Customer Reviews

Essential Iron Maiden

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This isn't a bad collection. But I'm not sure how they can consider it essential since 95% of the time it sticks to a rigid 2 song representation from each album. Many times this just doesn't work. The Number of the Beast has the title track and Run to the Hills, both here, but Hallowed Be Thy Name is just as essential, and it's missing. Only their first album gets more than 2 tracks, but Sanctuary is still missing. Space has to be considered, I know, but Powerslave and Rime of the Ancient Mariner should be here. Why not include Mariner instead of Sign of the Cross? It's a much better song. Can I Play With Madness is definitely essential but missing. Wildest Dreams should be here too. Get Best of the Beast (2 cd version). It's getting a bit older now, so it doesn't include any of their last 3 studio albums, but it's still much better. Ed Hunter's better than this too. Edward the Great is pure garbage. Better yet, get all of their albums, these guys couldn't make a bad album if they tried.

Well,here we have another Maiden "Best of" collection. So what makes this one superior to the others? Best of the Beast was a good collection, but Maiden has come out with some new material ever since and there are no longer any copies of Best of the Beast in stores. Edward the Great was a descent collection that was missing out on a lot and had a poor tracklist.

So know we have "The Essential Maiden" released. This is a very good "Best of" collection that has all the best hits from every album.

I have only one complain about the tracklist, where the heck is Hallowed be thy Name? In my opinion (and many other maiden fans), Hallowed be they Name is the best Maiden track. Maybe the song is too long to be in a Greates Hits CD because it runs a little over 7 minutes, but yet, they put in Paschendale which is way over 7 minutes (8:28 to be exact).

To conclude, this is without a doubt the best "Best of" collection from Maiden. If your already an established Maiden fan, your only real reason to buy "The Essential Maiden" is for collection purposes. However, if you have only heard a little bit of Maiden, or nothing at all, you need to switch your computer off and go buy this right now! Oh, and one other note, this release has made me believe that Maiden will be calling it quits soon. I just hope Maiden can release one more killer album (or at least a single) to go out in style.

For sure, this is the best "BEST OF" of Iron Maiden.
It's not an official Best from the band. But I think these kind of compilations are not made for fans, it's actually for new listeners to introduce them to the band. Also for those who want to have the "ESSENTIALS" songs. In that point, it gives a "neutral" image of the band (no artcover with Eddie). The tracklist is the best ever. You can't get a better double album with these songs in one package. Hardcore fans must have the entire album collection, but for casual listeners is a must have.

There is some terrific material here. But there is a mindbogglingly large amount of filler. For a band with so many great songs, this is inexcusable.

The Blaze Bayley songs should not be on here, end of story. 4 bletcherous scabs taking up space that could go to good songs. Really, Hallowed Be Thy Name is not on this, but Sign Of The Cross is? Why Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter? That has got to be the worst Iron Maiden song not sung by Bayley.

I really don't care for Paul Di'anno, but appreciate the contribution he made.

Also missing is Dance of Death, and Stranger In A Strange Land.

The best track on this CD is Fear of the Dark, which really shows how great they are live.

All and all this is not bad, if you don't have many(or any) Maiden albums, this is a good place start.

ESSENTIAL IRON MAIDEN is chock full of classic metal Maiden classics. The collection consists of 2 of the best numbers from each of their albums, from IRON MAIDEN through their latest work from the 21st century. Listening to their work is like reading an Edgar Allan Poe poem- it's dark, brilliant, and unforgiving. Disc 2, which showcases Maiden in peak performace, is entrancing from the opening guitar licks of "The Evil Men Do" through their very first gem, "Iron Maiden." The collection is presented so the chronology of their best songs are presented backwards, from 2003-1981. Since the set strictly takes only 2 songs from each previously released CD, there are a couple of obvious ommissions. The songs left off that come to my mind are "Tailgunner," one of their catchiest releases to date, and "Can I Play With Madness," which was left off due to the strength of the other tracks from the SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON album. But any CD collection that includes "Bring Your Daughter...to the Slaughter," "2 Minutes to Midnight," and "The Trooper" in its listing is a must have for metal heads and Maiden maniacs.

