It’s time to get back into the series and an actual, proper single this time. This is one of a very few 7-inch Maiden singles I own. It makes today simple as it’s A-side and B-side, the 12-inch singles have some beefy contents sometimes.
There are some different versions of this single around, but in this case they’re mostly just territorial presses and all of the versions have the same content. Mine is a UK pressing in a cardboard sleeve, nothing special to it.
This was the true debut multi-territory single from Iron Maiden, in so far as conventional single releases go. It was put out in advance of the debut album. This is the first official cover appearance of Maiden’s most famous member, Eddie. But as you can see he’s not that easy to make out – the band wanted the album to be his true “reveal” so here you see his face obscured. Putting his face on the label of the single’s record itself probably didn’t generate much suspense for the future “reveal.”
This official video from IM’s channel features both sides of the single in one clip.
Running Free
Maiden’s first single is a very simple and basic rock song, one of the relative few the group recorded. Paul Di’Anno penned the lyrics about being wild, young and free, somewhat inspired by his own young life.
The song is a long-time staple – it’s been played live a trillion times (don’t quote that) and is still one of the band’s best-known even in a career with 17 albums and a peak a few years away yet. A live version got its own single release a few years down the road, which I’ll cover when its time comes.
While Running Free doesn’t necessarily fit the mold of a quintessential Iron Maiden song, it’s one I enjoy quite a bit. It’s simple and pleasing and it works great live. It’s a massive part of the Maiden lexicon even if it got technically outclassed by other material.
Burning Ambition
There’s a lot to talk about when it comes to Maiden B-sides, and honestly a lot of it isn’t good. But we come out of the gate with what might be the best B-side the band ever did. The song comes out with a classic rock vibe uncommon in Iron Maiden’s music but hits pretty hard once Di’Anno starts singing. The song deals with someone who warns his significant other not to hold him down as he pursues something beyond the mundane life.
Burning Ambition has a bit of band trivia behind it – it marks one of the few recorded performances of drummer Doug Sampson. Sampson played on the famous Soundhouse Tapes demo and a handful of other demo tracks, but that is all of his Maiden recording history for his year or so in the band.
Burning Ambition is on the short list of “best Maiden B-sides.” It does feel like enough of a departure to excuse its absence from an album but its quality is undeniable. The song has surfaced on some reissue and archive material over the years but is still a bit of a hidden gem in the catalog.
That’s all for today. It’s on through a run of 12 inch singles next, all with a bunch of stuff on them. Also the list will get a bit bigger next week – I’ve got a few CD singles in, and also I discovered that I have a few more records that what I thought I did. Thanks for not updating, Discogs.
Today I’m gonna go somewhere back in time to what is now astonishingly nine years ago. I first saw Iron Maiden in 2000, now in 2022 I’ve seen them four times. The concert I detail today was my second time seeing them.
Maiden were touring a retro set this time around – it was based on the 1988 Maiden England tour. The set lists between 1988 and 2013 would differ a bit, I’ll get into that below. I was personally very excited for this one – while Maiden alternate between “legacy” sets and current material a fair bit, this tour was paying homage to my favorite era of the band.
The show was in what used to be called the Sprint Center in Kansas City. For those unaware of the “unique” geography of Middle America, Kansas City is partially in the state of Kansas but a lot of it is in Missouri, and arguably the most significant stuff. (The same is true for St. Louis – a lot of it is in Missouri but a part is in Illinois). And to continue with the unimportant trivia, the Sprint Center is now known as the T-Mobile Center because Sprint and T-Mobile merged a few years ago.
The show was on a Saturday and it’s also important to note that Maiden had not played in Missouri for 13 years at this point – exactly the last time I saw them. The Sprint Center is located near a fairly large entertainment district in KC and the place was electric hours before the show. We had a few adult beverages in the area with a legion of people in Maiden gear before heading into the arena.
One other minor note about the venue – I’ve seen Maiden twice now in this same arena and both times the place was top-notch at getting people into the venue in a timely fashion. This point will come in handy in the future when I get into the time I saw Maiden in a different city with a much less capable entry mechanism. But no such issues in KC.
Most any show has an opening act, and Iron Maiden brought a doozy for this tour – Megadeth were the support for this tour. It made for a stellar tour package but did raise an interesting question – what exactly were Megadeth going to play in an opening slot? They have more than enough material to air out a two hour headline set, so what did they go for in slot an hour or less?
They stuck to the hits, of course. All but one of their nine songs came from their classic run of albums from 1986 through 1992. The lone exception was Kingmaker, from their just-released Super Collider. The album is regarded as a flop in the Megadeth lexicon, though Kingmaker is cited as a highlight track. The song worked fine in their set and I wasn’t bothered by it. The classics played were fantastic and Megadeth was in fine form. Somewhat sadly, to date this still marks the only time I’ve seen them live.
With the crowd ready to go, Iron Maiden took the stage. It was sheer joy after the day-long party outside the arena and Megadeth’s opening set. As mentioned before, the set was a retro offering. The set list closely mimicked the 1988 Maiden England tour list, with a few exceptions. We did not get Killers, Heaven Can Wait or Die With Your Boots On in 2013. Instead two songs from Fear Of The Dark were thrown in – Afraid To Shoot Strangers, and the ever-present title track. I would have personally rather had the old songs in but I wasn’t put off too bad by the decision.
