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Iron Maiden – Commentary
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Despite being about a sicko who likes to lurk in the shadows and flash women,
this song has an incredibly catchy tune. The lyrics are somewhat shallow and probably
reflect what most Rock bands were mainly singing about at that time – although
this hasn't changed much nowadays! It is however a very good song thanks to its
melody and raw power. It was first recorded on the legendary
Soundhouse Tapes, but this album version is re-recorded at a faster tempo
and is far superior to the
Soundhouse version. Its instrumental and guitar solo are great, making it one
of the most enjoyable songs on the album.
"Prowler is a very special song for us. When we made the Soundhouse Tapes
we took the actual tape to Neal Kay who was a D.J. in north London. He used to have
a heavy metal chart which was compiled from record requests and printed in the magazine
Sounds. Prowler got to be number one just from requests for the demo tape.
That's why we had the tape made into a record, because so many kids were asking
us how hey could get hold of the demo tapes."
– Steve Harris
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Sanctuary (Harris, Di'Anno, Murray) |
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'Sanctuary' first appeared on the
Metal For Muthas compilation, and it did not appear on the UK/European
version of the album until the 1998 re-release. It was Maiden's second single, which
rose as high as number 29 in the U.K. charts. It is a fast and energetic song about
a criminal fugitive from the law (a theme that later appears on several other Maiden
songs including
'Murders
In The Rue Morgue',
'Innocent
Exile', and
'The
Fugitive'). The sentence "I've never killed a woman before but I know how it
feels" is quite intriguing. To whom does this refer? Could it be that this is about
Eddie murdering Maggie Thatcher, as depicted on the single's sleeve? This is however quite
unlikely, as the illustration was in fact drawn after the song was written and this particular sentence
was the one that inspired Derek Riggs to paint the murdering Eddie. In any case, this song can
certainly be linked to the story of
'Murders
In The Rue Morgue', where two women were killed and the accused murderer ended up
on the run. Whether this is due to the killing or just to the witnessing of the slaughtered bodies,
it is clear that the character of the song has lost his mind – he is after all
"laughing at the wind and howling at the rain"...
After the guitar solo there is a very realistic sounding police siren, which has probably
given many drivers a bit of a scare on the road. 'Sanctuary' has always been a live concert
favourite, and hundreds of different versions exist on various concert bootlegs.
"'Sanctuary' was released as a single in England but it wasn't on the British album.
It was done at the same time as the first album, but we didn't release a single in the
States so we thought we'd add an extra track on the album. It's a rockin' number.
We still play it."
– Steve Harris
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Remember Tomorrow (Harris, Di'Anno) |
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According to Di'Anno, this song is about his grandfather, although the meaning of
the lyrics is somewhat obscure. It is a relatively slow-tempo song, with both acoustic
and power guitar parts and another great instrumental and solo.
Some people have suggested that Di'Anno's grandfather may have been a Royal Air Force
pilot during World War II. This is illustrated by sentences like "the clouds take me
higher" (the pilot's view from his aircraft), linked to "I shall return from out
of the fire" (the hope of the pilot that he'll survive the combat). Moreover,
"Out in the madness the all seeing eye/Flickers above us to light up the sky"
may refer to the searchlights during a bombing raid. Although there is no evidence that this is true,
it does make sense somehow.
"This song is an old stage favourite. The crowds used to be really into this one.
Paul Di'Anno wrote the lyrics to it. I wrote the music. Actually I played him the parts
I had and he worked it out. There's a lot of feeling in this song. Mind you I think any
song should be filled with feeling. But on the slow parts of this one I think there is
that extra measure."
– Steve Harris
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Running Free (Harris, Di'Anno) |
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'Running Free' was Maiden's first single, and is still a Maiden classic and one of their most
memorable songs. It is a very simple song by Maiden standards, with a repetitive tune
and chorus, but it still manages to convey some energy. 'Running Free' is a much better
song when played live, and indeed it has been a concert staple over the years. Despite all
that, this song is far from being one of the best on this album – it's just a bit too
simple and repetitive to make it a really good Maiden composition. Early versions of this
song had a guitar solo by Dave Murray, but for some reason the solo was dropped before
the album was released. That's a shame because the solo added an interesting spark of
energy that now seems to be lacking.
The story is basically that of a runaway American teenager who hitch-hikes his
way through the country in pursuit of fun (this could happen in any other country).
It is not clear why he spends a night in a Los Angeles jail (maybe just for the rime!),
although one may suspect that the vagrancy lawsof California are somewhat tougher
than those in Britain. Nevertheless, he successfully manages to pick up a girl at some
bar called The Bottle Top, which has probably angered the "natives",
as "all the boys are after [him]". He doesn't seem to mind, but
on the opposite seems to enjoy it. There are some wild youths who like to live
dangerously!
"'Running Free' came together when I put a riff to the main drum beat by Doug Sampson.
The part in the middle I worked up from a bunch of bits I wrote. We thought we'd try and
do something a bit different. Most songs have a guitar solo in the middle. We always tried
to do things a little differently. We thought instead of a guitar solo we'd have a guitar break
which would consist of guitar runs and harmonies."
