Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

[Forostar]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

Great song indeed.

Just out of interest Forostar, are you finding it difficult to place TFF tracks?  I think a few will want this higher, but it's hard only a year out from its release to place --hard compared to albums & tracks you've listened to many, many times. Or at least, I think so.

+

Agreed on both counts. It's impossible to seperate nostalgia etc related feelings from just general song composition - especially as some tracks are catchy on their own, others have more depth and require a thorough listen, and there are some tracks that you get fed up of hearing which skews your opinion of them. It's why I've never really tried to rank things, and why I certainly won't be bashing anyones lists anytime soon... cos I really would struggle to rank them myself!

Interesting list so far, I've flicked through a few I've seen while browsing past few weeks and ..

Well, let me say that I am not a guy who says, thinks or feels "it's new, so it's the best".
When a new album comes out I get excited but I do not instantly forget older songs.

For this assignment I had to select 50 tracks from the whole era and I still have to listen to these songs numerous times to get the right order. The songs loose the album context and become entities of their own. I feel that I pay enough (and equal) attention to each song and its position in the list.

There's indeed a nostalgia aspect but the The Final Frontier album is not a typical grower for me. In fact, some TFF songs I even like a bit less now compared to when I first heard them. Many old songs didn't become weaker over the years so that means a lot. And it will become visible.

To all the people who say Isle of Avalon should be way higher I could say:
Pay more attention to other songs, some of them are at least as good.  

That sounded kind of arrogant. But in all honesty I might get the same kick out of Avalon as you guys, it's just that I like the higher ranked songs even better.

In the end it always comes down to taste and I agree with the following statement:

.. it's great to see diversity, shows what solid a band they are when people can enjoy competely different things - far cry from one hit wonders and such

That's indeed the strength of our beloved band. Now if only they realized it themselves and change their set a bit now and then *ducks for Perun tomatoes*.

Looking forward to seeing how the rest of this will unfold

Behold!

Well, Foro, you certainly put your money (these rankings) where your mouth (your frequently spirited defence of No Prayer) is.  

It hasn't ended I'm afraid!

I see Fates, like Enema — a mostly nondescript track by Maiden standards. It's got a nice intro and a tasty solo section. For me it comes in at 112.

Avalon finishes at 41, one of our more similarly ranked songs.
I like it for all the reasons you describe.
I think this one is more likely to climb my rankings before it drops.

I wonder which song(s) will have the most similar ranking(s).

Interesting choices. "Judgement of Heaven" and "Fates Warning" are both personal favourites of mine that I think are much too overlooked.

Unfortunately indeed. We'll keep the spirit alive!

Blasphemy!

Indeed a blasphemy that it was never played.  

TTF, AMOLAD, DOD and SIT songs still all have time to dominate the list so all is good...nice respect to No Prayer For The Dying though. I used to run through forests at night to NPFTD. Enema was a highlight as was....Hooks in You.

Interesting soundtrack for forests at night. Did you try the same with the Fear of the Dark album?

 

[MFC]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

I love IOA. But it should be a bit higher though. I'm looking forward to more of your list

 

[Forostar]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

No. 32 - Aces High
(Harris, 1984 -> on stage-status: last time in 2009)

This song I held as one of the very best ever when I heard Live After Death for the first time. What an exciting beginning of this legendary live album! I played it over and over again and soon it was my favourite together with The Trooper. (This was some while before Rime took over my favourite song spot).

Later when I heard Powerslave for the first time, I was a bit disappointed. I don't think that Aces High's chorus is that great on it. I prefer the "H sound of airplane" on Live After Death. His guitar in the chorus really sounds like (sounds coming from) planes, and this vital aspect sounds a bit crappy on the studio version. The tremolo bending part, you know what I'm talking about.

I also prefer the backing vocals (done in the studio ) on Life After Death, just as the solos. So overall, the song sounds paler on record compared to a live performance. I also realize that over the years, other songs have grown more on me than this one.

Still, the energy of this track, the captivating intro (original rhythmic harmony!) and the interesting lyrics are very memorable.

 

[MFC]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

Aces High is a very good song, but i probably would have it a bit lower maybe.

 

[Deleted member 7164]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

I don't like LAD performance. That song is too demanding on vocals and Bruce doesn't deliver it. Which is logical, because it's an opening song on a very straining tour, but non the less.
It's one of songs I really enjoy from time to time. I've compiled a list of my Top 15 songs (ordered chronologically, I can't rate them by spot because they're all capable of taking the top spot in some time frame), and Aces High isn't there, I am not sure if it would be included in 32 best, not good at rating songs. They're all individual pieces of art. 

 

[Forostar]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

I don't like LAD performance. That song is too demanding on vocals and Bruce doesn't deliver it. Which is logical, because it's an opening song on a very straining tour, but non the less.
It's one of songs I really enjoy from time to time. I've compiled a list of my Top 15 songs (ordered chronologically, I can't rate them by spot because they're all capable of taking the top spot in some time frame), and Aces High isn't there, I am not sure if it would be included in 32 best, not good at rating songs. They're all individual pieces of art.  

