Jupz's Top 50!

A couple of classics for you today!

18. Wasted Years
This is a heartfelt ballad, and one of my favourite Maiden ballads. The riffing is melodic and wondeful, and Bruce puts in a great performance, especially in the chorus and parts such as "Another city goes by, in the niiiiighhht". The chorus is one of Maiden's best. The solo is great too. Although I love that poppy intro, I feel they repeated it one too many times throughout the song - twice is enough. All in all, a great song and one of the best from Somewhere in Time.

17. 2 Minutes to Midnight
One of Maiden's best live songs in my opinion. This was probably my second favourite after Fear of the Dark when I went to see them, the crowd really got into it and its special to hear that chorus echoed by so many people.
Anyway, this one has some really great lyrics and a very interesting topic. I'd never heard of that clock before I listened to this song. Anyway, the riffing and soloing is pretty good here, great vocal melodies, particularly in the chorus. Great song that is sometimes underrated because so many people say its overrated, if that makes sense :p



9. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
I find this album to be slightly overrated. It does have some great songs and good flow, but there is too many mediocre moments on the record for it to be any higher than this. Although most songs are good songs, it only has one or two heavyweights in my opinion (I know a lot of people disagree with this), not enough to put it above the 3 albums that came prior to this one. I don't like Moonchild that much, same with Can I Play With Madness and The Prophecy.
 
I don't consider Wasted Years as a ballad. By the way I also made a similar statement by saying "Metallica is underrated because of their overratedness. I know it's complicated." I remember that because SMX sigged it  :bigsmile:

Wasted Years : 36th
2 Minutes to Midnight : 29th

Edit : I just noticed that I wrote it wrong :D Underrated because of their underratedness ? Well, that really DOESN'T make sense :p
 
16. Dream of Mirrors
This incredible song would be in my top 10, and probably be my favourite from Brave New World if not for overlistening to it, it just doesn't do as much for me as it used to. How high it still is is a testament to how good it is. The starting is a little out of place I will admit, but after things cool down, it gets much better. The clean guitar is awesome and Bruce sings an awesome, evil-sounding melody over it. The "The dream is true" part is one of my favourite parts and I sometimes get the shivers from it. I love the build up to the chorus, which is one of Maiden's best, with a fantastic vocal melody and great lyrics. The instrumental section, split up with the faster chorus and the other vocal passage is great, and the slower chorus at the end is the icing on the cake. This song has an awesome name too.
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15. The Trooper
This is a classic that never seems to suffer from constant overplaying.
Featuring some of Maiden's best classic guitar harmonies and an awesome solo as well as a good performance from Bruce, this song is straight up Maiden, and one of the first songs I would recommend to any would-be fan.
Seeing this live was a real highlight and the chorus especially works amazing with the fans.
Nicko is great on this track, as is Steve. The lyrics fit the intensity of the music and the first two guitar harmonies are just magic.



8. Iron Maiden
This album was so close to #7, but just missed out because of a few filler songs. Anyway, this album is incredible. Phantom of the Opera -> Strange World is probably my second favourite 3 song run ever (after Take the Time->Metropolis). The first two songs are amazing aswell. Running Free is good, as is Sanctuary. The other two let down the album a bit. This album carries a lot of energy and Paul's voice is great for the album.
 
Some catching up here...

Mother Russia — 102
The Clairvoyant — 60
Wasted Years — 19
11:58 — 12
Dream of Mirrors — 68
Trooper — 23
 
14. No Prayer for the Dying
This track is beautiful. The slow, sad intro followed by heartfelt vocals from Bruce and an awesome guitar melody. This is one of Maiden's most emotional songs in my opinion, and shines out like a beacon from the mud that composes most of the album. The guitar solo is awesome, probably the second best off the album to Mother Russia. The ending is my favourite part however (God give me...). It sounds so emotional, Maiden sometimes just nail those melancholy endings when the vocals come in when its heavy and by the time the vocals are finished the clean tune has started again. It just carries such an awesome atmosphere that I've only ever really felt in two songs (this one and also the ending of Revelations). I wish Bruce used his more operatic style on this one however instead of using the more raspy voice he uses across this album.
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13. These Colours Don't Run
This was my original favourite from A Matter of Life and Death, and still is one of my favourites. The first war-based lyrics from the album fittingly tell the tale of a man going off to war. The chorus is absolutely one of Maiden's best with a spectacular vocal melody. Bruce sounds awesome here too, as he does across the album. The instrumental section is awesome, great soloing, some of the best on the album, and the "oooohhhh" bit is pretty great aswell.
I really wish I saw them live on that tour, this song seems like it was built to be played live and I hope I get to see it one day.



