OK shoot me now, I know the world loves Iron Maiden but for me it’s those first two albums that have always resonated most with me. I remember being a kid and thinking that ‘Number of The Beast’ was a distinct step backwards. OK so I got over that, but still it was never quite the same. Times change though and also long gone are the days when you could see Maiden with just a few hundred of your mates for a few quid!
I’ve seen Paul Di’Anno a few times over the years since and never come away disappointed and this new live release catalogues the show in the summer of 2006, when “Di’Anno was asked if he would like to perform with his German band Phantoms Of The Opera at a city festival in the small Westphalian town of Waltrop – at that time, also with Fury In the Slaughterhouse and Sydney Youngblood. After initial skepticism about how to get the expected pop and disco fans, they decided to play the gig, especially since the two Re-Vision musicians, bassist Gonzo and drummer Dom, who formed the rhythm foundation of the Phantoms, had a home game“.
The night went down extremely well and you can hear Di’Anno having fun throughout introducing ‘Murders in The Rue Morgue’ as a song he recorded when he was a member of the Spice Girls – ‘Ugly Spice.’ I love that punky tone he has especially on that song.
All the Maiden classics of course are here best of which are maybe the final ones ‘Running Free’ and ‘Sanctuary’ which are split by a frenetic cover of Ramones’ ‘Blitzkrieg Rock’ which is a treat in itself and a nice bit of fun.
And there’s a happy story behind the release of this one: “The show was also completely recorded by producer and FOH man Thomas Mergler. At home, however, he found that the recordings were unusable due to an error by the monitor crew. After more than 12 years, Thomas found the tapes again by chance. And he managed to save the old recordings with the help of more modern technical possibilities.”
What a great rocking way to start the New Year.
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