Ghost of the Navigator

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How good is Ghost of the Navigator on a scale of 1-10?

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'ghost Of The Navigator'

I bought BNW the day it came out, and this was the song that told me Maiden was back at full strength. (Mind you, I didn't have much appreciation for the Blaze albums at that time, though I like them a lot now.) The Wicker Man was good, but when I first heard this one it really blew me away. I was listening to the CD in my car, and I even pulled into a parking lot just to hear this song without distractions because it was so good.
 
'ghost Of The Navigator'

I definately get a sense of this one being based on Homer's epic "The Odyssey". where Odysseus is trying to sail home to Greece after the Trojan War. He offends Poseidon, who them makes the journey last ten years.

Encountering the Sirens, beautiful women whose voices could lure mariners to their deaths, Odysseus told his crew to tie themselves to their boat -
"I steer between the crashing rocks, the sirens call my name. Lash my hands onto the helm..."

Poseidon placed many obstacles in Odysseus's way, some real and some imagined. "Nothing's real until you feel..."

The Odyssey is one of the most influential books in the entire history of Western Civillisation (I would place it second to only the Judeo-Christian Bible). It tought Greeks, and by extension the entire West, what it meant to belong to a place. Odysseus spends 10 years trying to get home to his polis, which demonstrated his loyalty to his city (a key element of Greek society). He passed up riches, women, and bliss to simply get home.

It is fitting that Iron Maiden pay homage to a work of such far-reaching influence with an excellent song such as this.
 
'ghost Of The Navigator'

This is a magnificent song. One of Maiden's greatest epics. It was also one of the best moments on Rock In Rio; I was blown away when it started.

Anyway, has anyone noticed that the basic riff of this one pretty much resembles the intro of Man On The Edge?

Rating: 4 1/2
 
'ghost Of The Navigator'

This song is among my alltime favourites. The guitar intro is great, so are the lyrics and just about everything else in this song. Five stars without a doubt.
 
'ghost Of The Navigator'

First, I liked this song.

But now I find it a little boring. I've the same problem than with 'Die with your boots on' : too much bridges, pre-chorus, post-chorus etc... without any changes between each.

The end of the instrumenta part is also a little reminiscence of the end of 'To Tame a land' in terms of chords sequence. I know, it's not really important 17 years after... [!--emo&^_^--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/happy.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'happy.gif\' /][!--endemo--]

2,5 stars.
 
Re: 'ghost Of The Navigator'

IronDuke said:
I definately get a sense of this one being based on Homer's epic "The Odyssey". where Odysseus is trying to sail home to Greece after the Trojan War. He offends Poseidon, who them makes the journey last ten years.

Encountering the Sirens, beautiful women whose voices could lure mariners to their deaths, Odysseus told his crew to tie themselves to their boat -
"I steer between the crashing rocks, the sirens call my name. Lash my hands onto the helm..."
Click to expand...
I've just noticed this post here and in the IMC, and I don't want it to seem as if I'm nit-picking, but the line in 'Ghost...' doesn't quite match up to the story in the 'Odyssey'. Odysseus' crew were not tied to the boat; only Odysseus himself was tied to the mast. The rest of the crew filled their ears with wax so they would be unable to hear the Sirens, but Odysseus wished to hear them for himself. From memory, I think in the poem Odysseus explains that he has to be tied up to prevent himself "steering them to shipwreck", so in fact he neither steers nor is lashed to the helm. Of course, there may be other accounts of the myth, but Homer's doesn't quite fit.

Having said that, I do also get a sense of the 'Odyssey' from listening to this song.( ;)) I just don't think that it was necessarily based on it.
 
Re: 'ghost Of The Navigator'

Perun said:
This is a magnificent song. One of Maiden's greatest epics. It was also one of the best moments on Rock In Rio; I was blown away when it started.
Click to expand...

This is very true.  The drumming on this track also deserves a special mention - sublime kick work from Nicko, which really shines on the Rock In Rio version.  You can see his face is one of total concentration as he plays the main verse drum part, which shows just how difficult it is to play.

All in all a great song.
 
Re: 'Ghost Of The Navigator'

I never understood why so many people say that this is a ''Iron Maiden epic''. My definition of an epic is a long song with different sections  (like Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Sign of the Cross). This song is simply an intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus 1, chorus 2, verse, pre-chorus, chorus 1, chorus 2, solo, 30 second instrumental section, chorus 1, chorus 2. I don't see how this counts as an epic, it's a rocker with alot repetition.
 
