鐵媽媽了沒

不只一次，有人問我鐵媽媽該怎麼開始聽？(當然有時候也有人會問我有沒有衛生紙可以借幾張.....)，我對於鐵媽媽的喜好也是很主流的，沒什麼非主流看 法例如：「我覺得Paul Di'Anno 唱腔比Bruce Dickinson威」或是「我覺得Blaze Bayley 時代的專輯其實沒那麼差」。我對於這兩個時期採取的態度是容忍，接受Di'Anno是鐵姑娘青春期的叛逆、Barley是鐵媽媽的中年危機；只有 Bruce Dickinson時代的Iron Maiden鐵媽媽軍團完整的戰力，Bruce才是鐵媽媽唯一的掌旗人。

至於要怎麼開始收？我對於愛團的收集方法有個標準說法：

「唱片行架上有哪張就從哪張開始收，對照歷年專輯發行表，差哪張就去搜哪張，講個白話一點的口訣：全收」

該怎麼開始聽？標準作業程序：

「從第一首聽到最後一首，然後再聽一遍。」

不好聽，怎麼辦？我要申訴！標準故障排除流程：

「把音量調大，聽聽看；不好聽，再調更大聲。音樂沒有問題，只有音量大小的問題！」

還是不好聽，鄰居都叫警察了！我要申訴！我相信你會經歷以下流程：

「憤怒、否認、討價還價、沮喪、接受。」

佛都只渡有緣人了，放下屠刀的我也沒辦法了~

屁話扯一堆，重點就是：「鐵媽媽出過那麼多張專輯、超多現場、很多精選、超多B-side要怎麼收？」鐵媽媽會出現那麼多音樂商品以及週邊產品，除了資格老，仰仗的就是全球數百萬頭殼壞去的鐵媽媽忠實歌迷。作為一個「理性的入 門音樂鑑賞家」自然必須有邏輯有脈絡的按圖索驥才不會因買了一張The X Factor或是Virtual XI就覺得鐵媽媽索然無味，就跟聽說Metallica是鞭笞金屬四大天王之一，就跑去買Load，再紅標配綠標買Reload，那樣陰錯陽差瞎子摸象摸 到「勇氣」都沒有了。

鐵媽媽的音樂的基性就是「熱血」、「大氣」加上一點點「邪惡」。當然熱血不是像再度到台灣演出Dragonforce那樣「瑪里歐救不到公主狂尻吉他」，尻到皮破肉綻那樣血淋淋的快感。而是打龍前「不怕苦、不怕難、重榮譽、守。紀。律。」那樣雄性集合的騷味。

也因為鐵媽媽的音樂並不像前衛金屬強調專輯整體性，把暢銷單曲集合起來的精選輯，如同每日十大好球一樣，看起來球球過癮。當你愛上那幾球之後，自然也想知道球場當時的狀況，來進一步評斷十大好球真正得分。(有些十大好球根本是對手沒在防守，或是根本是肉腳在防守...)

如果現在才要加入鐵媽媽後援會的板友，我會建議Bruce Dickinson回歸後剪成短髮的第一張現場DVD「Rock in Rio」，鐵媽媽的音樂熱血度有相當程度是建立在視覺上面，尤其是Rio現場25萬樂迷(！)，25萬頭鑽動的盛大場面，鐵媽媽君臨天下威風凜凜的畫面一 定會滲到你的記憶裡。眾人哼Fear of the Dark的旋律讓你雞皮疙瘩豎立三分鐘。


Fear of the Dark (Rio)


Fear of the Dark(Death on the Road)

除此之外，這張DVD幾乎收錄了最經典的鐵媽媽曲子：「The Trooper、Run to the Hill、Fear of the Dark、2 Mins to Midnight、The Evil That Man Do....」而且的這張台灣有代理板。


另外一個選擇就是買精選輯Edward the Great或是去年為巡迴出版撈錢的Somewhere Back in Time。

Edward The Great...明明我每張專輯都有，還是買了這張連remaster都沒有的精選輯，真是買心酸的~


Somewhere Back in Time

如果真的要錄音室專輯，我認為The Number of the Beast(1982) Seventh Son of a Seventh Son(1988)必收中的必收，不收人生會有殘缺那種必收。Powerslave(1984)、Piece of Mind(1983)則是不收就枉為搖滾樂迷那種必收。Brave New World復合後的三張專輯，其實也相當有水準。不過風格也轉為中年的深沉複雜，不像80年代的霸氣凌人，嗯，各位知道的，大人的世界永遠把簡單的事情想 的太複雜了，尤其是掌握權力的人，更是複雜得不得了~