Overall the set was fantastic and it was a trip through the highlights of Maiden’s career. The Maiden England set is a de facto greatest hits, omitting the reunion stuff but hitting on the band’s classic era when they were in top form. The set naturally included many of Maiden’s hit songs, including The Trooper and Number Of The Beast, alongside Wasted Years, 2 Minutes To Midnight, Run To The Hills and Aces High in the encore.
The real highlight of a Maiden England retrospective is the focus on stuff from Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, which was the current album when the original Maiden England tour was rolling along. The 2013 edition featured five songs from that album, including the opening salvo of Moonchild and Can I Play With Madness? Hearing the title track toward the end of the set was a massive highlight and the band went all out for that presentation. This is a set with no real valleys, but hearing Seventh Son live was the definite peak.
The Seventh Son… love was not over with the title track. Maiden brought The Evil That Men Do out in the encore and that was a massive highlight. I was just a hair too young to see the band live on the original tour when this first came out, but here was my chance all these years later to hear it in concert and it was spectacular. Hearing all of this stuff from way back when was a massive treat, I never expected this kind of a set with the way Maiden have leaned hard into the new material in the reunion era.
There were a few “hidden gems” in the set, in a manner of speaking. They were songs played on the original tour but the band saw fit to bring them back and play them in 2013. Most fans wouldn’t have bet on hearing these songs in the reunion era. The Phantom Of The Opera was played for the first time in a long time, and The Clairvoyant was part of the Seventh Son love fest.
But the true jewel of the evening was The Prisoner. This cut from The Number Of The Beast has been one of the more underrated gems of the Maiden lexicon and I was over the moon to get to hear it live. This was again another chance to live in an era I wasn’t originally able to participate in.
The September 2013 concert is a very special one in my memory. It was my second time seeing my favorite band live. A whole bunch of my friends from town made the trek too, I’ve honestly never been in such a huge place with so many familiar faces. The pre-party before the show was something to behold, with Maiden fans of all ages converging and celebrating this massive event. And while it’s hard to ignore the first time I saw them when I wonder what my favorite show of all time was, this one is certainly a contender. Can’t go wrong when your favorite band does a retrospective tour of their golden era. I always have been someone searching for his wasted year, but I did get to live one of my golden ones.
No easily found footage from the show I went to, but here’s some stuff from both bands that year.
It’s time to kick off the Iron Maiden singles series. Today’s initial offering gives a nice glimpse into something uncommon within the Maiden official release series – live material with Paul Di’Anno on vocals. This also marks some of Maiden’s earliest live recordings.
There are a few different versions of this EP, I have and will be going over the original Japanese pressing containing four tracks. There is a later Greek pressing with additional tracks but it isn’t cheap while this Japanese version is pretty easy to obtain.
Also of note – my copy is a corrected version. There is a misprint version, the error is on the back in the bottom right corner. The corrected copy says “Play Loud” while the misspelled version says “Play Roud.” And yes, the misprint is a collector’s item that goes for even more than the Greek pressing with extra tracks.
Anyway, enough of yammering about different versions, let’s get into the songs. Three of the songs are live from a show at The Marquee Club in London during July 1980. The Marquee was a very historic club for decades and was a highlight spot for the emerging metal scene of the 1980’s. It was of special importance to the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene, which is obviously what we’re talking about here.
Sanctuary
The lead-off track is noteworthy as this is the only official place to find this recording. The other tracks would all be re-released on other material later. The song was part of the debut album but initially only offered on North American pressings.
This version is pretty good, it’s decent sounding for a 1980 live recording. Di’Anno’s vocals come out clearer than anything but the band is recognizable. I always enjoyed this song quite a bit so having another live version of it with the OG singer works for me.
Phantom Of The Opera
Another song from the debut record, the band rips through it in a bit of rough and tumble fashion but that’s very fitting for the early era of Maiden. It is the full 7 minutes of the song as presented on the studio record so the band didn’t truncate it at all (they never really do that anyway).
Drifter
This is a track that would appear on the second album Killers but that album was several months away still, so the band were airing this one out early. This is a really good version featuring some call and response stuff between Di’Anno and the crowd, it’s the kind of stuff that makes live recordings worth it.
Women In Uniform
The last song is the “plus one” alluded to by the EP’s title. This is a studio recording and also a cover song, originally done by Australian band Skyhooks in 1978. There are some discussion points around this cover song – both with the troubled story of Maiden’s recording of it and also how the song is viewed in a modern context. But since this very single is coming up in a few weeks I’ll save those discussions for then.
That wraps up the first of the singles series. Now the ball is rolling and it’ll be a monster when it reaches the bottom of the hill. If this wasn’t enough for you, you’re in luck because in a few short weeks 3 of the 4 same songs come up again.
I’m getting everything set up to kick off my run through the Iron Maiden singles series. I’ll begin it next Thursday and it will run until its conclusion. Right now that appears to be sometime in June, though I expect the list will grow between now and then.
As it stands, everything I have in my collection is a vinyl single. There are some CD singles I want to get and as they aren’t expensive it will be the area I focus my collecting on the next few months so the list will grow a bit. This could run through the bulk of the summer if I get the ones I have my eye on. The vinyl list might grow some as well. And obviously I will revisit the list when I acquire new ones after I’ve made my initial run through.
