I'm not a fan of 'The Duellists' to be honest. Those middle four songs on 'Powerslave' don't do anything for me I'm afraid.
Alright. Well, you're not the only one I guess. I only find Back in the Village one of the worst songs of the 1980s with Bruce on vocals. I like all the others.
You've been a busy boy.
Yes indeed. I'll be doing no. 7 now but after that I need some time again.
Two hits and two misses for me.
Only the Good (87) and Khan (119) are both solid songs, but neither clicks for me in that special way.
Neither is epic enough to be top 50 material, or catchy enough to make up for it.
I think in the daily song thread I called OtGDY the definition of a seven and Khan is not quite as good.
On the other hand, The Trooper is in many ways definitive of the Maiden sound, at least its non-epic side.
Its 23 on my list at the moment and certainly has been higher.
And the Duellists may not be the ultimate forgotten song, but it's a contender for the penultimate.
I agree with everything you say about it. I rank it 52, but have no quarrel with anyone who puts it higher.
The galloping horses can certainly be heard in Only the Good Die Young as well. Nice contrast between "riffing" Dave and "open, mysterious chords" H, who joins Dave full force in the chorus. I advise everyone to listen to this track on headphones, because in this particular track the difference in playing style between the guys is very recognizable. Adrian has a deeper sound, and Dave grips the chords a bit more open.
The reason why I appreciate this top 50 is that it gives you other reasons to like a song (and this is the exact reason why I wouldn't read a "worst 50" : I don't need anyone to tell me why he hates a maiden song). So I've been particularly pleased with your last choices : those are all songs I like a lot, but some are not among my faves (like Only the Young--- and most of all The Duellists, a song I like a lot, except for the intro, repeated after the instrumental section and which I find a little weak and too simple compared to the rest). But what a pleasure to see Genghis Khan so high. First of all, I can't understand why Killers is often dispised. This is a fantastic album. This is the record which introduced me to Maiden when I was 12, and I remember the shock I felt. I had never heard anything like that : Sabbath and Motörhead weregreat , but not so intense, Lizzy was sometimes too cool. THIS was absolutly perfect, from the cover illustration (one of the best), to the music. And I really loved the idea of one single man (and a bass-player !) to write on his own all these great songs (anyway, I will never be good enough in english to fully express my love for this record). And, to me, Genghis Khan is a perfect summary of Harris music : melody, agression, surprise, different atmospheres... This song is a pure masterpiece, and, Forostar, I would add to your comments its title itself, that immediatly evokes different things (past, war, power, East) which are echoed by the music. In this song, there enough ideas for many bands to make four songs, and the absence of lyrics just make this creative eruption even more palpable.
That was a nice read. Very well described and explained I must say.
I find the
Killers album at least as good as
The Number of the Beast.
You damn liar
Forostar! (--what did you say again: 50 to 70 or something?) But, now for the
actual truth
: No. 7 - Quest For Fire!
Nope. It's the song people least talk about. Forgive me for raising some eyebrows, but I'd like to present a non-popular, often overlooked song, IMO a spellbinding one:
No. 7 - The Unbeliever (see first post for 50-7)
(Harris/Gers, 1995 -> on stage-status: never played)
An underrated song on the forum, I believe. This song has one of the best instrumental parts since Rime. I guess I’d even put it in a top3 of post-Rime instrumental sections, together with SSOASS.
The intro is really good, Blaze’s singing might start a bit awkward, but he delivers the goods very well in the part where Janick plays acoustic (right channel). I love the pre-chorus guitar riff which is a strong melody as well.
In the chorus we get this awesome melody (middle audio channel) and I really dig Blaze here as well. And then that stunning magical instrumental enters…
From the first dying echo of that quick guitar touch we go into some tribal groove (unique in the catalogue). The melodies and solos are very moving. Almost struggling, screams of survival. Note also the ethereal sound of Jan’s rhythm guitar, appearing some measures after Dave’s melody.
He sounds like a knight coming through the mist, in slow motion.
Then he starts soloing (tremendous amount of emotion) and Dave does his gentle accompaniment, followed by his superb lightning solo. Back to melody and Jan accompanies him with bright, slow chords.
It’s really cool that both guitarists play not only their own solos (which mark
The X-Factor as a special album in that context, because this is the only album where the solos can be heard left and right channel), but also have an individual approach of the rhythm guitars. A true stereo fest.
This song is pretty different for Maiden, and quite complex. But it's done in such an excellent manner and that's why I don't have the slightest doubt about its high position in my top 50.
