Iron Maiden Album: “The Essential Iron Maiden”

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.

I am not an expert on either heavy metal or Iron Maiden. I'm more of a Stones fan. However, I love Iron Maiden's sound, and have for many years. They are an intelligent band, both musically and lyrically. This two-CD compilation offers most of their tops songs, unedited (I think) and the sound is incredible. While heavy metal may not be as big as it used to be, those who remember it with nostalgia and long for its energy, layered beauty, and sheer overpowering sound will find this collection to be manna for a heavy metal soul.

These guys were simply the best of the genre, for over twenty years. Put this on your CD changer and prepare to bang your head.

You may or may have not noticed all of the essential cds being released by sony music these days. Some of them very good complations of the particular artist, some not so good. The Essential Iron Maiden is a double disc career spanning retrospective of one of the finest heavy metal bands out there. This set goes in reverse cronological order, starting with the more recent material, and ending with the oldest material. The essential iron maiden tries to sample about every Iron Maiden studio album, which causes are few more essential tunes to be left off the album. The Essential Iron Maiden is still a good sampler of Iron Maiden's career. Maiden favorites like The Number of the Beast, Run to the Hills, Running Free, Fear of the dark are present as well as tunes from more recent albums like Dance of Death. If you are starting your Maiden collection, or just have room for one Maiden album in your collection, The essential Iron Maiden is a good purchase dispite missing a few truly essential tunes.

This album is another way of the record labels trying to put their hands in your pockets. Even though I am a Maiden fan, I would avoid this one and pick up Edward the Great instead for a GH album.

PS Varg Vikernes, this is a second time I had to correct you, Holly Diver was DIO, not Iron Maiden.