29. Iron Maiden / A Real Dead One. 1993. 4/5.

1993 was arguably the most difficult year Iron Maiden the band had lived through since their inception. There had been rising tension between several of the members of the band, and a disquieting realisation from lead singer Bruce Dickinson that he wanted to go out on his own and try something different from the band environment that he was then a part of. As a result, he had handed in his resignation, but had agreed to go out on tour on the dates the band had already announced it was performing. This of course was a difficult situation for all involved. As was related in the episode of Season 4 of this podcast relating to the sister album to this one, “A Real Live One”, the fans were all aware of Bruce’s imminent departure which brought a different vibe to the shows than the band would usually have received, and the ongoing tension between Bruce and band leader Steve Harris meant than none of it was a pleasant experience for the band.
The farewell tour had brought about a decision to not only release a final live album of the band with Bruce at the helm, but to also within some of these shows bring back some of the older songs that the band had not played in some time. This became a part of the eventual effort to release TWO live albums, one with the band’s recent material, and then a second album a few months later, which incorporated songs from the era prior to the release of their seminal and amazing live album, “Live After Death”. That first album, “A Real Live One”, came mostly at a time prior to Bruce’s announcement, and with songs that had not been heard live on an album before. The second album, this one, “A Real Dead One”, covered the era that had already been perfectly encapsulated by the “Live After Death” album, and as such was in a problematic predicament. If they performed songs on this album that had been captured perfectly before, would that make this less necessary to the fans? And if they only captured songs that did not appear on that album, would it also make this poor cousin anyway? Let’s face it, the concept on the drawing board was a good one. As it turned out, it feels as though it was poorly executed.

With so much available material that could be played for such a live album, there had to be many considerations taken as to what they wanted to play to be placed on this album, and then how they would go about it. Iron Maiden over the years have stuck rigidly to set lists on tours and rarely made many changes to what is played. So, given that the band was out promoting their latest album, “Fear of the Dark” at the time, if they were to incorporate some of their older material into the set list, they would have to be picky about it. They still had (and have) songs such as “The Trooper” and “The Number of the Beast” and “Run to the Hills” in their set list at the time, along with their usual “Iron Maiden” and “Hallowed Be Thy Name” which closed out the night. But, all of those songs had appeared on “Live After Death”, so did they need to be released on another live album?
I understand that the process would not have been easy, but even at the time this was released, what I wanted as a fan was a whole bunch of songs that I didn’t have live versions of on either of the previous two great live albums the band had released. And that’s not what we got. Instead, we got half an album of songs that we heard far better versions of on “Live After Death” - “The Number of the Beast”, “The Trooper”, “Running Free”, “Run to the Hills”, “2 Minutes to Midnight”, “Iron Maiden” and “Hallowed Be Thy Name”. OK, so we got to hear Jannick Gers interpretations of those songs live which was ok, and we got to hear Bruce sing them for what we believed would be the final time with the band, but to be honest, like every other Iron Maiden fan, if I wanted to hear these songs, I’d go straight to “Live After Death”. OK, so what about the other half of the album, the songs with live versions that we may only have heard on bootlegs of B-sides of live singles? Were they worth the wait? Well....
Honestly, whether it is or not, it sounds as though it was half-arsed and shoehorned into the schedule. It comes as a disappointment that songs like "Prowler" and "Where Eagles Dare" sound as though they may have been practiced once or twice at a soundcheck before being recorded. Bruce forgets words, and even half a verse at the end of "Where Eagles Dare". That’s fine if you are in the moment live, and I'm all for live recordings being left untampered, but was this the only time they played the songs on the tour? Or, if it was the best, then there are problems. Or did Steve Harris leave in on the disc as revenge? Apparently, by the end, they weren't getting on too well. Are the quality of the songs affected? No, not really, and they certainly differ from the original versions, which can often be the benefit of a live album. Apart from these two songs, the band also offers “Transylvania” into “Remember Tomorrow” which sounds terrific, as well as the old favourite “Sanctuary”, all of which combined still makes it a good listen all round.

The same old story should apply here, a live album should more or less always be a 5/5 rating because it’s the best songs in the best environment. This would be one of the exceptions. The album is fine. It sounds great, the band sound great, Bruce’s vocals are excellent. If you just accept it on face value, it is fine. But there are a couple of conditions on this.
Like the sister album “A Real Live One”, this is recorded at several different venues, over a period of a year, from late 1992 to late 1993. So, it isn’t a live album that showcases the whole setlist from go to woe, it is a patchwork of songs thrown together to make several live moments. For me, that sort of cruels it a bit, certainly in comparison to “Live After Death”. The live versions of these songs are great to a certain extent, but the lack of a flow through the album does hold it back.
Secondly, what a missed opportunity to play songs from that first five albums that either hadn’t been played live at all, or not for a number of years. “To Tame a Land” might have been a stretch to have to relearn to play live, but what a terrific opportunity it would have been. A song like “Sun and Steel” would have been awesome. How about “Invaders” or “Ganglands”? Or “Purgatory” or “Prodigal Son”. Or just go all out and do “Back in the Village” and “The Duellists”. If you really wanted to impress the fans and give them the final send off to Bruce that he deserved, drag some of those songs out to play!
Instead, we have a serviceable live album which is makes itself an addition to your Iron Maiden collection, without being the ‘must have’ superb album that you may have wished for.
Indeed, given that just a few weeks after this Iron Maiden dropped their third live album of the year on its fans, and you begin to wonder if it is quality or quantity that they were looking to deliver.
I did get this on its release, and enjoyed it when I listened to it at the time. It’s a good live album. But as I’ve explained over the course of this episode, it could have been so much better, and album that 30 years later would still be praised and spoken of if they had done things differently. Instead, with the over abundant choice of Iron Maiden live albums now in existence, the only reason to actually listen to it is to reminisce of the time when Bruce left Maiden... before he then came back of course...