The forgotten Iron Maiden album

Someone wrote that if Blaze would have done the vocals on No Prayer and Bruce on the Blaze ones it would have been much better.
I think I agree.
But still No Prayer is an okay album for me.

thats an interesting poin to raise although we will never know the answer to it. yeah i think the blaze stuff would have been better with brucey bogtrotter on the vocals but i think it would not have been as good as even fear of the dark and would have killed the band possibly. its all speculation of course

I agree that Bruce would've sounded incredible on the Blaze albums (he does an awesome job performing the songs live).

I'm confused why people still bash those albums. I can see why they were bashed at the time; of course people would be mad that Bruce had left. But, now he's back in the band and much time has elapsed. People should now be able to enjoy those albums on their own artistic merits. If you like Motley Crue's s/t and the Ripper-era material of Priest, you should enjoy the Blaze material.

It's not forgotten... it's just not that good.

get_the_firehouse wrote:

I'm confused why people still bash those albums. I can see why they were bashed at the time; of course people would be mad that Bruce had left. But, now he's back in the band and much time has elapsed. People should now be able to enjoy those albums on their own artistic merits. If you like Motley Crue's s/t and the Ripper-era material of Priest, you should enjoy the Blaze material.

I actually get the impression way more people enjoy Blaze-era Maiden more than Corabi-era Mötley and certainly more than Ripper era Priest. Hell, Maiden certainly SOLD more albums during that period than Priest did. Maybe its a European thing again, Maiden werent as popular as they used to be but the backlash would had happened anyway because such was that era, most of the 90's. Still, Maiden were able to draw several thousand people to many gigs and did better business than Bruce even though everybody claims Bruce's albums are better, but Maiden had the more support. And; people still happily sing along to The Clansman, Man on the Edge etc.

TheGooch wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

NO PRAYER is not their best album, but it's not their worst either. It just kinda "sits there" if you know what I mean, other than a few tracks.

"Tailgunner" is a decent song, even though it's basically "Aces High Part II"

I prefer Dickinson's solo version of "Bring Your Daughter...To The Slaughter" (which came first) over the Maiden version.

I do not think i have actually heard the solo version although i am aware it was originally a solo song

Same here.

Hell, I like 'em all. Even the Blaze stuff. Love DiAnno's version of Running Free.

Killer Band. Saw them again a few weeks ago, they are a bit older but still rockin' as well as ever.

I quite enjoy it.

Even It's not their best, I think It is pretty good and a solid album at all! My favourite song of the album is probably "Mother Russia", nice song!

This album is my least played maiden album, yet still it has some cracking songs. It was around this time in Maidens history I discovered the band and the first album I purchased as a new release was Fear of the Dark and IMO this album is brilliant. To me it was so much better than No prayer for the dying that maybe this is the reason I don't play it much.

Still, Maiden have never released what I would call a bad album. One thing I cannot understand is the Blaze bashers saying he was the wrong singer for Maiden. I have listened to both Blaze albums recently and I think he actually sounds a lot like Bruce. He doesn't hit the high notes quite like bruce does and Blaze's voice has a slightly deeper sound but they do both sound similar.

The only other person who was mentioned at the time Bruce left which I would have loved to have seen join Maiden was Michael Kiske but then look how he turned his back on metal. Cannot think of anyone else around the time who could have filled Bruce's shoes and I'm glad the band didn't just pack it in like a lot of people wanted. We might never have had the last 3 albums they have done and they are awesome.

Fat Freddy wrote:

TheGooch wrote:

I do not think i have actually heard the solo version although i am aware it was originally a solo song

Bruce did it as a solo artist for the soundtrack to one of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" flicks (I forget which one now -- either "4" or "5") and Steve Harris liked it so much that he decided that Maiden should re-do it. I understand Bruce was never crazy about the idea because then his original version was "suppressed" (quoting him directly there) but then supposedly the Maiden version knocked Cliff Richard out of the #1 spot on the British charts when it was released as a single.

After being "lost" for many years, Bruce's original version can be found on the second disc of his BEST OF BRUCE DICKINSON 2-CD collection if you're curious

Thanks for the info, FF. NPFTD is a good album, but just not great. And with so much great to choose from in the Maiden back and current catalogue, I tend to grab the great most of the time (Killers, Beast, Piece, Powerlsave, Live). I never seem to reach for it much at all. Peace.