Is Live After Death Overrated?

THESEVENTHMARINER said:
He's definitely the weakest link for me in Live After Death and Maiden England '88
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In his defence, he had a cold at Birmingham (we can see him blowing his nose just before "*Infinite Dreams", if I'm not mistaken) which is surely a bigger handicap for a singer than for the rest of the musicians.
 
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Live After Death is for me a piece of mediocre recordings, with ridiculously bad singing and a band that plays way to fast. That's the end of it. It's not one of the "greatest live albums ever".
 
New member here. Sorry to bump a (kinda) old thread, but I saw it around and thought it would be a good one for my first post. :p

I was born in 1999, right around the "reunion" (hate to call it that) era. My dad was a huge Maiden fan back in his teenage years (Killers was actually the first LP he'd ever bought) and I pretty much listen to this band since I was born.

Considering some stuff I have already read from this thread and across the forum, I know what many of you might be thinking: I much prefer Rock in Rio and the post-2000 albums than Live After Death and Maiden's classic era. If that's what you who are reading this thought, you're outright... Wrong! :D

That being said, nostalgia isn't actually a big factor of influence on my choices for Maiden's best albums. But let's put that aside for now, I'm missing the main topic of this thread.

Okay, so! Live After Death. Nope, I don't think it's overrated, like, at all. I think it has more than deserved all of the acclaim it has ever got. What I always say when questioned about my choice for Maiden's best live release, is that, while this one might not have the band's best performances ever, they are still pretty damn good and downright impressive (in the midst of what was being put out by amyone at the time), and the raw, explosive energy that reaks out of every single track makes it all up for the best live recording ever made (yes, ever).

A large amount of raw energy would have to be my first criteria for a good live album — and you have to admit that Live After Death fits this criteria very very well. I think that future live albums from Maiden failed to capture this unique kind of energy that makes live performances so exciting and nice to listen to (the only one that was able to capture all the exploding power as good as this album, was Beast Over Hammersmith, which ties in with Live After Death in first place on my list of Maiden's greatest live albums — although Rock in Rio got close).

Plain and actually simple, these are my reasons to think that Live After Death has got just the right amount of attention it's deserved, definitely not underrated nor overrated. And for that, it stands right there on the top, side by side with Beast Over Hammersmith, although that one is a whole other topic.
 
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What makes a great live album, think Thin Lizzy - Live and Dangerous, Deep Purple - Made in Japan, AC/DC - If you want Blood, is not just great versions of tracks but iconic moments (angus angus chant fitting in perfectly with the riff from whole lotta rosie) or banter from the front man ( "do any of the girls want a little more irish in them", "can I have everything louder than everything else").

Live after Death has this in spades. The back and forth crowd responses in running free with great dialogue from Bruce, "scream for me long beach", "this is what not to do when your bird shits on you" etc. Later Maiden live albums suffer greatly from this banter being edited out between songs, and it's a big factor why none of the later albums have overtaken Live after Death.
 
Well put. For a long time I did think it was 'overrated' but I listened to it the other day for the first time in a while and loved it. I reckon that there are better live versions to be found for many of the tracks on LAD and there are quite a few moments when Bruce's voice annoys the fuck out of me but the album crackles with energy. Top shit.
On a side note, Live and Dangerous is deadly but features some of the worst running order decisions in history. See here;

Emerald second song in. Too early for such a monstrous tune.

Southbound following Emerald. What a fuckin come down.

Still in Love With You following Massacre. What a Fuckin Come Down Part 2.
 
srfc said:
What makes a great live album, think Thin Lizzy - Live and Dangerous, Deep Purple - Made in Japan, AC/DC - If you want Blood, is not just great versions of tracks but iconic moments (angus angus chant fitting in perfectly with the riff from whole lotta rosie) or banter from the front man ( "do any of the girls want a little more irish in them", "can I have everything louder than everything else").

Live after Death has this in spades. The back and forth crowd responses in running free with great dialogue from Bruce, "scream for me long beach", "this is what not to do when your bird shits on you" etc. Later Maiden live albums suffer greatly from this banter being edited out between songs, and it's a big factor why none of the later albums have overtaken Live after Death.
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Crowd interaction is also very important to make up for a nice live recording. Every concert has some, but just as you said, it's missing big time from future live albums by Maiden. Besides, c'mon, want a more classic line than "Scream for me, Long Beach!"? There are few others that are just as classic and recognizable as this (none from Maiden :D).

