IRON MAIDEN: 'Infinite Dreams - The Official Visual History' Book Due In The Fall

CA Bryers said:
I haven't quite started it yet--had to wrap up the Infinite Dreams book, get other random stuff done this week/weekend, and should be starting Shooman's next week. Of the several new books that have come out to coincide with the 50th, Joe's is the one I was most interested in because like you, I really liked his Dickinson book. And fun fact, he's updated the one you read in 2017, taking it from about 224 pages (according to Amazon's info) up to 400 pages in the new version (called Bruce Dickinson: Maiden Voyage). He had some stories in it that I'd never heard before (like Chris Dale needing a quick flight and Bruce figuring out how to get him where he needed to go), and fresh stories in your typical Maiden bios aren't all that common.

I'll post my thoughts on this new book when I finish it, but can't promise a quick turnaround time on it since I don't have a ton of time to read physical books. There's an audio edition, apparently, but it's either not available for US retailers, or his publisher's links don't work. If I had that, I'd have it done after maybe 3 work days.
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Take your time! I'll be interested whenever you read it (I'm not convinced I'll buy it yet, but maybe I will if it sounds good).
 
Sth2112 said:
Well I got this one for Christmas, started with the first bit today. The book is very beautiful, and I’m sure its a must have for all die hard fans and casuals on their way to get Maiden as their favorite band
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I just reserved it at my local Waterstones. It’s currently listed at £25.
Cosmiceddie said:
Does anybody have Martin Popoff's Hallowed Be Thy Name book? Is it worth buying?
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I was going to ask a similar thing. He sure does spit out a lot of books. I am not sure if this is a good thing or not.
 
Got the book yesterday too, great read so far and a nicely presented book in general.

I was interested to read early on that Rod had more or less given up on the music industry and was drawn back in by Steve and his Maiden idea. Probably explains the bond between them to this day.
 
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Seems like this was a popular gift for Maiden fans this year, I got a copy too and it is excellent, great content but also high quality and nicely presented.
 
In my 26 years of being a Maiden fan, there are a few products released by the bands that have blown me away. The ones that come to mind are The Early Days DVD, The X Factor 2017 vinyl, and the Beast Over Hammersmith vinyl.

This book is probably the best product I have ever bought with Maiden’s name on it. It is absolutely stunning. I just lost an hour looking through it.

Obviously nothing will ever beat the music and live shows, but this is an absolute must for Maiden fans.
 
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Ascendingthethrone said:
In my 26 years of being a Maiden fan, there are a few products released by the bands that have blown me away. The ones that come to mind are The Early Days DVD, The X Factor 2017 vinyl, and the Beast Over Hammersmith vinyl.

This book is probably the best product I have ever bought with Maiden’s name on it. It is absolutely stunning. I just lost an hour looking through it.

Obviously nothing will ever beat the music and live shows, but this is an absolute must for Maiden fans.
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It is a great book, visually stunning and really well put together. Yesterday I finally found the time to begin reading it and I quite liked what I have read so far (up until Paul was fired and Bruce joined the band).
 
Anyone suspects why Adrian's Goldtop Les Paul is completely ommited in Infinite Dreams book? It's such a pivotal instrument for him, and while there are photos and description of much less used axes, like Dean it seems odd that there is no a good quality photo of Goldtop.
 
igorw said:
Anyone suspects why Adrian's Goldtop Les Paul is completely ommited in Infinite Dreams book? It's such a pivotal instrument for him, and while there are photos and description of much less used axes, like Dean it seems odd that there is no a good quality photo of Goldtop.
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Perhaps it is because it is less of a mystery in comparison to his other "80's" guitars. He's been using it for decades and decades giving it lots of exposure, unlike the Ibanez, Lados, Dean, and Hamer Standard (he sold that one shortly after he was given the Ibanez, so not in the warehouse). To bad Dave decided not to dig out his old Jacksons though.
 
I have a theory that the Hamer Standard was sold to Ricky Medlocke of Blackfoot. Blackfoot opened a lot for Maiden, they even played Tush with Ricky on slide sometimes as an encore during Beast on the Road. And Ricky played a Hamer Standard in 1982 that looked very similar to Adrian's in the 80s.
 
Do you think book will be reissued the moment band retires? My prediction is that it will be around 60th anniversary, probably a bit before that. Just to complete their history, add extra 20 pages.
 
matic22 said:
I have a theory that the Hamer Standard was sold to Ricky Medlocke of Blackfoot. Blackfoot opened a lot for Maiden, they even played Tush with Ricky on slide sometimes as an encore during Beast on the Road. And Ricky played a Hamer Standard in 1982 that looked very similar to Adrian's in the 80s.
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That is interesting. Given the timeline and the association of the two bands (back then), it definitely seems plausible. I wonder if Ricky would respond to the question.
 
Helmuth Von Moltke said:
Take your time! I'll be interested whenever you read it (I'm not convinced I'll buy it yet, but maybe I will if it sounds good).
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So, I've finally gotten through most of the Shooman book. It's divided into a few segments--the main story of Maiden, then going through the albums, and then the band members. I'm up to the band members part.

Having read several biographies of the band, official and unofficial, it's hard to give a glowing recommendation because the history of the band is well-known. Therefore, any biography is going to feel like treading on familiar ground. However, this one does have a few unique things about it. Firstly, I was dreading going over the pre-history and early days of the band. Read about it a bunch, it's not my favorite era, and isn't terribly interesting, IMO. This telling--largely due to the author having some good candid interviews with past members--made it much more palatable than I was expecting.

One thing I look for in every biography is how well they cover the Blaze era. I imagine a lot of authors tend to skim over it because it wasn't terribly popular, but I've always found it the most interesting and drama-riddled era of the band. This one devotes some time to it--I'd say about the average amount. A cool twist was having interviews with both Doogie White and Damian Wilson, who were both in the Top 12 of perceived candidates. Also there's an image of Doogie's setlist he was expected to learn before the audition.

All in all, it's hard to say how hard I'd go in recommending it. I liked it, it was a fairly quick and easy read, but I'm not sure there's anything earth-shattering in regards to Maiden's history left to be mined. Some sections I felt could have been given more attention, but it was a decently thorough overview of their career. The only reason I think I came away slightly disappointed was because I really enjoyed the author's Bruce Dickinson biography. The reason for that, though, is likely down to what I mentioned just above: that Maiden's history is already well-covered, whereas Bruce's is not, particularly his solo career. Hell, Bruce himself skimmed over that more than I'd have liked in What Does This Button Do?
 
CA Bryers said:
One thing I look for in every biography is how well they cover the Blaze era.
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I also look out for exactly this (and also where blaze albums end up in generic album rankings) - it says a lot!
CA Bryers said:
The only reason I think I came away slightly disappointed was because I really enjoyed the author's Bruce Dickinson biography. The reason for that, though, is likely down to what I mentioned just above: that Maiden's history is already well-covered, whereas Bruce's is not, particularly his solo career. Hell, Bruce himself skimmed over that more than I'd have liked in What Does This Button Do?
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I felt the same about his earlier book.
Thanks very much for the detailed review, appreciate it, you have saved me some ££££ here! I think I'll give it a miss at full price but always happy to pick these kinds of peripheral items up down the line.
 
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