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July 24, 2008 |
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IRON MAIDEN - The History Of Iron Maiden Part 1: The Early Days
EMI (2004) |
10/10 |
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Disc 1
Live At The Rainbow – 1981 (35 mins)
01. Ides Of March
02. Wrathchild
03. Killers
04. Remember Tomorrow
05. Transylvania
06. Phantom Of The Opera
07. Iron Maiden
Beast Over Hammersmith - 1982 (45 mins)
01. Murders In The Rue Morgue
02. Run To The Hills
03. Children Of The Damned
04. Number Of The Beast
05. 22 Acacia Avenue
06. Total Eclipse
07. The Prisoner
08. Hallowed Be Thy Name
09. Iron Maiden
Live In Dortmund
01. Sanctuary
02. The Trooper
03. Revelations
04. Flight Of Icarus
05. 22 Acacia Avenue
06. Number Of The Beast
07. Run To The Hills
Disc 2
The Early Days - Full-length Documentary (90 mins)
20th Century Box - 1981 (20 mins)
Live At The Ruskin
01. Sanctuary
02. Wrathchild
03. Prowler
04. Remember Tomorrow
05. Running Free
06. Transylvania
07. Another Life
08. Phantom Of The Opera
09. Charlotte The Harlot
Extras (40 mins):
Five promo videos:
01. Women In Uniform
02. Run To The Hills
03. Number Of The Beast
04. Flight Of Icarus
05. The Trooper
Full tour listings
Discography
Tour programmes
Artwork galleries
and more....
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IRON MAIDEN: the greatest band ever! "Piece Of Mind" got me into metal, and my favorite concert ever was seeing an IRON MAIDEN tribute band. Although I never had the opportunity to see the real MAIDEN back in the 80s, I've heard enough from my elders to know that seeing the band on the "World Slavery Tour" was a once in a lifetime opportunity - but that was at the height of MAIDEN's popularity. Imagine the people who saw the band perform back in the small clubs, before they broke big. These people were witnessing history in the making, and now, over twenty years later, so can we. However, the 45-minute "home movie footage" of their 1980 gig at the Ruskin Arms is only a small part of what this DVD has to offer.
Disc 1 includes three mini-shows. Because they were filmed over twenty years ago, the picture isn't as crystal clear as newer DVDs, but I find that this adds to that "Early Day" feeling. The filming of these shows is more traditional, and a far cry from the machine-gun editing of "Rock In Rio".
First up, there's "Live At The Rainbow", MAIDEN's first video release back in 1981. If I'm not mistaken, it was the only official concert video featuring Paul Di'Anno, and he handles the earlier material with ease, certainly better than Bruce Dickinson does nowadays. If you're familiar with later videos like "Maiden England", "Raising Hell" and "Rock In Rio", you'll be surprised that the band doesn't move around very much. The guitarists and even Steve Harris seem nailed to the floor. Di'Anno is the most energetic of the bunch, but overall, he isn't the natural born frontman that Dickinson is. Although I normally expect more craziness, the prospect of seeing MAIDEN so early in their careers and so young more than makes up for this.
The show features only six songs, including two from "Killers", which at the time, had not been released or even recorded. The "Live At The Rainbow" version of the title track has completely different lyrics, which Di'Anno threw together just before taking the stage. As far as theatrics go, don't expect the "World Slavery Tour" just yet. Instead, there are a few roadies in homemade Eddie masks, and an Eddie smoke machine during the title track.
The second show is "Beast Over Hammersmith", which takes place just before the release of the band's first chart-topper, "The Number Of The Beast". Only half of the performance is included here, but you can find the entire show in the "Eddie's Archive" box set. Six of the nine songs on the DVD are from "The Number Of The Beast" (seven if you include "Total Eclipse"), many of which are being heard by the audience for the first time. This is probably the only time you'll hear complete silence during the "The Number Of The Beast" intro. Dickinson sounds amazing, blowing away his performance on "Live After Death". Although the rest of the band remains reserved, Dickinson absolutely controls the stage. He doesn't have a mic-stand so much as a dance partner. On the song "Iron Maiden", we see that Eddie has evolved from some guy in a mask to the impressive giant that walks around stage. Although the footage is a tad dark, "Beast Over Hammersmith" is a jaw-dropping masterpiece.
The last performance on Disc 1 is from the end of the "World Piece Tour". Now, "Piece Of Mind" is the best heavy metal album of all time (a fact I was reminded of when I spun the disc last night), so I was hoping to see at least five songs from that album. Alas, only "The Trooper", "Revelations" and "Flight Of Icarus" make the seven-track cut. Where's "To Tame A Land" and "Where Eagles Dare"? Instead we get a second helping of three "The Number Of The Beast" songs, which is disappointing, as I'm sure there were other "Piece" tracks in the full-set. The performance is not quite as stellar as "Beast Over Hammersmith", because Dickinson's live voice is already showing signs of wear.
Disc 2 sizzles like bacon. So much effort has been put into the 90-minute feature-length documentary. Almost everyone that had anything to do with the band has been tracked down. In addition to the current lineup, and past members like Dennis Stratton, Paul Di'Anno and Clive Burr, we hear from people who were members of the band before their first album. The film is a smorgasbord of tasty trivia. For example, drummer Clive Burr didn't even learn the MAIDEN songs before he auditioned; he just played along with them. Paul Di'Anno thinks that "Bruce Dickinson is the best MAIDEN signer ever". Steve Harris actually wanted to be a drummer (and although not mentioned in the documentary, so did Bruce). Learn why Dave Murray was once fired from IRON MAIDEN, and discover who sold Adrian Smith his first guitar. You'll hear a lot from Rod Smallwood, who really is the sixth member of the band... or I guess seventh now.
Overall, I found the documentary to be amazing, and a much more interesting way to learn about MAIDEN than the "Run To The Hills" book.
In addition to the expansive documentary, there's a 45-minute performance at the Ruskin Arms before the release of the first album. The stage is so small that the band are practically playing shoulder-to-shoulder. Living in Edmonton, most of the metal shows I attend are in smaller clubs, and this is the first time I've ever watched a MAIDEN concert in this atmosphere. The show is shot with a single camera, in bootleg fashion, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Di'Anno seems much more at home at the Ruskin than at the Rainbow. His stage banter is lively and unrehearsed, his vocals Di'lightful. The rawness of his performance captures what live metal is all about. The Ruskin gig is also a rare opportunity to catch Dennis Stratton live. Seeing MAIDEN so young and hungry, in front of a small crowd, during a performance that they didn't know would be released (and certainly not 24 years later!) is a real treat. And this is the first time I've ever seen "Charlotte The Harlot" played live.
Other bonus features include an extremely retro, but also enlightening documentary called "20th Century Box", along with two TV performances of "Running Free", and another TV performance of the very un-MAIDEN track "Women In Uniform". The inclusion of Steve's diary entries adds a nice personal touch ("Thurs: Went to see Genesis at Hammersmith Odeon. Bloody Brilliant!"). Tour shirts, Eddie artwork, promotional videos, and some hidden extras (easy to find if you're on the computer and using your mouse) round out this amazing second disc.
This is something that MAIDEN fans have been salivating over for ages. If you're a MAIDEN fan, you NEED this DVD! If you're not, then what are you doing on METALEATER?
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