Martin Birch - the master

Thanks.
Which do you personally prefer inside the maiden canon of Birch?

Production-wise? Probably Killers, although Powerslave is amazing and they are all good.
Fire of Unknown Origin is another exquisite-sounding record.
 
He was amazing, and I always wonder how much better the reunion albums would have sounded had he been at the helm.

Shame they couldn’t tempt him out of retirement.

Maybe the 1-2 punch of No Prayer & Fear put him off for life..
 
Thanks good sir. Great album that one. Birch deserves credit for the Whitesnake albums. I know they took off commetcially after he stopped working with them, but his albums were the best of their discography.

I quite like early Whitesnake, notwithstanding the rather pathetic lyrics. I have never been a fan of the band since they insisted on creating holes in the ozone layer...
 
To me 7Son is a transitional album. By listening to it you can hear seeds of No Prayer.
That's only because "Fates Warning" borrows from "The Clairvoyant" and "Mother Russia" borrows from "Seventh Son"...
 
That's only because "Fates Warning" borrows from "The Clairvoyant" and "Mother Russia" borrows from "Seventh Son"...

It's more than that. I hear some production similarities, as if 7Son is the beautiful of two brothers. The sound is better produced, 'enchanted', but you can hear similarities to No Prayer. My English is bad, so I can not properly explain my thoughts.
I think that both albums, in the field of song creation style are very close together. Let me explain this way: 7Son is a high fantasy, No Prayer is urban fantasy, but the foundation is the same.
Sorry for my english.
 
It's more than that. I hear some production similarities, as if 7Son is the beautiful of two brothers. The sound is better produced, 'enchanted', but you can hear similarities to No Prayer. My English is bad, so I can not properly explain my thoughts.
I think that both albums, in the field of song creation style are very close together. Let me explain this way: 7Son is a high fantasy, No Prayer is urban fantasy, but the foundation is the same.
Sorry for my english.
I agree I always felt that No prayer is the ugly brother to SSOASS, songs like 'Mother Russia', parts of 'Tailgunner' and 'Run silent Run deep' and a certain feel in 'Hooks in you' all feel like maybe some leftover parts from SS or just that feel of creativity they were at during 86-88-90 caried it a bit over into no prayer. Now No prayer while I do enjoy it heck at one point it was #10 in my top ten , it is nowhere near as good as SS but I believe had maiden not had stripped down their sound and went street it could of been Seventh son of a seventh son part 2.
 
I quite like early Whitesnake, notwithstanding the rather pathetic lyrics. I have never been a fan of the band since they insisted on creating holes in the ozone layer...

The border between good and bad Whitesnake goes in the Slide it in album. European mix and everything before is good Whitesnake. American mix an everything after is crap.
 
Birch was a master engineer for Maiden, listen to how it progresses up to and around Seventh Son amd No Prayer, then Harry Harris puts his dirty fingers in the medicine jar on Fear and shit is thrown around in the sound and so Birch retires.
 
FOTD was produced in the same building. Only difference is it was "upgraded" into a proper studio...which makes me wonder what the hell the place looked like during the NPFTD recording.
 
FOTD was produced in the same building. Only difference is it was "upgraded" into a proper studio...which makes me wonder what the hell the place looked like during the NPFTD recording.

I think it was the Rolling Stone mobile, which Birch would remember from his time in Montreaux
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_Stones_Mobile

wiki has NPFTD as the last album recorded on it, and going by that list it was the first time it had been used in 5 years. Although I don't know if that list is complete or just a selection of albums.

EDIT: D'oh! it clearly says that it's notable albums, so only a selection rather than a complete list
 
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