End of an Era (Live At Donington - Iron Maiden)

Member Name: Frankingsteins

Product:	Live At Donington - Iron Maiden
Date:	23/06/04 (157 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A lot of great Maiden tracks, Some tracks not previously released live, Amazing crowd response

Disadvantages: Many tracks have been released on previous live albums, Bruce's vocals are clearly suffering, Not the band at their best

In 1993, the rumours were effectively confirmed that vocalist Bruce Dickinson would be leaving Iron Maiden to pursue family interests and a solo career, and there were concerns over whether the band’s scheduled headlining date at the Donington Monsters of Rock festival (something no longer held) would still go ahead. The band did not disappoint their loyal fans and Bruce was happy to see his Iron Maiden career end on a high note with this one-off concert following the ‘Fear of the Dark’ tour. Originally only available as a bootleg, this has since been officially released as a double-CD live album.


URBAN MYTHS & GENUINE FLAWS


Although this is a historic and excellent performance by the band, there are a couple of issues that are generally raised regarding the performance of band members at this point in Iron Maiden’s career; this was likely their height of fame, with number one albums and a number one hit single. Firstly, Bruce Dickinson’s voice receives a lot of criticism, but it still sounds great. It’s obvious that he needed some time away from performing as he doesn’t sound as good as he once did, his vocals taking on a distinctly gravely tone for much of this show, but I actually don’t find that a problem with this album. Although he can still reach the high and melodic notes, and despite the fact that he’s clearly enjoying himself on the huge stage, his overall performance seems tired and fails to inspire in the way ‘Live After Death’ did so well, but doesn’t ruin the tracks in any way.

Secondly is the issue of Janick Gers; the band’s replacement guitarist is competent and very talented, but his distinctive sound unfortunately taints the tracks I’m used to hearing with Adrian Smith’s touch, and he has a tendency to milk or improvise some of the solos with unimpressive results. Although he is by far my least favourite member of the band for these reasons, I guess I’d still marry him, but only because it would provide access to Bruce and the rest.

The third point is less important, but it seems odd that Iron Maiden would release two live albums within a year (it was technically three live albums, although ‘A Real Live One’ and ‘A Real Dead One’ were two parts of a greater whole), although the poor sound quality of the other live albums released that year have impeded their sales and popularity. In fact, the Donington CD was not commercially released until 1998, only available as bootlegs, but its place in the band’s discography seems a little out of place now. Oh well, it has a cool cover.