This is by no means a complete collection of Iron Maiden singles. They have a bunch and there are a few that carry insane prices. My collection will never be complete, short of winning the lottery or finally getting that huge contract from a baseball team that I’ve been patiently waiting on for decades. But I’ve been able to gather a fair collection together and the Maiden stuff I have would be the absolute last I’d part with, only in an absolute catastrophe would I unload anything.
I am simply using the order these pop up on in Discogs sorted by year, so I don’t know if the exact release dates are in proper order. It’s not that big of a deal – everything will come out in the wash. Also I am including what would probably be considered EP’s here. Maiden only have a few released truly considered EP’s and I don’t see any point in keeping them out of what is a huge list anyway.
That’s about all for now, the series kicks off next Thursday. Until then, up the irons!
It’s time to end 2022. I’ve already done my top albums list for the year, so for the last AOTW I’ll just pick something and go with it. Here we have a good collection of songs, though wrapped in one of the most hideous album covers in history. Given the band, that was no small sin.
Iron Maiden – Dance Of Death
Released September 2003 via EMI Records
My Favorite Tracks – Paschendale, Dance Of Death, Face In The Sand
Before I even get into the album itself, I’ll take a minute to discuss the awful cover art. The art was commissioned to David Patchett, who has done some great work on album covers by British doom band Cathedral. Patchett submitted the Grim Reaper Eddie design with a few shadowy monks behind him to the band. Band and management felt the design looked empty, so they countered with some computer-generated figures to fill out the piece. Patchett did his best to work with what he was given, but ultimately decided to remain uncredited as the cover artist. The cover itself has been universally reviled since it was revealed to the world.
I made this point some time ago when I talked about some bad album covers, but just imagine – being an artist engaged in the trade of making album covers and NOT wanting your name associated with an Iron Maiden album cover. The band who became known through their iconic album covers. This cover art was certainly a gross misstep and the blame lies squarely within the Maiden camp for it.
Thankfully the album itself holds up. It is 11 songs clocking in at near 68 minutes, which seemed a bit long then but is virtually an EP for Iron Maiden now. Though the album got released on different days of the same week across the world, everyone got the same version so it’s go time.
Wildest Dreams
The album opener is also one of two released singles, though nothing was officially released ahead of the album. The band encouraged people to record the song live and distribute it via Internet during the golden age of file sharing, which many did.
The song is a pretty simple rock tune. It’s one of those motivational ones that talks about letting go of the past and setting out to get “it,” whatever it is. The song is not particularly well-regarded in the scope of Iron Maiden opening tracks but I think it’s a bit better than it gets credit for.
Rainmaker
The other single from the album, this was a track primarily composed by guitarist Dave Murray. Smiling Dave has largely stepped away from songwriting as the band as gone on so this is a rare treat. It has a very catchy Murray riff and the lyrics tend with the business of washing away unpleasantness and starting anew.
No More Lies
This wasn’t a single but did wind up the subject of a souvenir EP. The song sees its narrator facing the inevitable end of mortality and deciding to take it upon his or her self to achieve what they feel they have left to do in life. So far the themes of the songs have been very life-based and more realistic than the epic fantasy tales of Maiden yore.
Montsegur
Here Maiden get pretty hard and tackle a 1244 AD castle siege. I know as much about it as you do. Apparently it was pretty brutal. Despite the harder nature of the track, there is a fair bit of Maiden melody in this one.
Dance Of Death
The title track was composed by Steve Harris and Janick Gers and stands as one of Maiden’s most epic title songs. It is a tale of someone joining the danse macabre and barely making it out with his live, promising to only dance again when it’s time for him to do the dance of death.
This is a massive composition with epic arrangement and Bruce Dickinson really going all out on the vocals. While other songs got selected as singles, this is one of two from the album considered among Maiden’s best and makes one wonder why they didn’t just release this one on its own instead.
Gates Of Tomorrow
Back to a more straightforward rock track that has something do do with taking self responsibility as opposed to waiting for some cosmic force to save you, or at least something like that. It’s not my favorite by any means but it’s still a decent listen.
New Frontier
A very rare gem here – this is the sole songwriting credit attributed to drummer Nicko McBrain in Maiden history. The song is pretty bright and melodic but the story is dark – it’s a tale of someone cloning humans and coming to regret it, a sort of Frankenstein thing.
Paschendale
It’s back to war now and to World War I, the setting being the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as the Battle of Passchendale. The battle was massive and cost several hundred thousand lives, analysis of the battle takes up millions of pages.
In terms of the song, this is one of Iron Maiden’s most epic achievements. It is a massive presentation that recounts the story of but one of the great many who died on the battlefield in the controversial fight. The song features soaring verses and plenty of splendid guitar work. I do feel like the massively positive reception to this track helped inspire Maiden’s direction forward, as many more of these epic-type songs were to come in the post-reunion era. Paschendale is a heavyweight contender for the best Maiden track since the reunion.
Face In The Sand
I talked about this song a bit before when I discussed the songs Iron Maiden have yet to play live. While the album and this track came and went without much fanfare, I feel like this is honestly one of the band’s most underrated moments. It’s another epic track that builds to a huge explosion and I think it’s almost criminal that the song doesn’t get the same kind of love I have for it.
The song deals with the modern day consumption of news and media and how it warps perspective. Everyone is waiting for the end, yet it never comes despite being told over and over again how it’s just around the corner. Even outside of the song’s intent, this is a pretty grim apocalyptic track.