Speaking of demanding. This top 50 is demanding as well, really. If people want to try it one time, this is how I do it. It's a huge process with lots of steps. And lots of "cutting".

1. Naturally I start with all Maiden songs, I select a big group of favourite songs, this is easiest by selecting favourites per album.
2. I see if some of the 8s and/or 9s should not be forgotten (2nd category songs).
3. I also check the non-album songs.

Then I have about 50-60 songs of which I am fairly sure that these are my favourites.

4. Now I pick the favourites from this group: I do that by roughly cutting the group in a top and a bottom half.
6. I focus on the least good ones of the bottom half: I pick about 10-20 and play these various times.
7. I decide which songs do not make it in the top 50.

Now I have 50 songs left, still cut in two halfs.

8. I make subdivisons of the bottom half.
9. I have about 3 or 4 groups. Now I pick the least good group and play it a couple of times.
10. I form an idea of which are the least good ones in this group. I take that small amount of songs, and play these after each other. Playing after each other is vital(!) when you want to make decisions by comparing well. I do this until the group gets to two, and finally to one.

I have 49 songs left.

Step 10 repeats. But 8 and 9 come back as well (in the top half the same process continues, and the best ones that are left in the bottom half should be thrown in the top half, to compare well).

It's important that the groups should not be fixed. Some songs in the lowest group you are busy with can "survive"  (like in SMX's survival really) and promote to a higher group which I will focus on more intensely later on. Now and then I also play songs from higher groups to see if they are really that good, maybe they need to enter the cutting process earlier.

So this is a live process. It can't be done in advance. It can't be done without playing. It can't be done with playing one or more songs just once. At least, I can't do it if want to minimize bias and ignorance.

It's all about combining and comparing, and this can be done the best by repeatable playing.
Form groups, change groups and try to realize how much you like a song. Does the next song give you the same vibe? Etc. etc. This process works until now, but I wonder how hard it will be when I reach the last 15-20 songs.
I admit that I have no clue. How difficult would it be? We'll see.

This gives you an idea why I am not doing this for all Maiden songs. If I want to do this as well as now, then it really would not be a realistic venture. By the time I'd be at (e.g.) 75, my 135 could already be changed again. 50 feels just fine (about the max).  

 

[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

Aces High at #32? Sounds like pretty fair placement to me.

 

[mckindog]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

Foro, that's a helluva lot of work. And I'm not surprised you put it in. 
Since the first time I saw Aces High live during the World Slavery tour it has been a top 10 song for me.
It may be their best rocker. The energy, the intensity, the imagery, the symmetry, the chorus, the solos — it all works.
Number five on my list.

 

[Tron]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

Higher than where i put it by around 20 places but completely justified, a brilliant song and similarly i thought it could well be one of their best (with me after first seeing flight666) and it then sank into a more comfortable placing.

 

[Forostar]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

No. 31 - The Fugitive
(Harris, 1992 -> on stage-status: never played)

Another shining track, I enjoy this one the most from side B. It's not only one of the strongest on this album, but strong in the whole catalogue, and unfortunately another one which is somewhat underestimated. I find it at least as good as Childhood's End and it has the same kind of atmosphere (the keyboards contribute in that aspect, blending very fine with the guitars), though this song is more suspenseful instead of doomy. I see these two as the brother songs on the album.

Fine intro, but ater that it only gets better. Excellent build-up and bright solos (an exceptionally well prepared solo by Janick!), and nice pace overall in the whole track. It's a nice "moving" song for bus, car, train, bike or simply the point of the track: "on the run".

This song is the first example of acoustic guitars heard at the same time as electric rhythm guitars (3:37 in this clip), since Prodigal Son.

For me this is one of the last very good songs singlehandedly penned by Steve Harris.

 

[Jupz]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

Wow! Interesting pick

 

[MFC]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

I didn't like this song that much before, but now when i relistened to it, it growned on me.

But IMHO it should be lower 

 

[mckindog]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

No. 31 - The Fugitive
(Harris, 1992 -> on stage-status: never played)

Fine intro, but after that it only gets better.

Gotta strongly disagree with you on this one buddy. 
Fine intro, but then it wanders off into dullsville, with an uninspired chorus.
I consider this song a real wasted opportunity because the beginning leads you to believe its going to be epic. 141

 

[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

Great appraisal Forostar. Like most 90's tracks Janick's solos are really very good. So, nothing else post-FotD, that was written by Harris alone, was very good!? The rest just plain old good? You sure?  

 

[Forostar]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

@Jupz: yeah you don't see people often talking about it in a positive manner, but I really dig this.
@MaidenFan100: nice to see that the song has grown!

