[overkill]

Originally Posted by Donnacha

I agree with this. In fact I would add that I dont think they are that relevant anymore and are more about nostalgia than creating anything new.

That, sadly, is true of a lot of the late 70's, early 80's rock/metal bands. The only band from that era still trying to chuck out decent new tunes is UFO. Some of their recent stuff is pretty good.

I saw Priest recently (on telly, not live) and it was almost embarrassing. They were just going over the same old ground in the same old way. I felt myself wishing they'd jacked it in long ago. Same as Saxon at Download. I found myself cringing..........

Whereas, among the 'old boys' the ANL and Gun were excellent.

[Donnacha]

Originally Posted by overkill

That, sadly, is true of a lot of the late 70's, early 80's rock/metal bands. The only band from that era still trying to chuck out decent new tunes is UFO. Some of their recent stuff is pretty good.

I saw Priest recently (on telly, not live) and it was almost embarrassing. They were just going over the same old ground in the same old way. I felt myself wishing they'd jacked it in long ago. Same as Saxon at Download. I found myself cringing..........

Whereas, among the 'old boys' the ANL and Gun were excellent.

2 exceptions I can think of are ACDC and Kiss. They never followed any trend, and both released their best material in years ....still awesome live as well! Nothing against Maiden, they just don't excite me anymore but wouldn't have an issue watching them!

[snooloui]

I agree that creatively Maiden aren't on the same level as they were in the 80s, but that doesn't mean that their newer albums aren't good. They still put on a great live show which is more than a lot of bands their age can do. To say they are past it though is ridiculous in my opinion.

[overkill]

Originally Posted by Donnacha

2 exceptions I can think of are ACDC and Kiss. They never followed any trend, and both released their best material in years ....still awesome live as well! Nothing against Maiden, they just don't excite me anymore but wouldn't have an issue watching them!

AC/DC have never let me down live. Never seen Kiss. My oldest younger brother was more into them than me.

I wouldn't see Maiden again. I walked out last time half way through the set.

[Nexus43]

Originally Posted by Donnacha

2 exceptions I can think of are ACDC and Kiss. They never followed any trend, and both released their best material in years ....still awesome live as well! Nothing against Maiden, they just don't excite me anymore but wouldn't have an issue watching them!

+1 for Kiss i am a very big fan of the band and managed to catch there one of show at the HMV Forum and they were amazing, I first saw them live on the Unmasked tour in I think 1982 and have now seen them about Seventeen times and to go to such a small venue and see them was a dream come true, I would say they were better now than they have ever been.

As for Maiden I love the latest studio album and think its one of there best, I caught them on the Final Frontier tour at the O2 and was very disappointed the sound was of and I did feel they were going through the motions a bit, but I bought the En Vivo blu ray because I wanted to watch the documentary and I put the concert on which was the same set as I saw and thought it was brilliant, go figure. I first saw maiden back in the day supporting Priest with Paul Dianno and have followed them since then, I did not like a lot of the stuff they did after Seventh Son and really didn't enjoy the Blaze Bayley era but have enjoyed everything since Bruce came back, a definite reinvigoration.

[quarry2006]

Maiden are The Rolling Stones of the heavy metal world. Their shows will continue to trade on past glories until the fans stop coming (which will never happen - Maiden's worldwide diehard fanbase is enormous) or the band shed their mortal coil. Personally, I think they're something of a national treasure and therefore are beyond criticism. Who cares that their new albums don't break any new ground? Heavy metal has always been a very limited genre. And who cares that so much of their set-list is old material or that they're constantly revisiting the past with tours like Somewhere Back In Time or the Seventh Son shows? They've found their fans and they give them what they want. Job done!

[HMHB]

I think the fact that you were never sure how Sabbath and Zepp would sound and what they'd do was the attraction for me. I think someone else has mentioned that they never took the safe route and would play things differently from performance to performance. I've seen mention in documentaries that Sabbath would almost be doing jamming sessions in the early days - especially Geezer on bass and Bill on drums.

[vader100]

That's all well and good when it only costs a couple of quid to get in. When you are paying £50+ for a ticket plus the fortune it costs in ticket agency fees you want to know that you are going to see a great all round show not an experimental jamming session that may be full of complete rubbish and drum solos.

[HMHB]

Originally Posted by vader100

That's all well and good when it only costs a couple of quid to get in. When you are paying £50+ for a ticket plus the fortune it costs in ticket agency fees you want to know that you are going to see a great all round show not an experimental jamming session that may be full of complete rubbish and drum solos.

Agreed, but back in the good old days anyone could afford to attend concerts, now it's not so

[quarry2006]

Sabbath were a mess 'live' and I don't think Zeppelin were much better. The members of those bands were usually so out of it that the song always sounded as though it were about to fall apart at any second.

Jamming onstage is fine when you're straight and talented enough.

