I think Donner makes a really good point on the previous page about what is, and is not " underrated."
Before I found Maidenfans, I used to think it was pretty easy to define Maiden’s most underrated songs.
— they were the ones that were obviously great but didn’t seem to get a lot of attention from the band or the media.
Or…
— they were the ones people seemed to bash a lot that really weren’t all that bad
But on Maidenfans I discovered that far from being underrated, Still Life is almost universally loved, and that there are plenty of people who love of Sea of Madness just as much as I do, and that for all those who hate The Angel and the Gambler there is a fair number who think it’s pretty catchy (if overlong).
And it got me thinking that it’s time to redefine “underrated.”
Maybe underrated should not about that song you absolutely love that lots of people don’t, or the song you don’t mind that is frequently put down.
Maybe it should about the song you like that nobody seems to pay much attention to.
With that in mind, these are my two candidates for Maidens most underrated track:
Como Estais Amigo was my daughter’s favourite song when she was little and it has always had sentimental value for that reason. But listening to it today, I was struck by how emotional it is. It’s got this great dignity and pathos to it — a real stirring, stately feel that would legitimately work as a national anthem. It is easily Blaze’s best performance on a Maiden record. Add in some vintage Maiden guitar harmonies and a killer solo and I wonder why it is seldom mentioned.
Somewhere along the line, Flight of Icarus got slotted into the “too-commercial” bin of Maiden songs. I can’t blame fans who find it lacking compared to the grandeur of Revelations, the hardcore gallop of The Trooper or Still Life’s creepy feel. But give it another listen. This is no fun-but-simple Running Free. It’s nicely composed and arranged with mid-tempo rhythms that are atypical for Maiden and do a great job of building dramatic tension. It remains one of Bruce’s most powerful and emotional performances ever. The course is catchy without ever pandering. The solos are sublime. This is not a 10, but it is a killer track that somehow never really gets recognized as such anymore.
I recommend giving them both another serious listen.