THE SHOW


~~~Disc One~~~


1. BE QUICK OR BE DEAD

Huge crowd anticipation and ominous thunderous sound effects build up to the abrupt drum into to the opening track from the band’s most recent (at the time) album, a very fast paced track with angry vocals that makes for a great, energetic introduction and the impact of which can only be heard once the song finishes and the crowd erupt in appreciation.


2. THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST

The scary voice proclaiming that the number of the beast is six hundred and sixty-six gets the crowd very excited and talking along in anticipation of one of Iron Maiden’s greatest ever hits. Personally I’ve never been that impressed by this track, but on live albums it has sufficient energy to become incredibly enjoyable. This is no exception as Nicko makes excellent use of the cymbals in addition to the original dull drum beat, while the guitars sound better than ever. A classic song that the crowd get into in a big, big way and that sets the tone for the night.


3. WRATHCHILD

A popular and very catchy track from the band’s early days, this is the shortest offering of the show at less than three minutes. Although it’s not as musically impressive as the band’s later work, it’s remained a popular live favourite throughout their career and is certainly very ‘groovy’; I don’t care for the old studio version but it always sound great live with the crowd interaction, and there’s plenty of that here – and the crowd are really, really LOUD.


4. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY

One of the weakest offerings of the show, this was the second single from the contemporary ‘Fear of the Dark’ album and is therefore expected, but the uninspired bluesy sound isn’t any more effective live than in the studio. There is an interesting section in the middle where the guitar become quiet and Bruce gets the crowd’s hands going, and his awe at the size of the place is quite apparent. The crowd’s solo vocals don’t work too well, but Bruce’s instruction for Janick to perform his solo, “get your engines going,” is quite a classic moment, if strange. There’s some banter at the end in which Bruce comments on how long the day has been and how it’s going to get even longer, before the band count into a unison cry…


5. CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS

One of the band’s more commercial songs, the famous opening scream sounds a little dodgy here as the band try and emulate the studio effect of multiple voices, but the song still sounds excellent without the over-the-top production and keyboard effects that were always a little unnecessary anyway. The crowd love the chorus, and Dickinson’s angry barks are still able to carry out the verses perfectly, however this is still not one of their best tracks. Not as bad as a lot of people make out though, although the guitar riffs do sound like they’re straight from the kid’s TV show ‘Fun House’ (remember that?) Overall, this isn’t a track that performs perfectly live, but it’s fun.


6. WASTING LOVE

The other disappointing track on the album also comes from the ‘Fear of the Dark’ album, and is a very poor example of the band’s talents. An attempt of sorts at a love song, Bruce’s singing and the backing guitars end up sounding unnecessarily cheesy, and the band don’t even speed up the dull chorus section like they would have in the past. This is the low point of the show, and is unfortunately one of the longer tracks also.


7. TAILGUNNER

Thankfully the band regain their momentum with this speedy offering from their 1990 album. Not one of their finest openers, but it’s another of their fun World War II romps in the style of the (better) ‘Aces High’ and ‘Where Eagles Dare.’ Bruce is still excellent in the high chorus, and although this could have been replaced with something better it’s good to hear something that’s relatively new but isn’t crap. The crowd predictably lap it up.


8. THE EVIL THAT MEN DO

One of the most popular Maiden songs, this takes a more melodic approach than most without losing the powerful, aggressive edge. The bridge and chorus sections are amazing and if it wasn’t for the repetition towards the end this would likely be my favourite Iron Maiden song, but it’s clear from its reception here that it’s incredibly popular. This doesn’t suffer from the lack of keyboards in the way that ‘Can I Play With Madness’ did.


9. AFRAID TO SHOOT STRANGERS

One of the best songs from the ‘Fear of the Dark’ album, although in some ways this works as a build up to the blinding tenth track. ‘Afraid to Shoot Strangers’ begins quietly with a great slow drum beat in the background, recreated perfectly by Nicko to keep the dingy, bleak atmosphere of the album, before kicking into a melodic guitar harmony and a louder, faster section. It’s the same formula the band returned to again and again during the nineties, but this is one of the earliest and greatest examples, as well as having some meaningful lyrics on the subject of leaving for war. It’s a shame that tracks like ‘Wasting Love’ and ‘From Here to Eternity’ had to be included when ones like this so perfectly sum up that particular album at its best. If anything, this sounds even better live: harmonious and memorable.


10. FEAR OF THE DARK

The highlight of the disc, this live performance of the title track of the band’s 1992 album sounds incredible here, and much better than the tame album version. The band’s performance and the impromptu crowd decisions to join in with the guitar melodies vocally earned this the distinction of being released as a single soon afterwards, complete with live music video, as well as a place on the ‘Best of the Beast’ collection. One of the rare gems to be found amongst the band’s early nineties offerings, this features some of their most impressive guitar riffs and vocals as well as an excellent mix of subdued atmospheric sections and rip-roaring aural assault; an excellent track and the best reason not to buy the ‘Fear of the Dark’ album; buy this album instead. This track was also included on the band’s 2000 live album and DVD Rock in Rio and although it’s also excellent there, for some reasons it doesn’t live up to this specific recording. A perfect ending to the disc, but then there’s more…


~~~Disc Two~~~


11. BRING YOUR DAUGHTER …TO THE SLAUGHTER

The second disc opens with Iron Maiden’s only UK number one single and as such is an incredibly popular track, but I find it one of the cheesiest and silliest tracks they’ve ever done, even exceeding their own ‘tongue-in-cheek’ standards of the past. The chorus repeats far too much and there’s nothing of real interest in the track, although the ‘woah’ section towards the end was clearly designed with a live audience in mind and sounds quite good. Not an impressive start to the side in my opinion though.


12. THE CLAIRVOYANT

Still in hit single territory, this is one of the band’s catchiest tracks from their 1988 album and features a guitar riff that would be illegal if it came from any other band; thankfully, Maiden manage to make it sound incredible. Again, the lack of keyboards makes this less impressive than on the studio album as it’s not a heavy track, and Bruce’s vocals don’t have the haunting quality of the original CD, but I know I’d love to see it live so I’m glad it’s included. The crowd again get into the chorus, but can’t really be heard over the band’s sound this time.


13. HEAVEN CAN WAIT

One of my favourite inclusions here as it isn’t included on any other live recording and is one of the best tracks from the excellent and overlooked 1986 ‘Somewhere in Time’ album. The guitars don’t sound as polished or skilful as on that album, but that doesn’t spoil the enjoyment and the crowd can be heard as loud as Bruce when he asks them to sing the catchy chorus. The ‘woah-oh-oh’ section takes on a different feel from the album; while the studio version was haunting and atmospheric here, the live version is powerful and rousing, although spoiled a little by some unnecessary banter from Bruce.


