Deconstructing Eddie: My Iron Maiden Songs & Albums Countdown

Eddies Wingman said:
FOTD should have been trimmed down four songs (pick four of From Here To Eternity, Fear is the Key, Wasting Love, The Apparition, Chains of Misery and Weekend Warrior) and it would be a good album.
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I know, right? Personally, I'd think the album would benefit incredibly from removing Weekend Warrior & The Apparition as it is and I don't think those songs will be missed. But if you trim out Chains of Misery as well, then it makes FotD a lean 45-minute album.

Eddies Wingman said:
Both this album and NPFTD suffer from being longer than they need to. Same goes for Dance of Death. Take out Wildest Dreams, Age of Innocence and New Frontier, and the start-to-finish listening experience benefits from it.
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I don't quite agree with NPftD though since it's already quite short at 10 tracks/44 minutes. That album is simply sub-par Maiden overall.

As for DoD, it would sure feel weird to hear an abridged reunion era album considering their last four releases have clocked far over an hour long. It does have some considerable filler though, but still... mixed feelings about that.
 
NPFTD is rather consistent, it wouldn't benefit from removing a few songs very much as it has no proper highlights either.  FOTD, on the other hand, would be at least on the level of Dance of Death if it was missing Fear is the Key, The Apparition, Chains of Misery, and Weekend Warrior.  As it is now, I rarely/never listen to the album because it has so much I want to skip.
 
I'll rethink my opinion of NPFTD. As you say, it is not particularly long, and it has no real classic songs on it Still, I feel it has a couple of real stinkers that it would have benefited from getting rid of. The Assassin more than any other.
 
No Prayer For The Dark though, now that's classic album

Be Quick or be Dead
From Here to Eternity
No Prayer for the Dying
Judas My Guide
Fear of the Dark
Tailgunner
Afraid to Shoot Strangers
Childhoods End
Mother Russia

:notworthy:
 
138. Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter (No Prayer For The Dying)
"No patent remedies for heartache / Just empty words and humble pie"

Humble pie? WTF? Looks like Bruce wasn't serious about this one, although he sings last few lines very well. Nothing special about this one.


137. Innocent Exile (Killers)
"My mind is so empty / Nothing to live for"

The first two verses are same. Some boring and un-inspired work from both Davey and H, Steve plays delightful though.


136. The Angel And The Gambler (Virtual XI)
"Do you feel lucky? or do you feel scared? / Take what luck gives and be devil may care"

Virtual XI destroys all other Maiden albums when it comes to repetitiveness. Even if the chorus is repeated 20+ times, the melody and verses sound fine.


135. Public Enema Number One (No Prayer For The Dying)
"When it all comes down the line / And the lights they turn to greed"

Yes, I really hate Maiden's "blue" period. And like (almost) all other NPFTD songs, it sounds un-inspired work. The verse is the only highlight on this one I believe...
 
My rank is almost complete. 30 last songs to go! Killers, NPFTD and FotD are obviously my least favourite albums. Dance of Death does surprisingly well when compared to others.
 
Deconstructing Eddie: My Iron Maiden Songs & Albums Countdown - Song #145

145. Gangland (The Number of the Beast) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y158h-O3dK0
"Dead men... tell no tales."

Here's the deal: I love a good drum pattern. When I listen to a riveting song, I go crazy air drumming with a great beat. Great drumming is winning half the battle for me already. The drums on this one though are incredibly monotonous and colorless. All I could hear is a straight beating pattern of one-two-one-two-one-two-one-two-one-two-one-two-one-two... you get the idea. It was like Clive Burr was trying to kill something on the snare drum! The funny thing is, I see a lot of people saying that they actually love the drumming on this one. I just don't get it.

Aside from that, it’s generic, and just plods along at the same pace without a single real hook or memorable moment. Most people will acknowledge that this is the weakest song on TNotB, but rarely will anyone concede that it's actually one of the weakest songs on the Iron Maiden catalog. Obviously, I feel otherwise. The solo was pretty good but... ...how did this get in the album over "Total Eclipse" again?
 
I don't think there should be two lists in the same thread.  Black Thunder should make his own thread.
 
Deconstructing Eddie: My Iron Maiden Songs & Albums Countdown - Song #144

144. Drifter (Killers) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf_HdewsuNk
"Walk awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!"

Even though we're still treading on that realm of banality when it comes to the Iron Maiden catalog, we're only just a few songs in and it's gotten to the point where I'm juggling between several tracks trying to decide which is the weakest. It's already at that point where I know the songs are below average, but there's that certain saving grace.

Unfortunately for "Drifter" its saving grace isn't actually something in the song itself; but rather, just the mere fact that there exists a live version of it from Beast Over Hammersmith that absolutely slays the original. Being performed in that live atmosphere and with Dickinson on vocals instead of Di'Anno, the song just transforms into something great. I mean, just the end of the first line for crying out loud... Bruce holds that glory note for at least a dozen seconds and he handles it with amazing control.

Having said that, it just draws more attention to the fact that the album version is quite forgettable. Although I've been trying to hold out dropping this song too low on account of it's impact live, its being where it is on the list is a reflection of how disappointing the studio version sounds.
 
You know what... I've recently had second thoughts about that line and now that you mentioned it, that could be possible. However, metal-archives, IMC, darklyrics and songmeanings all have "Walk awaaaaay!" The more I listen to it though... and when I listen to Drifter live performances on YouTube, it does sound like "Rock 'N' Rooooooooollllllll!!!"

Or maybe "Run awaaaaaaaaay!"?

IDK.
 
WTF guys? Bring Your Daughter? Twilight Zone?

Those are excellent songs. Twilight Zone has a sweet rocker riff nicely complimented by Paul's vocals. How can you not love it?
 
Suicidehummer said:
Twilight Zone has a sweet rocker riff nicely complimented by Paul's vocals. How can you not love it?
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It's not that I don't like it... I just think that there are 146 songs by the band that are better :lol:
 
I personally love The Apparition, and Twilight Zone with its simple yet effective riff.


valacirca said:
Man... I don't even know what this means! LOL.
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MFU stands for "Minds Fucked United"....Oops, I mean "Maiden Fans United". A forum that consists of immature teenagers, at least from what I've seen. I saw a user over there with the title "Captain Cockersucker", and that's all I really needed to see...
 
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