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Post by jayc on Dec 3, 2021 9:05:07 GMT
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Post by jayc on Dec 15, 2021 9:10:03 GMT
NEW BLOG The next instalment of my series looking at each studio album from Iron Maiden. Branded a leper because you don't fit: it's THE X FACTOR! wp.me/pbeVro-1oH
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Post by jayc on Dec 17, 2021 8:41:59 GMT
NEW BLOG The next instalment of my series looking at each studio album from Iron Maiden. There are no errors in the calculations: it's VIRTUAL XI wp.me/pbeVro-1oK
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Post by ford71V8 on Jan 12, 2022 5:59:09 GMT
Hey jayc , I had a bit more time available during Xmas break so got stuck into reading more of your reviews. Currently up to Maiden's 7th Son. Has been really enjoyable and interesting reading your opinions.
Some random comments from this random Maiden fan....
Iron Maiden were my big love before Metallica and after KISS, first introduced to TNOTB at music class in Primary School (I took Back in Black, so you can get about which era this was). Was all a bit much at that age but made a new friend when I started high school and we both gelled over Maiden, only us 2 really, at least for a couple of years.
So first up these were nice memories that came back while reading....he died too young from a dumb accident so we never got a chance to look back like we are now.
We hit our Maiden peak the same time the band did, Powerslave was released and we were all over it. This was the first chance we had at collecting more than just the album. He had no chance of finding and purchasing any singles before Aces High and 2 Minutes. The only thing I really craved for (and never did obtain) was the Soundhouse Tapes. So while I was nodding along to all your comments about the album songs from the first 5 albums, I was lost when talking about the early B-sides. Even now I have yet to familiarise myself with them even when they are easily available, some literally sitting on CD here.
Powerslave era also produced Sanctuary for the first time available to us, but with Bruce singing - I so wanted to hear the Paul version. I made do with Mission from 'Arry, playing it to as many as friends and relatives as possible, we'd not heard anything like it haha. I remember buying Life After Death double vinyl and spent hours / days pouring over all the tiny photos on the booklet (was a decent size) and the pinnacle was seeing them on the World Slavery tour, my first big show. My favourite cover from the band came from this period too - Rainbows Gold, still love it, love that short pause just before it kicks up a notch.
All the older albums had been bought and devoured by then.
Me and Brett had all the patches on our jackets and I had shit ton of their posters on the wall. I kinda had 2 bedrooms at home, mine plus the pool room which I covered from floor to ceiling with metal posters, most being Maiden.
So when I am reading you talking about combing over TNOTB cover art, I was taken back to blu-tacking that one on to my door and distinctly recall seeing the green "puppet" lines for the first time...never noticed on the cassette or album cover. And studying all those little silhouette characters on the hill and in the fire.
Aces High artwork was a large poster that I loved. And I also had that Purgatory art on a t-shirt! (where the fuck did that go!?) I spent a few nights drawing Eddie from Killers in my school diary, turned out sick I thought...someone else thought so too and ripped it out and stole it - fucking angry that day. But for all the cool artwork available on Maiden posters the poster that took pride of place front and centre was an early shot of the band (Killers era) on stage and the band was dwarfed by the stage and lighting rigs. Somewhere in Time and Wasted Years covers (again vinyl and due to that a bigger picture) was also hours of spotto. You mention the 11:58 / 23:58 on the clock, nerdo me spots the 3.14159, pi.
One other part of their artwork for me was to find that little symbol hidden in there somewhere, the circle with down arrow and 2 smaller circles underneath.
I think I rate Killers above the debut. I was never a fan of Iron Maiden the song so that put the debut with only 7 songs to compete with all these great songs on Killers.
But glad to see someone else appreciate Clive Burr. Back then, he was my answer to Favourite Drummer?
I understand you are only doing studios, but Man I absolutely played the Maiden Japan vinyl to death. Clive sounded so awesome and while I've always been a fan of Remember Tomorrow, I think this is where you find the best version of that song.
Ehh, enough from me, I could keep going, you really impacted me with your reviews because Maiden really did play a huge part of my childhood and musical upbringing and I kinda forget sometimes.
I'm up to the 7th Son review next. This where it goes bad for me. I like this album but hated Can I Play With Madness and the silly artwork it had. But other things had moved in, Metallica. I didn't even know Adrian left the band for years after the following album came out, that's how fast it nose-dived for me.