– Steve Harris
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Phantom Of The Opera (Harris) |
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This song is inspired by the 1910
classic novel of the same name by French author
Gaston Leroux (1868–1927), on which the famous broadway show by Andrew Lloyd Webber
is also based (go see it, it is really great). The story is basically one of love, fame and jealousy,
with a gruesome character who has his lair deep under
the Paris Opera House, and who
perpetrates dark deeds for the love of a woman.
The Phantom, Erik, is someone whose ugliness forces him to live as a recluse away from mankind.
However, his thirst for love is a strong as that of any other human being and only wants to be loved for
himself. When he falls in love with Christine Daaé, a talented and beautiful young opera singer,
his feelings are torn between the love he has for her and the jealousy he feels towards her
fiancé, the Viscount Raoul de Chagny, and the rest of "the human race".
The writing style of the novel is slightly outdated, and it is certain that, narrated by Stephen King,
the novel would have been over twice as long and with more gruesome details. However, Leroux
manages to captivate the reader and to unfold the story before our eyes in the most interesting
manner. Those who love to read will enjoy this book.
Many films have been made about this story and the 1974 Brian De Palma film,
Phantom of the Paradise is also inspired by the same story. For more information
on the Phantom, check out
The Phantom Of The Opera Nexus where you will find all sorts of things related to this
particular topic.
In any case, this is one of Maiden's greatest songs, and many fans' favourite of all time
(next to
'Hallowed
Be Thy Name'). The instrumental section slowly builds from a soft and slow guitar solo
into a driving rhythm which builds and builds and finally climaxes with two of the most enjoyable
guitar solos ever, after which it unbuilds back the way it came. It is impossible to describe it
adequately, and has to be heard to be believed. If you buy the CD only for this song, it will be
well worth it.
"This is a very long song that was done in sections. The middle part was totally
separate but it fit in very well. It felt right to go from the slow part into the middle section.
'Phantom' is one of the best pieces I've ever written, and certainly one of the most enjoyable
to play. It's got all these intricate guitar lines which keep it interesting. Then there's the
slow middle part which creates quite a good mood. It's also got fast heavy pars which are
really rockin'. And it's also got areas for crowd participation. It pretty much covers all the
bases for the band. It was also a good example of what I wanted to get across."
– Steve Harris
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This is a very cool and catchy instrumental track, the first of only four that were ever
done by Iron Maiden. (The others are
'The Ides
Of March',
'Genghis
Khan', and
'Losfer Words
(Big 'Orra)').
Other than the title, there aren't any clues to what the song is about.
Transylvania, however, is a real place located inside modern-day Romania. It was made
famous as the setting for Bram Stoker's (1847–1912) classic
vampire
novel
Dracula,
which has been made into numerous movies, the best of which being probably
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
It is likely that the song was somehow inspired by the
Dracula
story, itself inspired by the life of
Vlad Tepes,
the ruthless ruler of Wallachia in the 15th century. It is not clear why Stoker used this historical character
as a basis for his story, as there is no evidence that the man was drinking any human blood depite all the
atrocities he committed.
Those who want to know more about vampires, their legend and reality, can follow
this link
to a fairly comprehensive page on this topic.
"The initial idea on this one was to have lyrics. It originally had a melody line for the vocal,
but when we played it, it sounded so good as an instrumental that we never bothered to
write lyrics for it."
– Steve Harris
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A mostly acoustic song, this is a re-recording of the version that first appeared on the
Soundhouse Tapes
in 1979. Although this version of 'Strange World' is excellent, it doesn't seem to have improved
much from the Soundhouse version. Nevertheless, it is a great slow-type song whose
style is quite similar to that of
'Remember
Tomorrow', with dream-like lyrics.
"It's one of the only sort of slow songs we've done. But it's got a lot of feeling.
It used to be a stage favourite. Dave really enjoyed playing the solo on this one.
We may bring it back in the future."
– Steve Harris
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Charlotte The Harlot (Murray) |
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This is the first song in what became a series of Charlotte songs, which describe some of the pain
and emotion involved with having a prostitute for a girlfriend. Although overshadowed by
'22
Acacia Avenue', this is still a good song in its own right. 'Charlotte The Harlot' was
later re-recorded as a B-side to
The Evil
That Men Do single in 1988.
"This is really Dave's song. I would have been proud to say that I'd written it. I like playing it
live because it was something different than I would write."
– Steve Harris
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Another classic Maiden song, this is a mandatory song at all Maiden concerts.
It was first recorded on the
Soundhouse Tapes
and, although this re-recorded version is much superior to the
Soundhouse
version, it still doesn't make it a very good song by Maiden's standards. There isn't any guitar
solo, and the lyrics seem quite strange. It is hard to understand how such a medium-quality
song has become the band's trademark song over the years.
Note that an
Iron Maiden was a medieval torture instrument looking like a sarcophagus, and whose
"door" was embedded with sharp spikes. It was usually used vertically and
the victim was put inside before the door was allowed to slowly close under the influence of its
own weight. What a horrible way to die! More recently, "Iron Maiden" was the
nickname of
Margaret "Maggie" Thatcher who was head of the Conservative party in the U.K.,
then elected Prime Minister of Britain around the time the band started. She appears on
the cover sleeves of the
Sanctuary
and
Women
In Uniform singles.
"As long as I can remember we've closed our set with this song. It's quite simple.
The bass line is fairly straightforward as is the drumming. But the guitar is over the top
with harmony, and the bass is descending behind it. I think this makes it pretty special."
– Steve Harris
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