Published on Jun 6, 1999
Chances are, this review is going to irritate a few of the
publicists I work with who either presently handle or who have
handled Iron Maiden in the last three years. You see, they spent a
lot of time pushing last year’s re-issued, re-mastered CDs, and
chances are they’ll be pushing the upcoming reissue — if you’re
keeping score at home, this will be the third re-issue — of the
albums on Portrait, Iron Maiden’s new label.
But no, I had to go and dig out my vinyl copy of
Powerslave, which I bought back in 1987 when I was a
pimply-faced, undersexed high school student. (I don’t know why
I’ve recently gotten onto an Iron Maiden kick, but in the last
week, I’ve listened to almost nothing else in the car but
Powerslave and
The Number Of The Beast dubs I found when I was cleaning my
parents’ garage.) But it doesn’t matter whether I’m listening to
this on record or CD, new copy or old; the fact remains that this
is arguably Iron Maiden’s best album.
Powerslave is first noteworthy because it marked the first
time in the band’s recorded history that they kept the exact same
line-up two albums in a row. (Drummer Nicko McBrain replaced Clive
Burr on 1983’s
Piece Of Mind.) It’s noteworthy to the long-time fans as the
album that marked Iron Maiden’s greatest popularity, and the album
that spawned
Live After Death. It’s best remembered for three songs:
“Aces High”, “2 Minutes To Midnight” and the title track.
But before we get into those, let’s talk about two underrated
tracks. The first, “The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner,” is a track
that I doubt any other metal band would have dared to touch. Steve
Harris and crew had to have balls the size of watermelons to take a
whacked-out poem written in the 19th Century by Samuel Taylor
Coleridge and turn it into a 13-minute epic. The thing is, their
spin on the poem works, and though the middle sags just a bit when
they go into a spaced-out interlude, the track is a masterpiece.
True story: we had to read this poem in our sophomore honors
English class. I brought in the record, and we listened to it as
part of the class. A lot of us finally understood what Coleridge
was saying in the poem, and I suspect a lot of twenty-somethings
had this record to thank for helping them understand that literary
work.
The other track is one that doesn’t feature lead singer Bruce
Dickinson. “Losfer Words (Big ‘Orra)” is a powerful instrumental
that shows off the talents of McBrain, bassist Harris, and
guitarists Dave Murray and Adrian Smith. Every time I hear this
song, I just have to crank the volume to the breaking point and let
myself be overwhelmed by the groove these guys lay down.
Outstanding!
Of course, the better-known songs are just as powerful. “Aces
High” is a track that just has everything going for it: stellar
playing, a well-written song and a catchy feel. Seeing that I
always liked to read about ancient Egypt and mummies when I was
about 10, you can understand why I would love a song like
“Powerslave,” and though I can’t claim to have any knowledge of
Egyptian music, the groove this song has sure sounds like it fits
the bill. “2 Minutes To Midnight” is a track that dares the
listener to think about the lyrics, but it is just as good as its
counterparts.
The remaining tracks on
Powerslave have occasionally taken heat from the fans, and
on first listen, one thinks that Iron Maiden took Dickinson’s hobby
of fencing a little too close to their hears with songs like “The
Duelists” and “Flash Of The Blade”. However, if you spend enough
time with these songs, they prove themselves to be worth their
mettle (though “The Duelists” sounds a little too close to “Losfer
Words” in the opening). The other track, “Back In The Village,”
admittedly isn’t the strongest song Maiden has ever done, but I’ve
always kind of liked this track for some unknown reason.
The more I listen to Iron Maiden, the more I realize that they
really weren’t a two-guitar attack, but three. Harris uses his bass
as less of an anchor for the rhythm section and more as a “lead
rhythm” guitar to set the tone of the songs. (Maybe — just
maybe — this was a warning sign of the slide that Iron
Maiden would eventually take, but at the time, I know I didn’t care
if the bass sometimes drowned out the guitar work.) Also, Iron
Maiden has never been a big bar-chord band; instead, Smith and
Murray often opted to harmonize their playing to create their own
unique sound — and in retrospect, it was a mark of genius. If you
watch either guitarist play, they opt for a solo of substance
rather than flash; go dust off
Live After Death and see what I mean.
If I had any criticism, it would have to be one I’ve made
several times: I really wish that McBrain would rely less on the
ride cymbal and more on the hi-hats. When he does this, as on
“Powerslave,” it works — though I’ll concede that using the ride
cymbal on tracks like “Losfer Words” and “Aces High” fits the
bill.
Powerslave marked a special time in Iron Maiden’s career: it
was the album that set them on the path to becoming superstars, and
quite possibly the spokespeople for heavy metal at that time. Even
now, 15 years after it was releaed,
Powerslave is an album that hasn’t aged a bit. You don’t
believe me? Head on out and pick this up on one of the CD reissues.
Chances are I’ll be behind you in line, updating my vinyl copy.