All things must end, but they also must begin and Iron Maiden’s start was a great thing.

Running Free (live) – The Iron Maiden Singles Series

On April 13, 2023July 23, 2023 By bigbadburchIn Iron Maiden Singles Series31 Comments

And we’re in to the second of the singles from Live After Death, Iron Maiden’s first live album. This one offers the rare chance for brevity – the cover is a live shot as opposed to an Eddie illustration. The songs are mostly self-explanatory – the A-side is off of the full album and the B-sides are not. Mostly.

I have a 12-inch version of the single, which includes a second B-side. 7-inch records have just one, physics and all that. As usual, the video below has the A-side and the first B-side, this is because Maiden put the 7-inch versions of the singles up on their YouTube during a reissue series last decade.

Running Free

Up first is one of the iconic songs from the band’s debut. Here we get Bruce Dickinson handling the song’s vocals. Far from the first time he sang this tune, but the first time it was offered up on a live album.

Running Free was done in an extended jam format at the Long Beach Arena in 1985, where Bruce and the crowd do a great call and response part for a few minutes. It’s a very cool rendition that everyone should check out – on the full-length release of Live After Death, because this is a single and it’s an edited song with the crowd part chopped out.

I do get the reasoning – this was released as a single and they weren’t doing 8-minute long live jams on the radio in the ’80’s. BUT, it sucks not to have the full song on this 12-inch record. The brief version is fine to listen to but is obviously not the full experience.

A note on the B-sides before I get into them – while not available on Live After Death, there is a 1995 Iron Maiden reissue series from Castle Records with bonus discs that do have the B-sides with the album, though on a second CD. To my knowledge this is the only way to get these songs “packaged” with the live album in any official capacity. And the Castle Records discs aren’t the easiest things to come by these days so it’s not a huge deal anyway.

Sanctuary

Our first B-side is a track from the Long Beach shows. Sanctuary is from the first album, though only in certain countries and was its own single as well. It’s well done here with Bruce in full air raid siren mode and the band keeping pace with the rest of their set, a bit frantic and faster than the albums. That style fits this tune fine. I will admit I do prefer Paul Di’Anno’s vocals on this particular track, there’s something about his snarl that fits the song a bit more than Bruce’s operatic approach. This version is totally fine though, no complaints here.

Murders In The Rue Morgue

This is the “bonus” B-side for the 12-inch record and is a super cool treat as it’s my favorite track from the Killers album. As with the other songs, this one is cranked up a bit but it’s executed very well. Not a whole lot else to say other than I consider this a special treat and very worthy listening.

That’s all for this week. Next time we’re into the band’s synth era and we are just two weeks away from what’s considered the most interesting and lore-ridden B-side in Maiden history.

The Iron Maiden Singles Series

Sanctuary

Purgatory

Aces High

Running Free (live) (you are here)

Virus

Rainmaker

Run To The Hills (live) – The Iron Maiden Singles Series

On April 6, 2023July 23, 2023 By bigbadburchIn Iron Maiden Singles Series34 Comments

Today it’s time to move into the singles from Iron Maiden’s first official live album, the heralded Live After Death. This live set is a massively celebrated treasure of the catalog and there were two singles offered up.

Live After Death has a bit of a confusing make-up – most of the songs were recorded over four nights in Long Beach, California in March of 1985. A handful of others were recorded in October 1984 in London. It’s these London shows that provide the B-sides for the single and the only relevant part for the singles series – actually tracking how Live After Death has been released in its many versions is a pain in the ass to be reserved for another time.

The cover art is another Derek Riggs piece, though this one is a bit confusing. Eddie is playing a huge synthesizer/organ on top of some mountains. It doesn’t make sense to the uninformed eye. Riggs was given instructions to combine Run To The Hills and Phantom Of The Opera in his artwork so this cover was the result and makes a great deal more sense with that context behind it. It actually is a pretty interesting piece of the Eddie art lore, even for its initial WTF aura. Still odd, but understandable given the artistic direction.

The single was released in 12-inch and 7-inch vinyl versions as well as cassette. I have and will be discussing the 12-inch record. The following YouTube clip has the first two songs of the single.