This is The BEST of The Best of Records from Iron Maiden!!!

UP THE IRONS!!!!

As a fan of Maiden since 1980, I can say that this compilation is a great selection of hits that pretty much sum up Maiden's illustrious career. This is a great starting point for someone just getting into Iron Maiden. Having said that, it is nothing that the long-time fan really needs as he or she probably has all the albums. For the die-hard fans like me, it would have been nice to see songs that were not mega hits but were terrific such as Another Life, Genghis Khan, To Tame A Land, and Back in The Village, amongst others. Nevertheless, it's hard to argue with the selected song list here as they really are Maiden's most famous songs. I can even appreciate the Blaze Bailey stuff being there as they did not forget any portion of their career, even that very dismal one. I give it 5 stars because you really can't get a much more comprehensive greatest hits package than this.

Unfortunately, the best Iron Maiden compilation was the 2CD Best of the Beast, which is no longer available and costs an arm and a leg on eBay.

If you are new to Iron Maiden, this is a good buy. If you are a bit more than new, but at the same time don't want to buy every album and want a full featured compilation, download the tracks from Best of the Beast 2CD [...] then grab the few extra songs that missed the cut on Edward the Great. Then to top it off, add in the more recent songs from the Essential Iron Maiden and you have the ultimate Iron Maiden compilation...

At least until those record execs FINALLY release a multidisc box set or an enhanced version of the 2CD Best of the Beast.

This compilation "The Essential Iron Maiden" may not be an official compilation but it's probably the best out there to date. Capturing most of the best material and having 27 songs and being a double disc this one certainly has an advantage over the other Maiden compilations("Edward The Great" was frankly terrible, thought "The Best Of The Beast" isn't bad).They made a good choice with the songs here and they were careful enough not to include too much song from one album and less than it should have for another, this is a pretty good mix and this is by far the best value you will get out of a Maiden compilation as its at a decent price for all that it offers. And best of all this specific compilation album covers all eras of the band a thing they should have done earlier, and that was finally done here.

As for the songs I will not rate them as this is a compilation but I will instead look at how many songs from which album have been taken and how good were the choice.

Iron Maiden (1980): They took by far the best track on this album, "Phantom Of The Opera" a worthy addition to this greatest hits.

Killers (1981):"Killers" is often a forgotten album while it shouldn't be and this compilation managed to include two good songs here, "Wrathchild" and "Killers". Paul Di' Anno was fired after this one in 1982 this was his last with the band.

The Number Of The Beast (1982): Dickinson's debut with Maiden. The songs chosen from this album won't surprise anybody, the title track and "Run To The Hills" are essential songs even if they are the most famous and common ones. I say there should have been more songs from this album it would have been worth it.

Piece Of Mind (1983): From my personal first Maiden album, "The Trooper" is a perfect heavy metal song even if i listened to it too many times, "Flight Of Icarus" being one of my favourite tracks from the album is a pleasure to see here.

Powerslave(1984):"Aces High" and "Two Minutes To Midnight" are the best choice they could do for this one, thought "Rimes Of The Ancient Mariner" would have been amazing but seeing how it's over 13 minutes it's obvious why it's not he.

Live After Death(1985):"Running Free" and "Iron Maiden" are both live but taken from the first album ,the thing is Bruce sings Di' Anno's songs and some fans are touchy on that subject.

Somewhere In Time (1986):"Wasted Years" is a classic and the hit of the album while "Heaven Can Wait" is underrated.

Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son(1988):There was believe it or not four tracks from this album on "Edward The Great" compilation, "The Evil That Men Do" and "The Clairvoyant" are my favourites from this album they chose excellent ones here.

No Prayers For The Dying (1990):"Bring Your Daughter...To The Slaughter" and "Holy Smoke" were both good picks from that an album I didn't like as much as the others.

Fear Of The Dark (1992):"Be Quick Or Be Dead" and "Fear Of The Dark"(Live)
were good choices.

The X Factor (1995): First album with their hated signer Blaze Bailey, "Sign Of The Cross" and "Man On The Edge" are without question the best songs from this fan-hated album.

