If Metallica’s therapy centred ‘Some Kind Of Monster’ revealed a band in crisis and falling apart, then Iron Maiden’s The Early Days Part 1 reveals a band falling apart and falling together again courtesy of that dedicated rock Robocop and bass-player, Steve Harris – a Jonah if there ever was one – but alternately a committed, serious, reasonable, intense and fairly ruthless pursuer of excellence. But whereas ‘Some Kind Of Monster’ exposes the likes of Lars Ulrich and James Hertfield as atypical rock prima donnas with heads up their own proverbial arseholes, Harris and the boys reflect on a history as prosaic, practical and humbling as a new pair of underpants. There’s no pretension, there’s no ranting, there’s no therapy sessions; in short, there’s no silliness. The silliness and codpiece drama is saved for the songs. Let’s face it, what band on earth could come up with titles as unashamedly transparent (and as bad) as ‘Women In Uniforms’, ‘Run To The Hills’, ‘The Number Of The Beast’ ‘Transylvania’, or ‘Dance Of Death’ and still be accused of being cynical. It’s all clean and honest stuff, emphasizing if nothing else, the uncomplicated reality of forming a band, putting in some practise time, hauling your amps down to the local church hall, having a bit of a laugh, a few beers, and getting as tight as you can get.
There’s hyperbole and egos a plenty; but this is what bands are about. The self-aggrandizing mythology and dramatic histrionics though have been replaced with a refreshing sense of the casual, the accidental and the thoroughly ordinary.
Anyway, if you needed proof of why iron Maiden have achieved the kind of longevity and loyalty they have, look no further than this new DVD release, chock full of fan-pleasing goodies, extras and rare footage. The two-disc Early Days is the first in a series of planned DVD archives of the band’s history and charts their early rise at the forefront of the movement that became known as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Disc One has three live concerts: “Live at the Rainbow“, originally released on VHS back in 1980 and featuring their original vocalist Paul Di’Anno; 1982’s “Beast Over Hammersmith“, with Bruce Dickinson fronting the band; and 1983’s “Live at Dortmund“, which features the band at the top of the bill and the top of their game, headlining a monumental metal festival in Germany.
Disc Two brings together a combination of live sets and archival material (including home video footage of one of their first gigs, back in 1979 at East London’s Ruskin Arms) and exclusive new material. Whilst some of the early promotional videos featured here have already found there way onto previous releases like ‘Iron Maiden – Visions Of The Beast’ [2003] there are some genuinely compelling moments; the band performing ‘Women In Uniforms’ in front of a fairly bemused looking Top Of The Pops crowd being one moments.
All good stuff, and all great boys, everyone of ‘em.