Age Of Innocence
Heading to the album’s close is this track about crime and punishment and how the world was changing. I don’t entirely agree with some of the song’s conclusions but it’s a nice tune overall. For a bit of fun, the No More Lies EP has a hidden bonus track that features Nick McBrain “singing” this song. While Maiden have a long history of essentially wanking off on their B-sides, this one is outright hilarious.
Journeyman
This album closer marks yet another first for Iron Maiden – it is their only fully acoustic song. It was originally done electric and that version is on the already mentioned No More Lies EP, but they chose to go acoustic here. The track can start arguments among fans but I see nothing wrong with it, it’s a pretty good song.
Dance Of Death had a nice market reception even with its hideous cover art. The album charted well in a great deal of countries, showcasing the worldwide power of the band and establishing that they were indeed back and their reunion wasn’t a fluke or short-lived thing.
The album might not be the highest-regarded product of the reunion era but it still carries some quality with it and a few of the band’s biggest highlights. It’s also great for a deeper section of Maiden trivia, as there are many “first and only” moments on the album. It’s great for a deep dive into Maiden lore to see all of the things that only happened here, with Nicko’s songwriting, the acoustic track and others I might not have even mentioned. The album cover sucks, but the album itself is pretty good.
The quick and easy posts continue this week as it’s that time of year for Spotify Wrapped.
I’ll add a quick bit of context before getting into mine – this year I used Spotify for two main purposes – small playlists of 6 or so songs when I go on bicycle rides (which is most every day) and to check out new releases. I figured my wrap-up would be distorted this year based on the small series of 30 minute playlists I constantly rotate through, but as it turns out I can say the results were fairly representative of my listening habits.
First up the is genres. Not a whole lot to get into here, besides whatever “post-doom metal” is. Music descriptors get awesome these days when everyone is trying to invent a new term for a sound that sets even somewhat apart from the rest. I’m also not entirely sure what they’re referring to with “country rock” but that’s a more understandable term.
Now on top artist. Not really shocking to me – I have a handful of LoG songs in my playlists and then when Omens came out in early October I played the hell out of it. I’ve liked them for a long time but the new album really knocked me over and likely explains how they took my top artist crown this year.
And here is the overall Wrapped sum-up. Kind of funny that my top played song in 2022 was the same one as from 2021. My only real “huh?” moment is Muse being in my top artist list – they put out a new album this year which didn’t really hit with me, though one song off of it is pretty awesome. I guess that one new song and whatever sprinkling of others I have in my playlists put them over the top. None of the others register any surprise to me all.
Here is one other little bonus that was going around in the past few days leading up to Wrapped – the Instafest lineup. It essentially takes your Spotify data and generates a three day festival based on what you’ve played. Here is mine.
I’m honestly pretty happy with mine. Now, I do love Oasis, but in no universe would I book Iron Maiden as an opening act for Oasis. I’m sure plenty of people would have my head for that. But beyond that, I would pay huge money to attend that fest. It lines up with what I like pretty nicely. The only oddball? I don’t know the artist “Lord” as listed on the festival bill. No clue who that is referring to and I’m not getting any easy answers on Spotify.
That covers my Spotify Wrapped for 2022 and also the bonus Instafest thing. As a preview for my end of year stuff, I’ll do my top albums of 2022 on December 12, in place of the regular Album of the Week feature. I’ll probably do a small Songs of the Year list too, maybe three or five, don’t know yet. On through the ass end of 2022.
Today’s single is a curiosity from the early 1980’s. This is a band that never wound up recording a proper album. They released one single, featured here today, as well as a handful of songs on compilation albums. A retrospective CD would come many years later, long after the band called it quits.
There are a number of ways to market a single for an emerging band. In the early 80’s, one such way would be to feature a guest spot from a famous rock star. It would appear from the cover that Xero have that part nailed down.
But, appearances are deceiving. Yes, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden does have a vocal track on this single. But Bruce never sang for Xero, he did not drop by the studio and lend his vocal talents to the band.
Here’s what happened, this rather obscure tale is sourced through the Discogs page for Xero as hard info is hard to come by. The common thread between Bruce Dickinson and Xero is a band called Shots. Bruce sang for them for a bit before joining Samson in 1979. Shots recorded a few songs with Bruce, one of them being the track Lone Wolf.
At one point in Shots before they broke up, guitarist Billy Liesegang joined. It does not appear that Liesegang was in the group at the same time as Dickinson, but I can’t confirm one way or the other. Shots would break up and Liesegang formed Xero.
As Xero were preparing the release of their lone single, it would appear that the band’s manager was the one who had the idea to take the Shots recording and tack it on to the Xero single. I can’t source this definitively, but I have seen it mentioned at the Bruce Dickinson Wellbeing Network, an archive of Bruce-related news and releases. This concept that it was the manager’s idea also comes up in discussion, but again, a super hard and fast source is tough to come by. It doesn’t appear to have been Billy Liesegang’s idea, that much seems clear.
Whatever the case, Xero released the single with Lone Wolf on it. It apparently didn’t take long for Iron Maiden management to come calling in regards to the unauthorized use of Bruce Dickinson’s vocals. The track was replaced with a different song in subsequent pressings of the single.