Re: 'Ghost Of The Navigator'

A rocker of such length?

My definition of a rocker is that it is a fairly simple song which can not be longer than 4 or 5 minutes.
 
Re: 'Ghost Of The Navigator'

Lenght is in my opinion irrelevant in this topic. My main point was that this song does not contain the distinctive ''sections'' that usually dominate an epic metal song. Is it complex, long, huge, bombastic and awesome? Sure! But I still wouldn't call it an epic.
 
Re: 'Ghost Of The Navigator'

In my opinion length is not irrelevant in this topic, since we're talking about this song and terms as "rocker" and "epic".

By the way I think that this song has some complex elements. There's some tricky accelerations, and awesome bass-drumming in the midpiece. And a beautiful solo which is everything but simple. The intro sounds epic. I guess Epic can also be a feeling, an atmosphere.

Still, I agree that I wouldn't call it "the epic track of Brave New World". But also not a rocker. Too many tempo changes for a rocker. Too complex for a rocker. Too long for a rocker.
 
Re: 'Ghost Of The Navigator'

Perhaps we shall invent a new word for songs like this =)

How would you categorize songs like Caught Somewher in Time and Where Eagles Dare? They are also relatively long with complex music, but I wouldn't call them epics either.
 
Re: 'Ghost Of The Navigator'

Indeed, though apart from the different tempo in the intro of CSIT, both songs continue in one and the same tempo, throughout the whole song.

I guess we all agree that Alexander the Great & To Tame a Land are the real epics on those albums.  :)
 
Re: 'Ghost Of The Navigator'

Yes, to Tame a Land is the 'album-epic' for sure. But again, you have shorter songs with very different sections like Revelations and 22, Acacia Avenue... Things can get complicated when you over-analyze things :smartarse:
 
Re: 'Ghost Of The Navigator'

ulysses_sire_19244_lg.gif


I'm not sure if I know does Navigator means....
When vessels go inside /leave port,
one man (with the rank of captain) who knows the port very well (usually they are government guys) comes on board
and helps the vessel to manoeuvre -this man is called "pilot"
I wonder if pilot and navigator is the same

IronDuke said:
I definately get a sense of this one being based on Homer's epic "The Odyssey". where Odysseus is trying to sail home to Greece after the Trojan War. He offends Poseidon, who them makes the journey last ten years.

Encountering the Sirens, beautiful women whose voices could lure mariners to their deaths, Odysseus told his crew to tie themselves to their boat -
"I steer between the crashing rocks, the sirens call my name. Lash my hands onto the helm..."

Poseidon placed many obstacles in Odysseus's way, some real and some imagined. "Nothing's real until you feel..."
Click to expand...

In case that Navigator=Pilot, then Odysseus' navigator was Athena, who was also a kind of ghost as she was goddess

-----
I love this song, which reminds me the most moving first listen that I had for an album...
I already knew The Wicker Man, so it was not a surprise during my first listen of BNW

The very first notes of Navigator, like coming out of Powerslave, in combination with the title
9 years later have always the same wonderful effect to me : THRILL
Every time I hear the song I see myself fascinated while listening to BNW the holy day of 29 May 2000....

5/5
 
Re: 'Ghost Of The Navigator'

nav⋅i⋅ga⋅tor (ˈnævɪˌgeɪtər)
–noun
1. a person who navigates.
2. a person who practices, or is skilled in, navigation, as of ships or aircraft.
3. a person who conducts explorations by sea.
4. British. a navvy.

Source
 
Re: 'Ghost Of The Navigator'

Yes, in the reference page 'pilot' is listed as one of the navigator's synonyms
 
'Ghost Of The Navigator'

After listening to Navigator the solo part probably reminds me of something -
As the main character sails, waves start rocking his ship violently
 
Re: 'Ghost Of The Navigator'

This is probably my favorite Maiden tune, as it's the first one I fell in love with. Bruce's lyrics are awesome, and the crazy instrumental part in the middle really makes you feel as if your ship is barreling though a rocky channel. The pre-chorus is my favorite part; not only are Bruce's vocals some of his most haunting, but Adrian's riff is sick!
 
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