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Post by jayc on Jan 20, 2022 7:50:56 GMT
Hey jayc , I had a bit more time available during Xmas break so got stuck into reading more of your reviews. Currently up to Maiden's 7th Son. Has been really enjoyable and interesting reading your opinions.
Some random comments from this random Maiden fan....
Iron Maiden were my big love before Metallica and after KISS, first introduced to TNOTB at music class in Primary School (I took Back in Black, so you can get about which era this was). Was all a bit much at that age but made a new friend when I started high school and we both gelled over Maiden, only us 2 really, at least for a couple of years.
So first up these were nice memories that came back while reading....he died too young from a dumb accident so we never got a chance to look back like we are now.
We hit our Maiden peak the same time the band did, Powerslave was released and we were all over it. This was the first chance we had at collecting more than just the album. He had no chance of finding and purchasing any singles before Aces High and 2 Minutes. The only thing I really craved for (and never did obtain) was the Soundhouse Tapes. So while I was nodding along to all your comments about the album songs from the first 5 albums, I was lost when talking about the early B-sides. Even now I have yet to familiarise myself with them even when they are easily available, some literally sitting on CD here.
Powerslave era also produced Sanctuary for the first time available to us, but with Bruce singing - I so wanted to hear the Paul version. I made do with Mission from 'Arry, playing it to as many as friends and relatives as possible, we'd not heard anything like it haha. I remember buying Life After Death double vinyl and spent hours / days pouring over all the tiny photos on the booklet (was a decent size) and the pinnacle was seeing them on the World Slavery tour, my first big show. My favourite cover from the band came from this period too - Rainbows Gold, still love it, love that short pause just before it kicks up a notch.
All the older albums had been bought and devoured by then.
Me and Brett had all the patches on our jackets and I had shit ton of their posters on the wall. I kinda had 2 bedrooms at home, mine plus the pool room which I covered from floor to ceiling with metal posters, most being Maiden.
So when I am reading you talking about combing over TNOTB cover art, I was taken back to blu-tacking that one on to my door and distinctly recall seeing the green "puppet" lines for the first time...never noticed on the cassette or album cover. And studying all those little silhouette characters on the hill and in the fire.
Aces High artwork was a large poster that I loved. And I also had that Purgatory art on a t-shirt! (where the fuck did that go!?) I spent a few nights drawing Eddie from Killers in my school diary, turned out sick I thought...someone else thought so too and ripped it out and stole it - fucking angry that day. But for all the cool artwork available on Maiden posters the poster that took pride of place front and centre was an early shot of the band (Killers era) on stage and the band was dwarfed by the stage and lighting rigs. Somewhere in Time and Wasted Years covers (again vinyl and due to that a bigger picture) was also hours of spotto. You mention the 11:58 / 23:58 on the clock, nerdo me spots the 3.14159, pi.
One other part of their artwork for me was to find that little symbol hidden in there somewhere, the circle with down arrow and 2 smaller circles underneath.
I think I rate Killers above the debut. I was never a fan of Iron Maiden the song so that put the debut with only 7 songs to compete with all these great songs on Killers.
But glad to see someone else appreciate Clive Burr. Back then, he was my answer to Favourite Drummer?
I understand you are only doing studios, but Man I absolutely played the Maiden Japan vinyl to death. Clive sounded so awesome and while I've always been a fan of Remember Tomorrow, I think this is where you find the best version of that song.
Ehh, enough from me, I could keep going, you really impacted me with your reviews because Maiden really did play a huge part of my childhood and musical upbringing and I kinda forget sometimes.
I'm up to the 7th Son review next. This where it goes bad for me. I like this album but hated Can I Play With Madness and the silly artwork it had. But other things had moved in, Metallica. I didn't even know Adrian left the band for years after the following album came out, that's how fast it nose-dived for me.
Wow! I love ALL of this. I'm sorry to read about the loss of your friend-in-metal. I had a similar thing in my late teens so I feel where you're coming from. I am so so happy that my little ramblings have conjured up some happy memories for you and, at the very least, pass the time. I do write moan for me but to know that someone else out there takes an interest and finds it enjoyable is lovely. So thank you. I figure you might be a touch older than me (I'm 42) so I think our intro and purple patches for Maiden were slightly out of sync. Much of the pre-Live After Death albums were alien or not very well explored for me. It was LAD through to FOTD that was my prime Maiden fandom. Cool to see that the bands that hooked you were the same as mine (although AC/DC came much later for me). I can definitely see how the visual nature of Kiss and Maiden can grab a young mind and heart! You don't need to stop writing! I'll happily chat Maiden for hours. Especially that 80s period. Oh and I have plans for a selection of live albums too  Thanks again for your kind words. Means a lot. |
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Post by jayc on Mar 18, 2022 12:55:03 GMT
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Post by ford71V8 on Mar 19, 2022 0:52:27 GMT
Awesome jayc.
