Best version of each Maiden album?
- Thread starter chaosapiant
- Start date
Spaldy
Ancient Mariner
Good to know. I'm probably going to collect them all anyway now that I've started.
PhantomOfTheOpera
Ancient Mariner
I think the original Somewhere In Time-cd is the best there is and also I really like the Japanese-lp. The lp is cool as it has all sorts of stuff there with it like interview on 7", poster, sticker etc. It's nice to have few different pressings of the albums on cd and lp.
Eduardo Cabeza
Trooper
The best sounding versions of the titles up to Seventh Son of a Seventh Son are the vinyl original pressings, which contain the uncompressed analog sound as it was recorded and released. To fully understand this, and the reason why vinyl can indeed sound better than digital, you need a GOOD system. Mine is a Rega P3 with Hana SL cartridge + Hegel V10 phono preamp + Hegel H120 + Harbeth M.30.2 XD speakers + Shawline X cables.
On to the pressings (Discogs references linked to titles). Forgive me if I get a tad poetic:
- Iron Maiden - Japan 1980: Sounds wonderfully raw while adding silkiness and precise low end to the "impetuous" production.
- Killers - Europe 1981: I believe is the same master for UK, France, etc. Sounds elegant, dynamic, with plenty to offer in the highest and lowest frequencies. Paul's vocals cut like a knife.
- The Number Of The Beast - Europe 1982: Ultrafast, Clive Burr's drum are dynamite, Bruce flies, bass and guitar are so well balanced, sharp and tight, with a lightness that no band or producer has been able to replicate. It is such a powerful yet elegant mastering work.
- Piece of Mind - Europe 1983: The drums sound is out of this world. More immersive, airy and atmospheric than any CD or remastered reissue. Dead silent background. Great pressing quality.
- Powerslave - Europe (Sterling press) 1984: This one shares the USA master mixed by George Marino in New York. Drums sound a fraction tamer than the UK pressing, but Dickinson's vocals and guitars sound fuller.
- Somewhere In Time - USA Capitol (Sterling SRC master) 1986: Also pressed by Marino at Sterling. So much better than any other pressing I've heard this far. Shits on any CD and burns it to ashes.
- Seventh Son of A Seventh Son - USA (Sterling master Allied press) 1988: This Sterling master by Marino, supposedly shared by UK, Euro and USA pressings, sounds more sophisticated than any CD version.
- No Prayer For The Dying - Spain 1990: Sounds great to my ears, but I haven't heard it in any other pressing or format.
I haven't been able to get my hands on an original Fear Of The Dark pressing (yet), but it would surprise me if it doesn't sound better than the remastered reissue from 2017 that I own. That's the case with the pressings listed above. All of them annihilate the 2014 vinyl reissues in terms of power, nuance, and air. I'm not kidding. If you love Maiden and listen to it on vinyl, forget about the remasters and go after those. Some are not too expensive. All of them are definitely worth the chasing and spending effort.
I think the currently available vinyl versions of X Factor onwards sound pretty good but I haven't done any A to B's between CD, digital and vinyl.
On to the pressings (Discogs references linked to titles). Forgive me if I get a tad poetic:
- Iron Maiden - Japan 1980: Sounds wonderfully raw while adding silkiness and precise low end to the "impetuous" production.
- Killers - Europe 1981: I believe is the same master for UK, France, etc. Sounds elegant, dynamic, with plenty to offer in the highest and lowest frequencies. Paul's vocals cut like a knife.
- The Number Of The Beast - Europe 1982: Ultrafast, Clive Burr's drum are dynamite, Bruce flies, bass and guitar are so well balanced, sharp and tight, with a lightness that no band or producer has been able to replicate. It is such a powerful yet elegant mastering work.
- Piece of Mind - Europe 1983: The drums sound is out of this world. More immersive, airy and atmospheric than any CD or remastered reissue. Dead silent background. Great pressing quality.
- Powerslave - Europe (Sterling press) 1984: This one shares the USA master mixed by George Marino in New York. Drums sound a fraction tamer than the UK pressing, but Dickinson's vocals and guitars sound fuller.
- Somewhere In Time - USA Capitol (Sterling SRC master) 1986: Also pressed by Marino at Sterling. So much better than any other pressing I've heard this far. Shits on any CD and burns it to ashes.
- Seventh Son of A Seventh Son - USA (Sterling master Allied press) 1988: This Sterling master by Marino, supposedly shared by UK, Euro and USA pressings, sounds more sophisticated than any CD version.
- No Prayer For The Dying - Spain 1990: Sounds great to my ears, but I haven't heard it in any other pressing or format.
I haven't been able to get my hands on an original Fear Of The Dark pressing (yet), but it would surprise me if it doesn't sound better than the remastered reissue from 2017 that I own. That's the case with the pressings listed above. All of them annihilate the 2014 vinyl reissues in terms of power, nuance, and air. I'm not kidding. If you love Maiden and listen to it on vinyl, forget about the remasters and go after those. Some are not too expensive. All of them are definitely worth the chasing and spending effort.
I think the currently available vinyl versions of X Factor onwards sound pretty good but I haven't done any A to B's between CD, digital and vinyl.
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PhantomOfTheOpera
Ancient Mariner
Nice list, I haven't yet thought about the matter, but for me Somewhere In Time has never sounded better than this:
Eduardo Cabeza
Trooper
I still have to listen to that jewel. But I think that one and the one on my list benefit from the same particularity: none of the two used de DMM master, and come across warmer and "laidback".