Prodigal Son

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How good is Prodigal Son on a scale of 1-10?

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2.

Both guitar solos are great, but everything else about this song is clunky and awkward. Considering the lyrics, why are the music and melody so happy?
 
The solo redeems this song somewhat, the rest of it makes it a sure candidate for worst song from the band. Weak or pretty much non-existent melodies, incredible boring guitars, boring lyrics, and Paul's boring voice drag it down. 5/10
 
Killers has reinvigorated me! What's next.... zzzzzz.
A good guitar solo but the songs slow pace is a buzz kill after the prior song gave you false hope that the album would pick back up. Paul's vocals aren't his best either. Very soporific. Only an okay song. 6/10
 
Same feeling about this as I have about Strange World. Two songs I've never got into. Cred to Maiden for trying something different here, but I don't think it work that good. The solos are good, but the song overall feels so-so.

4/10
 
The placement of this song is quite odd, being directly after something as dark as Killers. The tone shift is really off-putting. The use of acoustic guitars is something different for Maiden. Unfortunately, they don't really succeed here, but it's not a terrible song either. Another unoffensive piece of filler, but it does at least stand out from the rest.

6/10
 
My favorite song on the whole album. With all that fast clean-tone pseudo-acoustic strumming, it stands out quite distinctly against the rest of the Maiden discog, even as strongly as Empire does. Superb vocals and melodies, and the bassline is brilliant. I know many people don't rate this one as high, but that's always amazed me. This track is nearly perfect - close enough for 10/10 from me.
 
This is a very different song for the album. And said different is a really nice change of pace and a good kind of different. I feel this is a spiritual successor to Strange World, seeing as their placement on their respective albums are similar, and I feel this song has a little more strength behind it. I always tend to enjoy Maiden's efforts at power ballads such as Prodigal Son, Strange World and Wasting Love, and while they aren't exactly One or Fade To Black, they're still good.

6/10.

RTC's Maiden Ranking:
1: Phantom Of The Opera: 9/10
2: Killers: 9/10
3: Remember Tomorrow: 8/10
4: Murders In The Rue Morgue: 8/10
5: Wrathchild: 7/10
6: Transylvania: 7/10
7: Prodigal Son: 6/10
8: Strange World: 6/10
9: Sanctuary: 6/10
10: Another Life: 6/10
11: Prowler: 6/10
12: Genghis Khan: 5/10
13: Iron Maiden: 5/10
14: Charlotte The Harlot: 5/10
15: Running Free: 4/10
16: Innocent Exile: 4/10
17: The Ides Of March: 2/10
 
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From the beginning I've loved this song. It's an excellent slowdown after the phenomenal title track, and an interesting experiment. Once again, you wonder how Steve Harris came to write this song, yet would nix Bruce's semi-acoustic suggestions for Somewhere in Time. Now Steve allows 18 minute-long piano tracks. Times have changed.

Beautiful, beautiful lyrics, gorgeous guitar playing, and a wonderful theme. This is a strong 8, and almost a 9.
 
Very atypical, but very nice song. LC said much of what I would have said in praise of it, and I agree with his ranking at a strong 8/10.
 
4/10

Prodigal Son is the closest Killers gets to having a ballad and it shares some similarities with Remember Tomorrow and Strange World off the first album, but is far inferior to both. Honestly, the whole thing sounds like a Rush B-side. I can easily imagine Geddy Lee singing over this with a completely different melody and lyrics about Ayn Rand, sentient trees, or talking skeletons - and I’d prefer it. Prodigal Son isn’t a bad song, in fact there’s much to like: it shows some leanings towards the progressive rock elements the band would later embrace, Harris’ bass fills are delicious, and H’s emotional bluesy solo makes the case for him not being Dennis Stratton with every successive note, but the parts are better than the whole.
 
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  • Good idea to bring in a breather to an album that's overwhelmingly up-tempo and energetic.
  • Love the verses, both Di'Anno's singing and the backing track. Simple but great chord progression.
  • 'Arry's bass licks are wonderful throughout. Makes me think of how brilliant he'd be as a bassist if he went on the full on prog rock route.
  • Adrian's solos are very nice but I dislike the way the solo section connects to the verses, it's a weird transition.
  • The song is a bit too long, 5 minutes would do.
7/10.
 
A beautiful song. It has some of the best guitar work on the whole album. The lyrics are great too. I think it would be a great song live. They should have really played it.
10/10
 
This has grown on me slowly over the years but I still think it's a tad boring, the mood is nice and all but it doesn't grip me as much as I want it to. The annoying thing is that I want to like a lot, I really do, but my mind keep wandering away after a couple of minutes. I have this nagging feeling that someday it will click and I will love it to no end. But it hasn't happened yet after 25 something years... still it's a good song.
6/10
 
Coming right after the furious, stomping (and totally awesome) title track, this song really stands out. It's the closest thing to a ballad on this album and does it disappoint? No, not at all. It's not beautiful in my opinion, it's just a nice song that just sounds way different from the rest of this album.

I do feel that this song feels somewhat restricted. I can see that the song wants to be more beautiful but since it's on this album, it's pretty much forced to have energetic drumming which is something that somehat disappoints me.

Overall, 7/10.
 
Lots of comparisons above to Strange World. I see the point, but Prodigal Son is a few rungs higher. Not too much higher, but still a great album track. I give it a...

6/10
 
SinisterMinisterX said:
My favorite song on the whole album. With all that fast clean-tone pseudo-acoustic strumming, it stands out quite distinctly against the rest of the Maiden discog, even as strongly as Empire does. Superb vocals and melodies, and the bassline is brilliant. I know many people don't rate this one as high, but that's always amazed me. This track is nearly perfect - close enough for 10/10 from me.
Click to expand...

This. I would also add Adrian's solo, not only that it's very fitting and soulful, it's done in his yet-to-come real style.

Nearly perfect means 9 for me.
 
I've always thought this is a track that really benefited, probably moreso than any of the other tracks on Killers, from the addition of one Adrian Smith. His guitar on this is just sublime.
 
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