Published on Nov 17, 1998
Some live albums work. Not as a cheap way to sell more albums
without doing any recorded time in the studio, but as albums that
genuinely add to a band’s collection of work. That is especially
evident if the band is known for delivering a great live show.
Dozens of albums come to mind. Bob Dylan’s electrifying live album
released this year, Nirvana’s MTV show that showcased their softer
side and James Brown’s live stuff comes to mind. Oh yeah, and Iron
Maiden as well.
Yup. ‘Dis the Irons as much as you want, but in the ’80s they
were known for their over-the-top theatrical shows. Their
Powerslave era was the beginning of an era where the stage
of an Iron Maiden concert looked like it could make a
football-sized stadium look cramped. The full-Egyptian stage of
Powerslave provides the basis of their excellent
Live After Death CD.
The introduction is pure heavy metal camp at its finest: A
sprawling speech by Winston Churchill. After Churchill declares,
“We Will Never Surrender”, the thunderous “Aces High” comes on.
It’s Maiden’s declaration of war and for the next hour, Maiden owns
your boom box.
Bruce Dickinson’s vocals (sorry folks, he IS the voice of Iron
Maiden, as much as Sean Connery is James Bond) translates extremly
well live. Many of the songs, especially “Two Minutes To Midnight,”
“Powerslave” and “The Number Of The Beast” sound very much like the
studio versions.
With no drum solos, audience cheering to a minimum,
Live After Death isn’t an excessive example of
self-promotion. You know the crowd is going nuts, from the audience
singing the chorus of “Two Minutes To Midnight” to the playful
banter that Dickinson has with the audience.
If Dickinson is the star of this album, bassist Steve Harris is
certainly the co-star. His jaw-dropping technique makes songs like
“The Trooper” and “Rime Of The Ancient Mariner” stand out as Maiden
classics. The highlight of the concert comes from the ferocious
version of “Run To The Hills.” In that song, Dickinson sounds like
he is as possessed as the zombified mascot, Eddie in the background
and Harris creates a galloping bassline that will have even jaded
critics pick up an air bass.
Sadly, there are a couple of tracks on the CD version that are
not on the cassette version. I picked up
Live After Death used on CD last week and to my surprise,
“Phantom Of The Opera” and “Die With Your Boots On” were not on the
CD version. Given the power of how much a CD can store, I’m
surprised as to why these songs were not included. They may have
not been the best songs on the album, but they added a continuity
to the album that is not on the CD version.
(Editor’s note: Sean obtained a copy of the original Capitol
release. Live After Death
has since been re-issued in a two-disc format which has the
entire show, as well as multimedia selections.)
CD version or cassette version,
Live After Death stands as one of the best albums in Iron
Maiden’s collection. With material this good, it’s hard not to look
at their later efforts after
Somewhere In Time with some degree of sadness.