Run To The Hills

This cut is directly from Live After Death and is on all versions. It was from the Long Beach concerts, though discerning which specific concert is a research and argument-filled road I’m not going to go down.

The live cuts from these shows see Maiden playing at a high intensity and picking up the pace on pretty well all of the songs. This does make a very stark contrast to some songs, especially Hallowed Be Thy Name. On Run To The Hills there is a noticeable uptick in pace but the song functions very similar to its familiar studio version. It is one of Maiden’s most-known songs and it works very well in the live setting. There isn’t anything terribly different or interesting lore-wise to recount about the song here so let’s move on to the B-sides.

Phantom Of The Opera

The first B-side is one of the London performances and this one is on several versions of the full album. I’m not going to track the specific ones because it’s a lot of if’s, and’s or but’s and it would take up too much space. The relevant part is that this is the B-side on all of the singles.

What we have here is a cut from the debut album, done in the faster-paced live setting of the period and with the huge difference of having Bruce Dickinson on vocals as opposed to Paul Di’Anno. While there was nothing wrong with the original cut at all, there is something special here with Bruce tearing into this one. The song gets a pretty different feel with the faster pace and bits that are done different than the original. And Bruce showcases his range pretty well here, hanging out in the lower end for a lot of the song but truly making his mark on the track. This one is quite a treat.

Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra)

Our 12-inch “bonus” B-side is an instrumental track from the Powerslave album. This performance is also from one of the London shows and is not available on most versions of Live After Death, only on a 2-disc 1995 CD reissue series.

Despite being instrumental, Bruce gets in a few words before the band starts, basically lamenting his lack of presence on the song. Then the band launches in to the tune. It is performed faithfully to the original version though still a touch faster than. There is not a whole lot to say about an instrumental tune but this one is certainly worth checking out, it is a pretty nice jam.

That’s all for today’s single. Next week it’s on to the other one from Live After Death.

The Iron Maiden Singles Series

Sanctuary

Purgatory

Aces High

Run To The Hills (live) (you are here)

Virus

Rainmaker

Aces High – The Iron Maiden Singles Series

On March 30, 2023July 23, 2023 By bigbadburchIn Iron Maiden Singles Series37 Comments

This week it’s another of Iron Maiden’s signature tunes. These are being rattled off one right after the other since, well, it’s when they released all of this stuff. We get two B-sides this time, a cover song and a live track.

As with all Maiden cover art of this era, the cover here is totally on point. It’s very simple – Eddie is a British pilot flying a Spitfire during the Battle of Britain in World War II. Pretty easy premise and wonderfully executed by Derek Riggs.

There are some version differences here, the obvious one being the extra B-side on the 12-inch record versus the 7-inch. As usual I have the 12-inch version, this one from the UK. There were some further differences among cassette singles across territories but those were B-sides available on singles I’ve recently covered so nothing huge to worry about there.

Aces High

The single kicks off with its feature and namesake track, a magnificent song that soars as high as its subject matter. The music is anchored by the twin guitar attack of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, alongside the rumbling bassline of Steve Harris. Nicko McBrain bashes the skins accordingly, and Bruce Dickinson has another moment to live up to his nickname as the “Human Air Raid Siren,” this time more fitting than ever. The band fires on all cylinders here, but that guitar and bass combination really stands out here.

The song is about the Battle of Britain during World War II. It was when the Royal Air Force and all of the citizens of the UK banded together to fend off the onslaught of the Nazi Luftwaffe over the course of several months in 1940 and 1941. The British spirit held through the relentless campaign and Germany was unable to accomplish its objectives of destroying the RAF or breaking British morale through terror bombing, and the tide of the war would turn to the Allies’ favor. It is obviously a major point of pride in British history.

For Iron Maiden, Aces High is yet another signature track from their golden era. It would be paired with Winston Churchill’s famous speech to Parliament in 1940 both in the music video and in live presentations. The song would be an opener on several tours and is a well-regarded crowd favorite. It would peak at number 20 on the UK singles chart.

