No Prayer for the Dying

Well, from your point of view it sounds like a good comparison to me.

LooseCannon said:
NPFTD, by comparison, was the last Maiden album I heard in its entirety, due to the fragmented nature by which I obtained the content.
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Same here (back in the day of course / no I didn't hear it after The Final Frontier ;) ).
A bit weird because I became a fan of Maiden in 1991 (in between No Prayer and FOTD!). But around that time I was more into getting to know the eighties material (stimulated by 12 Wasted Years, Live After Death and The First 10 Years. Also, I already heard the singles Holy Smoke and BYDTTS and I found them less interesting than most eighties songs I knew. So I bought this CD some time after FOTD came out. Since I waited so long and since my expectations were not the highest, it was a very nice surprise when I put the CD in my player.
The "unknown" songs were very good! A dynamic, heavy and at times atmospherical album full of quality songs.

(By the way, SSOASS was the last album I bought, because I already knew it very well, and had it copied on a tape).
 
LooseCannon said:
2. I don't like comparing Blaze/Bruce songs so much, because I really do think the two men have distinct styles and are very good singers. I prefer Bruce. However, NPFTD always felt like it would have sounded better with Blaze. I think he would have blown tracks like Run Silent, Run Deep, No Prayer For the Dying, and Tailgunner out of the park, just like he did with ATSS.
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Couple of holes in your reasoning here LC. First the Bruce V Blaze thing. Comparison is unavoidable, I'm afraid. Both sang for Maiden, it's bound to happen. You shouldn't feel bad doing it and you're correct to prefer Bruce as he is vastly superior to Blaze.

The problem with the whole "However, NPFTD always felt like it would have sounded better with Blaze" is he simply doesn't nor did he ever have the vocal range to sing songs like the title track or Tailgunner well. I'd fucking love to hear him have a go at the chorus/ending of Run Silent Run Deep. It'd be a disaster of biblical proportions.
 
snake plissken said:
The problem with the whole "However, NPFTD always felt like it would have sounded better with Blaze" is he simply doesn't nor did he ever have the vocal range to sing songs like the title track or Tailgunner well. I'd fucking love to hear him have a go at the chorus/ending of Run Silent Run Deep. It'd be a disaster of biblical proportions.
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Nah, listen to how Bruce sings on ATSS and then how Blaze sings it. What I mean to say is that the songs themselves don't need to be tuned down in order for Blaze's voice to sing along well, not that he can emulate Bruce. Because he can't, but he could have brought a very interesting dimension to several songs that I think are commonly either ignored or forgotten.
 
I prefer Bruce on ATSS. During a few short moments, Blaze sings offkey on that official version, and I feel Bruce put more emotion in it.

Too bad I can't find back my old post where I explained it thoroughly, with time indications etc.
Hmm, I need to do that again one day.
 
LooseCannon said:
Nah, listen to how Bruce sings on ATSS and then how Blaze sings it. What I mean to say is that the songs themselves don't need to be tuned down in order for Blaze's voice to sing along well, not that he can emulate Bruce. Because he can't, but he could have brought a very interesting dimension to several songs that I think are commonly either ignored or forgotten.
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Blaze does a decent job on ATSS but it's not a particularly hard song to sing by Maiden's standards. Some of the tracks on NPFTD would be an entirely different proposition though. I'm sure Blaze would've tried to put his stamp on them but I just don't see it having the same level of commitment that Bruce brings. For example, "All the way down to Davey Joooones"... such a small piece of improvisation but it makes all the difference and it's something few singers have.
 
I believe that VXI has far better songs than NPFTD, but far worse production.  The result is an album that is hard to listen to, but easy to love.  The drumming is WAY too simple, the guitars are luke warm at best, and in general it feels too "soft."  I've got live bootleg versions of these songs, and they totally kick ass.  Blaze isn't Bruce, but what he does, he does very well, and the vocals are something I have no complaint with. 

NPFTD on the other hand doesn't have the best songs ever written, but the energy is incredible, and makes the album very enjoyable.  Kinda like seeing the song "Iron Maiden" live when Eddie comes out.  The song isn't that great, but the presentation more than makes up for it.  These are both my least fave Maiden albums, and I still love them and listen to them often.
 