如果鐵媽媽生涯只選一首歌的話，The Trooper無疑是可以讓我從頭暴衝到最後，聽完一遍再聽一遍的曲子。


The Trooper

基本上，鐵媽媽全套錄音室專輯台灣都買的到，最近幾年的便當盒、或全套專輯湊成Eddie(我沒湊成...)也都在台灣可以找的到，只是收藏唱片這需要耐 心(或過人的財力)，所以我也是慢慢收啊~當然，台灣有句話：「人兩腳，驢四腳」，這也是很中肯解決事情的辦法......不過，收藏唱片除了讓音樂創作 人努力獲得實質的回饋外，當你整理這些唱片的時候，也會有種神秘的歸屬感，呵呵~

我在前衛搖滾書the strawberry brick guide to progressive rock 看過這麼一段文字：

「你的唱片成為你的收藏品，而這些收藏品也定義了你這個人。」

成為鐵媽媽忠實歌迷是種很複雜非線性的過程，當然歡迎各位的加入，呵呵~

Eddie's Bar重新開張

According to a posting on IRON MAIDEN's official web site, Eddie's Bar — the Santa Barbara De Nexe, Portugal bar owned by IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris — is "only closing for the winter and will re-open again May 2010 for the summer months, May - September."

A posting on Eddie's Bar's official MySpace profile previously indicated that the bar would be "closing down for good at the end of September." (The posting has since been removed from the page.)

The bar opened in 1989 with Manu Da Silva, a former roadie for IRON MAIDEN, as manager. After Manu's death in 2005, the bar closed and reopened in July 2006 with new managers Dave Sullivan and Terry Rance — both of whom played guitar in the first-ever IRON MAIDEN lineup — and Jeff Daniels, who was a MAIDEN roadie in the 1970s.

The bar features many props used during past MAIDEN tours, like sarcophagi from the World Slavery Tour 1984/85, Steve Harris' bass, Nicko McBrain's cymbals and signed records, photos and posters of the band. Heavy metal videos are played during the bar's opening hours.

新聞綜整_24.09.09

因為鐵媽媽進入閉關期，所以有陣子沒鐵媽媽的消息了。不過圍繞鐵媽媽的相關消息總是不會少的，因為他們是當今武林最重要的重金屬樂團啊！

【Eddie's Bar歇業】
由鐵媽媽團長Steve Harris投資，早期團員加上巡迴的工作人員一同在葡萄牙Santa Barbara自從1989年開始營業的重金屬酒吧Eddie's Bar在日前宣布歇業，但並未交代其原因。1989年開始都由前巡迴工作人員Manu Da Silva負責酒吧日常經營，在2005年Manu辭世，酒吧關門。不過在2006年七月鐵媽媽第一任的吉他手Dave Sullivan與Terry Rance接手負責經營重新開張。約三年後的前些日子，宣布關閉。

Eddie's Bar當然免不了在店裡陳設鐵媽媽的相關紀念品，並在營業時間播放重金屬音樂影帶。可惜他們沒在英國開設分店，不然我也想去逛逛，呼呼~

【Trivium與Ozzfest嗆聲】
美國新浪潮重金屬樂團Trivium貝斯手在接受專訪被問到他們是否被要求向Ozzfest的主辦單位道歉，因為他們在演出的時候穿著鐵媽媽的團T，並在他們的amp掛上鐵媽媽的旗幟。講到激動處還罵了髒話，並表示他們以後再也不會去那個狗屎音樂祭了。

Everybody knows about the IRON MAIDEN thing [in 2005 when Sharon Osbourne and other people threw eggs at the band], the eggs and all that shit. We were really young when we did that tour. Of course, we were smartasses and we put IRON MAIDEN shirts on and IRON MAIDEN flags on our amps. They didn't like that. We didn't give a shit, we still don't give a shit.

Maybe [Ozzfest will] come back next year, but I don't know how it's going to compete with [Mayhem] festival. I think this festival is going to kill it.

"We had to formally apologize or something, it's like fuck you! How about this, how about I formally say fuck you to Ozzfest. Formal! We don't want to play your shitty festival!