King Of Twilight

Here Maiden cover 1970’s German prog-rock act Nektar. This cover is actually a bit of a medley, combining King Of Twilight with Crying In The Dark, both Nektar tracks from 1972. It’s a pretty well-executed cover and toes the line pretty well between honoring the original and “Maidenizing” the songs as well.

I’ll also admit that I haven’t checked out Nektar at all before. There was no Internet access to just look bands up when these covers were around so the originals remained a mystery to me. From what I’m hearing it’s some pretty cool classic prog and I’ll have to check more of them out.

The Number Of The Beast

Our bonus B-side is a live performance from December of 1983 in Dortmund, Germany. There is also video of this clip, this same song was later shown in video form on the 12 Wasted Years video comp.

There is nothing that really “jumps out” about this performance, but it is competently executed and the crowd was really into it. The video does show Dave Murray riding atop Bruce’s shoulders in Ozzy and Randy Rhodes fashion, though of course that doesn’t translate to the audio-only single. It is a nice song to have in official form.

And yes, you’ll likely notice someone wrote their name on the back of the record jacket. This was fairly common practice way back when, to prevent theft. And this is not some random stranger who I never knew, either – Steve Childers was a musician from the area I live in who lived in both Missouri and Florida and played in number of death and black metal bands. Steve had moved back to this area in the mid 2010’s and I got to know him some in that time, he was a fantastic guy.

Sadly, Steve died in a car accident in early 2016. I bought this and some other records from his personal collection after his death to help raise funds for his final expenses and family. While it’d be far better to have Steve still around, it’s nice to have something from his old stash.

That’s all for this week’s single. Next week it’s into the band’s first official live album and the first of two singles from that.

The Iron Maiden Singles Series

Sanctuary

Purgatory

Aces High (you are here)

Virus

Rainmaker

2 Minutes To Midnight – The Iron Maiden Singles Series

On March 23, 2023July 23, 2023 By bigbadburchIn Iron Maiden Singles Series37 Comments

Today we enter the Powerslave album cycle and the heights of Iron Maiden’s career. Our single today has one of the signature tunes from that album, as well as a cover with a bit of trivia behind it and also our first bit of nonsense as a B-side.

For the first time in a while we get a bit of content variation across versions – the 7-inch does not have the second B-side Mission From ‘Arry, one must possess the 12-inch record to have that. Thankfully I have said 12-inch version so I’ll get to cover a funny argument secretly recorded by that bastard Bruce Dickinson.

The cover art is another unique depiction of Eddie, this time posing as a military guy/arms dealer as a nuclear bomb goes off around flags of the United Nations. A very on-point theme given the main song’s content and honestly this to me is a bit of an underrated piece of Eddie art. It isn’t as iconic as several of the more noted images of Eddie but this one communicates its message really well. I do happen to have the Eddie action figure of this pose too, only one of two that I own. There may be something a bit more to my love of this cover, which we’ll get to in a minute.

2 Minutes To Midnight

The lead song is a rocker making use of a tried but true riff to set the tone. The song is perhaps a bit more basic that some of the other stuff Maiden had gotten up to around this time, it’s certainly no 13 minute long song about some old poem, that’s for sure. But the simplicity is effective in this case.

Lyrically the song discusses the art of war, or the true nature behind the greed behind needless wars. It’s all about the war machine and the dollars that generates, which is why there’s always a war.

The song’s title also references the Doomsday Clock, a thing started during the early Cold War that scientists use to indicate how close to nuclear holocaust the world is getting. 2 minutes was the closest it had ever been set, which was in 1953. In our modern age of advancement in 2023, we’re now as close as the clock has ever been, 90 seconds from midnight. Go us.

One more thing about the song – this one just happens to be my favorite Iron Maiden song. Yes, out of all of them. This song was around quite a bit when I was growing up – Powerslave hit just as I was really paying attention to music and this was probably the heaviest thing I heard at the time. Iron Maiden were never huge hit makers singles-wise but some songs got airplay on various formats and I recall this one being around a lot. I’m also a sucker for doomsday stuff, which may say something about me more than anything, but no worries.

