IRON MAIDEN, I PRIMI 4 ALBUM. Trascrizioni parziali. TABLATURE
ASSOCIATE MUSIC EDITOR: JOHN CERULLO
MUSIC ARRANGER: RAY DONATO
ART DIRECTOR: AMID CAPECI
A four-album anthology covering Killers, Iron Maiden, The Number of the Beast and Piece of Mind. The 37 titles include: The Ides of March * Murders in the Rue Morgue * Prodigal Son * Strange World * Charlotte the Harlot * Invaders * Hallowed Be Thy Name * Where Eagles Dare * Revelations * Quest for Fire.
In June 1977, when all around them were embracing
punk and new wave pop, Iron Maiden struck out to mine
the metal ores. Faced with indifferent club owners, deaf
record executives and changing line-ups, bassist Steve
Harris led Iron Maiden onward. As Harris told Guitar For
The Practicing Musician, "The basic rules still apply. You've
got to be dedicated and stick to your guns."
Spending $400 to make the legendary Soundhouse
Tapes, Maiden got their first taste of success when deejay
Neal Kay put the song Prowler at number one, as
compiled by requests! Maiden was off and running.
But it wasn't the strength of the Soundhouse Tapes that
got them major label attention. It was the ever growing size
of their following. In the winter of '79 Maiden, having gone
through a number of guitarists (Dave Murray was the only
constant) and at least one drummer, signed with EMI
Capitol Records. Finally on April 14, 1980 IRON MAIDEN
was released while the group opened for Judas Priest in
England and Kiss in Europe. It was toward the end of that
year, when the band and producer Martin Birch got
together to start a heavy metal dynasty on vinyl.
On through KILLERS, THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
and PIECE OF MIND, "Martin was able to get the best
performance out of us without our even realizing it," says
Harris. It is to this explosion of rock energy and its
precision of execution captured on record, that this book is dedicated to sharing.
John: Iron Maiden got its first real push forward with the song Prowler.
Steve: Prowler is a very special song for us. When we made
the Sound house Tapes we took the actual tape to Neal Kay
who was a d.j. in north London. He used to have a heavy
metal chart which was compiled from record requests and
printed in the music magazine "Sounds". Prowler got to be
number one just from the requests for the demo tape.
That's why we had the tape made into a record, because so
many kids were asking us how they could get hold of the
demo tapes.
John: Is there a big difference between the version on the
record and the original on the tape?
Steve: Oh yeah, there's quite a difference. The Soundhouse
Tapes were the very first thing we recorded. It was just a
demo. It only cost us about $400 to make the whole thing. It
really wasn't great quality.
John: Was Prowler composed in pieces and put together?
Steve: That's pretty much the style of a lot of our songs.
John: Are parts conceived for a specific song or could you
possibly switch sections with other songs?
Steve: A lot of songs were written in different sections that
could possibly have been used in other songs.
John: Remember Tomorrow also has one of your favorite
devices. I'm thinking of the slow start that builds up.
Steve: That song is an old stage favorite. The crowds used
to really be into that one. Paul Di'anno wrote the lyrics to it. I
wrote the music. Actually I played him the parts I had and
he worked it out. There's a lot of feeling in that song. Mind
you I think any song should befilled with feeling. Buton the
slow parts of this one I think there is that extra measure.
John: Running Free also has a signature with the bass riff
up front.
Steve: I think the songs sound a bit different because they
are written on the bass.
John: Do you start with a melody and fill in with the chords?
Steve: It depends on the song. Some I write with a main
bass riff .and work out the melody on top of it. Some songs
begin WIth a strong melody line and I work out the music
behind it. I pretty much work everything out on the bass, the
actual riffs and the harmonies. Running Free came together
when I put a riff to the main drum beat by Doug Sampson.
He was the drummer on the Sound house Tapes.
John: The harmony riffs sound very structured and almost
classical.
Steve: Sometimes maybe. Mainly they are little melodies
which have harmonies put to them. The part in the middle I
worked up from a bunch of bits I wrote.
John: It's certainly not based on the blues.
Steve: I was never really into the blues. Dave (Murray) is into
the blues. I was into blues influenced bands like Free.
John: There's no improv in this song.
Steve: We thought we'd try and do something a bit different.
Most songs have a guitar solo in the middle. We've always
tried to do things a little differently. We thought instead of a
guitar solo we'd have a guitar break which would consist of
guitar runs and harmonies.
John: Next up is Phantom of the Opera.
Steve: That's a very long song that was done in sections.
The middle part was totally separate but it fit in very well. It
felt right to go, from the slow part into the middle section.
John: Transylvania.
Steve: The initial idea on this one was to have lyrics. It
originally had a melody line for the vocal, but when we
played it, it sounded so good as an instrumental that we
never bothered to write lyrics for it.
John: Strange World.
Steve: It's one of the only sort of slow songs we've done
But it's got a lot of feeling. It used to be a stage favorite
Dave really enjoyed playing the solo in this one. We may
bring it back in the future.
John: Sanctuary is a straight ahead rock and roller.
Steve: It was released asasingle in England, but it wasn't on
the British album. It was done at the same time as the first
album, but we didn't release a single in the states, so we
thought we'd add an extra track on the album. It's a rockin'
number. We still play it.
John: Next up is the famous Charlotte the Harlot.
Steve: That's really Dave's song. I would have been proud
to say that I'd written it. Ilike playing it live because it was
something a bit different than I would write.
John: Iron Maiden.
Steve: As long as I can remember we've closed our set with
this song. It's quite simple. The bass line is fairly straight
forward as is the drumming. But the guitar is over the top
with harmony, and the bass is descending behind it. I think
this makes it pretty special.
John: In parts it almost sounded like a Chris Squire line ...
GUITAR for the Practicing Musician Magazine
Introduction .
Tablature Explanation .
Interview: Recording And Equipment .
Interview: The Songs .
CONTAINS EVERY SONGS FROM IRON MAIDEN FIRSTS 4 ALBUM:
IRON MAIDEN (1980)
Prowler .
Remember Tomorrow .
Running Free .
Phantom Of The Opera .
Transylvania .
Strange World .
Sanctuary .
Charlotte The Harlot .
Iron Maiden
KILLERS (1981)
The Ides Of March
Wrathchild
Murders In The Rue Morgue .
Another Life .
Genghis Khan .
Innocent Exile .
Killers .
Twilight Zone .
Prodigal Son .
Purgatory .
Drifter ,
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST (1982)
Invaders .
Children Of The Damned .
The Prisoner .
22, Acacia Avenue .
The Number Of The Beast .
Run To The Hills .
Gangland .
Hallowed Be Thy Name .
PIECE OF MIND (1983)
Where Eagles Dare .
Revelations .
Flight Of Icarus .
Die With Your Boots On .
The Trooper .
Still Life .
Quest For Fire .
Sun And Steel .
To Tame A Land .
Italiano
English
