Iron Maiden have released a limited edition box set named "Eddie's Archives" which includes three double cds: "BBC Archives", "Best Of The B'Sides" & "Beast Over Hammersmith". So, let's see every single cd from the beginning because Eddie's Archives, believe me, is a HUGE collection of Iron Maiden, mostly never heard & released before, tracks.
First of all "BBC Archives" contains four different live shows which are "BBC Radio 1 Friday Rock Show" recorded in 1979, "Reading Festival" recorded in 1980, one more "Reading Festival" recorded in 1982 and finally "Donington Monsters of Rock" recorded in 1988. Four completely different performances from the first Iron Maiden era, to the end of the nineties. The sound into all four shows is definitely unexpected good, for such an old recording. It's not good that, same songs, are present in several shows, like "Iron Maiden" which is included in all four live shows. This double cd (the first one) deserves the attention of every Iron Maiden fan out there, because it includes very rare recordings. About the second double cd now, named "Beast Over Hammersmith". This show took place at the "Hammersmith Odeon" (London, England) on March 20, 1982 (just try to image the band, more than 20 years ago, the way they looked, the way they performed etc...). That tour featured for the first time ever, Bruce Dickinson on vocals and for the last time, Clive Burr on the drums. Bruce had replaced Paul DiAnno and Clive was about to be replaced by Nicko McBrain. It's also the show that presented the fans songs, from the (until then) forthcoming "The Number Of The Beast" album. Songs like "The Number Of The Beast", ""Run To The Hills" & "Hallowed Be Thy Name", need more? This live performance is quite awesome due to its age and its sound, containing great songs, like "Children Of The Damned", "22 Acacia Avenue", "Total Eclipse" & "The Prisoner" and shows the cool feelings and aggressiveness of the band at that young age, something really admirable. Concerning the final, also double, cd named "Best Of The B’Sides", it's a nice collection of Iron Maiden songs, covering other bands, like Jethro Tull, The Who, Montrose, Led Zeppelin and UFO. Unfortunately, Iron Maiden never been a cool tribute band to listen, in comparison to some others, like Metallica. Among the live stuff you’ll find another version of "Drifter" recorded with Paul Di’Anno, "Remember Tomorrow" recorded with Bruce Dickinson, and "Blood On The World’s Hands" and The "Aftermath" recorded with Blaze Bayley. "Justice Of The Peace" is a nice, but forgotten track recorded during the studio sessions for "The X Factor" with Blaze Bayley, plus "Nodding Donkey Blues" and "Black Bart Blues", which are a little bit funny but obviously not suitable for any Iron Maiden recording. All these b-sides tracks, are included into the Iron Maiden remasters, so fans will probably already own them, while others are included into the singles of "The First Ten Years" reissues... This cd also includes live versions of "Futureal" and "Wasted Years" recorded during the Ed Hunter tour in 1999 with Bruce Dickinson on the vocals. All in all, this box-set is a limited jewel for every single Iron Maiden fan all over the planet. Fans will undoubtedly get this box-set just for "Beast Over Hammersmith" and "BBC Archives" since they probably already own all the "Best Of The B'Sides" songs. As I know, the band does not plan to release all three (double) CDs separately, but in any way, it's really worth the money you're gone spend.
(EMI) Total Running:
BBC Archives cd1: 72:29 cd2: 75:46
Best Of The B'Sides cd1: 64:22 cd2: 69:45
Beast Over Hammersmith cd1: 42:49 cd2: 52:39
Manolis Varouhas