And while the issue was long decided by the time 2003 rolled around, it didn’t hurt that this song was included on the soundtrack to my favorite video game of all time – Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. I heard this as part of the V-Rock station over and over and over again when playing the game as much as I did. I’ve truly beat this one into my brain.

Rainbow’s Gold

Our first B-side is a proper song and a cover of a perhaps not well-known act. Beckett were a 70’s progressive rock outfit from Great Britain. The band recorded one album and folded soon after, though their stuff got around a little bit. One of many Beckett/Iron Maiden trivia points of note – Beckett’s agent was Ron Smallwood, who has been Iron Maiden’s longtime manager.

Maiden does a pretty good job on this song, they take what was a pretty groovy original track and speed it up some. I’d probably say I prefer the original by a hair as it has a bit more dynamic stuff to it than Maiden’s straight-ahead cover version. But this is a worthy cover track in Maiden’s discography.

The Beckett and Iron Maiden tie-ins are numerous – Beckett singer Terry Slesser actually auditioned to replace Paul Di’Anno in Maiden. (Slesser also briefly replaced Brian Johnson in Geordie when Johnson joined AC/DC).

But that is more a footnote, there is one far deeper interaction here between the two bands. In short, Iron Maiden lifted a portion of the lyrics to their classic Hallowed Be Thy Name from Beckett’s song Life’s Shadow. While only a few lines it is pretty clearly the same lyrics. Maiden settled early on with one songwriter from Beckett, who claimed to be the sole songwriter. Decades later another former Beckett member emerged with a lawsuit – this was why Hallowed… was not played on the 2016 tour. Maiden also eventually settled the newer suit.

Mission From ‘Arry

If you thought 2 Minutes To Midnight was the main event of this single, you’d be wrong. We have an actual bout on our hands here. While the fight didn’t get physical, we have a spirited argument between Steve Harris and Nicko McBrain, with Bruce Dickinson also involved.

Here’s what happened – one night during a Nicko drum solo, Steve’s bass rig bit the bullet. Unsure of when he’d be going again, Steve sent a rigger to tell Nicko to extend his drum solo to give the crew time to repair Steve’s setup. The crewman tried getting Nicko’s attention, which distracted him and screwed up the solo. Nicko also failed to understand the message so it was a total failure.

This recording is the backstage argument after the show between Steve and Nicko. Steve was upset with Nicko’s attitude about the whole thing, while Nicko was very upset about being interrupted during his solo. Bruce seems to generally side with Steve. The argument goes on for nearly 7 minutes before Steve figures out that someone was recording, that someone being Bruce, who stumbled into the tape recorder in the room and hit record. The band later thought it was funny and here it is as a B-side.

This is a bit hard to follow if you’re unaccustomed to British accents, which I am not at all. There is a transcript of who is saying what, but without that it can take several listens to figure out who is saying what and what exactly they’re saying. But it is pretty funny stuff, hearing them all have a go at each other over miscommunication. I can see everyone’s side of it – Steve wants to set up a way to communicate to Nicko while playing, Nicko wants everyone to piss off while he’s playing. No real side to take here, everyone has a point.

While later Maiden singles would host a fair bit of nonsense as B-sides, this one is pretty cool and unique. Music acts go out of their way to present the best side of themselves to the public so it’s cool to hear people having at one another.

That does it for this week’s single, quite a whopper all told. Next week it’s time to fly.

The Iron Maiden Singles Series

Sanctuary

Purgatory

2 Minutes To Midnight (you are here)

Aces High

Virus

Rainmaker

The Postage of the Beast – Iron Maiden stamps

On March 22, 2023March 21, 2023 By bigbadburchIn collecting1 Comment

A quick post today and more of just a show-off thing. I have apparently entered the world of philately, which isn’t a strange sex act but rather the practice of stamp collecting. Since I’m pretty well broke from buying music, my stamp collecting begins and ends with this series of Iron Maiden stamps the Royal Mail issued earlier this year.