So, with all that commotion out of the way, let’s get into the songs themselves. Bear in mind that these are not hosted by any official source and, as is often the case with YouTube, these clips may vanish without warning.
Oh Baby!
The lead single is a melodic rock affair with, uh, not the greatest production but good enough to hear what’s going on. The song seems a bit “light” given that the group have a New Wave of British Heavy Metal billing, and it’s especially light when compared to the B-side. I think the song is fine, I don’t at all mind listening to it. The single apparently moved a few copies back in the day but I don’t have solid information on that, just Internet anecdotes.
Hold On
On to the B-side and a very nice track. This is more along the lines of what I expected when I first checked this single out. It is a very straightforward song with a nice solo passage and I, like many, think maybe they should have led the single with this instead of Oh Baby. This song did appear on a comp record called Brute Force so maybe that’s why they didn’t release it as the A-side.
Lone Wolf
Here we have what is not really the band Xero, but the band Shots instead. This was one of a few tracks that Shots recorded with Bruce Dickinson and it was illicitly used on this single (again, an apparent management decision and not the band’s).
The song is pretty cool but it does stand out a bit from the other two recordings, this one is clearly a bit older than the other two songs. One can be forgiven for not thinking that Bruce is singing on this, but recall that he was still a teenager when he recorded this and hadn’t fully fleshed his voice out, something he’d do more of in Samson. After a few listens I can find him in there a bit, it’s interesting to hear him on an old recording so young.
So that’s the tale of Xero and their big single release, something that would be derailed by a pesky thing called performance rights or something like that. I don’t know what caused Xero to not get around to a full-length or to break up, again, info on them is super hard to come by and almost all of it revolves around the Bruce stuff.
Given the difficult nature of putting all this together with very few good sources, if anyone out there reads this and has any true, factual source material about this release I’d be happy to be pointed to it so I can make sure my stuff is accurate. I’m not really expecting much since few concrete leads turned up in my searches, but hey, never hurts to ask.
I had a different album in mind for this week, but after talking about a particular band extensively last week, I’ve called an audible and switched things up. The record was mentioned yet not really discussed in the posts last week and I got it in my head yet again after all these years and so it’s time to give the album its day in court.
Iron Maiden – A Matter Of Life And Death
Released September 5, 2006 (US) via EMI Records
My Favorite Tracks – The Longest Day, For The Greater Good Of God, Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
This marked Iron Maiden’s 14th studio album, though also the 3rd since the 1999 reunion with Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith. It set the table for the reunion being more than a brief run for nostalgia and cash’s sake, that the band were serious about forging ahead in a marketplace where they were hailed as heroes yet were also as old as dinosaurs.
This also turned a corner creatively – while the predecessors Brave New World and Dance Of Death were celebrated, A Matter Of Life And Death stood out for longer tracks with more mood and less tempo. While not appealing to the portion of the fanbase that pines for Powerslave II, it set the rest of the fans and critics on fire. Maiden would not hedge on their new effort – the resulting tour saw the band play the entire album live. While there were some lessons learned from that approach, it still indicated the full-bore dedication the band had to their new material and defiance of living on their laurels as a “classic” act.
The album cover is, as usual with Maiden, worth discussion. The art does not prominently feature the band’s most famous member Eddie, but the mascot is there on the tank with his band of brothers. Personally I love the cover and it’s my favorite of any of the reunion-era pieces and it’s especially welcome after the literal abortion of a cover Dance Of Death got. I even have this as a back patch on a jean jacket, as all good metalheads do.
There are 10 tracks to discuss here, but at a beefed up runtime of 71 minutes. The era of long Iron Maiden albums had dawned and this was only a pregame for the future. There are also several other factors to discuss, like the Internet mystery campaign behind the lead single, the decision to run the whole album live, and the album’s prominent place among reunion-era records. In short, this post will be about as long as a reunion-era Maiden album, so grab a few drinks and settle in.
Different World
The opener also served as the album’s second single. The song is, in contrast to the rest of the record, a straightforward rocker offering up a bit of philosophy about co-existing with differing perspectives and all that.
This one doesn’t really get a lot of love around the fanbase. I personally don’t mind it but it won’t make a list of my favorite stuff, Maiden or otherwise. It isn’t “bad” in any sense but it’s just a song.
These Colors Don’t Run
Now into a sound that would shape the bulk of the album and also delve into a theme present in much of the remaining lyrics. This is a mid-tempo affair that moves at a trot as opposed to the gallop of many past Maiden efforts. And the theme here is war, this song offering a rally cry for the soldiers who fight for their flag no matter the cost.
Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
Off to one of the album’s epics, a now standard feature of latter day Maiden records. This sprawling effort tops out at near 9 minutes. The title seems a bit mystifying until the song’s theme becomes clear – this is about the development of the atomic bomb. The bomb was humanity severing its connection with creation and playing god with the potential of world-ending destruction.
The song marks one of three celebrated epics from the record and these songs have become centerpieces for modern Maiden albums. It probably creates fits when it’s time to make a set list, but of course the band circumvented that problem by playing everything live.
The Pilgrim
It’s literally a song about pilgrims, either the historical settlers of America or in the general sense, I don’t know. It won’t ever be accused of being Maiden’s best song but it’s a damn sight better than any description could make it out to be. It’s better than some aging British metal band droning on about the Loch Ness Monster for more than ten minutes.