【Flight 666製作團隊接受專訪】
隨著DVD熱銷，加上之前Headbanger's Journey, Global Metal廣受好評，加拿大導演Scot McFadyen 與Sam Dunn兩人儼然成為重金屬紀錄片的大師級人物，所以專訪邀約不斷。最近，他們接受QTV專訪，當然再度談到了鐵媽媽成功的原因在於他們工作的紀律以及謙卑的態度，即使在沒有暢銷金曲加持下，他們依舊能在現在開動輒四五萬人的演唱會，同時也談到鐵媽媽團員也驚訝於他們自己本身歲數漸長，到場的樂迷卻依舊如二十年前一樣年輕。這都證明了，他們的演出並不僅僅是一種懷舊情懷所驅動，而是他們音樂在現在數位(海賊)時代能經得起時間的考驗，並呼應了樂迷對於高品質演唱會體驗的需求。

此外，也談到在Flight666裡面不同國家、各色人種文化各異的樂迷卻展現相同的特徵。某些文化背景的樂迷是期待一種掙脫日常接觸的文化所致(台灣的樂迷應該大多都是這樣的心態吧？)，而鐵媽媽除了紮實的音樂實力外，也提供了這樣特殊的異文化體驗。有興趣的，請看完整專訪：



扯個題外話，Dunn與McFadyen獲得加拿大前衛金屬國寶Rush的首肯，準備拍攝Rush的紀錄片，呼呼，又是一張值得期待的重金屬紀錄片。(什麼時候會輪到Dream Theater?)

Bruce Dickinson談Flight 666

原文網址

Iron Maiden’s “Flight 666 ” : Bruce Dickinson on Airborne Adventure
6/25/09, 3:56 pm EST

When Iron Maiden hit the road early last year they wanted to hit the four corners of the earth within a few weeks of each other. “The bean counters said it’s just not worth going to places like India and Costa Rica,” says Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson. “Being an aviation bloke, I thought to myself, ‘If you just chucked everything into one airplane you could do an almost European-type itinerary, but an on inter-continental basis.’ ” That’s precisely what they did, with accomplished pilot Dickinson personally flying the specially modified 757. “When we finally got approval I thought to myself, ‘Oh my God, what have I done now?’ ” says Dickinson. “This is all going to be my fault if it all goes terribly wrong.”

The tour — which featured a set composed almost entirely of their 1980s classics — was a stunning success. The whole crazy trip was filmed for the new documentary Flight 666, which was released on DVD earlier this month. “Two-thirds of the film is not about us,” says Dickinson. “It’s about the fans and the crew — which is the way it should be. The first time I saw it was I just blown away.” Fellow metal icons Ronnie James Dio and Lars Ulrich have cameos in the film.

What’s next for Maiden? “At the moment we’re in daydreaming mode,” says Dickinson. “We’re trying to get ideas and things, but towards the end of the year we’re going to get together to plan our new record. We haven’t made any tour plans for next tour. That’s at least a year and a bit away.” The group will probably have a more balanced set list on the next tour. “My gut feeling is that we’ll play selected songs from the new album and a mixture of stuff from several albums we haven’t picked from yet — like Brave New World and some of the other more recent albums.”

In the meantime, Dickinson is spending much of his time in the air as a pilot for Astraeus ailines in the U.K. “The legal maximum for a pilot is about 900 hours in the air,” he says. “I do between six and seven hundred. I’ve flown the English football team, members of the royal family, soldiers, British Airway passengers.” Do the passengers freak out if they learn their plane is being flown by heavy metal royalty? “Not really,” he says. “Most people aren’t interested anyway.” Could he have pulled a Captain Sully and landed that plan in the Hudson after complete engine failure? “I think every pilot would like to think so,” he says. “He did an extraordinary job. He had a bit of luck on his side since there was very little wind and the water surface was smooth, but he still did an amazing job.”

Steve Harris簡歷

Steve Harris的正式登記名字是Stephen Percy Harris，1956年3月12日生於倫敦，他是鐵媽媽的貝斯手、團長兼主要詞曲創作人。此外，他也負責彈鍵盤以及和音的工作。1975年，當他還是未 滿20歲時，他籌組了Iron Maiden。他與笑臉大叔Dave Murray是唯二參與所有錄音室專輯的團員，不過Dave Murray在第一張專輯發行之前加入了Urchin，所以Harris是唯一從頭到尾都參與的團員。