There were a wide variety of stamps and collectible packages available, I settled on the presentation pack as a one-shot deal to cover all the bases. It includes the stamps pictured below as well as a pretty detailed biography on both sides of the presentation card. Eddie gets his own bio on the back of his stamp series, as the most important member of the band surely should.

In ironic fashion it did take a little while for these stamps to arrive, because mailing stuff between the British mail and the US Post Office can’t be as quick and easy and one would figure. I know people in Canada got theirs a bit before anyone here in the US did. Though in fairness I’ve had these for a bit now, I’m just now finally getting around to taking the pictures and making this post.

I am very impressed with the setup and how well done it is. I have no previous exposure to the Royal Mail’s collectible stamp issues, as honestly Iron Maiden is the only band I’d really drop money on for stamps. My intent was to frame this and I probably still will, but it seems a bit of a shame to do that when the double-sided layout is so neatly done. But in the end framing is still likely the best option for display.

And that about does it for the Iron Maiden stamps. Not much more to say, really – they’re very nice and a pretty high-class presentation. Behold the postage of the beast.

The Trooper – The Iron Maiden Singles Series

On March 16, 2023July 23, 2023 By bigbadburchIn Iron Maiden Singles Series35 Comments

We’ve hit a big one in the single series, time to go under the hood of one of Iron Maiden’s most beloved songs.

This is another from the series that is fairly standard issue – several variations but all with the same cover and track list. Mine is again a 12 inch version, note that this did get issues primarily as a 7 inch release. This song has been repackaged and re-released with other content so there are multiple releases floating around. Today’s focus will be on the original issue.

The cover art is here is beyond good – this is one of the most recognizable images of Eddie around. Redcoat Eddie holding a tattered Union Jack and his blood-spattered sword with the results of a battle and the Grim Reaper behind him is one of the instant classic pieces in Iron Maiden art. This ranks alongside Powerslave Eddie as one of the mascot’s most revered poses.

The Trooper

The cover art might be iconic, but certainly so is the featured song. It’s a bit of an exercise to pick Iron Maiden’s most recognizable and beloved song, hell those might be two different things. But The Trooper ticks both boxes and is a certain top-tier contender in those battles.

The song’s riff hits right away and is a knockout from the word go. It’s fast-paced and high energy all the way through the song, never letting up. When combined with the bass and drums, the “horse gallop” effect comes in. It’s fairly common through a lot of Iron Maiden songs but is highlighted here big time. I mean, I love it and I personally can’t stand riding horses.

This is a case of a Maiden song where Bruce really isn’t the shining star. Sure, he delivers the vocals splendidly, but there is no real “human air raid siren” moments here. He just belts out the lines and the ever-so-simple chorus that isn’t even real words. It’s the band who do the work on this one, highlighted by two fantastic solos from Adrian Smith and Dave Murray that fit the song like a glove and keep the horses charging in the right direction.

And where are these horses going? Honestly, not in the right direction. The song is based on The Charge of the Light Brigade, a huge blunder by British cavalry in the Crimean War in 1854. The British made a guess about where to best deploy their cavalry units to attack Russian positions and their guess was bad – most of the brigade died in the attack. It was immortalized in a poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson and that poem is where Iron Maiden got much of the inspiration for the song.

The Trooper has endured as one of Iron Maiden’s most popular songs. Bruce often dons a redcoat jacket to compliment the song on stage. The single just missed the UK top 10 and was also a rare notable US single, hitting number 28.

Cross Eyed Mary

The B-side is a cover of the beloved Jethro Tull classic. It is a well-done rendition, though sans flute and piano. Here Bruce really does go all out, hitting parts of a range that he wouldn’t normally tackle in Maiden tunes. It’s generally considered one of the best cover songs Maiden did and this also did get some airplay in the US. There is a radio promo single of it though I don’t own it and it’s just this song so it won’t be a part of this series.

That does it for this week’s entry in the singles series, a pretty monumental one. The hits keep rolling as the singles from Powerslave are on deck and we continue the true golden era of Iron Maiden’s career.

The Iron Maiden Singles Series

Sanctuary

Purgatory

The Trooper (you are here)

Aces High

Virus

Rainmaker