[HMHB]

They were all talented enough (in my opinion) but you are right about the other thing, they were quite often out of on drugs and/or alcohol and that screwed up the performances.

[cunny678]

Originally Posted by overkill

The only band from that era still trying to chuck out decent new tunes is UFO. Some of their recent stuff is pretty good.

The problem with UFO is that people are either in the camp that like their music with schenker or are not concerned who the guitarist is! I am the former and dont buy any of their stuff or go to their concerts any more.

I have seen them with Vinnie Moore, but it just didnt do it for me. I also saw them with Schenker in Manchester on their brief try at a reunion. That was one of the saddest concerts I have ever been to - Schenker with a black eye and unable to play and Mogg looking like he was going to leather him any minute!!!

[quarry2006]

Originally Posted by HMHB

They were all talented enough (in my opinion) but you are right about the other thing, they were quite often out of on drugs and/or alcohol and that screwed up the performances.

I can't deny the talent, mate - the studio product that both of those bands put out is rightly regarded amongst "der classics" but I think a musician has a responsibility to their audience to have their act together when they go on stage - especially these days when it costs so much; that might be someone's one and only opportunity to see them.

I don't think it's limited to The Sabs and Zeppelin, though; Guns 'n' Roses were a lot more shoddy in their approach to live performing, and they didn't have anything near the talent of the older bands.

[overkill]

Originally Posted by cunny678

The problem with UFO is that people are either in the camp that like their music with schenker or are not concerned who the guitarist is! I am the former and dont buy any of their stuff or go to their concerts any more.

I have seen them with Vinnie Moore, but it just didnt do it for me. I also saw them with Schenker in Manchester on their brief try at a reunion. That was one of the saddest concerts I have ever been to - Schenker with a black eye and unable to play and Mogg looking like he was going to leather him any minute!!!

The biggest problem with UFO is that they weren't really ever an album band. They were great live, with whoever was the guitarist, but their studio product was always better on tour. The fact that they are actually producing half decent studio output these days is a testimony in itself to the bands professionalism. Something, as rightly stated about Sabs and Zep (and others) that wasn't always apparent with 70's rock bands.

I don't agree about Zeppelin live 'always' being untogether. They could be, but then so can any band. The various live albums are testimony to what they could do - before they got huge and sloppy. Sabbath with Ozzy always was a risk, but when I saw them with Dio they were 100% on their game then, every time.

Agree totally with the comments above that a band 'has' to deliver these days due to the exorbitant cost of tickets.

[cunny678]

Originally Posted by overkill

Sabbath with Ozzy always was a risk, but when I saw them with Dio they were 100% on their game then, every time.

Agreed, Heaven & Hell Live at Radio City Musical Hall is a good example of how good they can be. It also happens to be a fantastic recording from an audio point of view and probably one of the best sounding rock concerts I have on DVD

[overkill]

Originally Posted by cunny678

Agreed, Heaven & Hell Live at Radio City Musical Hall is a good example of how good they can be. It also happens to be a fantastic recording from an audio point of view and probably one of the best sounding rock concerts I have on DVD

I saw them back in the early 80's. My brother went to the 'Heaven and Hell' gigs so thanks for the heads up on the DVD. That's one xmas present sorted!

[KungFuPro]

As much as I like Iron Maiden I don't like the editing on their videos. When someone is playing a guitar solo I want to see it, not the crowd or Bruce. I prefer German satellite recordings on some youtube videos to their official releases.

From the last DVD, I wasn't too keen on 'Dance of Death' & 'Blood Brothers', and on the new tour they're playing 'Afraid to Shoot Strangers', were they big hits in other Countries? Play a track they've never played before like 'The Prophecy', that would make my night.

Originally Posted by Donnacha

2 exceptions I can think of are ACDC and Kiss. They never followed any trend

The same KISS that released a disco album in the 70's? Last time I heard them they were advertising coffee . I'm just trying to lighten the mood, this thread seems to have turned into Maiden bashing.

[Donnacha]

Originally Posted by KungFuPro

The same KISS that released a disco album in the 70's? Last time I heard them they were advertising coffee . I'm just trying to lighten the mood, this thread seems to have turned into Maiden bashing.

Not to my knowledge They had a big hit with that song that's now selling coffee! Great song IMHO. I'm not bashing Maiden, been listening to their classics recently (up to 7th Son) and they're all great!

[overkill]

Originally Posted by Donnacha

Not to my knowledge They had a big hit with that song that's now selling coffee! Great song IMHO. I'm not bashing Maiden, been listening to their classics recently (up to 7th Son) and they're all great!

By their own admission Dynasty was 'disco' flavoured. However, it isn't a 'Disco' album by any stretch of the imagination. Nor is it the original lineups worst. That was either 'Unmasked (torrid) or the misguided attempt at a prog/concept album 'The Elder'. Now that was truly shocking.

