THE HISTORY OF IRON MAIDEN PART 1: THE EARLY DAYS

Some of you may always be a little surprise to see me review metal music, but hey, I was once a kid and I happened to like Maiden (I supposed this was in reaction to the iron bitch Thatcher), but I must say that they were the only group of the NWOBHMB I actually liked or cared for, not counting Priest and Sabs who came from previous generations. And even then, my interest for IM didn't last all that long either, because by their fourth album, I wasn't paying much attention. What happened??? Another singer came in to replace that crazed- out Paul DiAnno. Although I must recognize that Dickinson has one of the better voices in the steel business (along with Dio), he will never fill DiAnno's shoes, even if the group went on to superstardom with Dickinson at the helm (well Smith was the boss). So in the mid of the 00's, EMI thought about going back and illustrate the band's lengthy career, and this first instalment was released to my great curiosity, while knowing this would be the only one to get my attention.

The first disc is made from three concerts, of which the Rainbow concert has the most interest showing the band's original power before being Birch-ized, with PDA's forceful, near-punk vocal delivery. Obviously concentrating on the first two albums, a bit short for my liking, the band visits most of the debut album's best moments and a few highlights of the second. This is where the bands really let it loose and made the instrumental difference compared to the rest of the NWOBHMB. The second concert (Hammersmith in 82) is reconstructed, and if you're attentive enough it shows, by cuts and clothing. And despite having Dickinson's good voice sometimes even doing a DiAnno track, one can't help but get quickly tired of the constant decibel aggression thrown at you song after song. While the group is probably tighter than before, much less space is given to the instruments' space in the music. In this case, Steve Smith's bass work makes the difference compared to other bands of the time, but it's clear that most of the band's early innocence has evaporated in favour of dev1il and Eddie appearances. In that regard, the Dortmund concert (a monstrous metal festival) of 83 (the Piece Of Mind tour) is not really any different despite a muddier sound, which eases the ears a bit. The repetition of sung tracks sonically much alike, where only the tempo makes a difference is quickly tiring

The second disc is a run through the history of the band from bassist Smith's earliest group incarnation back in 75 until well into the 80's. Pretty standard stuff, but the bonus stuff like some Marquee appearance, then-interviews, some Top-Of-The-Top features, plus a hand-held camera of the Ruskin Arms gig that took place on the release day of their debut album, (bad pictures, approximate sound - nothing shocking, though), which might turn out the pleasant surprise of this package.

As a fan of the very first hour of IM (the DiAnno years), I personally came satisfied with the content, the band's history being happily stopped around the change of drummer (Burr replaced by McBrain). No doubt this 2 DVD set will please any IM fans,, but unlike the huge majority, I will stop at this one.

On this super-complete dvd we've got lot's of interesting Iron Maiden material, covering the first four albums and some footage of the band before the first album.

The Early Days documentary. This 90 minutes of documentary that shows the prehistoric times of Iron Maiden. All former band members are discussed, the reason line-up changed, the circumstances they were in, who the material came to be, etc. This way we learn that there was an Iron Maiden that only had Steve Harris playing in it of all the current members. Interviews with the now unknown former members (1976-1979) are done in nice settings and it's nice to hear their stories. Steve Harris reflects on a lot of subjects and early member Dave Murray is also to be seen in some interviews. The old footage and photo's are nice for Iron Maiden fans. This documentary also shows a short making of of the first four albums and the line-up changes that occurred during that period. This dvd is a real threat for fans and it's fun to watch for people who are new to the band. The process of the creation of such an important band is interesting and fun to watch. LIVE AT THE RAINBOW, Filmed at The Rainbow, London, December 1980 This is pure gold! This set shows Iron Maiden playing seven songs from their first two albums, though Killers wasn't record yet. This particular part of dvd is mega-essential because of the wild performance of lead singer Paul di'Anno. There isn't any better footage of the band in this phase of the band! Iron Maiden plays very motivated, the songs are great and the people enthusiastic. They were so good in their early days! As I said, essential for both fans and people who like the metal/hard rock genre.

BEAST OVER HAMMERSMITH, Filmed at Hammersmith Odeon, London, March 1982 One of the early shows Iron Maiden performed during the time Bruce Dickinson had joined the band and The Number of the Beast came to be. Iron Maiden plays unbelievably motivated and this can be seen as the one of the highlights of Iron Maiden's and vocalist Bruce Dickinson's career! Most tracks are from The Number of the Beast and the material is fresh! It's also nice the band included the important b-side Total Eclipse in their set. Essential metal footage.

LIVE AT DORTMUND, Filmed at Rock and Pop Festival, Dortmunde, Westenfalle, Germany, 1983 This concert was recorded during the Piece of Mind tour. Most songs originate from this album. Though the footage is almost as good as the Beast over Hammersmith from 1982, it's lacks some of it's bombastic enthusiastic power of Hammersmith. Still this is a very interesting show and fans will appreciate this very much!

EXTRA'S The first five clips of Iron Maiden and some top of the pops performances are nice, but they are less hard to find then the gigs on dvd one. Still a great bonus to complete the release.

LIVE AT THE RUSKIN, Home Video filmed at The Ruskin Arms, 1980 This is home video footage of the band in an early stage. This might only appeal to hard-core Iron Maiden fans for it's historical value.

Conclusion. This is the meaning of completeness! This is everything I could ever ask for, concerning the theme of this dvd. Five stars without doubt, rated as prog-related - not prog. Every fan should own this and others might be surprised on how energetic and complete this release is.