If you had to pick....

1 song from every album to make a best of Maiden disc, or a disc you'd make for a friend who has never heard Maiden before, what would you pick? For me, this was really hard but wanted to see what others pick!

Phantom of the Opera
Murders in the Rue Morgue
Hallowed...
Still Life
Mariner..
Wasted Years
Infinite Dreams
Run Silent...Run Deep...
Be Quick or be Dead
Sign of the Cross
The Clansman
Out of the Silent Planet
Montsegur
The Legacy
Starblind
 
For someone who has never heard Maiden before:

1. Running Free
2. Wrathchild
3. 'the Beast
4. The Trooper
5. Powerslave
6. Wasted Years
7. The Evil That Men Do
8. Holy Smoke
9. Fear of the Dark
10. Man On The Edge
11. The Clansman
12. The Wicker Man
13. Paschendale
14. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
15. El Dorado

For me:

1. Phantom of the Opera
2. Killers
3. Children of the Damned
4. Still Life
5. Rime of the Ancient Mariner
6. Alexander the Great
7. Moonchild
8. No Prayer For The Dying
9. Afraid to Shoot Strangers
10. Sign of the Cross
11. Como Estais Amigos
12. Blood Brothers
13. Paschendale
14. The Legacy
15. The Talisman
 
Ooof, that's a hard task. It depends really on the known taste of said friend who's never heard Maiden before. I recently introduced my girlfriend to Maiden and gave her some 10 songs to get into, but I based my choice on what I thought she might enjoy, so there was alot of their later stuff on there. But as for a 'best of' from each album in my opinion, hard task too, but here it is:

1) Phantom of the Opera
2) Killers
3) Hallowed Be Thy Name
4) Revelations
5) Rime of the Ancient Mariner
6) Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (totally underrated in my opinion, I know Steve said he dislikes it, but I think its one of their best, melody-wise :P)
7) Infinite Dreams
8) No Prayer for the Dying
9) Fear of the Dark
10) Sign of the Cross
11) Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger (or The Clansman, I'm really on the fence about this one)
12) Blood Brothers (no contest)
13) No More Lies
14) Out of the Shadows
15) When the Wild Wind Blows (although this could change, Starblind and The Man Who Would be King have grown on me)
 
If this was to promote Maiden to a friend, I would try to mix a bit of different stuff. You need to cover not only radio-friendly heavy metal anthems, but also epics and straight in-your-face rockers that have not become live staples. But let's see:

1. Phantom of the Opera. It just ranks so much above the rest of the Di'Anno era songs it simply cannot be dropped.
2. Killers. It is very much "in your face", and should not be forgotten. I really hope the band will play it live one more time before they quit.
3. Children of the Damned. We have already had one epic and one in-your-face piece of metal madness, so let's skip the obvious choices (NOTB and Hallowed).
4. Revelations. This is to show that the band also have songs that demand a little thinking (the lyrics with all their possible interpretations).
5. Powerslave - partly for the same reasons as Revelations, partly because the instrumental part is divine.
6. Wasted Years. We need some radio hits here as well.
7. The Clairvoyant. Let's have one more of those.
8. No Prayer For The Dying. Almost a ballad, good to show that side as well.
9. Fear of the Dark. There should be at least one real "anthem" in here, and since I dropped NOTB and Hallowed ... well.
10. The Aftermath. One of the songs that highlight the mood of the album and one of the best war-related songs they've done.
11. Futureal. The other Blaze song was slow, let's have a fast one as well. In addition, it's very catchy.
12. Blood Brothers. It is just as anthemic as Fear Of The Dark, and it has deeper (and thus, in my book, better) lyrics.
13. Paschendale. It is simply the standout track from the album.
14. These Colours Don't Run. The song's title might be in the process of becoming a motto of Maiden and fans.
15. Starblind. It was that one or Isle of Avalon - both show the tendenciy towards prog that Maiden are obviously pursuing now, yet I feel Starblind has more of the classic metal punch of the two.

Crap, this list would make a great playlist. I've got to listen to those songs myself.
 
New Maiden-head, eh?

