Welcome to the next century, the new millennium! The back half of that final decade of the previous millennium had been a difficult one for Iron Maiden, on the back of falling sales and concert attendances, which had occurred for various reasons which were not limited to the change in lead singer and the changing landscape of music in general, and whether or not heavy metal music in its 1980’s form still had a place in the world. All of this was answered with the return of Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith, and the release of the “Brave New World” album which returned album sales back to figures not seen in a decade.
The following World Tour went to most of their popular destinations, though once again ignoring the parts of the world that were seen as too difficult and expensive to reach. And yes, that comes from a very disgruntled Australian resident. The 2001 edition of Rock in Rio was the final date of the “Brave New World” world tour, and given the huge exposure of the concert, and the fact that it had the size and ability to create a great stage show, the band decided to record and release the performance for a new live album. It acted as a celebration for the fans, to hear many of the new song (6 in all) in their live setting, as well as hear how the band sounded now on the older songs, and how that incorporated the three guitarists. And though as I have said on various previous podcast episodes on live albums, you can hardly go wrong with a collection of basic ‘greatest hits’ songs, sometimes it can be easy to be a little bit picky when it comes to the result.
The following World Tour went to most of their popular destinations, though once again ignoring the parts of the world that were seen as too difficult and expensive to reach. And yes, that comes from a very disgruntled Australian resident. The 2001 edition of Rock in Rio was the final date of the “Brave New World” world tour, and given the huge exposure of the concert, and the fact that it had the size and ability to create a great stage show, the band decided to record and release the performance for a new live album. It acted as a celebration for the fans, to hear many of the new song (6 in all) in their live setting, as well as hear how the band sounded now on the older songs, and how that incorporated the three guitarists. And though as I have said on various previous podcast episodes on live albums, you can hardly go wrong with a collection of basic ‘greatest hits’ songs, sometimes it can be easy to be a little bit picky when it comes to the result.
There is little doubt that all fans of Iron Maiden will enjoy the set list that the band played on this tour. Given the significance of the return of both Bruce and Adrian to the fold after a long period of time (in the whole scheme of the band at least) with Bruce having been absent for two albums and Adrian four, and the way fans had taken to the new album as a result, having six songs from “Brave New World” in the setlist was a given. And even by starting the gig by playing the first three songs of that album back-to-back was also a terrific way to start off. “The Wicker Man” into “Ghost of the Navigator” and then the album’s title track still sounds great to this day.
Beyond this there is a great mix of the old and new. When a band gets to the age that Iron Maiden was 20 years ago let alone today, being able to please everyone with the set list becomes a real juggling act. In this regard, the band has done a great job. The classic songs such as “Wrathchild”, “2 Minutes to Midnight”, “The Trooper”, “Fear of the Dark” and “The Evil That Men Do” are interspersed with other songs from the latest album in “Blood Brothers”, “The Mercenary” and “Dream of Mirrors”. But, just in case you were an old fan, a REALLY old fan, then the band does the right thing by you to end the gig, coming at you with an old fashioned heavy metal combination of “Iron Maiden”, “The Number of the Beast”, “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, “Sanctuary” and “Run to the Hills”, all of the old favourites performed with aplomb and finishing off the gig, the album and the tour in style.
Everything about this is excellent. All the band members are as terrific as you could imagine. Bruce’s vocals are supreme, and he drags the audience along for the ride the whole way. Steve Harris on bass is still the leader, which admittedly still comes through more on the older songs than the newer ones. Nicko McBrain is a beast on the drums, always the driving force. And the switching between the three guitarists still sounds amazing.
Beyond this there is a great mix of the old and new. When a band gets to the age that Iron Maiden was 20 years ago let alone today, being able to please everyone with the set list becomes a real juggling act. In this regard, the band has done a great job. The classic songs such as “Wrathchild”, “2 Minutes to Midnight”, “The Trooper”, “Fear of the Dark” and “The Evil That Men Do” are interspersed with other songs from the latest album in “Blood Brothers”, “The Mercenary” and “Dream of Mirrors”. But, just in case you were an old fan, a REALLY old fan, then the band does the right thing by you to end the gig, coming at you with an old fashioned heavy metal combination of “Iron Maiden”, “The Number of the Beast”, “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, “Sanctuary” and “Run to the Hills”, all of the old favourites performed with aplomb and finishing off the gig, the album and the tour in style.
