Age of Innocence

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How good is Age of Innocence on a scale of 1-10?

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    35
I love the lyrical content of this song as well as the instrumental perfection. Stop choosing political sides and enjoy the music, please. No one wants to get mugged and let the perp go free, not you, no one. But that shi$ happens and it sucks. Steve is being A bit rebellious I think, and saying enough is enough, follow the fuc4ing rules of society or kiss off. This isn't a right wing philosophy, it is rather a human stance for justice. That "get off my lawn" horse shi4 is only funny till it's your lawn. 9/10
 
Yeah, but the lyrics sound like an old man's rant of how things used to be better in the past, and now the criminals just laugh in our faces, the judicial system lets them do it; it's a damn disgrace! (swings cane in air)
 
Wow I guess it's all in how you here it. What I here is a kick ass band attacking a social problem head on and spitting fire back at the scum bag minority of this great earth that ruin it for the rest of us. At no time at all do I hear an [old man's rant?] !! In fact there were probably more scumbags out there [organized crime, KKK, etc. etc.] in older times than now. And getting away with this shi4 is harder than ever. So the old man stuff just doesn't apply. Bruce blasts out this pro humanity , okay, rant:D, with the venom and hostility we all should have against the seedy bad doers of whom Steve has tied to the spit. Awesome song on an unbelievably diverse and powerful album.
 
Well, as you said, it comes down to how you hear it, i.e. personal taste, and there's no point arguing about that. :D Cheers!
 
Ahhhhh! I voted a 6, but that's not what I meant! Bugger.

My real rating would be a 4. I love Murray's intro/outro solo and even Bruce's FOTDish bridge vocals, but the lyrics are half-assed and the chorus is just so...happy. I can't get over how much it sounds like Journey.
 
Here we are again. Once again the band places the worst track (least good ;) ) at the second to last spot. A song that just plodding along for the most part. There are some good melodies, the intro/outro guitar melody for an example. But the chorus is really bad in my opinion, it's embarrassing to listen to.
The heavy verse towards the end is great, but it's out of place. Bruce sounds bored for the most part as well.

Though I would give this a 5, but to be honest this doesn't deserve more then a 4.

4/10
 
I like this one. The intro has this sort of creepy ominous feel, but then the build up really pushes up the energy, like you're starting a run, or entering battle.
Lots of variety in the riffs and percussion to keep this flowing too. 9/10.
 
This one is on my small list of Maiden songs I actively dislike. Awful lyrics, so cheesy and laboured, even if the music was good I'd struggle to get past the words (nothing to do with the 'political stance') Sounds like it could be off Fear of the Dark (my least favourite Maiden album by a long way).

Poor effort. 3/10
 
Niall Kielt said:
:wtf::puke::turd::p
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haters-gonna-hate.jpg
:D
 
:spamkiller:

But seriously - what's your problem with the lyrics? Not just you, Niall, everyone seem to hate it. I don't get it. Maiden have much worse lyrics, IMHO...
 
I aint bothered about what people have called the right wing sentiments (Im far from right wing by the way) but I just find them out of place. Ok, Maiden have had many lyrics which might be deemed ridiculous when sang in a serious fashion ('they make a tea and sit there waiting') and many occasions when 'arry fits in more words than any singer would write themselves BUT theres just something about the preachy vibe on show here, its like a speech he wanted to make if he was running for local office. I just dont like 'em. Give me war, give me stories about putting up a bloody pair of curtains but just dont give me these lyrics. Im also not really a fan of the lyrics on Blood on The Worlds Hands (similar theme) but for me it just about gets away with it cos I dont mind the music.

Although I respect your opinion and believe in your right to voice it....:nuts2:
 
I actually get what you mean - you are right the lyrics sound somewhat similar to BotWH or Afraid to Shoot Strangers (maybe?) and yes, those might sound a tad preachy.

I agree the lyrics could have been better, but they don't bother me and sound better to me than lyrics to To Tame a Land or Alexander, for example (which is just - to Cried's delight, undoubtedly - mainly listing stuff). The main key to appreciate it, methinks, is to not think they are singing from their own point of view, rather from a point of view of the character - in this case, some old chap reminiscing of a golden age gone by. Kind of like all the albums by the Kinks. Suddenly, even the hyperoptimistic and somewhat sappy chorus makes sense. I get it might not be up to everybody's liking, but I'm not bothered the slightest.

And by the way - I usually notice the lyrics after everything else and it's very easy for me not to listen to them at all, unless they are especially pronounced. In fact, since I haven't heard the song for quite some time and I didn't concentrate on the lyrics then, the only thing that springs up in my mind is something like "So we only get one chance and we take it" and "The aaaage of innocence is [something something]". Oh, and "And all the politicians and their hollow promises", but that's it, actually. So, nothing to pull my hair out about. :)
 
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Niall Kielt said:
I aint bothered about what people have called the right wing sentiments (Im far from right wing by the way) but I just find them out of place. Ok, Maiden have had many lyrics which might be deemed ridiculous when sang in a serious fashion ('they make a tea and sit there waiting') and many occasions when 'arry fits in more words than any singer would write themselves BUT theres just something about the preachy vibe on show here, its like a speech he wanted to make if he was running for local office. I just dont like 'em. Give me war, give me stories about putting up a bloody pair of curtains but just dont give me these lyrics. Im also not really a fan of the lyrics on Blood on The Worlds Hands (similar theme) but for me it just about gets away with it cos I dont mind the music.

Although I respect your opinion and believe in your right to voice it....:nuts2:
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I agree with this to a degree, Maiden is at its best lyrically when they stick with history, stories, movies, etc. Topical songs rarely age well. That said, I like this song, it has some cool chords and I like the melody. Add to that the Nicko version is funny as hell
 
The Nicko version is class, to be fair.

Ok, sometimes, sometimes, I dig the chorus but most times I think 'fuck away off Maiden, you're better than this.' I get what you are saying, Judas, about the lyrics but I just dont like the song. To me its 50/50. What I mean is that if I liked the song then I would see it your way RE the lyrics but I don't like it so I'm more critical and horrible when it comes to the expression of my feelings about the tune. To me it seems as if Steve went 'ok, Dave has a song, lets make it work' (I know Dave wrote Rainmaker also but it has 3 writing credits, Age seems like Daves baby and Steve wanted to make it work). To me its the worst lyrics and worst music since FotD (Angel and the Gambler aside, although it has its (repetitive) moments).
(((((((i love these things)))))))))))

This song feels like shit on my shoe when I have to listen to it on the same disc as Dance of Death, Paschendale, Monstegur and Journeyman.

Also,:nana:
 
It must have been in another thread that I talked about this, but I see Age of Innocence as the speaker stepping into the role of a Mr Angry, venting in frustration about everything that's wrong in the world. The vocals from about 4:12 are being spat out viciously, definitely a rant from Mr Angry.

Age of Innocence sounds like nothing more than an outpouring of the overt populist politics of the time, but could just as easily be portraying the views of a certain stereotype of a person of the time, or the tabloid headlines of the day. I find a lot of Dance of Death involves hindsight, retrospect, or judgement. The present judging the past, the present judging the present, potentially the future judging the present. The whole idea of a golden age of innocence is a myth. Bad stuff definitely did happen in the past too. The pace of the song and dizzying, almost messy central solo, suggests being bombarded with negativity and anger. Very much sounds like tabloids and popular reaction to them at the time!

I'll give this a 6 as I don't particularly enjoy it musically, although I do feel it fits the character of the album.
 
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