I fell off the Maiden wagon around Fear of the Dark, but you have now reached the time I rediscovered the love....A Matter of Life and Death is a favourite of mine because it reestablished my connection to the band. There was a couple of songs they recorded live in Abbey Rd around this time, I watched those clips so many times
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Post by jayc on Jan 25, 2023 12:53:11 GMT
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Post by SicJes on Jan 25, 2023 14:23:51 GMT
Great read so far, I'll have to sit with the rest later.
The best thing about your writings is that you go on and on about how awesome a certain song is that I've never heard, so I go check it out, and then I'm like "WTF is this shit JayC!" We all have our own opinions I guess LoL.
Keep it up, always fun reading your stuff and feeling your excitement.
Have you ever thought about compiling all these writings into a physical copy, like through a printing website like Vistaprint or Amazon self publishing? For me personally, I love holding my work in hand to enjoy. With Amazon self publishing, it's print on demand, so when you sell a copy, they only print and send off one as needed. You could order a bunch and give out to people and say "Hey, I made this. Check it out." There's also a demand for nonfiction work there, and you have your own thing going, so who knows, maybe you could sell a few copies and make some dollars 🤑
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Post by jayc on Feb 6, 2023 15:54:37 GMT
Great read so far, I'll have to sit with the rest later. The best thing about your writings is that you go on and on about how awesome a certain song is that I've never heard, so I go check it out, and then I'm like "WTF is this shit JayC!" We all have our own opinions I guess LoL. Keep it up, always fun reading your stuff and feeling your excitement. Have you ever thought about compiling all these writings into a physical copy, like through a printing website like Vistaprint or Amazon self publishing? For me personally, I love holding my work in hand to enjoy. With Amazon self publishing, it's print on demand, so when you sell a copy, they only print and send off one as needed. You could order a bunch and give out to people and say "Hey, I made this. Check it out." There's also a demand for nonfiction work there, and you have your own thing going, so who knows, maybe you could sell a few copies and make some dollars 🤑 Awww thanks buddy! :D One man's meat is another man's murder and all that. I hadn't thought of that, no. Maybe I'll look into that!! |
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Post by jayc on May 15, 2023 12:55:20 GMT
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Post by SicJes on May 15, 2023 15:47:39 GMT
My friend was so into that album when it dropped. I had already jumped the Megadeth ship by then save for a few random tracks I still enjoy (Ashes in Your Mouth, Angry Again, 99 ways etc)
I never gave it a full listen, I just remember that artwork, really stood out for obvious reasons.
Slowly reading your review each time I step out for a smoke. So far so good...
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Post by jayc on May 16, 2023 8:08:19 GMT
My friend was so into that album when it dropped. I had already jumped the Megadeth ship by then save for a few random tracks I still enjoy (Ashes in Your Mouth, Angry Again, 99 ways etc) I never gave it a full listen, I just remember that artwork, really stood out for obvious reasons. Slowly reading your review each time I step out for a smoke. So far so good... ...so what??  Might be worth checking the album out again, just in case you find it turns out to be one of your favourite albums of all time! |
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Post by jayc on Jun 12, 2023 9:28:42 GMT
>> NEW BLOG POST << Exploring the awesomeness that is 'Bad Reputation' from Thin Lizzy. My introduction to the band and still my favourate of theirs. READ HERE >> wp.me/pbeVro-1M8
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Post by Prometheus426 on Jun 14, 2023 18:13:37 GMT
>> NEW BLOG POST <<Exploring the awesomeness that is 'Bad Reputation' from Thin Lizzy. My introduction to the band and still my favourate of theirs. READ HERE >> wp.me/pbeVro-1M8 Remember one of my friends being obsessed by Thin Lizzy, never really got into them. |
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Post by jayc on Jun 15, 2023 6:33:16 GMT
>> NEW BLOG POST <<Exploring the awesomeness that is 'Bad Reputation' from Thin Lizzy. My introduction to the band and still my favourate of theirs. READ HERE >> wp.me/pbeVro-1M8 Remember one of my friends being obsessed by Thin Lizzy, never really got into them. You should check them out. Start with Live & Dangerous for a good overview of their catalogue. |
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Post by jayc on Jul 13, 2023 14:02:49 GMT
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Post by SicJes on Jul 13, 2023 19:23:02 GMT
Nice one 👍
It was too short though 😅 I wanted to keep reading. I felt it, I was there with you all the way. That's awesome that you meet Phil. It's amazing how an event or situation can be so clear in our minds after all those years. You captured it in 4k.
