Charlotte the Harlot

How good is Charlotte the Harlot on a scale of 1-10?


  • Total voters
    13
Same low (4) grade as the one before it, albeit for different reasons. The song has a few really good parts, especially the intro riff but the lyrics anoys me enough to want to throw stuff at my speakers when listening to it. If the music weren't so good in some places I'd given it an the apparition.
 
Paul does not sound great on this. He definitely does not sound great on it now, but even back then, you can hear his words being slurred and terribly hard to understand.

It's got an OK riff, but it sounds so happy for the content manner. Like Running Free, this is one of the closest songs Maiden wrote to "sex, drugs, and rock and roll". Had they continued to pursue this topic, we might never have had a Maidenfans.com.

5/10.
 
  • An absolutely woeful track from a composition standpoint. There's a sharp contrast between the riffs and subject matter as LC pointed out and the calm middle part sounds non-genuine.
  • The chorus is the only memorable part of the song.
  • I have no idea what the solo is trying to do on the song. Probably ill-placed because of the composition issues.
3/10. Easily the worst song on the album in my book.
 
Paul doesn't do a very good job on this song, but the vocal melody on the chorus is amazing. The solo's are good, but I hate the break in the middle. It doesn't work for me. Easily the worst on the album.
6/10
 
It's silly and fluff, but surprisingly catchy and still fun. I am going to have drop it to a 5/10 though, as it is a pretty mediocre part of the overall catalogue.
 
Oh, dear. A love song about a hooker? Without even a decent hook? Bit of a missed opportunity, I'd say. The first of those embarrassing little numbers that you try to forget are part of Maiden's catalogue. 2.
 
I like this one, especially the dynamics when slow part starts. Great instrumental and nice singing from Di'Anno. 7
 
Easily the worst song on the album. LC is right about Paul here, you can hear him start to slur his words and be less understandable. Lots of generic riffing here and lame lyrics/vocals. The only salvageable thing is the clean middle section, but even that is ruined by the lyrics and vocals.

4
 
In real contrast to Strange World, this picks up the pace of the album again. A bit of fun and fluff. Nothing bad, really, just nothing outstanding either. 5/10
 
6/10. I'll have to agree with everyone else of this being the worst song on the debut. However I still enjoy the song, but definitely not as much as the other songs of the album.
 
6. It's not particularly poetic but I enjoy the song nonetheless. Chorus is the highlight.

Rankings:

1980 - Iron Maiden

8 - Prowler
6 - Sanctuary
7 - Remember Tomorrow
6 - Running Free
9 - Phantom Of The Opera
7 - Transylvania
4 - Strange World
6 - Charlotte The Harlot

 
Picks up the pace after Strange World. Not exactly great, and the lyrics aren't worthy of Maiden. Still, there is something about this song that I like. 7/10
 
Honestly the weakest off the debut. The lyrics and the musical simplicity don't deserve more than a 3/10 (Maiden scale)
 
Over the years I have begun to appreciate this one a bit more. I'll give it an 8 now. I really dig the calm mid piece, with subtle clean guitar playing and beautiful vocals by Di'Anno.
 
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