Linking back in with Maiden, those Kiss albums were released when Iron Maiden album and Killers were out. Surely two far better albums than what their older peers were producing at the time, and my personal favourites.

[HMHB]

Originally Posted by KungFuPro

As much as I like Iron Maiden I don't like the editing on their videos. When someone is playing a guitar solo I want to see it, not the crowd or Bruce.

Same here. I find it annoying that they keep cutting away to different scenes all the time, I'd like them to concentrate on the actual performance. It's a bit like modern cookery programs where they keep focussing through pots of herbs or kitchen utensils so you can't actually see what the person it doing Arty-farty-twatty styles like that really make me want to smash my plamsa to pieces !!!

[overkill]

Originally Posted by HMHB

Same here. I find it annoying that they keep cutting away to different scenes all the time, I'd like them to concentrate on the actual performance. It's a bit like modern cookery programs where they keep focussing through pots of herbs or kitchen utensils so you can't actually see what the person it doing Arty-farty-twatty styles like that really make me want to smash my plamsa to pieces !!!

As the three Scousers would say 'Calm down, calm down'.

[Blackbartblues]

Never really been a huge fan of concert DVDs or blurays. I've got Rock in Rio but only ever watched it a couple of times - much prefer listening to the CD.

Just to add, I think their latest albums are bleedin' awesome. Saw them on their A Matter of Life and Death tour at Earls Court, and they were brilliant. Played the entire album from start to finish, then started rolling off the classics...even the power cut in the middle of the set didn't faze them.

[KungFuPro]

I think some of the latest stuff is great too. I stopped listening to Maiden in the mid 90's but got back into them after Donington 2007. I would rank 'Different World' in my top Maiden songs now. From the last album I thought El Dorado was the weakest, which they released as a single, and The Alchemist & Starblind two of the better songs, which they've left off their recent tour, gutted. As far as I'm concerned The Alchemist could have been released back in 83-84, it's classic Maiden to my ears, and the breakdown bit in 'The Man Who Would Be King' has a nice 'Killers' era feel to it.

As for the DVDs, I would definitely recommend the Early Years to anyone, for the documentary with all the previous members and the early concerts with Dianno. Life After Death has some great rare footage too and a follow up documentary on the second DVD. The latest DVDs are worth a watch but the kinetic editing ruins them a bit.

[krish]

Further to his appearance on the BBC's HARDtalk a few months ago (post #73), Bruce is on this week's Any Questions from Cardiff ...

BBC Radio 4 - Any Questions?, From Cardiff / BBC iPlayer - Any Questions?: From Cardiff

Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the political discussion and debate programme from the Cardiff School of Music at Cardiff University with Home Office Minister Jeremy Browne MP, his shadow, the labour MP Chris Bryant, Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson who also runs Cardiff Aviation in the city and Leanne Wood the Leader of Plaid Cymru.


BBC - Podcasts - Any Questions and Any Answers

Sat, 3 Nov 12
Duration: 47 mins
Available: 7 days remaining

Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the political discussion and debate programme from the Cardiff School of Music at Cardiff University with Home Office Minister Jeremy Browne MP, his shadow, the labour MP Chris Bryant, Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson who also runs Cardiff Aviation in the city and Leanne Wood the Leader of Plaid Cymru. Topics discussed included MPs expenses, the EU budget, the state of coalition and Cardiff Airport.

• play
• pause
• stop
• mute
• unmute
• max volume

• repeat
• repeat off

Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.

[downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/bbcaq/bbcaq_20121103-1032a.mp3]

[krish]

another spoken-word appearance from Bruce ...

Bruce Dickinson speaking at Entrepreneurs Wales 2012 - YouTube

[KungFuPro]

What do you make of his speech krish?

[krish]

^^^ interesting how he talks about how businesses could learn from bands (fans = customers .... translating Maiden's tickets selling out faster than ever to how businesses priority should be the customer), some nice digs at Apple products too
... he's something of a polymath, so could talk about anything

[KungFuPro]

I can't disagree with your there, it's just odd seeing a front man of a band I love doing a motivational speech. I know a lot of musicians do it but this felt more 'Tony Robbins' than other ones I've seen.

[krish]

I didn't so much see it as one of those motivational talks that you get from sport stars etc or professional self-help gurus, as an actual entrepreneur (rather than a creative) with a few feathers to his bow giving his take on business, civil service red tap etc

Now you mention it though, I could see him getting into that.

[KungFuPro]

I think I'm more used of seeing musicians talking to a group of students, Bruce doing a business orientated speech left me perplexed, I half expected him to come out with catchy one-liners "scream for me business Wales!".
Fair play to him, he probably got a few grand just for that speech, I'd do the same if I was that successful, better than fiddling benefits like Paul Di'anno (Maiden fan disclaimer; the first 2 albums are some of the best material they've ever done but Paul is a cock).