Thursday, April 20, 2006

119. Iron Maiden / Best Of The B-Sides. 2002. 3/5.

This was the third and final double disc from the Eddie's Archive collection, and it holds some interest without getting too excited about it.

I mean, let's face it. Most of us had this material from when they released the Ten Years singles collection in 1990, with all the singles re-released. So the first disc would appear superfluous.
The real point is this – there is a reason all of these songs were on the B-side of singles... they are mostly very ordinary songs. They were songs that were culled from albums before their release, they are cover songs the band did in the studio to fill the back end of 7” and 12” singles, or they are muck-around things done in lay times while recording.

OK, some have some historical significance, and a couple are outstanding (Reach Out, sung by Adrian Smith, is the prime example here), but the rest are the kind of songs you'll listen to once, and then file away for some time when you have absolutely nothing else to listen to.

Rating : As an album, it does not rate highly. But it is not designed that way, it is just a collection of songs of interest to real fans. But not of eternal interest... 3/5.

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