(Rated this album with 6 out of 10) Reviewed by
rcg2
from Phoenix
I love Iron Maiden and I own ALL of their albums or discs dating back to the beginning in 1980. This "Best of..." disc is good, but it's missing quite a bit! "The Number of the Beast", "Run to the Hills" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" are classics and they all sound great remastered. No problems here. Where is our friend and co-founder Paul Di'anno? Sure, "Running Free" is on the album (live) but it's sung by Bruce Dickinson. I can't believe Paul does not have one song on here... there are classics from I.M.'s first album "Phantom of the Opera" or "Iron Maiden". Or the classic "Killers" with songs like "Another Life", the acoustic "Prodigal Son", or the intro "Ides of March" running into "Wrathchild". Where are any of these songs? Skipping over to the classic "Piece of Mind" which many an Iron Maiden fan feel is one of their strongest (if not best) albums... features only "The Trooper". Where is "Flight of Icarus", "Revelations", or "Where Eagles Dare"? I realize this cd is packed with music peaking at just under 78 minutes worth, so I can understand to a certain degree why "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" is omitted - None the less it IS one of their classics. "7th Son..." featured 3 songs - which I will never understand. This album was good, but not a great one. The best song "Moonchild" would have been great teamed up with "Can I play with Madness". It's too bad they couldn't have put a few other tunes that are hard to find on this disc - like "Cross Eyed Mary", and "Women in Uniform". Blaze Bailey has 2 songs on this cd - while he is part of the history of the band, he should be included. The songs selected tho, especially "Virus" are sub par as far as Iron Maiden material goes. If you are just getting into Iron Maiden, this may be a good place to start. But, if you want a real taste of the band, try "The Number of the Beast", "Piece of Mind", "Killers", or "Powerslave".