Everything about this is excellent. All the band members are as terrific as you could imagine. Bruce’s vocals are supreme, and he drags the audience along for the ride the whole way. Steve Harris on bass is still the leader, which admittedly still comes through more on the older songs than the newer ones. Nicko McBrain is a beast on the drums, always the driving force. And the switching between the three guitarists still sounds amazing.
As is my wont, I bought this on double CD as well as purchasing the DVD a couple of months later when it was released, with Maiden once again pulling in double my money for what is essentially the same product. And I didn’t regret it, though it is the CD version that gets the most use. And all of the live versions of these songs still hold up today, even the very old songs. However, my three main observations on this album would be these. One, it is fantastic to hear “Sign of the Cross” and “The Clansman” with Bruce on vocals. And that is not having a go at Blaze Bayley at all because they are both his songs and he sings them superbly too. But hearing Bruce, with his different range, bringing both of these songs to life, ones that he had no involvement in originally, is perhaps the best part of this live album. If not for covid I would have had the chance to hear him sing both songs again on their current Legacy of the Beast tour, but that was cancelled before it arrived in Australia. Joy.
Secondly, also on Bruce’s vocals, for some reason Steve Harris, who ended up doing the editing and production of the live album, decided that in all of the places where Bruce calls for the crowd to sing along and participate and he deliberately doesn’t sing to give the crowd its moment, to cut and paste vocals from other parts of the song or recorded from warm ups, and insert them into those gaps so that it sounds like Bruce is singing the entire song. Now... while Steve obviously had his reasons for thinking this sounded better, I absolutely beg to differ. A live album is to hear the songs live, and that includes hearing the crowd participation, especially when there are 250,000 of them joining in! I have never understood it, and the sections stick out like dogs balls to, because Bruce will cry out ‘come on!” in beckoning to the crows to sing the next line, but then he does anyway, and it is pretty obvious it is not in the same pitch or key or anything like it would be if he had done so naturally. It’s a small thing, and not that big a deal, but I just don’t understand the reasoning behind it.
And thirdly, it’s terrific that the band went to three guitarists with the return of Adrian to the band, and I’m sure all fans like me were looking forward to hearing some great things musically, such as three way harmony and melodic guitars sewn through all of the material, new and old. However, that wasn’t (and hasn’t) been the case. The only change that has happened is that on the songs prior to ‘Brave New World’, some of Adrian’s solos are played by Jannick to ensure he isn’t left out of the mix entirely. Apart from that, each guitarist plays their solo, and the other two hold the rhythm together. It’s a tad disappointing in that respect.
Still, aside from those observations, “Rock in Rio” is a most enjoyable live album. It’s no “Live After Death”, but as a moment in time, to mark the start of the next chapter of the Iron Maiden story, it is mor than worth your time in checking out.
Secondly, also on Bruce’s vocals, for some reason Steve Harris, who ended up doing the editing and production of the live album, decided that in all of the places where Bruce calls for the crowd to sing along and participate and he deliberately doesn’t sing to give the crowd its moment, to cut and paste vocals from other parts of the song or recorded from warm ups, and insert them into those gaps so that it sounds like Bruce is singing the entire song. Now... while Steve obviously had his reasons for thinking this sounded better, I absolutely beg to differ. A live album is to hear the songs live, and that includes hearing the crowd participation, especially when there are 250,000 of them joining in! I have never understood it, and the sections stick out like dogs balls to, because Bruce will cry out ‘come on!” in beckoning to the crows to sing the next line, but then he does anyway, and it is pretty obvious it is not in the same pitch or key or anything like it would be if he had done so naturally. It’s a small thing, and not that big a deal, but I just don’t understand the reasoning behind it.
And thirdly, it’s terrific that the band went to three guitarists with the return of Adrian to the band, and I’m sure all fans like me were looking forward to hearing some great things musically, such as three way harmony and melodic guitars sewn through all of the material, new and old. However, that wasn’t (and hasn’t) been the case. The only change that has happened is that on the songs prior to ‘Brave New World’, some of Adrian’s solos are played by Jannick to ensure he isn’t left out of the mix entirely. Apart from that, each guitarist plays their solo, and the other two hold the rhythm together. It’s a tad disappointing in that respect.
Still, aside from those observations, “Rock in Rio” is a most enjoyable live album. It’s no “Live After Death”, but as a moment in time, to mark the start of the next chapter of the Iron Maiden story, it is mor than worth your time in checking out.
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