Virtual XI (1998):"Futureal" and "The Clansman" are great picks from what is often considered as their worst album.

Brave New World (2000): Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith made their return to the band and this album turned out terrific, "The Wicker Man" was a great choice and so is "Brave New World", plenty of possible choices.

Dance Of Death (2003):"Paschendale" and "Rainmaker" are good selections and possibly the best choices they could make but I am somewhat surprised they didn't choose "Wildest Dream" the single.

The strength of "The Essential Iron Maiden" is that it covers their entire career which means every album( except live ones) they ever released up until Dance of Death released in 2003, this compilation was released in 2005 therefore there is no material from their last album "A Matter Of Live And Death". It did miss a few cuts as some albums like "Powerslave" and "The Number of The Beast" deserved to have more songs . That's why technically it isn't the whole "essential" Iron Maiden, otherwise I can't really complain about the song selection and I like how each album is represented, it is the only compilation who has songs from each albums. It may be a bit pricey but it's a two disc album which covers everything they have done, much worth it if you're a new fan in my opinion.

That's the whole album beginning to end and it's the best Maiden compilation. I would not recommend to start with a compilation but if you want to or have to then get this, its way better than the other compilations and is worth it. I'd just start with either The Number of The Beast or Powerslave. Good song selection, double-disc, plenty of good songs, the band's whole career is covered; you can't go wrong with this compilation! As a compilation 4.5 stars, to me 3.5 cause I already own this and there isn't anything new.

Seeing so many yobs with Maiden shirts might make you question whether the band is all hype or whether something real underlies its appeal. This compilation does a swell job at demonstrating the evolution of this veritable heavy metal instituion.

Rather that going in chronological order, this set opts to go for the reverse order method. Other compilations that do this usually do it to prevent a band from looking like it's backsliding. With this set, the effect that it creates is that the first disc appears to be a scattershot compendium of a band whose best days have passed, while it makes disc 2 look like a vastly superior treasure trove.

Disc 1 begins with Bruce Dickinson back on vocals. Those tracks present a band that can rock out, but the solos aren't particularly memorable and are frequently hidden among calmer sections and extended vocal sections. After that, we go back to the mid-90s Blaze era. Two overlong tracks from that era present us with the utterly vacous soundscapes and vocals that lack any real range. However, we are compensated for this by the inclusion of two fast-paced rockers ("Man on the Edge" and "Futureal"). The immediacy of these tracks stands in stark constrast with the overbearing nature of the epics. Afterwards, we go back to when Dickinson was still the vocalist. Early 90s Maiden has a rather homogenous sound that pushes the glass-shattering guitar and vocals into 11 in order to hide unimaginative lyrics and melodies. The last track on the disc, 1988's "The Clairvoyant," is the light at the end of the first rather mediocre tunel.

Disc 2 begins with a bang and it doesn't let up. "The Evil That Men Do" boasts a fine chorus, and the third track ("Heaven Can Wait") melds fast tempos with semi-goofy chanting and an overly reptitive chorus. Great stuff. Then we go from 1984 to 1982; that stuff is all gold. Afterwards, we say goodbye to Dickinson and meet the band's first vocalist, Paul DiAnno. His songs are substantially more punkish and bass-centered, and can be brief and punchy ("Wrathchild") or epic but fast and hard ("Phantom of the Opera). And then, at the end, Dickinson comes back yet again in order to do some songs in a live context. Given that Maiden has a few hundred live albums, this makes sense. But why is Dickinson singing DiAnno-era tracks? Oh well.

And thus the journey is complete. We went from the patchy 90s and 00s and plunged headfirst into the cream of the crop of the band's 80s days only to finish with some solid live tracks. The listener gets a fine idea of the directions that Maiden took over the years. The early days were more frantic, the late 80s were a bit proggy and after that, quality could vary vastly. The reverse chronological order isn't too effective, but at least it prevents you from seeing a steep decline over the years.

All in all, however, this collection does its job at painting a picture of a band that has received much fanfare from metal fans. If you want to see what they're all about, this is a great place to start.