IRON MAIDEN - The Essential Iron Maiden

Sanctuary

Posted: 7/27/05

Reviewed by: Dirt

Category: Heavy Metal

Released: 7/12/05

Label URL: www.sanctuaryrecords.com

Artist URL: www.ironmaiden.com

Legacy Recordings (an imprint of Sony) has been releasing The Essential series for a few years now, and Maiden is now getting the treatment.  Confusingly, there is no mention of Legacy Recordings on the packaging, as the set is issued by Sony/Sanctuary.

No self-respecting headbanger would denounce the importance of Iron Maiden to the heavy metal genre, and I'm sure all headbangers have at least a few Maiden songs that they love and cherish.  However, what each of us considers essential Maiden tracks probably differs quite a bit.  For this double-disc set the label/band took the easy way out and simply delivered two songs from each album (except for the three songs culled from the self-titled debut).  Whether this was the best method or not is really up to you, the listener.  For me, the essential Maiden songs would end with 1992's Fear Of The Dark, but I understand the band really wanted to provide a comprehensive overview of their career, and with that thought in mind, they have more than succeeded.

Interestingly, the songs are in chronological order but start with the most recent and go backwards.  The highpoints are on disc two, which spotlights Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son through the debut.  A point of contention may come in that "Running Free" and "Iron Maiden" are not the Di'Anno versions but live versions with Bruce Dickinson's vocals.  For me, I like Dickinson's versions better, especially because he shines in the live setting.  The three essential Dickinson albums - The Number Of The Beast, Piece Of Mind, and Powerslave - rule this disc, and that's a good thing.  The band is at their best on "Aces High," "2 Minutes To Midnight," "Flight Of Icarus," "The Trooper," "Run To The Hills," and "The Number Of The Beast."  These are simply great metal songs.  Some of the best in the genre.

Disc one is rather spotty for a number of reasons.  First of all, it opens with the eight-minute plus "Paschendale" from the recent Dance Of Death.  This song was  doesn't exactly pull you in the way an opening track should, and it was chosen instead of "Wildest Dreams," the first single from the album, and a more catchy song in my opinion.  Secondly, there are four songs from the Blaze Bayley albums.  Enough said about that.  Finally, most of the remaining songs are pulled from No Prayer For The Dying and Fear Of The Dark, the weakest Maiden albums featuring Dickinson.  Let's be honest, "Holy Smoke" is just an awful song!  Only, "The Wicker Man" (from Brave New World), the truly awesome "Be Quick Or Be Dead" (from Fear Of The Dark), and "The Clairvoyant" (from Seventh Son) stand out on disc one.

The Bloody Truth: I would give disc one 2.5 battle-axes and give disc two 5 battle-axes, and round off the entire package to 4 axes.  Every Maiden fan has a favorite period of the band, a favorite singer, or a favorite album (or set of albums), so it's easy for us to find something that we wish was or wasn't added to this package.  With that said, I think this is a good overview of the band, even though I would have changed a few things if I was running the show.  The Essential Iron Maiden is recommended for fans just getting into the band, as it gives a nice sampling of the their entire career.