Strange World

How good is Strange World on a scale of 1-10?

  • Total voters
    14
7/10

Strange World took me a long time to appreciate. A warm bluesy guitar solo opens up, bringing the band together for a soft, emotional verse. Di’Anno drops the grit from his voice and bares his real voice to great effect.
 
Now we're getting into the hard to grate territory. I give this a four, not because it's a bad song, it really isn't, but because I often skip it and always leave it out of play lists and just almost never feel like listening to it.
I still think there are some interesting ideas in it and I kinda like the dreamy vibe and smooth playing. So once every 20 or 30th time it comes on I really enjoy it, the rest of the time it's damn it! And hit skip. That can't merit a higher grade, I'm sorry i hade to break it to you strange world, but you just don't cut it.
 
How did this song come to be? Much like Prodigal Son, of the next album, it's so very different to the rest of the content. Dave makes some gorgeous guitar work here, and whereas I never much loved the song before, I can at least enjoy that.

It's a little off kilter, though, especially the lyrical parts. Part of that is the weird way Paul sounds - muted and like he is trying too hard to sing to the music. It's just not a song I love. I lean between a 6 and a 7, and I think I'm going to go with 6/10.
 
  • I like the variety this one brings to the album. It stands alone, with only possible connection being Remember Tomorrow's calm intro.
  • Very nice bass playing to start the song up and lead up to the brilliant solo by Dennis Stratton.
  • Paul Di'Anno's vocals on the verses are sweet, like them a lot. But can't say the same about the arpeggios during the verses. They sound way too happy.
  • A bit too long to be a breather track on an otherwise fast-paced aggressive album.
7/10. Could've been a 6 on another day.
 
It's a nice break from the madness. It's probably Maidens best slower song.

9/10
 
I like the segue from "Transylvania". Apart from that, I'm not sure what to make of this one. It's nice to have a mellow number after all the fast riffing, and I think the vocal melody here is better than the one on "Remember Tomorrow", but something is missing. I think it's mostly the lyrics and the singing - the slower tempo exposes the weak lyrics that plague most of the songs on the album. On the faster songs you don't care as much 'cause you've already been knocked off your chair by the sheer force of the music. What the hell, I'll give it another 6 for the solos.
 
Another song I never really paid attention to. It feels really weird to listen to Paul singing like this. I also don't like the softness of this song.

However, amazing solos raise my grade to 6/10.
In every Iron Maiden album up to Powerslave Dave delivers one beautiful emotional solo. This time, though, Stratton is the man!

The highlight: Stratton solo at 0:45 is out of this world.

6/10
 
tarikz said:
Another song I never really paid attention to. It feels really weird to listen to Paul singing like this. I also don't like the softness of this song.

However, amazing solos raise my grade to 6/10.
In every Iron Maiden album up to Powerslave Dave delivers one beautiful emotional solo. This time, though, Stratton is the man!

The highlight: Stratton solo at 0:45 is out of this world.

6/10
Click to expand...

The first solo is Dave is it not ?

Anyway, my review

I find this song something special, it has a unique atmosphere that maiden have never recreated. It all sounds very dream like. This is probably the only song on the album where the production doesn't negatively affect the song. Great solos as well. I give it 8.7/10 so that rounds up to a 9 for these polls

9/10

Best song on the album for me
 
Hmm, after your comment I watched a live version of this song and a lot of people are saying that the first solo there is done by Adrian (which means that Dennis did it in the original version).
Also, the second solo is unmistakably Dave.
 
A number of people have said this took a while to grow on them. I often now skip it, thus preventing it from growing on me. Not nauseatingly bad, but certainly dull.

4/10
 
Very Floydesque. Good song. Could've been better with more guitar variety. The Soundhouse Tapes version contains better main solo (by Dave!) than album release. 7
 
7/10. Very atypical Maiden, much like Prodigal Son from the next album, but this song is not quite that special, and I never go out of my way to listen to it.
 
Love this song. It has the best atmosphere on the album IMO. The dreamy guitars and vocals really take you somewhere else. Probably the most Floyd'esque thing Maiden ever done.

8
 
What I truly find interesting about this track, even though I am not enamoured of it, is how different it is. Very few other NWOBHM bands had a song like Strange World, were brave enough to have a song like Strange World, in this time - similar to how few approached the complexity of Phantom of the Opera. It is one of the things that should have said about this group of East Enders: they are going to be the kings of NWOBHM.
 
10/10. My favorite song on the debut. Really a solid song, and I could care less if it sounds like typical Maiden. Definitely the best guitar on the debut album IMO. I really enjoy the live performance on Maiden Japan.
 
4.

This song isn't terrible but it's not a song that makes it into any of my playlists. Paul is much better at singing the faster paced music to my mind.

Rankings:

1980 - Iron Maiden

8 - Prowler
6 - Sanctuary
7 - Remember Tomorrow
6 - Running Free
9 - Phantom Of The Opera
7 - Transylvania
4 - Strange World

 
LooseCannon said:
What I truly find interesting about this track, even though I am not enamoured of it, is how different it is. Very few other NWOBHM bands had a song like Strange World, were brave enough to have a song like Strange World, in this time - similar to how few approached the complexity of Phantom of the Opera. It is one of the things that should have said about this group of East Enders: they are going to be the kings of NWOBHM.
Click to expand...

That's why the debut from an underground and unfashionable band landed at no.4 of UK charts.
 
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