Niall Kielt said:
Well put. For a long time I did think it was 'overrated' but I listened to it the other day for the first time in a while and loved it. I reckon that there are better live versions to be found for many of the tracks on LAD and there are quite a few moments when Bruce's voice annoys the fuck out of me but the album crackles with energy. Top shit.
On a side note, Live and Dangerous is deadly but features some of the worst running order decisions in history. See here;

Emerald second song in. Too early for such a monstrous tune.

Southbound following Emerald. What a fuckin come down.

Still in Love With You following Massacre. What a Fuckin Come Down Part 2.
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Song placement is also a very important factor, and while Maiden has always that one (or more) song that could've been left out of their setlists, the World Slavery Tour had just the right and perfect setlist. It contained their all time immortal classics, still fresh at the time. It featured material from all of their albums up 'til then. It was plain and fucking simple, something I miss from their setlists nowadays. All the tracks blent in perfectly within the set and none felt misplaced. It was simply Iron Fucking Maiden playing heavy metal.
 
Severian said:
It's Certainly the greatest live album released up to 1985, and its regarded so highly by critics because it has the safest setlist and is the 1st live album by the "Classic" line-up who were the greatest live band ever
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For me, the classic line-up is: Dickinson/Harris/Murray/Smith/Burr.
 
I'm not a drumming guy. I hear it, I don't hear much difference between Clive and between Nicko.

But if Clive had never been forced to leave, what would have happened when he got sick?
 
I've said it before, but a lot of these classic live albums are classics because it was the only way to hear your favorite bands live at the time, other than seeing them in concert. If Beast Over Hammersmith came out first, we would be talking about that instead.
 
srfc said:
What makes a great live album, think Thin Lizzy - Live and Dangerous, Deep Purple - Made in Japan, AC/DC - If you want Blood, is not just great versions of tracks but iconic moments (angus angus chant fitting in perfectly with the riff from whole lotta rosie) or banter from the front man ( "do any of the girls want a little more irish in them", "can I have everything louder than everything else").

Live after Death has this in spades. The back and forth crowd responses in running free with great dialogue from Bruce, "scream for me long beach", "this is what not to do when your bird shits on you" etc. Later Maiden live albums suffer greatly from this banter being edited out between songs, and it's a big factor why none of the later albums have overtaken Live after Death.
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I wholeheartedly agree!
 
While I don't think Bruce sounds that great on LAD, the guitars sound really rich and crisp...way better than they do currently.
 
Probably yes, but an important tour documentation.

A more simple time in the band before the over saturation of live releases.

The set list was influential and the twin guitars of Murray/Smith made a very strong statement.
 
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Live After Death
Album Review by @Diesel 11
So I just listened to this album in full, and thought I'd add my thoughts on it to the discussion, including how good it is and whether or not it's overrated. Here we go.

Firstly, let's get it out of the way - Bruce is better in studio than live. He often feels out of breath, which, given the massiveness of the World Slavery Tour, I think he can be forgiven for it. Still, he's got a very authoritative stage presence so he's not actually terrible on here.

Now as to the rest of the band - they're wonderful, particularly the guitars. Adrian and Dave sound fantastic, so good in fact that I can't make up my mind whether it's better than the studio versions of the songs. The opening to Die With Your Boots On, the instrumental section of Phantom of the Opera, and all of Hallowed Be Thy Name, they really excelled here.

Live After Death is a bit overrated, because it's not perfect - the runtime is a bit long, for one thing; the Long Beach concert would have been sufficient, though it does work - but at the same time, if this is what Maiden sounds live, then it's a perfect live album summing up the band's stage sound.

Overall I'm going with 8/10. A little overrated, but still a great live album. Also damn do I type short reviews.
 
'Over-Rated' is a strange thing. Who rates who in the what now? Is Live After Death a great thing to listen to? Yes. Fact. Is it great to watch; Yes. Fact. Is it over rated? Well, that depends. Where and what is your yardstick? Is it the VHS that my mother told me that I was not allowed to watch because I destroyed her sofa by bouncing on it playing bass on a hurling stick or tennis racket and running to each corner of the living room at 6 years old? Or is it the thing, the actual thing, the thing that has a horribly wailing vocalist that ruins alot of the parts where he opens his mouth? Depends what day of the week it is. Still, I'd rather have a shite Bruce Dickinson than a good 'Somebody Else.' And a good Bruce Dickinson, well, thats something else entirely.
So I seem to be on the fence. Its great. Its shite. Am I glad it exists? Damn straight, baby.
 
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