在鐵媽媽之前，他在東倫敦做過建築繪圖員的工作，之後因為成立鐵媽媽而放棄那份工作。在1970年代中期，他還是(職業足球)西漢姆聯隊的青年隊成員。直 到今日，他依舊是個出色的業餘足球好手並在他貝斯上貼著西漢姆的徽章，他曾經說過，在音樂之前，他的夢想是當個職業足球員。然而在最近(Flight 666)他也表示，幸好他做對了決定，不然職業足球員早就該退休了。

【西漢姆聯隊徽章】

一開始Steve Harris的願望是當鼓手，或成為職業足球員，然而他的家並有沒足夠的空間來擺放鼓具，所以他改彈貝斯及寫歌。Harris是個自學出師的貝斯手。第一把貝斯是他17歲時用40英鎊買的Fender Precision Bass。


Harris的第一個叫做Influence後來改名Gypsy’s Kidd。他後來加入所有團員都比他大好幾歲的Smiler，不過他最後還是離團，因為樂團根本對一個在舞台上跑跑跳跳還寫歌的貝斯手一點興趣都沒有，而 且他寫的歌對其他團員而言太複雜了，他們根本不願意彈。在Smiler之後，Harris叔叔組了現在眾所周知的Iron Maiden，而這個名字的靈感是他在電影The Man in the Iron Mask看到一個名為iron maiden虐待刑具而來。

人形的鐵製器材就是iron maiden


Steve Harris 是鐵媽媽主要的詞曲創作人。他的作曲受到70年代前衛搖滾如Yes, Wishbone Ash, King Crimson, Genesis與Emerson, Lake and Palmer的影響，歌曲以他著名的跑馬貝斯節奏為特色，常用長度較長曲子做多次的節奏變換，同時搭配著史詩主題的歌詞。Harris 的歌詞經常圍繞著神話、歷史或者來自書上或電影中的主題。


Steve Harris 經常被認為重金屬上最佳而且是最具影響力的貝斯手之一。他最為人所熟知的「跑馬般」的貝斯線通常在八分音符之後接連兩個快速彈奏的十六分音符，如The Trooper，或是八分音符的三連音。演出之前，他通常會在手指抹上一些滑石粉，這個畫面可在A Matter of Life and Death專輯的Bonus DVD 看到。






【像LeBron James這樣真的太誇張了】

此外，他在貝斯演奏上也非常勇於創新，並在許多鐵媽媽的曲子裡表演了複雜的合奏。他也在一些曲子用了Power Chord，而這在一般貝斯彈奏並不常見。Harris也表示他從未用過pick也沒在表演前暖身過。 Harris每張專輯一定都會用上他特別上漆的貝斯。這把貝斯的顏色從一開始的黑色、轉為藍色、然後到現在的白色。

黑色版本

藍色版本

現在的 iPod(誤)白色版本

翻譯自維基百科Steve Harris條目

IRON MAIDEN Drummer Talks 'Flight 666' Movie

Mark Morton of Heavy Metal Examiner recently conducted an interview with IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain. An excerpt from the chat follows below.

Heavy Metal Examiner: Was there an extensive group discussion about participating in the ["Flight 666"] movie, or was it an executive decision from Rod Smallwood [manager] saying that you had to do it?

Nicko: No, no, no, Lord almighty. There were many, many discussions. It kicked off one night after a show in Europe. We were talking amongst the band — we do talk to each other, contrary to popular belief. Bruce [Dickinson, vocals] came up with the idea about getting our own jet airliner and touring around the world.

We discussed the places we've never been to, places we wanted to go to, how much money it costs to tour these places, and how cost-prohibitive these places were. And Bruce said, "Well, we'll have our own magic carpet!" Then we started thinking that that might be a great idea; we could get a 747! And Bruce said that he was thinking more along the lines of a 757, because he wasn't rated for the 747. Then we pitched it to Rod, and discussed the logistics of where we wanted to go. And originally, the idea for taking the 757 was so we could take all our gear, have Bruce pilot it, and bring all of our family along. Then someone said, "Well, we have to take all the journalists of the world with us, too, because this is an historic event!"

"Hhhhhmmmm," said Rod, "why don't we document this here bloody trip. It is historic, after all. Nobody's ever done this before — customize a 757 and whatnot. Even better, we should have a documentary crew 24/7 for the duration of the tour!" Boy, that's when it went down like a fountain in a 2-man submarine, believe me. There was a bit of rumbling, a bit of grumbling, some trepidation…my lord, trepidation! So yeah, it wasn't a matter of "yeah, let's all do it."

