Tournament of Iron Maiden Solos: 2nd poll (qualification stage)

Which solo do you like the most? (pick your favourite)

  • 01. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 1st solo (see 1st link)

    Votes: 3 60.0%

  • 02. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, 2nd solo (see 2nd link)

    Votes: 1 20.0%

  • 03. Mother Russia (see 3rd link)

    Votes: 1 20.0%

  • 04. The Educated Fool (see 4th link)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    5
  • Poll closed .
That was fucking great. You know, take all this out of Maiden & they just simply wouldn't be my favourite band; as much as I love Steve's bass, Nicko's drumming & Brucie's vocal work. That brings another point to mind, that I noticed (again) while listening to that --just how dynamic & quick Steve's bass work was on earlier albums. Later work is so much slower, plodding even, more moody & "epic" feeling. I have to confess, I prefer the energy of earlier material.
 
Thanks Cried.

Since the reunion the rhythm section has certainly switched off the throttle for a moodier, epic sound. But Nicko and Steve still play older material live so I guess they can pull it off when needed. And Dave and H reached some kind of zenith during the SIT/SSOASS era but along with Janick still solo at speed. I prefer the epic modern sound with speedy and creative solos over the top.

@Forostar - Adrian's Rime solo is now on the reserve bench but if one of the top ten gets injured it will be back in ;)
 
Update:

I finally have 10 favourite Dave Murray solos. For a long while I was busy (but I also took a long break) with trimming down a group of 23 which stood out above the rest.

From this group these 13 did not make the top 10 (in chronological order):
Dave Murray: 11-23:
1981: The Ides of March
1981: Prodigal Son
1981: Purgatory
1984: Aces High
1984: 2 Minutes to Midnight
1984: Rime of the Ancient Mariner
1992: Afraid to Shoot Strangers
1992: Chains of Misery
1992: Judas Be My Guide (2nd solo)
1998: The Educated Fool
2000: Blood Brothers
2003: Paschendale
2003: Age of Innocence

I know that this album gets a lot of slag, but Dave's leads on it are definitely significant: Fear of the Dark has many nice Dave Murray solos.
I have 6 solos in that group of 23 and in my top 10 there's no other album with the same number of solos as Fear of the Dark. These solos do not only sound very well but some of them also have more structure than usual and strong melodies, as if he had prepared himself more.

Still no clue about the order of the top 10.

I urge everybody who hasn't thought of it yet (or who wishes to alter their list), to think about their favourite Smith, Murray and Gers solos. Order is not a must! The idea is to build a game with this input.
 
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I hope 2015 can be the year for an Iron Maiden Guitar Solos game.

Meanwhile, here my favourite 10 Dave Murray solos (in chronological order!)

The Duellists
Powerslave (1st solo)
Caught Somewhere in Time
Judas Be My Guide (1st solo)
Weekend Warrior
Fear of the Dark
The Unbeliever
Futureal
Dance of Death
Isle of Avalon
 
Forostar said:
I hope 2015 can be the year for an Iron Maiden Guitar Solos game.

Meanwhile, here my favourite 10 Dave Murray solos (in chronological order!)

The Duellists
Powerslave (1st solo)
Caught Somewhere in Time
Judas Be My Guide (1st solo)
Weekend Warrior
Fear of the Dark
The Unbeliever
Futureal
Dance of Death
Isle of Avalon
Click to expand...

Nice list but no Alexander in the top 23? :p
 
No. Not sure, maybe I like it less because it is too much in the same style and high region of the guitar neck. Still a great solo.
 
Forostar said:
I hope 2015 can be the year for an Iron Maiden Guitar Solos game.

Meanwhile, here my favourite 10 Dave Murray solos (in chronological order!)

The Duellists
Powerslave (1st solo)
Caught Somewhere in Time
Judas Be My Guide (1st solo)
Weekend Warrior
Fear of the Dark
The Unbeliever
Futureal
Dance of Death
Isle of Avalon
Click to expand...
Are we going to get any comment, or just a plain old list? :p
 
Yep. It's already scheduled, but without a date. I'll start the whole thing by gathering solos (the ones already mentioned in this thread, plus -perhaps- more).
Also I need to think about the type of game, and about the approach (first all guitarists separately and then together, or all at the same time; there are several variations).
 
@CriedWhenBrucieLeft please select a maximum of 10 solos per person. Would you go down your list and make the choices a bit more concrete. My comments might help. ;)
CriedWhenBrucieLeft said:
Top 10 Dave Murray Lead Guitar Parts:

1. The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg [Intro + Main lead]
I just love Dave's guitar work on this. In fact, it's probably my favourite post reunion track. A lovely melodic Dave intro (one of half a dozen or so that pepper Maiden's discography), with a simply gorgeous guitar tone. The main lead... I just seem to have such an emotional attachment to it; I don't know what else to say. I love the backing guitar & rhythm underneath too, & Dave just glides over his notes, rising & soaring near the end to a couple of screeching, heart wrenching bends, before the lead concludes. Love it.
Are you going for the main solo? Or the intro? Or both but then you need to remove (an)other solo(s).

5. Judas Be My Guide
I find this a very uplifting track & Dave's lead fits really well. Nothing overly flashy (a bit of tremolo bar action in the middle), just a nice melody, soaring around, & all sounding very loose & natural.
Are you going for the solo in the beginning or the one later on? Or both but then you need to remove (an)other solo(s).

8. Still Life [Intro + Main lead] (LIVE: Maiden England '88)
Like with Benjamin Breeg a lovely intro. In regard to the main lead, I'm cheating a little here: I don't actually find the studio version that good, but I absolutely love listening to the live version on Maiden England. I find the sound of his guitar exhilarating as it comes in & he does this hammer/pull-off up-neck slide, which I remember being mightily impressed by when I first saw it years ago. Still impressed.
Are you going for the main lead? Or the intro? Or both but then you need to remove (an)other solo(s).

Top 10 Adrian Smith Lead Guitar Parts:

10. Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (Part 1)
The improvisation & note choice are just really good here. A lot of Adrian's lead work on Seventh Son has this kind of feel to it, & I think this is a nice example of it.
I reckon you mean: 1st solo.
Click to expand...
 
The Mid-Distance Runner:

Janick - ..... When The Wild Wind Blows
Which of Janick's two solos in this song?

EDIT:
Nevermind! You posted a link in which I can hear the solos!
 
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Forostar said:
@CriedWhenBrucieLeft please select a maximum of 10 solos per person. Would you go down your list and make the choices a bit more concrete. My comments might help. ;)
Click to expand...
For Breeg & Still Life, ignore the intros (as I said); count Dave's main lead.
For Judas count Dave's main lead, later on (the one at the start is just a little intro lead :p).
For SSoaSS it's Adrian's first lead; that being the third lead overall (after Dave's two leads).

Your comments were most helpful.
 
Thanks!

That intro solo in Judas Be My Guide, I prefer it to the 2nd lead (it's in my Dave top 10). So that means we might have two Judas Be My Guide solos in the game.
 
Forostar said:
@Collin
Which solo in the following songs?





Janick does not play a solo in this one.
Click to expand...
In Powerslave, the first one, in phantom the first one also.
For Starblind about at 4:10, and for Paschendale I'm pretty sure Adrian plays only solo.

As for the Thin Line, I must have thought Janick played a solo, I guess he doesn't. I posted that almost two years ago, my list may be due for an update.
 
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