Description
In 1981, IRON MAIDEN, with Bruce Dickinson at the helm, was on the verge of creating the masterpiece “The Mark of the Magic.” Now, a live album has been released that offers a superb experience of one of their warm-up gigs. This album captures their London performance on December 23, 1981, a superb audience recording from the legendary club “Ruskin Arms.” While “The Mark of the Magic,” Dickinson’s first collaboration, was released in 1982, the Paul Di’Anno to Dickinson replacement actually happened in September 1981. Moreover, even after Dickinson joined, they didn’t immediately enter the studio; instead, they conducted warm-up mini-tours and club gigs to test their compatibility and potential. This album captures one of those “trial gigs.” To understand the situation at the time, let’s first take a look at their activities from an overview perspective. 1981: September: Di’Anno fired → Dickinson joins; October 26-30: Italy (5 performances) (Composition of “The Mark of the Magic” begins); November 15: Rainbow Theatre performance; December 23: Ruskin Arms performance (This work) 1982: February 25 – March 20: UK #1 (20 performances) (Official Hammersmith performance) (“The Mark of the Magic” released March 22 – May 1: Europe (35 performances); May 11 – August 22: North America #1 (72 performances) (BEAST OVER PALLADIUM)・August 25th-28th: UK #2 (3 shows) ← *Official Reading ・September 1st-October 23rd: North America #2 (38 shows) ・November 7th-21st: Australia (10 shows) ・November 26th-December 10th: Japan (10 shows) The pinnacle of legendary recordings that convey secret gigs. This is IRON MAIDEN from Bruce’s joining until the end of 1982. Immediately after he joined, they conducted a mini-tour in Italy as part of the “KILLER WORLD TOUR” (you can enjoy the footage on “KILLER TOUR WITH DICKINSON”). After that, they began composing “The Mark of the Magical Girl”. They held two special live shows to test out new songs in a new style in front of an audience. The Ruskin Arms performance on this album is one of them, a secret gig performed under the name “GENGHIS KHAN”. Ruskin is famous as their base of operations, but on this day IRON It was also the last day that Maiden performed. This recording, which vacuum-packs that secret venue, delivers an intensely intimate club sound. It’s undoubtedly an audience recording that captures the real excitement, but the sheer thickness of the core and the fineness of the details are like an FM broadcast… no, it’s even more amazing. And above all, there’s an intense sense of directness. You can tell from the sound that it’s a spatial recording, but the live performance of the five people right in front of you comes rushing in without any time lag. That audacious sense of charge is exactly the intimate feeling that only a club can provide. Moreover, this is the pinnacle of such super-powerful recordings. The recording itself has been known as a classic for a long time, This album is the ultimate version, meticulously refined from the best master recording. Pitch and phase adjustments are meticulously performed, along with frequency band analysis and stereo correction. The pursuit of both “reproducing the live sound” and “perfection as a musical work” has resulted in a sound that maintains clarity while enhancing the power of the bass. Even after re-examining it, there’s no room for improvement. It truly is a DEFINITIVE sound. A miraculous full show featuring rare tracks and premiere performances, this incredibly powerful, realistic, intimate sound captures a dizzyingly rare full stage performance with a setlist unique to this day. Speaking of the “Blues & Clive Bar” era, the official ‘BEAST’… ‘BEAST OVER HAMMERSMITH’ is the pinnacle, but even there, rare tracks that can’t be heard are a treat. Let’s compare and organize them here. Di’Anno era (7 songs + 6 songs) – Iron Maiden: Sanctuary / Remember Tomorrow (★) / Running Free / Phantom Of The Opera / Iron Maiden / Transylvania / Prowler – Killers: Wrathchild / Genghis Khan (★) / Killers / Another Life / Murders In The Rue Morgue / Drifter Seal of Magic (2 songs) – Run To The Hills (*) / The Prisoner (*) *Note: “★” indicates a song that cannot be heard on the official ‘BEAST OVER HAMMERSMITH’. “*” indicates a world premiere. …and so on. Based on the “KILLER WORLD TOUR”, new songs “Run To The Hills” and “The It includes “Prisoner.” These two songs had not been performed at the Rainbow Theatre concert just before, making this their world premiere. What’s even better are the classics. In particular, Bruce’s rendition of “Remember Tomorrow” was not performed at the following year’s “BEAST ON THE ROAD” and remained sealed away until 1993, during Adrian’s departure, making it a precious track. And above all, Bruce’s powerful singing is absolutely breathtaking. His voice gradually began to deteriorate around 1983, but on this album, recorded shortly after he joined the band, it’s the same beastly voice he had during his SAMSON days. When he sings, it resonates with great scale, and when he shouts, it’s a shout that seems to break through the club walls. The power and range are at the peak of his career, and it’s a performance that would later make “Run To The” a struggle for him. “Run To The Hills” also showcases a superhuman vocal performance on par with (or even better than!) the studio version. This is a miraculous live album that allows you to witness the legendary Ruskin Arms, the band that created the widely acclaimed masterpiece “The Mark of the Magic,” in a secret setting. This is an album that allows you to experience the live performance everyone has been waiting for, 100% authentic with the highest level of sound quality. A superb audience recording of the London performance on December 23, 1981. This is the definitive recording of a secret gig at the legendary club “Ruskin Arms” shortly after Bruce Dickinson joined the band. You can enjoy a delicious, extremely rare full show with the world premiere performances of “Run To The Hills” and “The Prisoner,” as well as Bruce singing “Remember Tomorrow.” Bruce’s beastly voice, just like in his SAMSON days, is also overwhelming in this cultural heritage album. Ruskin Arms, London, UK 23rd December 1981 (77:29) 1. Sanctuary 2. Wrathchild 3. Run To The Hills 4. Remember Tomorrow 5. Genghis Khan 6. Killers 7. Another Life 8. The Prisoner 9. Running Free 10. Murders In The Rue Morgue 11. Phantom Of The Opera 12. Iron Maiden 13. Happy Birthday Dave 14. Transylvania 15. Drifter 16. Prowler Bruce Dickinson – Vocals Steve Harris – Bass Dave Murray – Guitar Adrian Smith – Guitar Clive Burr – Drums
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