There were a few of us who weren't very happy with the idea of these people coming and living with us for two months, with access to us 24/7. There were a couple of meetings we had where we ended up convinced that it was the best thing to do, because it was so historic. And to be very honest with you, I'm glad we did it, because we came out with this wonderful "Flight 666" movie.

And I have to take my hat off to Rod Smallwood, because he oversaw the running of how the film was presented, chronologically. He did a fantastic job editing that film with Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn. But yeah, we had a bit of a problem with agreeing to give these guys access to us, but through the love-hate relationship, we came out with more love than hate. And I'm pleased to say that Scot and Sam and all the crew are now very much a part of the IRON MAIDEN family.

Heavy Metal Examiner: Obviously, there had to be a period of adjustment with these guys in your faces all the time. Were there any eruptions or rows that developed out of this, off camera?

Nicko: Not really, no. There were moments where I'm sure they got some growling and grumblings on film somewhere; especially from me… 'cause I told them to f*** off more than once. Me, moreso than anyone else in the band. Yeah, Janick [Gers, guitar] used to tell them to just p*** off and whatever. The one thing I have to say is that they went above the call of duty when they were recording the concert footage for the movie. They would come up to me about an hour before the show, and Sam would say, "Hey Nick, we'd like to shoot you tonight from this side of the stage. Are you okay with that?" And I would go, "F*** yeah, of course you can!" It was always a "whatever you want" kinda vibe, and they never stepped on anyone's toes.

And that is one of the hardest things to do — film IRON MAIDEN live. If someone comes up to the front with a camera, and Bruce is there, he'll put a boot in it. During Rock In Rio, I'm not sure if you can see it, but at one point, there was a camera pointed down at me, and he climbed up this ladder and ripped it right out — $30,000 worth of camera, just gone! But no, we didn't really have any problems with them. If we weren't happy about something, they wouldn't tape or overstep the line.

Read the entire interview from Heavy Metal Examiner.

IRON MAIDEN Singer On 'Flight 666': 'The Audience Are The Stars Of This Documentary'

JAM! Music recently conducted an interview with vocalist Bruce Dickinson of British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

JAM! Music: Flying every day and playing every night seems like a heck of a schedule.

Bruce: Well, it would be if I did that. The documentary ["Flight 666"] might give that impression, but that's just something people have read into it. If we did an aviation documentary, you'd see how it actually works. I'm not allowed to fly after doing a show — I have to wait 12 hours. That's a regulatory issue. So when you see me flying, we've had a rest day after the show and then left the next day. And at all times on the airplane, we had three pilots as an insurance policy against one getting sick. In fact, one did get food poisoning and I had to take over. If they'd shown that, you'd have seen me flying in shorts and a T-shirt.

JAM! Music: Are there similarities between being a pilot and being a rock singer?

Bruce: Well, the image of the pilot is somebody who is always in control. And the image of a rock star is somebody who is always out of control. The truth is, as a pilot, you're not as in control as some people think. You're constantly managing risk. Doesn't mean the airplane's not safe; but the amount of control you have over nature is not absolute. Now flip to your rock-star head and you're running around on stage salivating like a maniac, yelling, screaming, snarling. But in fact, the show is quite tightly controlled. If it weren't disciplined, the band would fall apart. So the appearances are different. But under the surface, they're not so different. A pilot has to be aware of his environment and all the things that might affect the airplane. As a singer, you're juggling the audience's emotions and you've got to be aware of all the things that might affect that evening's proceedings.

JAM! Music: Tell me about working with Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen. How did you pick them?

Bruce: They kind of picked us, really. When we met them, we were a little suspicious at first. We're always suspicious of people with cameras. We've trusted people in the past who have been rather vile. Our worry was that we were going to end up with (METALLICA's) "Some Kind of Monster". Which is not us, but I know how the cutting room works. But then we got to trust them. And what they came up with was great. It wasn't a live performance; it wasn't about big egos; it wasn't blowing smoke up everybody's ass; it was about the fans. The audience are the stars of this documentary. They just did a fantastic job. They got under all of our skins without getting on our nerves.

JAM! Music: You've got so many oars in the water — singing, flying, fencing, writing, hosting TV programs. How do you juggle all those balls?

Bruce: I just do loads of interviews. It makes it so easy; I don't have to do any of that. I just talk about it.

JAM! Music: If you had to only do one thing, which would it be?

Bruce: I'd have to sing. You can train people to fly. But there must be something to what I do that's special to a lot of people. And you have to go with the thing that's the most special.

Read the entire interview at JAM! Music.

from Blabbermouth