The Longest Day
Back to the war and, as the title would indicate, it’s off to D-Day. The massive beach invasion is painted in vivid detail in the lyrics as the song slams through the battle. There isn’t a lot for me to say other than it’s my favorite track from the album.
Out Of The Shadows
A fairly abstract track about birth and death, new and old, that kind of thing. Not much to it but it’s a pretty decent song.
The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg
The album’s first single and one with quite the marketing story behind it. Without any prompting, a website featuring a biography of the unknown Breeg was posted. It was quickly surmised that this had to do with the new Maiden album and fans set to work trying to solve the mystery of who Breeg was and what happened to him after his 1978 disappearance. Breeg was a known painter and a future website update offered up one of his paintings which featured none other than Eddie. The last dispatch from the website had set a meeting with someone who knew Breeg’s fate, that meeting was on the day the single was released.
While nothing was ever resolved in terms of the mystery, the quiet marketing ploy drove a lot of buzz for the band’s new song and album. I recall being fascinated with it at the time, but of course it’s a bit tough to specifically recall all of that 16 years later. It seems like Benjamin Breeg might have died in 1978 and was “reborn” as Eddie, but this has never been explicitly stated. Given that Maiden have never built further lore around Breeg, this theory is my guess.
The song itself does also perhaps support the Breeg is Eddie theory. Breeg was a tortured artist who might have sold his soul, and the reincarnation aspect of it might be him becoming Eddie. It fits with the various themes posted in bits on the website.
Oh yeah – also, the song is good.
For The Greater Good Of God
The second of the album’s epics, this tune takes aim at the ills of religion. While not condemning religion outright, the song does goes full-bore on the wars and calamities experienced worldwide due to the power-grabbing influence of religious figureheads over time. The song is widely-loved and often at the top of people’s favorites lists. It’s also one song that has been featured in Maiden set lists years after the album’s tour cycle.
Lord Of Light
This is about Lucifer and mostly how he is used as a scapegoat for humanity’s ills so that humans can continue sinning without consequence. It’s another fairly long track that sometimes gets set to the side but I feel offers a bit more than its secondary status might indicate.
The Legacy
The album closes with the third epic and one that the band knocked out of the park. The song has two halves – one in which a world leader is on his deathbed, being reckoned with the true cost of his warmongering. The second half of the song implores humanity to move beyond the cycle of death and destruction and embrace a new forward vision.
That clearly hasn’t happened, but that doesn’t diminish the impact of the song. Maiden offered arrangements and movements here that were unheard in the extensive prior catalog. It was a true mark that the band had a solid direction for their music now and into the future, and that direction would diverge from their past eras.
A Matter Of Life And Death was praised by critics and swept up by fans – the album hit high chart positions in many countries all over the globe, including the US where the band scored their first top 10 chart appearance on the Billboard 200 at position 9. The group already had hot receptions for the prior two albums of the reunion era, but AMOLAD arrived and put things on a whole new level.
Proud of the effort, Maiden made the decision to tour the entire record. This was a first, and to date has been the only time the group has played an entire album live. While the die-hard portion of the fanbase ate up the offering, the fact is that concerts are attended by a great many people who aren’t as fervently attached to things and the shows met with somewhat muted receptions. The concept wasn’t dismissed as a total failure, but the group has since refrained from going so hard with pushing new records.
This album shaped the direction of Maiden albums to come – the three albums following all offer huge, epic arrangements and very extended run times. That has become its own argument among fans but it is clearly the direction the band wishes to pursue.
In terms of the reunion period, AMOLAD has been hailed as one of the top offerings, rivaled perhaps only by Brave New World. Not only has it mostly taken that crown, it has ascended many lists in terms of the band’s entire catalog. And it’s something that needs to be highlighted when talking about the band and its long-running status – there are many fans who have come on board in the last 20-plus years and those fans’ keystone albums are in this reunion period. And this one is often top among those.
Not everyone was paying attention or even alive when the 1980’s classics came around and these past few decades of the band have brought in many new fans and kept the legacy alive and thriving. There are fans who sneer at the slower, more plodding reunion material and gladly showcase the band’s masterpieces from way back when as some kind of argument against the modern songs, but judging by the album sales, concert attendance and constant new interest in a band older than dirt, no one really seems to give a shit what they think.
Update 5/30/2023 – These posts are being updated to reflect new songs played live as part of The Future Past tour
Yesterday I ran through the first handful of albums of Iron Maiden’s career, and specifically discussed the songs they haven’t played live. The basis of this info comes from this recent Loudwire article. Today I’ll finish the exercise, picking up with the reunion era records.
Brave New World
2 songs unplayed – The Nomad and The Thin Line Between Love And Hate
Maiden did not mess around when Brave New World came out – they toured this album all over the place and made sure everyone heard most of it live. They played a bit over half of it when I saw them on the tour, and all told we’re left with only two unplayed tracks.
Way back when I first started this blog I did a post where I talked a bunch about a lot of my “firsts” with Iron Maiden, that post is here.
I like both of these songs, but I’m not betting on them getting played live in the future. I don’t think there’s any big push for them to get in a set list. Now I do think, of any album the band might choose to play live in its entirety, that Brave New World would be very high in consideration. It was a massive rush when Iron Maiden returned to glory and conquered a new decade, and the album still stands as a reunion era favorite. I don’t really think it will happen, but the possibility is there.