7. The X Factor
This album is great and is probably the most different of all of Maiden's albums. The dark atmosphere really suits Blaze's voice. This album is very consistent, but it lacks a couple of classics that in my opinion would make it a much better album.
 
NPFD? Both surprised and shocked.

Even if I think it's one of the best from 90's (In my top 5 of 90's for sure), I think there are many better songs. (don't diss me, just expressing my opinion over here ;))

TCDR - Evolutionary choice Jupz! Equally awesome as the whole AMOLAD album! The song automatically makes me picture the horrors of war and soldier's perspective of it! The chorus is the best part IMO!
 
Don't rank No Prayer that high (51 for me), but it's a good, underrated track.
Colours right about where it should be. Eleven for me.
 
Black Thunder said:
NPFD? Both surprised and shocked.

Even if I think it's one of the best from 90's (In my top 5 of 90's for sure), I think there are many better songs. (don't diss me, just expressing my opinion over here ;))

TCDR - Evolutionary choice Jupz! Equally awesome as the whole AMOLAD album! The song automatically makes me picture the horrors of war and soldier's perspective of it! The chorus is the best part IMO!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the input!
 
my personal top 15...
1) Hallowed
2) Rime
3) Wasted Years
4) The Trooper
5) Paschendale
6) When the Wild Wind Blows
7) Sign of the Cross
8) Benjamin Breeg
9) The thin Line between love and hate
10) Aces High
11) Judas be My Guide
12) Infinite Dreams
13) The Longest Day
14) Fates Warning
15) Different World
:rocker:
 
My personal top fifteen,
Iron Maiden Song Rankings:
1. Rime of the Ancient Mariner
2. Hallowed be thy Name
3. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
4. Caught Somewhere in Time
5. Dance of Death
6. Lord of the Flies
7. Wasted Years
8. Strange World
9. Out of the Silent Planet
10. Powerslave
11. Still Life
12. Paschendale
13. Isle of Avalon
14. Starblind
15. These Colours Don't Run

TCDR barely made it in.
 
Well, need to catch up a bit...

Mother Russia: 46th
The Clairvoyant: 75th
Wasted Years: 38th
11:58: 49th
Dream of Mirrors: 53rd
The Trooper: 60th
No Prayer for the Dying : 68th
These Colours Don't Run : 31st

Really, all these songs are very close to each other, my ranking in this range are just so packed together.
 
Some more good ol' early reunion era stuff :)

12. Rainmaker
Another amazing short rocking opener (I don't count Wildest Dreams :p) from the reunion era. This track is very melodic and beautiful. The guitar melody at the start is awesome, the first verse is one of my favourite verses ever. Its sung so beautifully by Bruce. "I turn my face towards the barren sun" is such an amazing line. The chorus "I dream, of the rain, as it falls upon the leaves" has an amazing melody. The solo is melodic and sounds so free, very inspiring stuff.
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The lyrics sound like something Dio would write in my opinion (one of, if not my favourite lyricist), using a lot of metaphors. An incredible track with great lyrics. The only reason this one is as low as it is (!) is because its too short (I like progressive songs). But don't worry, there are a few more short songs to come!

11. Blood Brothers
This track is also very touching, melodic and beautiful, like most of the songs on the album. You can tell the band gave their all on this track, making it one of Maiden's best ballads.
The chorus works amazingly live, and I was very impressed when I saw them on this tour, it surpassed my expectations, all the people chanting along made it special.
The chorus has a very good vocal melody. Great clean guitar and vocals at the start, and the slower, melodic guitar melodies in the instrumental section are also very good.  


6. Somewhere in Time
This is at the top of the jumble of albums from #6 - #11 because it features awesome songs and great songwriting, as well as an awesome performance from Adrian and Bruce. Caught Somewhere in Time, Wasted Years, and Stranger in a Strange Land are amazing. The rest of the tracks, although all pretty good, fall short of pushing this album into the top pack of Maiden albums in my opinion.
 
Rainmaker is one of my favorite short rockers! The groove is fantastic, so are the vocals... One of the better reunion songs, for sure! :ok:

Blood Brothers are a really good example of Maiden's softer side. A very melodic, and touching song. Every instrument seems to fall right in place. Probably my favorite from BNW! :smartarse:
 
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