Iron Maiden (Part 1: the early days)
Iron Maiden
(EMI)

For a long time follower of this lot of East End lads, circa Killers, I very much enjoyed this history of the band. As one would expect for anything Iron Maiden related (well, save the 'Eddie the 'ead" fiasco) this is a quality product. Over 300 minutes of live material, promos, and two documentaries on the band complete this 2-cd package. Certainly nothing like the slapped-together rubbish of the recent Def Lep DVD. For the main documentary (the second one being a rather amusing LWT hatchet-job), recorded this year, they have managed to collect almost everyone involved in the band since its inception. There are some rather amusing interviews with music journos of the day (both then and now). I wonder if Geoff Barton cringes when he sees the dodgy mustache he sports in the LWT documentary. It's amazing to see members who left or were booted looking back on their days with the band without even a hint of bitterness or angst. CD one comprises 3 shows from this period, including their first ever live video Live at the Rainbow. The second CD contains the afore-mentioned documentaries, Live at the Ruskin, home video footage of the band in their infancy, as well as 5 promos and a whole load of other material. This package is well worth the price of entry and certainly has the punter anticipating the next installment in the series. It goes without saying it's 'Up the Irons!' all 'round.

Rating: 5/5