1. Running Free
2. Wrathchild
3. The Number Of The Beast
4. The Trooper
5. 2 Minutes To Midnight
6. Caught Somewhere In Time
7. Can I Play With Madness
8. Holy Smoke
9. Fear Of The Dark
10. Man On The Edge
11. The Clansman
12. Blood Brothers
13. Pachendale
14. The Longest Day
15. Coming Home
 
1. Phantom of the Opera
2. Purgatory
3. Children of the Damned
4. Revelations
5. Rime of the ancient Mariner
6. Stranger in a strange Land
7. Infinite Dreams
8. No Prayer for the Dying
9. Afraid to shoot Strangers
10. Sign of the Cross
11. Como estais amigos
12. The thin line between love and hate
13. Paschendale
14. Lord of Light
15. When the wild wind blows
 
Wouldn't call this a best-of, but I'd give this to one of my friends if she wanted to try Maiden.

1. Phantom of the Opera
2. Killers
3. Children of the Damned
4. Revelations
5. Aces High (I don't think a new Maiden-head could sit through Rime)
6. Wasted Years
7. The Clairvoyant
8. Tailgunner
9. Afraid to Shoot Strangers (just edging out BQoBD)
10. Sign of the Cross
11. The Clansman
12. Brave New World
13. Paschendale (if only Rainmaker wasn't on the same record)
14. The Pilgrim
15. Coming Home
 
I converted a number of people to Maiden by simply playing them a live version of Fear of the Dark (any version goes, although Rock in Rio is my favourite).
 
Natalie said:
6) Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (totally underrated in my opinion, I know Steve said he dislikes it, but I think its one of their best, melody-wise :P)

Agreed. It's my favourite off the record honestly.
 
For a new fan?

1. Sanctuary
2. Killers
3. The Number of the Beast
4. The Trooper
5. Rime of the Ancient Mariner
6. Wasted Years
7. The Evil That Men Do
8. No Prayer For The Dying
9. Fear Of The Dark
10. Sign of the Cross
11. The Clansman
12. Ghost of the Navigator
13. Paschendale
14. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
15. Starblind

For me?

1. Phantom of the Opera
2. Killers
3. Hallowed Be Thy Name
4. Revelations
5. Powerslave
6. Alexander the Great
7. The Evil That Men Do. Or Moonchild. I can't pick.
8. Run Silent, Run Deep
9. Fear of the Dark
10. Sign of the Cross
11. The Clansman
12. Dream of Mirrors
13. Paschendale
14. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
15. Starblind
 
for hooking a new fan — a mix of awesomeness and accessibility:

Phantom
Murders in the Rue Morgue
Run to the Hills
The Trooper
23:58
Wasted Years
TETMD
No Prayer For the Dying
Fear of the Dark
Sign of the Cross
The Clansman
The Wickerman
Paschendale
These Colours Don't Run
Coming Home
 
I still have a recording of the Live at Abbey Road session where Maiden played Brighter than a Thousand Suns and Hallowed.  That, or Rock in Rio, should work.  But, if doing a CD, I'd go for one off each album while leaving out the most obvious choices. This way, the potential new fan learns some of the less known songs and not just the usual fan favourites.

Transylvania
Killers
Children of the Damned
Revelations
Aces High
Wasted Years
Infinite Dreams
Holy Smoke :ninja:
Afraid to Shoot Strangers
The Edge of Darkness
Futureal
Dream of Mirrors
Dance of Death
Lord of Light
Isle of Avalon
 
- Phantom of the Opera
- Killers
- Hallowed be thy Name
- The Trooper (I`m not sure about this one. Can't really pick a song from an album where all songs are great!)
- Rime of the Ancient Mariner
- Wasted Years (Same issue as The Trooper)
- The Clairvoyant
- Tailgunner (Not a big fan of this album to be honest...)
- Fear of the Dark (Unlike most of the people around the world, I prefer the studio version over any live version. Bizarre I know...)
- Sign of the Cross
- The Clansman
- The Nomad
- Dance of Death
- The Legacy
- When the Wild Wind Blows
 
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