The Prisoner

How good is The Prisoner on a scale of 1-10?


  • Total voters
    11
Re: Daily Song: The Prisoner

I adore this song, it's the second best to me on the album (HBTN obviously being the better one), and it's a bloody shame they haven't played it since the NPFTD tour.

10/10
 
Re: Daily Song: The Prisoner

Solid 8 for me.  Another amazing track off this album.  It isn't so lyrically complex (as far as concept), but it is a good 'rocker' as has been stated earlier.  This is the most requested song for my car rides with my kids, hands down.

Great start, driving/grinding beat, starts out somewhat 'slow' and then really gets going.  "Not a prisoner, I'm a free man!"
 
Re: Daily Song: The Prisoner

8 for me.  If it is just the solo alone, it'd be a 10.  One of the best Maiden has done.
 
Re: Daily Song: The Prisoner

7/10

I quite like this track. Nothing spectacular, but a good listen nonetheless. It also got me interested in the TV series - which I had only a vague recollection of it before hand. Funnily enough, I seem to remember more about McGoohan's previous TV series "Danger Man" than this.
 
Re: Daily Song: The Prisoner

Good, straight song that does a lot in the studio version, but much more live. As with all the tracks from this album, I prefer the Beast Over Hammersmith version, but in this case, it does add a special bit to it. 8/10.
 
Re: Daily Song: The Prisoner

The spoken is second rate in comparison to the opening to NOTB and apart from the laugh I found it added nothing.

The chorus is dull but the instrumental breakdown and Adrians solo save it for me.

6
 
I found the opposite for the spoken intro. I reckon it adds quite a bit to the song, but don't forget that the spoken intro is from the "Prisoner" TV show. It couldn't really be edited could it?
 
This is one that should've been the lead single of the album. This song has a vibrant mood and rhythm throughout that even the most poppiest Offspring or Ramones song can't even dream to have and not to mention the wonderful instrumental part and the marvellous chorus. I'M NOT A NUMBER!!! I'M A FREE MAN!!! 9.
 
A decent track, but a tiny bit repetitive, and the drums are a bit too constant here (after the intro). Clive's work was stable on NOTB but he hardly varied, and it shows in the longer songs which keep the same tempo for a long time.  

I am really curious to see it live with Maiden one day. I was very surprised when I saw it with Bruce (Skunkworks, back in 1996), because around that time he said he'd never do Maiden songs again. But with only one guitar player (and without Adrian) it wasn't the real thing of course.

Naturally the legendary (sort of) a capella Adrian interlude to his own solo is the highlight of the song.

Still not enough to give an 8, so it'll be a 7.
 
Obviously I love this song, thus my nickname. The intro is something incredible, the solos as well and there's a clear story line, no matter if one is aware of the series or not. 10/10
 
9 out of 10... A cool tune about a cool T.V. show. As great as the whole song is, I've always found Adrian's guitar work to be what really propels it. It was one of the earliest instances of the band motivating me to pursue an interest in something they had written about...
 
This is the only other song on NOTB besides Hallowed that gets a ten.  Everything about this song is perfect except for it's slightly long length.  I would kill things to hear this live.
 
10/10, Rocking tune from start to finish, great chorus, the air guitar always makes an apperance when it's playing.
 
Clive totally destroys on this song. Nicko is better, but he never played this song as good as Clive. Bruce sounds perfect (and on all the other tracks on the album). Intro is perfect for air drums. 10/10.
 
I like this song, but I don't have a problem with it not being played live anymore. I didn't really like it live. But it is a gem. 9/10
 
9. After a masterpiece like Children of the Damned it's hard to do better, and The Prisoner doesn't, but it's definitely not far away. What is peoples problem with the drums? I like them.
 
10/10, my favorite on the album and one of my top 3 Maiden songs of all time (Clairvoyant and Revelations being the other two, I think... today). To me this is the quintessential Maiden sound - it's got points in the song made for the crowd to chant AND to sing along, it's about freedom and liberty, it captures the essence of its subject (the show) perfectly, and the music is stellar and driving.. realistically, I don't think I could hear this on any other album that they've made, stylistically. So it fits the subject and its times.

I would have loved to have seen this live. The live version from "Maiden England" is as good as the original (even though Bruce cracks on the high bit at the end), and I even, at home singing along, sing Adrian Smith's "I'm a free MAAAAN!" from Maiden England. That just seems to me to have even more punch than the original.

Which leads me to a question for fellow IM fans - when was the last time they played Prisoner in concert, and are there any commercially available (i.e. not bootlegs) version of this live available?
 
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