(1992)
Steve, Dave, Bruce, Janick and Nicko.
2. From Here To Eternity (Harris)
3. Afraid To Shoot Strangers (Harris)
4. Fear is the Key (Dickinson/Gers)
5. Childhood's End (Harris)
6. Wasting Love (Dickinson/Gers)
7. The Fugitive (Harris)
8. Chains of Misery (Dickinson/Murray)
9. The Apparition (Harris/Gers)
10. Judas Be My Guide (Dickinson/Murray)
11. Weekend Warrior (Harris/Gers)
12. Fear of the Dark (Harris)
Regardless, the album opens with a bang, and Be Quick or Be Dead quite happily takes its place alongside Aces High and Moonchild as a excellent album and concert opener. The lyircs are pretty intelligent also, even if they were given a whole new meaning by a poster of the Maiden Bulletin Board (the thread has since been deleted, I'm sorry to say).
From Here To Eternity is the next track, and it's a very good one. A great chorus (as demonstared on Live At Donington) and superb solos define this song, which would certainly be a nice suprise if included in future setlists. That said, it is a little short, and would probably have benefitted from a longer intrumental section.
I suppose, however, that a longer intrumental section would maybe have taken away some of Araid To Shoot Strangers' brilliance. See, this song basically is an instrumental. There's a two-something minute vocal intro (and very good one at that, with excellent lyrics concerning the Gulf War [but they could be applied to a number of wars, particually the recent bullshit war in Iraq, but I'll save that rant for Team Fish]), and after that a truly brilliant riff that never fails to put a huge smile on my face. Now the two breathtaking solos (first from Janick, and then Dave) are broken-up by Bruce screaming the name of the song. This is a classic. Although I must say, I prefer Blaze's live version.
Any case, the next song is a definite low for the album. Fear is the Key has very good lyrics, and the chorus is quite nice, but the main riff is really damn sleazy, and consequently makes me laugh everytime I hear it. Also, Bruce sings the song in a noticably different way than not just the rest of the album, but also most Maiden songs in general. While this, coupled with the fact it's Maiden's only real sleazy song (and even that's just a riff), plus the way the tempo dramatically changes after the main non-slolo instrumental break, does actually make the song rather unique. It's a shame, because the song has very good lyrics, but the rest of it isn't up to the bar. Still, the last line of the chorus is especially great: "You're outnumbered by the bastards till the day you die."
Nevermind, because the next song is loads better. Chldhood's End is a marvelous song, with a great solo. The intro is great, and the build up to Janick's solo is outstanding. A very much over-looked song, but a great one.
Here's another classic: Wasting Love. It's an incredibally melodic song, and is without a doubt the closet thing Maiden have ever come to a love song. If you want to try and get your girlfriend or boyfriend into Maiden, this is usually a good starting point. The acoustic verse's that build up to the beautifully sung and played chorus' are fantastic, and Janick's solo here is easily some of his best work ever. This song should definitely be put into the same group of setlist favourites as NotB and Hallowed. In fact, if it weren't for the title track of the album, Wasting Love would be battling with Afraid To Shoot Strangers for best song of the album.
Next is yet another excellent song. Rather obviously, it's based on the tv series and movie-remake (which I maintain has one of the best Hollywood stunts ever, when Harrison Ford's stunt double jumps from the bus just before the train collides with it). True, the song does start a little rocky, but soon gets going, and is rather remeniscent of The Prisoner. Bruce's vocals are outstanding on this song. And I must give credit to Nicko, because he does an amazing job on this track (as opposed to his amazing jobs on every other song).
Then...things go a little downhill. Chains of Misery is...I don't know. It's not a terrible song, but it's probably the third worst on the album. The lyrics are pretty unispired, and the chrous, particually the "Chains of Misery!" part, often sends me tumbling to the floor, rolling around in fits of laughter. I don't really like the main riff in this song either, and Bruce seems like he can't really be arsed to sing on this track. About the only god thing in the song is Dave's solo, which I must say is excellent.
Still! There's probably a great song next and...um...no. The Apparition is its name, and boredom is its game. Okay. That was a little harsh. But for a song which is basically a long poem with a small intrumental break, Bruce's vocals aren't very good. Bottom line, I feel this song has been constucted poorly. The lyrics are excellent; really, really good. But, they flash past at such a speed that you don't really think about them too much. An attempt is made to break the song up by three back-to-back solos, and while this section of the song is nice, it just doesn't feel right. If you just take the lyrics and place them next to, say, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, you would be forgiven for thinking that both these songs are similar. See, The Apparition could have been an epic. If the lyrics were broken up by longer and more frequent instrumental breaks, and if the solos were more spaced out, and if the song changed tempo and rhythm... then it could easily have been not just an epic, but a classic. It's a huge shame. I don't agree with bands going back to their old material and changing it, but if this song was reworked now, especially that Adrian is back and Bruce is back on top form, then it would be awesome.
Next is a very short song, but a very good one, with an awesome solo by Dave right at the beginning. Judas Be My Guide shoud have been a couple minutes longer though. Next is by far the worst song on the album, and maybe the worst ever by Maiden. It would seem unfair to call Weekend Warrior outstandingly bad, so I'll just call it bad. Even the lyrics, about football thugs, aren't up to much. The album closes with Fear of the Dark, a song which has become a concert classic. And rightly so, to. It rocks.
Just like this album, even if it has a couple of dodgy tracks.
20/6/04