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Post by jayc on Jul 14, 2023 7:14:04 GMT
Nice one 👍 It was too short though 😅 I wanted to keep reading. I felt it, I was there with you all the way. That's awesome that you meet Phil. It's amazing how an event or situation can be so clear in our minds after all those years. You captured it in 4k. Thank you sir!! Short because a lot of the peripheral memories are a bit fuzzy. There are certain bits of narrative I left out as it added nothing to the write up (a thread about my girlfriend at the time driving me there, dropping me off and leaving when if she had stayed she could have come in too as they let everyone in whether they had a ticket or not). Thank fuck for YouTube cos I never saw the show when it was broadcast on TV so I could have gone my whole life on just vague memories. |
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Post by jayc on Sept 20, 2023 11:27:06 GMT
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Post by Prometheus426 on Oct 7, 2023 4:04:30 GMT
I remember really liking the Excellent Adventure movie but maybe Bogus not as much, was this the consensus? |
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Post by jayc on Oct 9, 2023 11:33:31 GMT
I remember really liking the Excellent Adventure movie but maybe Bogus not as much, was this the consensus? I'm not sure to be honest. I like both but I do think I would watch Excellent Adventure if given the choice. |
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Post by jayc on Apr 12, 2024 7:07:36 GMT
 A while ago, I happened upon this article about why the music we love as teens stays with us for life. As this is kind of the primary foundation for most of my writing here, naturally this article piqued my interest. Fast forward a bunch of years to 2024 and I'm stuck. I have 3 posts in the drafts section of this blog but none of the motivation to carry on. It takes me a while to find my groove in my writing as I try to link each entry with some moments and memories from the past to colour what is, in essence, rather pedestrian music reviews. Rooting around in the 'ideas' folder I happen upon this article again and am struck by the premise of it: asking your friends to create a playlist of songs that mean something to them as a potential window into their being. Cool! So I sent out a WhatsApp to the group and was, to be honest, expecting some hesitance. Instead, I got replies back saying they would. What amazing chaps. So here is each of their playlists with some observations on the tracks from me (sometimes from them too) and maybe a little bit of trying to see if it tells me something more about this group of 4 men that I have known for 30 years. Let's dig in! musicbiography.blog/category/memories-in-melody/ |
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Post by jayc on May 13, 2024 7:23:36 GMT
 Let's dig in to the brilliant debut record, Vivid, from @livingcolourofficial. Starting off like a a rocket with a blend of funk, blues, metal, soul and, of course, trademark social and political commentary, this is the sound of a band knowing exactly what it wants to say and exactly how to say it, lyrically and muscially. Read the full review here: musicbiography.blog/2024/05/13/living-colour-vivid/ |
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Post by jayc on May 31, 2024 8:48:51 GMT
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Post by jayc on Jun 11, 2024 12:50:36 GMT
 Taking a dive into the Funked-Up Fairytale that is 'Pornograffitti" from EXTREME. Aside for the stellar music on the album, I also take a look into the lyrics and make a case for this being a concept album! If you fancy reading the review you can do so here: musicbiography.blog/2024/06/11/extreme-ii-pornograffitti/ |
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Post by jayc on Jun 21, 2024 7:51:59 GMT
 Revisiting the album that marked a shift for WASP, The Headless Children. With Chris Holmes on his way out and Blackie Lawless wanting to offer something more to the world than songs about sex, does it hold up all these years later? REVIEW HERE: musicbiography.blog/2024/06/21/w-a-s-p-the-headless-children/ |
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Post by jayc on Jul 3, 2024 8:52:46 GMT
 !!LATEST REVIEW !!One of the finest rock records of the 2000s was, I think, overshadowed by the tumultuous road that bassist Jason Newsted travelled to get here. Do yourself a favour, listen with fresh ears and no preconceptions. This is a fucking great record and you're missing out. musicbiography.blog/2024/07/03/echobrain-echobrain/ |
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Post by jayc on Jul 15, 2024 7:28:51 GMT
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Post by jayc on Aug 2, 2024 8:18:34 GMT
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