Great live Maiden, however there is one guitarist too many!
(Rated this album with 8 out of 10) Reviewed by
Robert Stefner
from Edmonton, Alberta Canada
I know everyone is talking about how great the three guitar sound is, however I think it is high time for Jannick Gers to realize his services are no longer required. I saw the Brave New World Tour in Japan last year, and saw Maiden as I have never seen them before. Playing a 2,000 seat hall with no big-scale production, basically the band, a few lights, the amps and that was it. The best Maiden show I have ever witnessed, with the exception of the Live after Death shows. I have seen Iron Maiden live 33 times in all corners of the globe. This 2cd set is a fantastic live album. I don't completely agree with the set list, too much emphasis on the Brave New World material. I can understand why, though. The older material has been released in various formats on numerous live albums in the past. One definite highlight is hearing Bruce's vocals on some Blayze Bailey era songs, however, I don't think Bruce's heart and soul is in this material as much as in his own compositions. The complete ignoring of Adrian Smith is what has really bothered me about this reunion. As other fans have mentioned in previous reviews, hearing Jannick Gers destroy Adrian Smith's lead guitar solos is just plain sad. Sorry Jannick, but you are no Adrian Smith. I am very disappointed that Adrian is not doing the lead guitar on all of the songs that he has given us over the years. Being a huge Iron Maiden fan since 1981, I think Rock In Rio is a great live album, however it could have been a lot better without Jannick Gers. He was simply an easy replacement when Adrian Smith left, and when Adrian returned, Jannick should have realized he has been such a small part of the whole Maiden phenomena, and should have left. Sorry Jannick, but you ruined what should have been a great tour by being there. Once again, buy the album, I think the production is better than anything they have done in the past in the live format, and the crowd reponse is deafening. I also agree with former opinions that they could have done more with the presentation. The cover is great, but the liner notes do not even come close to the Live After Death format. This was also evident on the Brave New World cd. It seems that they are not putting the effort in to the packaging that they did throughout their earlier career. I would say if you are not familiar with the Brave New World material, you probably will not be too impressed with this album. However, if you are as big a fan as I am, your Iron Maiden collection would not be complete without it.
