Iron Maiden: The Soundhouse tapes and more
Iron Maiden: The Soundhouse tapes and more
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Band members: Paul Di'Anno - Vocals Bruce Dickinson - Vocals Steve Harris - Bass guitar Dave Murray - Guitars Dennis Stratton - Guitars Adrian Smith - Guitars Clive Burr - Drums Nicko McBrain - Drums |
Rating: 
This strange cd is a kind of a bootleg, it's not a live one, but a few live songs though.
It's more of a compilation of their best b-sides, but NOT an official one. I bought this on
a record market, because I wanted to have these b-sides on one cd, which is very rare (they never
released a cd like this) with Iron Maiden. The songs are copied from some maxi-cd singles,
so it's pretty good sound on them. The first three songs are the limited edition EP "The
soundhouse tapes" and thereof the name on this release. Those songs are the first versions of
the Maiden classics Iron Maiden, Prowler and the b-side Invasion. The other
songs: Burning ambition, I think it's a cover but I'm not sure, some great riffing and
cool lyrics in it. The all-time Maiden classic Sanctuary (they play it on almost every
concert): great lyrics, vocals and guitar-work. Then two live-songs, Drifter (from "Killers")
and I've got the fire, their best cover ever. Women in uniform, with a great melody,
cool lyrics and chorus. Invasion, fast vocals and drums, a song about the invasion of the
Vikings, the prequel to Invaders on "Number of the beast". Twilight zone, a catchy song
with great vocals. Total eclipse, a little boring song but it's good anyway. I've got
the fire, the studio version with Dickinson on vocals. Great melody, riffing and lyrics. Perhaps
the best song on this cd. Rainbow's gold, a good melody but the vocals suck (Sorry Bruce).
Mission from 'Arry, think it's the weirdest track on this one. It's a recording of a conversation
between the guys in the band (Bruce, Nicko and Steve) about a problem with some drum-solo Nicko
was supposed to do. Oh baby is a VERY rare track with a band called Zero, and it's supposed
to have Dickinson on vocals, but he must have been very young, because I don't recognize him.
Rhythm of the beast is a composition by drummer Nicko McBrain and guitarist Dave Murray, with cool drumming and
bass guitar, but no vocals. Think Murray did the guitar part for that one, pretty cool actually.
McBrain damage, a spoken recording featuring Nicko. He does a joke, but fucks it up and has
to start over again, but it's quite funny anyway. This track shows how
weird that guy really is. Track 1-10 on this cd features the old line-up with Paul Di'Anno on vocals,
and 11-14 the early Dickinson-period's line-up. This is a very rare bootleg, or whatever, BUT
this copy I got is not the only one. I saw another copy later at the same market like one year
after I bought this. Most of the songs are pretty good, but on the tracks featuring Dickinson on
vocals (except I've got the fire), the vocals dissapoint me. But, Dickinson was kinda new
in the band at that time, so I don't blame him too much. The songs with Di'Anno are great, though.
Not all, but the most of them. I actually prefer this one before Maiden's first albums when it
comes to Di'Anno's vocals. Maybe it's because the actual songs here are better.