Iron Maiden live releases - Setlist, performance and sound. What's the most important to you?

[Deleted member 7164]

lack of love for Live After Death

The thing is LAD has something special. When you break down into performance, sound, setlist, it might not win anything, for me but it is still kind of a best live album Maiden did just based on the feel.

My absolute favourite 80s stuff is '83 and '86-88. So for me, today as opposed to twenty years ago, the setlist is quite boring. Today the side four makes the record.

Also what you said about digital kids. I might also yawn at someone bashing on LAD. Keep in mind that we see Maiden as this awesome live band that only got better with time. From that perspective, saying "this true live band that's been killing the sets night after night for 45 years, made their ultimate live release 10 years into the career". Doesn't sound quite right you know?

 

[Forostar]

@srfc
Yes, I never got used to the pairing of the two but it makes sense. ARDO has a different sound, and I remember I enjoyed it less.
A Real Live One has for me the most iconic (the definitive!) live renditions of all songs involved. That is definitely a pro.

 

[Forostar]

The thing is LAD has something special. When you break down into performance, sound, setlist, it might not win anything, for me but it is still kind of a best live album Maiden did just based on the feel.

My absolute favourite 80s stuff is '83 and '86-88. So for me, today as opposed to twenty years ago, the setlist is quite boring. Today the side four makes the record.

Also what you said about digital kids. I might also yawn at someone bashing on LAD. Keep in mind that we see Maiden as this awesome live band that only got better with time. From that perspective, saying "this true live band that's been killing the sets night after night for 45 years, made their ultimate live release 10 years into the career". Doesn't sound quite right you know?

The only ones who may have improved over the last 20 years are Adrian (solos) and Bruce, but for the latter that stopped 10 years ago.

LAD can't help it that it came out in 1985. And that the few that followed in the 20th century were not as impressive. It would be weird to blame LAD for these circumstances.

 

[srfc]

ARDO has a different sound, and I remember I enjoyed it less.

The problem with ARDO is 3/4 of the tracks were recorded on the Real Live Tour, when Bruce was leaving, which was not conducive to great versions of the tracks.

Some versions on it are great, Sanctuary and Wrathchild (from the bside), and Hallowed is still the definitive version for me, but some are quite bad TNOTB, Where Eagles Dare, Running Free and especially 2 Minutes to Midnight spring to mind, although it's been a very, very long time since I listened to it so I might be misremembering the quality of these tracks.

Wasted Years from the bside is pretty bad too, although I'm not sure how you'ld categorise that, it is from the ARLO time period, but was on the b-side of the ARDO single and was recorded on the Real Live Tour. Similarly, the good version of Wrathchild was recorded on the Fear of the Dark Tour.

 

[LooseCannon]

Although this is in meaningless polls, I think I'll skip the usual "Raising Hell" gimmick and actually vote for what I think is correct.

Setlist is really a hard one. I quickly eliminated Live at the Rainbow, Beast Over Hammersmith, Donington 1992, ARL/DO, Raising Hell, En Vivo, and Live Chapter. I thought really hard on Maiden England but I decided not to go with it. Death on the Road has Paschendale but that's about it so sadly, no. After a lot of thinking I'm going to pick Live After Death but if the new album is the full LOTB setlist, I would pick that. That's LAD with the second disc, of course.

Performance is far easier. I cut away Live at the Rainbow, Live After Death, Donington, ARL/DO, Raising Hell, Death on the Road, En Vivo, and Live Chapter immediately. Then I thought about it and Flight 666 is too up and down. Some questionable decisions. But yeah, it's gonna be Beast Over Hammersmith in the end.

Sound is the easiest yet. Combining all of this together and adding in the dynamics of sound, I'm picking Rock in Rio, which just sounds fucking brilliant. Rock in Rio is second in the other two categories, which is why it's my top live album, even though I only picked it once.