The Bishop on Iron Maiden: A Matter of Life and Death
Straight up: Iron Maiden have not had a decent record since Somewhere in Time, nor decent anything at all since 1986, but for two covers of their own songs.* They really haven't even hinted at a reason to go on, except to sell out several hundred European gigs a year—which might be reason enough, but still . . . The Bishop, ever hopeful, puts his ear to the door every now and then to hear a peep of what the lads have been up to, but the result is always archly disappointing, like inching closer to what portends to be a juicy bit of gossip, only to overhear a conversation about tax returns.
Need the Bishop say A Matter of Life and Death is no different? No different at all. If the track snippets available on Maiden’s site are anything to go by, your liturgical listener can only be thankful the band’s latest tour is called Somewhere Back in Time. It is as if someone for who knows what reason had sat through the whole second side of Piece of Mind, and decided a whole album like that would be a good idea. And that person was Jon Bon Jovi.
The Bishop understands that rock and pop musician have a limited pool of writing capability—in most cases enough for one song (in Jeff Buckley’s case half a song)—and that with around two dozen wonderful tunes under their bullet belts, Iron Maiden have not done too bad. But c’mon boys—it’s been twenty effing years since you wrote anything that doesn’t sound like the Grand National on guitar. If you don’t have one more ‘Trooper’ or ‘Total Eclipse’ in you, isn’t it time to hang up the football socks and striped pants rather than go on being the focus group–approved version of your former selves?
*This will get the Bishop caned by some of his fellows, but the 1988 remakes of ‘Prowler’ and ‘Charlotte the Harlot’ are better than the Paul Di'Anno versions—the production is powerful instead of violent, the guitar better played and the drum sound less rushed (this from a chap who prefers Clive Burr's inventiveness to Nicko McBrain's uber-physical technicality), and like it or not a real singer (Bruce Dickinson) adds something Di'Anno, for all his charismatic laddishness (and laddish charisma) could not.
Need the Bishop say A Matter of Life and Death is no different? No different at all. If the track snippets available on Maiden’s site are anything to go by, your liturgical listener can only be thankful the band’s latest tour is called Somewhere Back in Time. It is as if someone for who knows what reason had sat through the whole second side of Piece of Mind, and decided a whole album like that would be a good idea. And that person was Jon Bon Jovi.
The Bishop understands that rock and pop musician have a limited pool of writing capability—in most cases enough for one song (in Jeff Buckley’s case half a song)—and that with around two dozen wonderful tunes under their bullet belts, Iron Maiden have not done too bad. But c’mon boys—it’s been twenty effing years since you wrote anything that doesn’t sound like the Grand National on guitar. If you don’t have one more ‘Trooper’ or ‘Total Eclipse’ in you, isn’t it time to hang up the football socks and striped pants rather than go on being the focus group–approved version of your former selves?
*This will get the Bishop caned by some of his fellows, but the 1988 remakes of ‘Prowler’ and ‘Charlotte the Harlot’ are better than the Paul Di'Anno versions—the production is powerful instead of violent, the guitar better played and the drum sound less rushed (this from a chap who prefers Clive Burr's inventiveness to Nicko McBrain's uber-physical technicality), and like it or not a real singer (Bruce Dickinson) adds something Di'Anno, for all his charismatic laddishness (and laddish charisma) could not.
posted by Salisbury at 5:55 pm
1 Comments:
Iron Maiden, I might add, are massive in South America, more so, than Europe, and now, gigantic in India of all places.
There are some nice Maiden bits and pieces since 1986, Some hang out back in the day LP was the best, ever, in my opninion, this liturgical listener has some highlights to talk about, post 1986, but enough of that already, I wanna discuss the fact that with 3 guitarists, all in their late 40s, early 50s, should have some ideas about 'tone'.
Is that what it all comes down to?
Nicko still pounds the drums away and Harris plucks the bass accordingly, and Bruce, writes the words, sings them and brings these tunes to life in the arena...so what is the disaster here?
3 guitars...look closely. Listen attentively. You hear something?
One guitar? Three?
Let's ask an Wanjina Tribe expert from the Kimberly Ranges, WA, and perhaps we can reach a new conclusion here.
7th son, Fear of the shade, has some good moments. Brave New World breathed new life into Maiden, and now, the latest work is rather a nice album indeed.
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