tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176950784481540459.post2397386181807065469..comments2023-11-22T14:56:24.331+13:00Comments on Jetsam: Talkin' Eds - Piece of Mind (1983)Jet Simianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00393803864740299439noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176950784481540459.post-49795143369516531802010-05-15T12:37:37.145+12:002010-05-15T12:37:37.145+12:00[Tim's commenatry cont'd]
The second half...[Tim's commenatry cont'd]<br /><br />The second half of Piece of Mind is okay, but it feels like it's treading water or perhaps the first half of the album has so many strong tracks in a row that anything after comes off as second best.<br /> <br />'Still Life', a hint of the prog of old from the first two albums and a little bit of '22 Arcacia Avenue'. This has a nice story running through it.<br />'Quest for Fire'. Er, Bruce, haven't you already used this vocal melody? This song is just silly and the first instance of filler on a Maiden album. (Mind you this was 1983 and metal in the 80s was going through a cartoonish, pre-glam metal phase so maybe the band were trying to keep up?) Skip.<br /> <br />'Sun and Steel' is a fun ride, but seems in such of a middle and uses the old Placebo trick of repeating the chorus ad-nauseum. I don't mind when Placebo do it, but with Maiden it feels they're padding the song up to pass the 3 minute mark when they're capable of more.<br /> <br />Finally 'To Tame A Land', not a bad way to finish the album up. There is the requisite epic build up, solos weaving all over the place and a sub-dued Harris bassline holding it all down... But I think the 16yo Harris is showing through when a song is influenced by a contemporary sci-fi series (of the time anyway). Good on him for keeping with the times, but he's done better.<br /> <br />So overall a solid, but less cohesive album than it's predecessor, (and with all the team in place its arguably the first album of the classic 80s Maiden sound). It's easy to see why, in 1983, Kerrang named it the Best metal album ever released. And who's going to argue with the Womans Weekly of Metal magazines?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5176950784481540459.post-66888819903282529242010-05-15T12:36:57.804+12:002010-05-15T12:36:57.804+12:00[Posted for Tim as his wordage is tres copious]
I...[Posted for Tim as his wordage is tres copious]<br /><br />I see Piece of Mind in a similar vein to Killers and Somewhere In Time; the album-in-between-a-major album that often get overlooked.<br /> <br />While being a very relaxed album (the result of recording in the Bahamas?) Piece of Mind is still a mixed bag; for every 'Where Eagles Dare', 'Revelations' and 'The Trooper', there's a 'Quest for Fire' and 'To Tame a Land'. But at this stage of the game Maiden have nothing to prove, and with this album they act like they know it.<br /> <br />The first half is solid, with well constructed songs and good hooks, and the book and film influences are more to the front; we have greek mythology, Crowley, Dune and Alfred Lord Tennyson all putting in an appearance, which I put down to a growing confidence of the band to keep branching out lyrically.<br />Nicko really pushed the band in a different direction, being more technical than Clive and not following the patterns the guitar/bass/drums set down... Like the booklet sez, Life in Maiden would never be the same...<br /> <br />As for the songs, well 'Where Eagles Dare' has a great intro, some nice interplay between the guitarists and an echo of Di'anno in Bruce's vocal line. 'Revelations' recalls the earlier experiments of The NUmber of the Beast but executed more confidently; the pace isn't fast, but the medium tempo of the song suits it.<br />'Flight of Icarus' continues the trend, slightly rewritten from the source material with a bassline sounding very like 'Eye of the Tiger' (to me at least anyway. But Oasis got away with more blatant plagurism 10 years later so why not Maiden?) Some nice flowing solos from Dave and Adrian tie it all together. It's epic without being too overwrought ('In the name of God my father I fly'. Okay maybe not). <br /> <br />'Die With Your Boots On', I love the pre-chorus which almost overshadows the main one. Feels this one could've been a single with a bit of editing. Probably the most understated song on the album. <br /> <br />'The Trooper' - what can you say about a track which, along with 'Run To The Hills', pretty much definied Maiden in the eighties. The drums, the melodies, the charging bassline, and riffs (this is where Aces High got its verse idea from). It was a good idea to have the clean breaks with just Bruce singing, it gives the right lyrical emphasis where it's needed. Despite the frantic pace the whole thing feels quite jaunty and is tight especially post solos, all this topped off with a sing along chorus to practice your scales on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com