When I saw this collection announced I was sure many longtime fans had similar reactions to me: "Why?" Seriously, do we need another collection of Iron Maiden's greatest hits? You can almost pick up an album at random and have a collection of hits, or at least a collection of strong music that you should have anyway.
Beyond that, you can already choose from 1996's Best of the Beast, 1999's Ed Hunter (featuring a Maiden-inspired video game), 2002's Edward the Great, and 2005's Essential Iron Maiden. I am sure there are more floating around, but you get the idea. So, the thought of yet another greatest hits collection can be considered a little less than exciting.
However, there is another way to see the release, and that is through the eyes of the label. You see, there actually is a good reason for this release, a reason that makes it much more attractive, just not to the long time fans. Get this, it wasn't meant for us (I include myself, although I am still relatively new).
Earlier this year, Iron Maiden embarked on a large-scale world tour called Somewhere Back in Time. This tour is a tribute to their greatest era, the 1980s. They have headed out with a stage inspired by the 85/86 World Slavery Tour behind the Powerslave album, a tour that culminated in the landmark Live After Death concert album and video. Not only is the set inspired by the 1980s, but the set list is completely comprised of songs from their 80s era releases (save for the inclusion of "Fear of the Dark" from 1992). Take all of these factors and add them to the fact that there is a whole new generation of Iron Maiden fans discovering the band through recent albums such as A Matter of Life and Death who may not know much of the classic material. It is possible they may be hearing these older cuts for the first time on this tour. This collection is for them, the younger fans who are in need of a little Maiden education.
I know, I know. I sound like a PR rep. You know what? Why not? This collection is clearly not targeted towards the longtime fan and I don't see anything wrong with putting out a package that will appeal to the potential new fan. Iron Maiden is one of those touchstone bands of metal, alongside bands like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest. So much of what has happened since the dawn of metal can be traced to the influences of these bands. Considering that they are all still active in one form or another, there is always the potential of drawing in new fans with new material, this release looks to introduce new fans to the old material, plus it is presented in, what I consider, to be a rather unique form.
Article comments
1 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
I believe the concert was put together as a way of thanking all of their loyal fans. A show of appreciation for the people who understand(?) the newer Maiden material but will always love the classic Maiden that made them who they are. From what I heard, the newer concerts only focused on the songs from the coinciding/relative album.
So, I can see why the label would wanna capitalize on the moment. Plus, audio technology has come a long way and I wouldn't be surprised if these tracks sound better than they did the first,second & third time around...
*BTW*... Great Review!
2 - pete
i stopped reading your $%^$%^ halfway through... your no maiden fan... [personal attack deleted]
3 - Chris Beaumont
Hi Pete, Thanks for stopping by.
4 - Tom Johnson
The best part of this best-of is the cover - totally cool. For a complete newbie, I guess this best-of is a cool idea - songs from the very, very best period of the band, but really they should just go pick up those albums. They are all killer. The best-of just seems like a very short-term holdover, and so a waste of time. And I'd advise anyone to pick up copies of the old Capitol versions of the albums and steer as far clear of the 1998 remasters as they can, which is where these songs are sourced, as they are among the very worst remasters of all time. Terrible, awful, very bad things they are, sucking the life and dynamics out of some of metal's greatest recordings. If you can find the two-disc Castle issues, those are pretty much identical to the Capitols and have the b-sides, but they're typically pretty pricey. The Capitols are relatively easy to find on the cheap.
Can't imagine what in your review got Pete so riled up. It's kind of funny, actually.