Iron Maiden: "The Soundhouse Tapes" - 45 Years On

"Though the demo tape contained four songs, the band decided to only release three, with “Iron Maiden” being the Side A of the EP, and “Invasion” and “Prowler” on the B Side. “Strange World”, which along with the eponymous track and “Prowler” would eventually end up the debut album, was considered ‘not up to quality’ in its current recorded version, and was left off as a result.

When you listen to these three tracks compared to the versions that came later on, there are some noticeable differences. Which of course in the long run makes this EP worthy of owning or at least listening to. They are rawer in both music and vocals, with a different timing throughout. Doug Sampson’s drumming gives them that slightly different feel from the versions that would appear later, but are no less impressive or enjoyable. Di’Anno’s vocals, even though they had been performing all of these songs for some time at their live gigs, are still developing into what they would become. And, when you listen to it, for a demo tape, you have to say that it is amazingly impressive. Think about the demo tapes you have made with your first band. You couldn’t possibly have released it in this format. Iron Maiden, or course, were a different breed even then"

On this episode we are going to talk about “The Soundhouse Tapes” by Iron Maiden, the band’s self released demo EP album released 45 years ago this week, on today’s episode where we're “walking through the city, looking all so pretty” on Music from a Lifetime.