We have another list full of songs and, for the most part, a fairly non-shocking collection. I think Montsegur is a cool song but I can understand it not being aired out live. Gates, Frontier and Innocence are all kind of second-tier songs, if not perhaps even lower. I know they have their fans and none of the songs bother me by any means, but man, they ain’t playing any of that.
But then we have the case of Face In The Sand. I will die on this hill – this is Iron Maiden’s most underrated song. It outshines even the excellent Judas Be My Guide, which I discussed yesterday. The quiet intro lifts into this slamming epic that condemns humanity of its own sins. I was shocked that it wasn’t included in the Dance Of Death tour cycle and sadly, it sits unplayed to this day. And it will never be played, I fear, unless I win a huge jackpot and hire Maiden to play my birthday party or something.
We can skip the 2006 A Matter Of Life And Death, as Maiden played the entire album live in its tour cycle. Sadly, no official live album came of it, and I guess the band learned that fan interest only goes so far – plenty of paying customers at shows weren’t all that into it. I think it’s cool they did it, and they still put a major emphasis on a new album when they tour it, but this one kind of bit them in the ass. But that’s not relevant here, so it’s on to 2010.
The Final Frontier
Five songs unplayed
Mother Of Mercy
The Alchemist
Isle Of Avalon
Starblind
The Man Who Would Be King
We have half of an album here, an album that sits very under the radar in terms of Maiden records but gets some quiet accolades for a handful of tracks. And actually, a few of them are here. Isle Of Avalon is a bit of a Maiden departure where they seem to fully embrace some Rush influences and is a very excellent tune, but sadly it didn’t hit the stage. Starblind is another one that’s maybe just behind the album’s two big epics The Talisman and Where The Wild Wind Blows, but is very good in its own right. The others aren’t quite as good, though I’ll cop to personally being one of the apparent very few fans of Mother Of Mercy. I’m very, very alone in that regard. Very low odds of any of these seeing play in the future.
The Book Of Souls
Four songs unplayed – Where The River Runs Deep, Shadows Of The Valley, The Man Of Sorrows and Empire Of The Clouds
These are all pretty logical omissions. I do like Where The River Runs Deep but it’s outshined by other songs. Shadows and Sorrows are very much secondary tracks from the album that a fair few consider to be bloated anyway. And Empire Of The Clouds is 18 freaking minutes long. So, of anything, it’ll probably be the one to get played sometime.
Senjutsu
Seven songs unplayed – songs 4 through 10
Updated list as of 5/30/3023
Lost In A Lost World, Darkest Hour, The Parchment
To date, Iron Maiden have just now been touring after releasing Senjutsu and in fairness the band is completing a long-delayed tour so they put the first 3 songs on the set list and called it good.
The odds that more songs get live time later on are very good. Fan reception was especially solid for the last few tracks and while the album has a fair share of detractors, it seems to have favorable traction among the fanbase at large.
And the odds get even better when Bruce has outlined the group’s desire to play the album in its entirety. Perhaps having learned their lessons from the AMOLAD tour, Bruce said any Senjutsu full airing would be in small venues and for the true die-hards. If that happens, than the album’s entry in this list will be entirely obsolete.
Update May 2023 – The Future Past tour leaves this section nearly useless, I have put up a list of the now three songs unplayed from Senjutsu. Of the three remaining, I hope The Parchment gets stage time someday.
Senjutsu was one of the only times I’ve done a new release album as an Album of the Week and it was in the first month of my blog. In fact, the imminent arrival of the album was one of the reasons I got off my ass and started this blog in the first place. The original post is here.
That does it for the unplayed Iron Maiden live songs. My wishlist would include Alexander The Great, Judas Be My Guide, Face In The Sand and Hell On Earth.
Notes as of 5/30/2023 – These posts are being updated to reflect newly played songs on the band’s Future Past tour.
Today and tomorrow I’m going to run through an interesting list. A few weeks back, Loudwire published a list of all the songs Iron Maiden have not played live. It’s an interesting look at what songs didn’t quite make the cut for a band who is a prolific touring act and I wanted to run through the list and offer some thoughts.
By my very quick and unofficial count (which may not be entirely accurate), Iron Maiden have a total of 175 studio tracks – 174 on albums and one non-album single that is included here. The various B-sides of singles are not included on this and don’t include a ton of legitimate original songs anyway. The total of unplayed songs live on the list is 51 (46 as of May 2023), so just a hair under a third of their output.
Maiden have aired every track from 2 of their 17 albums – the 1980 debut, which makes sense as they didn’t have a ton of songs then, and the 2006 record A Matter Of Life And Death, which was played in its entirety on tour. All other albums have at least one track that didn’t get time under the stage lights.
I’ll go through the list as it’s presented, album by album. I’ll leave off after the two Blaze albums today and pick up with the reunion era stuff tomorrow. It’ll likely make this post longer than the second one but it seems like a good place to split the proceedings.
The self-titled debut is not in consideration for this effort, so it’s off to 1981 to start the list.
Killers
One song unplayed – Prodigal Son
The only track from the second album not to see the light of day is Prodigal Son. It’s a logical exclusion from live sets, the song is very, very different from anything else the band have done. I do like the song but yeah, they’re never playing that one, no one would know what the hell was going on.