14. RUN TO THE HILLS

One of the band’s most well-known anthems, this is basically an essential part of any Iron Maiden show anywhere and anywhen, and although it’s not one of my favourite I have to admit that its galloping rhythm hasn’t been matched since 1982, and the chorus is very infectious. The crowd can be heard clearly and the only problem again is with some of the guitars, which make parts of the song sound less credible than they usually do. Still, a very enjoyable and classic song that has at least been moved from its tedious position as the final track of every show – there’s still plenty more to come when the band return.


15. 2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT

Fading back in as the band retake the stage, this fantastic long track from their 1984 ‘Powerslave’ album shows that they haven’t forgotten about that excellent release. With some of the band’s best lyrics and great musical progression this has always been one of my favourite Maiden tracks, and the sound of the crowd shouting “midnight” in the chorus really shows the scale of this show. A bit of vocal experimentation from Dickinson is welcome, but this is pretty much the same here as on the album.


16. IRON MAIDEN

The band’s self-titled track from their self-titled debut album has remained another live favourite and despite not being anywhere near as intricate or developed as their later works it’s still really fun and features great guitar and bass work. The crowd are very familiar with the great lyrics that are of a similar theme to ‘Bring Your Daughter’ but don’t go into ‘stupid’ territory. After an extended solo, Bruce tells members of the crowd that Iron Maiden’s going to get them, then the band leave the stage to four minutes of tedious crowd chants.


17. HALLOWED BE THY NAME

After the boring crowd bit comes another of the band’s most famous tracks, the epic conclusion to their ‘Number of the Beast’ album with one of the most recognised heavy metal riffs ever devised. The quiet build up receives due appreciation before the main riffs explode into being and drive the song through to its conclusion. An incredible track, although it has been included on live albums before and this is something that takes away the necessity for all of these later offerings as they can easily be found elsewhere.


18. THE TROOPER

One of my favourite Iron Maiden tracks, a classic from the ‘Piece of Mind’ album that is not otherwise represented here. Great driving melodies, but it sounds much better on earlier live releases and the studio album due to Adrian Smith’s influence. Another of the band’s historical romps, this time concerning the Crimean war, and it’s among the heaviest tracks the band have produced while also remaining hugely accessible.


19. SANCTUARY

Another track from the first album, this is very popular but I find it sounds far too old fashioned and could have easily been replaced by something more impressive from either that album or something more recent. The crowd enjoy singing along again, predictably, but I find this quite dull apart from a brief gap in the music in which Bruce reflects on why the band enjoy playing in England best of all, and short accolades for each member of the band. The solo sounds better than on the original album as do the vocals, not being handled by Paul Di’Anno, but it’s not the kind of song I enjoy sitting down to listen to.


20. RUNNING FREE

A trademark set closer, this is another song I’m not fond of but which works well with the crowd interaction… and there’s a lot of it. Bruce gets quite tiresome with his banter and praise, but fans of the band’s early work will enjoy it: at least it isn’t extended to hell like in ‘Live After Death.’


VERDICT


Although this was a landmark concert and the sound of the crowd is a definite bonus, this falls very distant from being the definitive Iron Maiden live album. Musically it isn’t the band at their best; having spent the entire previous decade recording and playing music around the world, they are clearly in need of some time away that they never permitted themselves. Secondly, the choice of songs is a lot less impressive than it could have been, with too many cuts from overly dull albums and the repetition of tracks featured on previous live albums.

This can all be forgiven however when remembering that this show was never intended to be officially released, and therefore the band made their song decisions on what they most wanted to play, which would obviously include a lot of recent as opposed to classic material. If anything, this shows that the band play to the best of their ability at every single show, and that you’d have to stay up pretty late (and feed them a lot of alcohol) to catch them at anything less than their best.

The atmosphere on this album from the crowd is unmatched in Iron Maiden’s live discography; even though the more recent ‘Rick in Rio’ was recorded in front of a quarter of a million people, the sound recording isn’t as clear on that album and most of the 250,000 screaming fans are rendered mute. Song-wise however, ‘Rock in Rio’ features an excellent mix of old and current songs from the band, while the earlier ‘Live After Death’ (1985) features the very best of their first five albums. For this reason I would recommend both of these as Iron Maiden live albums showcasing their entire career; ‘Live at Donington’ fills in the middle gap with a couple of different and notable tracks, but isn’t really worth owning unless you’re a Maiden completist or were one of the lucky many to have attended the Monsters of Rock festival on that fateful day.

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