Gotta strongly disagree with you on this one buddy. 
Fine intro, but then it wanders off into dullsville, with an uninspired chorus.
I consider this song a real wasted opportunity because the beginning leads you to believe its going to be epic. 141

Dullsville? Well, I admit that the chorus isn't exactly the highlight but the couplets have a nice flowing drive (the "moving" aspect that I mentioned, fitting well to the lyrics) and the instrumental part is wonderful. The drums are simple and steady but the bass is doing all kinds of patterns. Lots of stuff going on, with more different parts than in many other songs -including longer ones- Maiden made afterwards. I think this is really a nice and original song when you are interested in the musical ventures of the band.

Great appraisal Forostar. Like most 90's tracks Janick's solos are really very good. So, nothing else post-FotD, that was written by Harris alone, was very good!? The rest just plain old good? You sure? 

Thank you Cried. Good to see you approve of that piece of guitar work.
I didn't say "nothing else". Actually something will pop up but I like to keep this to myself still.

 

[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

For me this is one of the last very good songs singlehandedly penned by Steve Harris.

Okay, okay: "one of the last" --clearly you have another one, or two, tracks in mind! 

There were a few other points I didn't pick you up on:

Another shining track, I enjoy this one the most from side B.

Hehe, you're definitely still stuck in the 90's! Do you still have this on cassette?

This song is the first example of acoustic guitars heard at the same time as electric rhythm guitars, since Prodigal Son.

I love these little nuggets. While I won't challenge the claim, technically it is (or at least one would describe it as) the rhythm guitar part which is acoustic, not electric  --the lead guitar (part) is the electric part. Although the rhythm guitar soon reverts to an electric part, as the lead continues with its melodic wailing; before Dave's solo proper kicks in.

 

[Robbiedbee]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

The Fugitive is an interesting one. I've come to consider it one of the better songs on Fear of the Dark. I like the "big" sound Maiden have on the album, and The Fugitive is one of the songs which really shows this. It always reminds me of the Harrison Ford movie too.

 

[Tron]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

Very high up for the fugitive in my eyes but you did warn us.
It has its charms i suppose but it never wowed me enough to break into the top half of the table as ive never found it a very listenable song.
Hence my very low placement of it

 

[Forostar]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

Hehe, you're definitely still stuck in the 90's! Do you still have this on cassette

I wouldn't say I am stuck in nineties but I have it on cassette indeed, but I bought that about 8-10 years ago, in Poland. Around that time they still sold cassettes, second hand.

I love these little nuggets. While I won't challenge the claim, technically it is (or at least one would describe it as) the rhythm guitar part which is acoustic, not electric  --the lead guitar (part) is the electric part. Although the rhythm guitar soon reverts to an electric part, as the lead continues with its melodic wailing; before Dave's solo proper kicks in.

Well, I think I can hear an electric rhythm guitar underneath the lead part. The pretty soft guitar sound is like in the part before it. Go a bit back, e.g. to 3.16 and let it goooooo ....


No. 30 - Paschendale
(Smith/Harris, 2003 -> on stage-status: last time in 2010)

Incidentally, I declare these to be among the greatest lines Maiden have ever done:

Cruelty has a human heart
Every man does play his part
Terror of the men we kill
The human heart is hungry still

I fully agree. At least, these lines and the following four are my highlight of Dance of Death for sure.

I can imagine the enthusiasm for this song, but at the same time I realize the heaviness of the topic. This subject had huge impact on history, and on the people who were (in)directly related to this battle, and to WWI as a whole. I have a certain interest in this war, especially because in the Netherlands I wasn’t taught much about it, and my country had less to do with it. Last year, I visited a WWI site, which was part of the Battle of the Somme, and it made a big impression.

Now to Maiden and this beloved song. It’s really cool that Maiden made a song about WWI, and the lyrics alone are very impressive. Read it as a poem or a piece of diary and you can already visualize some cinematic movements in this battle.

The thing is, I don’t like the song structure as much as the lyrics and Bruce's performance. The track is incredibly powerful and heavy. It’s rhythmic. Lately I started to pay more attention to Nicko and he showcases some really cool fast and sudden drum fills. The song is warlike in a way (like a tanking rolling on the battlefield). I even understand the softer moments, representing the intervals in the battle. Still, there’s also something like my taste, and in Maiden I prefer melodic songs with more variation, definitely when a song is as lengthy as this one. Dance of Death has these melodies, and for me it has that excellent build-up and variation. It continuously sustains the feel of awe, while in Paschendale there are excellent and less excellent (repeated) parts, and the tempo is not changing either.

It contains the before mentioned best part of the album but in the last couple of minutes (after the solos) the tension and attention(!) become less than in the first half. In the end it still deserves to be in my top 30 but rather on the last than on the first spot.

 

[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

Re: Forostar's Top 50 Iron Maiden songs

This song is the first example of acoustic guitars heard at the same time as electric rhythm guitars, since Prodigal Son.

Okay I will challenge you! Fear is the Key ? Pretty sure there is some strummy acoustic stuff + electric guitar starting around 3:36. Forostar lies and lies and lies...