MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Too bad Martin Birch didn't coach Steve on songwriting during those sessions.
IRON MAIDEN ALBUMS SURVIVOR: POWERSLAVE WINS
- Thread starter Mosh
- Start date
Spaniard in the Works
Trooper
He had quite a backlog of songs that were hits live and the one he wrote new, "Murders" is better than half of NOTB, so I do not think he needed extra help. In fact I think if there's anything that has deteriorated over the years is Steve's songwriting. He cannot write entire albums of classics anymore, luckily we have Adrian, Bruce and Janick to contribute.
Spaniard in the Works
Trooper
My quick and dirty ranking:
7th Son = NOTB > Debut > Powerslave = Piece = Killers > SiT > TBoS = BNW > DoD > AMOLAD = TFF > VXI > FOTD > TXF > No Prayer
EDIT: I must however say that while I have listened to the first five album plus LAD a lot for years, I have listened to the rest of the catalogue for less than a year and with an average of five full listens, so this might change over time.
7th Son = NOTB > Debut > Powerslave = Piece = Killers > SiT > TBoS = BNW > DoD > AMOLAD = TFF > VXI > FOTD > TXF > No Prayer
EDIT: I must however say that while I have listened to the first five album plus LAD a lot for years, I have listened to the rest of the catalogue for less than a year and with an average of five full listens, so this might change over time.
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desultory
1-2-3-compassion
Would you like them more if the chorus was repeated 25 times and the chord progression slowed halfway down? Because that's basically his "modern approach".
desultory
1-2-3-compassion
Soooo fast, heavy as well. That's Birch upping the ante right there. Purgatory is one of my favorites as is Genghis Khan. I actually like the album from start to finish to be honest.
desultory
1-2-3-compassion
The 90's did not sit well with you
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
Woohoo, the correct bottom album is finally dead!
Voting for X Factor and Iron Maiden.
Steve's writing has deteriorated over the years. He still has one or two gems per record, but he's repeating himself a lot more and not breaking any new ground. However, the songwriting on Killers is amateur. With the exception of two songs, everything was written pre-debut! They were literally scraps not used for the first record. Steve came into his own on NOTB and peaked with SSOASS, but he was still figuring out how to write an album back in the day.
Voting for X Factor and Iron Maiden.
Steve's writing has deteriorated over the years. He still has one or two gems per record, but he's repeating himself a lot more and not breaking any new ground. However, the songwriting on Killers is amateur. With the exception of two songs, everything was written pre-debut! They were literally scraps not used for the first record. Steve came into his own on NOTB and peaked with SSOASS, but he was still figuring out how to write an album back in the day.
desultory
1-2-3-compassion
One or two gems per record is stretching it, I feel.
I agree that his writing prowess was scaling new heights with each album during the 80's, I also agree that he peaked on SSOASS. That his writing on Killers is amateur is also stretching it, the blueprint for Maiden was right there and I see it as a companion piece to the debut. Only slightly less catchy, but the debut also has their best song.
desultory
1-2-3-compassion
But it really really needs to go.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
The debut, in terms of overall songwriting, is actually their second record. Every song on Killers (except for Murders and Prodigal Son) was written before the debut was recorded, many of them written for different bands or previous incarnations of the band. The songs are literally "blueprints" - unfinished plans for a band that was still being constructed. The debut has much stronger songwriting than Killers, which is why I find it to be such a disappointing album.
Collin
Chasing Ponce De Leon's Phantoms
But it really really is the third best album here.
Ariana
Black-and-white leopard
I would like to mention that I liked that post, but then reconsidered because Knicks voted for X Factor.
Iron Maiden
Dance of Death
The Final Frontier
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
Genghis Khan wasn't written before the debut was recorded.
KILLERS
(1981)
Dave Murray: “On the first album we were playing fast, almost like punk rock, but with more melody. Martin’s production on Killers gave us a little more polish, without losing our edge. The title track on that album is still one of my favourites. It has such a pure and raw energy, and we carried on playing it live for years. Of course, this was the last album we made with Paul. When Bruce came in, that was an even bigger turning point for the band. But I think Paul sounded great on Killers. The whole album is really powerful and atmospheric. And really, it was Martin Birch who brought that out of us.”
Nope. E.g., Purgatory used to be a much slower song, with a different title ("Floating"). You can be sure that Maiden paid a lot of attention to the older songs before they recorded them for (here to) eternity. Adrian's licks weren't present in Wratchchild and I am sure there were more changes. It surely wasn't just copy-paste from versions they used to play.
He just had enough material for an album. It was a thoughtful decision to do it like that. To record these songs.
Because A is better than B, B is such a disappointing album? Nah.
KILLERS
(1981)
Dave Murray: “On the first album we were playing fast, almost like punk rock, but with more melody. Martin’s production on Killers gave us a little more polish, without losing our edge. The title track on that album is still one of my favourites. It has such a pure and raw energy, and we carried on playing it live for years. Of course, this was the last album we made with Paul. When Bruce came in, that was an even bigger turning point for the band. But I think Paul sounded great on Killers. The whole album is really powerful and atmospheric. And really, it was Martin Birch who brought that out of us.”
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Cat Milk Supreme
Ancient Mariner
DOD & TFF. OMG.
MrKnickerbocker
clap hands
I would like to mention that I liked that post, but then reconsidered because Knicks voted for X Factor.
Of what's left it's my least favorite by far.Ah, I forgot about Genghis Khan! As for the others, sure they changed little parts here and there but the majority of the songs were already written. I'm not claiming that they didn't make any changes, I'm sure they made many, but the fact still remains that the songs were not fresh. They were old tunes pulled up and reconfigured to rush a second album because the first had been successful.
And yes, I generally think that if Album A is better than Album B, and those two albums are the first two albums by band, that Album B is disappointing. That math makes sense to me.
I do not in any way knock the production of Killers. It sounds far better than the debut, I just don't think the songs are very good.