Forostar said:
Hmm, I preferred your earlier description of No Prayer. ;)
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Not sure if this is directed at me or not, but after re-reading my original "opinion" I posted in this thread, I feel that I had a very difficult time conveying my thoughts to words.  Suffice to say, NPFTD is one of my least fave Maiden albums, but one that I still love dearly.
 
This part I liked, where you show that you judge it on its own merits.

chaosapiant said:
In this way, when listening to NPFTD I don't think "man, I wish this sounded more like seventh son" because they've gone back and done that also.  Run Silent Run Deep and Mother Russia are my two faves from that album.  Mother Russia is criminally underrated, IMO.
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I would hazard a guess that a lot of it depends on when you started listening to Maiden.  I think if you were a fan of the band already when NPFD came out you would probably be dissapointed because it was following on from SSOASS.  If, however, you are like me and got into Maiden since then (I became a fan in 2005 for the record) then you are going to view it as more a stand-alone album.  Also perhaps it depends on the order in which you first listened to Maiden albums.  I love all of their albums, but I think that may be because the first one I heard was FOTD and I now consider that to be my least favourite (some very awesome tracks, some mediocre ones and some really rubbish ones imo).
 
iiz50p said:
I would hazard a guess that a lot of it depends on when you started listening to Maiden.  I think if you were a fan of the band already when NPFD came out you would probably be dissapointed because it was following on from SSOASS.  If, however, you are like me and got into Maiden since then (I became a fan in 2005 for the record) then you are going to view it as more a stand-alone album.  Also perhaps it depends on the order in which you first listened to Maiden albums.  I love all of their albums, but I think that may be because the first one I heard was FOTD and I now consider that to be my least favourite (some very awesome tracks, some mediocre ones and some really rubbish ones imo).
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I've been a fan since I was 8 years old and TNOTB came out, and No Prayer is still my favourite.
 
As a result of all this I've done some serious listening to all the Maiden albums, particularly Dance of Death - and I  must admit you praisers of this album were right. I don't know why I didn't like it when it first came out, but it's gradually creeped up on me and is now a firm favourite (even though the title track would still be at the bottom of my track preferences). I especially like New Frontier, Paschendale and Age of Innocence. In the end I came up with a list which I am now happy with:

1. No Prayer for the Dying (1990)
2. Somewhere in Time (1986)
3. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
4. Brave New World (2000)
5. The Final Frontier (2010)
6. Dance of Death (2003)
7. Powerslave (1984)
8. A Matter of Life and Death (2006)
9. Virtual XI (1998)
10. Fear of the Dark (1992)
11. The X Factor (1995)
12. Killers (1981)
13. Iron Maiden (1980)
14. The Number of the Beast (1982)
15. Piece of Mind (1983)
 
Woah, interesting list. Even though I don't like all the tracks from The Number of the Beast, Hallowed, the title track and children of the damned (along with RTTH and Total Eclipse to a lesser extent) put it in my top 5. And Piece of Mind last is interesting.
 
Wyrdskein said:
As a result of all this I've done some serious listening to all the Maiden albums, particularly Dance of Death - and I  must admit you praisers of this album were right. I don't know why I didn't like it when it first came out, but it's gradually creeped up on me and is now a firm favourite (even though the title track would still be at the bottom of my track preferences). I especially like New Frontier, Paschendale and Age of Innocence. In the end I came up with a list which I am now happy with:

1. No Prayer for the Dying (1990)
2. Somewhere in Time (1986)
3. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
4. Brave New World (2000)
5. The Final Frontier (2010)
6. Dance of Death (2003)
7. Powerslave (1984)
8. A Matter of Life and Death (2006)
9. Virtual XI (1998)
10. Fear of the Dark (1992)
11. The X Factor (1995)
12. Killers (1981)
13. Iron Maiden (1980)
14. The Number of the Beast (1982)
15. Piece of Mind (1983)
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This is a fucking wind up, right?  :lol:
 
Wyrdskein said:
I just think Piece of Mind is weaker than all the others. Just doesn't do it for me.
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Hmmm on reflection, Where Eagles Dare, Revelations, Icarus, Boots, The Trooper.... yeah i suppose you're right ;)
 
Well, he thinks that Bruce sings great on No Prayer For The Dying, so I guess the singing Bruce delivers on Piece of Mind is far from Wyrdskein's taste ... but that makes me wonder what he sees in Somewhere in Time, Seventh Son and Brave New World.
 
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