No real surprises here, neither song is considered terribly strong and I doubt too many people pine for a live airing of either. I don’t mind Invaders but it’s nothing to write home about, while Gangland is honestly kind of weak and a song the band even wishes they hadn’t put on the record. I don’t expect either tune to get the time of day on stage.
Piece Of Mind
Two songs unplayed – Quest For Fire and Sun And Steel
Nothing really shocking here, either. I do like Sun And Steel quite a bit but at this point I don’t ever expect it to be played live. Quest For Fire isn’t really anyone’s favorite track, I don’t personally mind it much but I’m sure it will remain on this list for all time.
Powerslave
Three songs unplayed – The Duellists, Flash Of The Blade and Back In The Village
Maiden truly made hay on the Powerslave album cycle and massive tour, but three of the album’s cuts haven’t been played out. The two sword-fighting songs and the the quasi-sequel to The Prisoner have been omitted from set lists. I wouldn’t mind hearing any of them live, especially Back In The Village, but I’m not really banking on it.
Powerslave was Album of the Week not all that long ago, here’s the post.
Somewhere In Time
Two songs unplayed – Deja Vu and Alexander The Great
Only two songs haven’t made the live cut from this well-regarded album. Deja Vu is a fine song but one I kinda doubt will ever see live play.
But we have a whole other story with Alexander The Great. The album’s closer is an awesome, epic track and this is probably the song that most fans would say they want to hear live. I can only speak from the anecdotal stuff I see in the wild but I think this is the holy grail of unplayed live cuts. I can’t speak as to whether or not it’ll ever make the cut but it’s the first one on the list that I hope does.
Update 5/30/23 – Alexander The Great has now been played live, it is a part of the Future Past setlist, as fully expected
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
Two songs unplayed – The Prophecy and Only The Good Die Young
I guess no real surprises here, The Prophecy is widely considered the weakest track from this beloved album. I do enjoy Only The Good Die Young but at this point there is little hope of it getting stage time.
No Prayer For The Dying
Three songs unplayed – Fates Warning, Run Silent Run Deep, Mother Russia
Now we’re into the 90’s era, often considered the band’s weakest. This album, which just had its 32nd anniversary on October 1, doesn’t contain the same epic quality of classic Maiden but is still pretty welcoming in its consistency.
And honestly, the three unplayed tracks are some of the better tunes on the record. I always enjoyed Fates Warning, and it’s possible the Run Silent Run Deep would be my number one selection of the album. Mother Russia is a bit different and I can see why they wouldn’t play it live, but it’s a tune I still enjoy. There is no prayer for any of these songs being on a future set list.
Fear Of The Dark
Seven (!) songs unplayed:
Fear Is The Key
Childhood’s End
The Fugitive
Chains Of Misery
The Apparition
Judas Be My Guide
Weekend Warrior
Now that is quite the list. Less than half of this album has gone unplayed in a live setting. A lot of that probably has to do with the turmoil in the band, which would see Bruce Dickinson leave the band just over a year after the album’s release. And only two songs from the album, the title track and Afraid To Shoot Strangers, have been played since the album’s tour cycle.
Looking at the list, I wouldn’t play most of these live either. Honestly there are some of the worst songs the band have recorded on the list. Weekend Warrior is almost celebrated for how bad it is, and The Apparition is never invited to any of my parties. I don’t necessarily mind The Fugitive but it’s not strong enough for a live set. The other songs are goofy thought perhaps inoffensive, I don’t know.
Well, there is one song on this list that is not at all like the others. Judas Be My Guide is an amazing tune, arguably the album’s best and considered by many to be the band’s most underrated song. (My personal pick for that will come up tomorrow, though Judas is an easy number 2). It is a damn shame that the song hasn’t been presented live and, while I don’t expect it, it is a short tune and could be easily accommodated.
The X Factor
Four songs unplayed – Judgment Of Heaven, Look For The Truth, 2 AM, The Unbeliever
We’re now to the Blaze Bayley era of Maiden, while loved by some it was widely considered a disaster for the group, who saw their fortunes sink in the late 1990’s. I have mixed feelings about it which I’ll save for later blog content.
I can’t say I really care if any of these songs were played out or not. Judgment Of Heaven is one I liked, the others kind of sounded a bit samey to me, one of my gripes about this album overall. Bruce has had no problem doing Blaze-era tunes but none of these will likely pass muster.
Virus – single
We now have the curious case of the only non-album, non B-side track Iron Maiden ever did. The song was a new offering for the band’s first greatest hits compilation and then got released as its own single.
And it was never played live, despite being one of the strongest cuts from the Blaze era. The song is different and does throw some people, but I absolutely love it. It, along with a few of the B-sides from The X Factor are honestly the best songs the group did in this time frame.
That said, I doubt Virus ever gets played live by Maiden. It is very much a Blaze Bayley song and I can’t picture Bruce tackling this one. This is one that absolutely should have been played when Blaze was still with the group.
Virtual XI
One song unplayed – Como Estais Amigos
I’ll finish up part one with the second and final Blaze album. Easy enough – only one song wasn’t played and it’s never getting played. Hell, I don’t even mind the song, but yeah, it won’t see stage time.
That wraps up part one of the songs Iron Maiden haven’t played live. I’ll be back tomorrow with part two and the tunes unplayed from the reunion era.
The Crooked Wanderer 