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Deconstructing Eddie: My Iron Maiden Songs & Albums Countdown - Songs #118-117
118. Man on the Edge (The X Factor) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoR5X7Y_Eqs
"Falling daaaahhhown, falling daaaahhhown, falling daaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhown"
What purpose do the fast-paced straightforward rockers aim to serve? I would think it's a cop-out to say that certain songs are merely there because that's how the flow of the writing sessions went or that it came together like that fortuitously. I think the band is more mindful of their songs than that, and on occasion would slip in songs like this with hopes of exciting and pumping up the listener. In the same way, it also gives the album a counterpoint for its slower, longer and darker songs.
That's fine and I'm sure it works for a lot of people especially in a live setting (I tend to throw that caveat around a lot for the band: “especially in a live setting” - hehe), but I'm not necessarily excited by things like blistering solos, powerful vocals and a quick tempo, which is pretty much all that this song has going for itself. There's a potentially catchy hook there, but I'm not the type of fish that it's for.
My poison is tension. That's what excites me and gets my adrenaline pumping: The palpable feeling of something brooding into what might be an epic, eargasmic musical explosion. “Man on the Edge” has none of this though; and for those that saw me drop “Be Quick or Be Dead” early on in this countdown, seeing this track here shouldn't be too much of a surprise. So by definition, a “straightforward rocker” doesn't just do it for me simply because it's just that: Too straightforward.
117. Prodigal Son (Killers) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUsibOlkt-o
"I've got these feelings and they won't go away"
Iron Maiden has a few easy flowing songs from the Di'Anno era that I enjoy a lot. This just isn't one of them. “Prodigal Son” just feels oddly out of place in the album. It feels out of place for that era. It even sounds out of place in the entirety of the band's catalog. It's the type of soft song that a mainstream rock band would put on their record as the “token ballad” and release it as a single to entice the masses to buy the album. If I could exaggerate a bit without losing the essence of what I'm trying to say, it feels like Iron Maiden's “More Than Words” (to put it bluntly). It's not indicative of their sound, and at least with the other songs of the type from early in the band's career – such as “Strange World” and “Remember Tomorrow” – the band is able to maintain a moody and soulful atmosphere. This track on the other hand just leans towards sounding bright and sparkly too much for its own good.
118. Man on the Edge (The X Factor) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoR5X7Y_Eqs
"Falling daaaahhhown, falling daaaahhhown, falling daaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhown"
What purpose do the fast-paced straightforward rockers aim to serve? I would think it's a cop-out to say that certain songs are merely there because that's how the flow of the writing sessions went or that it came together like that fortuitously. I think the band is more mindful of their songs than that, and on occasion would slip in songs like this with hopes of exciting and pumping up the listener. In the same way, it also gives the album a counterpoint for its slower, longer and darker songs.
That's fine and I'm sure it works for a lot of people especially in a live setting (I tend to throw that caveat around a lot for the band: “especially in a live setting” - hehe), but I'm not necessarily excited by things like blistering solos, powerful vocals and a quick tempo, which is pretty much all that this song has going for itself. There's a potentially catchy hook there, but I'm not the type of fish that it's for.
My poison is tension. That's what excites me and gets my adrenaline pumping: The palpable feeling of something brooding into what might be an epic, eargasmic musical explosion. “Man on the Edge” has none of this though; and for those that saw me drop “Be Quick or Be Dead” early on in this countdown, seeing this track here shouldn't be too much of a surprise. So by definition, a “straightforward rocker” doesn't just do it for me simply because it's just that: Too straightforward.
117. Prodigal Son (Killers) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUsibOlkt-o
"I've got these feelings and they won't go away"
Iron Maiden has a few easy flowing songs from the Di'Anno era that I enjoy a lot. This just isn't one of them. “Prodigal Son” just feels oddly out of place in the album. It feels out of place for that era. It even sounds out of place in the entirety of the band's catalog. It's the type of soft song that a mainstream rock band would put on their record as the “token ballad” and release it as a single to entice the masses to buy the album. If I could exaggerate a bit without losing the essence of what I'm trying to say, it feels like Iron Maiden's “More Than Words” (to put it bluntly). It's not indicative of their sound, and at least with the other songs of the type from early in the band's career – such as “Strange World” and “Remember Tomorrow” – the band is able to maintain a moody and soulful atmosphere. This track on the other hand just leans towards sounding bright and sparkly too much for its own good.
