WOMEN IN UNIFORM

The title track, "Women in Uniform" is a cover of punk song from Australian band SKYHOOKS, boosted up by efficient heavy guitars. Catchy but tends to become slightly repetitive at the end. Contrarily to "Invasion", which is a little unknown pure maiden-esque gem with a lot of energy from the beginning to the end, complex changes and top-notch guitars solos. The last track is a good live version of "Phantom of Opera" from the first album.

In conclusion, this is an enjoyable single release from early IRON MAIDEN, although the title track is not the best...

Doing a cover of the Austrailian glam band Skyhooks song 'Women In Uniform,' it's clear that this is not going to be the typical Iron Maiden style. At first, it almost sounds like country rock something in the ballpark of the Allman Brothers. The song is upbeat, peppy and captures the spirit of promiscuous 70's fun nicely, even if it trades some of the musical intelligence for energy. With Paul diAnno at the front, this almost doesn't sound like Maiden at all... Luckily, this song is followed by 'Invasion' which sounds like typical early Iron Maiden. Guitar gallops, historical lyrics (this time, about Vikings) and some fancy guitar soloing makes for a quick song that's nothing special, but enjoyable in any case.

Lastly, we have a live performance of 'Phantom Of The Opera,' above and beyond the best track from the diAnno era. Some amazing riffs and energy translate very well into a live setting; as most Maiden songs do.

It's interesting to see what the band sounds like so early on in their careers, but musically speaking, there's nothing big to anticipate here.