The Early Days - Part 1

Rating:
Summary: Vintage Iron Maiden !!!
Review: Both DVDs are packed with their own stuff, the first basically has the concerts. They are decent quality considering how old they are, but they are still cool. Disc 2 has a couple of documentaries, its cool to see how Iron Maiden came to be, and to see some of the old members and how OLD they really look.
The ONLY thing I didnt like was that they play a lot of the same stuff in 2 of the concerts, they are almost the same, I just wish they played Strange World live in one of those sets, would have been awesome !!!!

Rating:
Summary: Worth every penny
Review: I agree with everything that has been said. They do play the same songs over and over again in the concert footage. I was shocked at the quality of the concert footage and the sound. The documentry is really informative and honest, seeing all the old members was really interesting and how they go through all the different lineups.

Rating:
Summary: This sets a high water mark for all other Rockumentries!!
Review: I have read a few of the other well written reviews here, and there is little that I can add to what has been already written. Suffice to say, this is the best R&R documentry I have ever seen. Why? Because it is a very, very through retrospective of the early days of the band, and as I was a Maiden fan from ground zero this gives access to innumerable details that we in North America were not able to have ready access to at the time of the NWOBHM explosion. Very, very satisfying to watch, brilliantly put together and I am so incredibly thankful to have been able to live the NWOBHM firsthand, there is certainly nothing like that in music anymore, and I was one of the fortunate ones to have lived those denim and leather days. So, as alluded to in my review title, this really sets a high water mark for documentries of the R&R type, as it was made with an eye to pleasing the fan, and our love of knowing as many details about the birth of the Metal we love. Certainly Judas Priest should put together something with this degree of detail as opposed to the quickies that are out there now.

Only other thoughts on Maiden all these years later? The same one that I have maintained for 23+ years now, Bruce is a spectacular singer, but to me I was and always will be a Paul Di'Anno supporter. Paul was as brilliant in his own raw, highly unique way, and was a great voice! I still will go on record stating 100% (personal opinion of course!) that although 'NOTB' is awesome in most respects, that 'Killers' in my eyes is the greatest Maiden release of all, and that the first album has a brilliant raw energy that makes it priceless as well. This sound I attribute greatly to Di'Anno, and when he left the fold, I stayed with Maiden on 'NOTB', but moved on by 'Piece of Mind', and never returned to listening to them. In conclusion, this DVD history is very fulfilling for an early Maiden fan, get it and enjoy.

P.S.- Metal tip of the day; if you loved the NWOBHM, then do yourself a BIG favor and get the latest SAXON release, 'Lionheart'. This really is the best classic sounding British Metal album that I have heard in many, many years. As well as being a big Maiden fan, I was a huge Saxon fan back at the beginning, but stopped listening to them long ago, however the reviews that I read for 'Lionheart' right here on Amazon prompted me to take that chance, as they were all so glowing, and boy, am I glad that I did! Do yourself a favor, trust me, it is an awesome Metal album in the traditional sense. Sorry to use the Maiden area to boast about this, but Saxon never really got their due and there are many of you out there who would love this album and could help support a great Metal band who deserved alot better. Thanks.

Rating:
Summary: Great Stuff
Review: I really can't add anything to the terrific recap of Ed Baldhead below, so I won't be redundant. I just want to add to the glowing reviews of this great dvd set. I anxiously look forward to the next set which should include a remastered Live After Death, and with any luck a remastered Maiden England as well. The one I really want, however, will be the Dance of Death tour footage. Unfortunately we're going to have to wait until possibly a third installment.

Anyway, this is a great dvd set with fun concerts and gives you insight into my personal favorite band. If you're unsure as to whether or not this is a worthy purchase, ponder it no more! Buy it and enjoy it forever! Up the irons!!

Rating:
Summary: A Great DVD Package For a Legendary Band
Review: I'm really enjoying Iron Maiden again. I never thought they'd be around as long as they have, but there you go. You have to give them credit for staying power, even when their type of music was out of favor. I picked up their new "Early Years" DVD, a documentary covering the band from 1974 up to 1983. They interview almost everyone that ever played in the band up to that point, the notables being Dennis Stratton, Paul Di'Anno, and Clive Burr. But there were others -- guitarists or drummers that were in for a year, maybe less. All in all, very interesting. The point that really comes across in the DVD is that Iron Maiden is Steve Harris. The guy had a dream and he was focused. It's due to his perseverance we have this great band and a great catalog of albums. It's truly amazing to see the band's career from kids with a part-time hobby, to the pinnacle of the heavy metal heap. All of this accomplished through hard work, and without sacrificing a bit of their integrity.

The only problem that I saw was that they really didn't go into too much detail as to why key players left the band. There was a little bit of information from Rod Smallwood (Iron Maiden's manager) as to why Paul Di'Anno was asked to leave -- drinking, smoking, substance abuse, all began to take its toll on his voice. Even worse, he began to lose interest in the band. That being the case, he was sacked. Clive Burr's dismissal was barely delved into -- he basically said, "And then I was out of the band..." That's it. Was it exhaustion? undependability? Personality clashes? Drugs? Musical differences? I always viewed Clive as a key component of the band -- one of my all time favorite drummers -- who's really never received adequate recognition for his contributions. But I understand you can't include everything -- otherwise this thing would be four hours long. Barring that, this is truly an enjoyable documentary to watch.

You'll also get three concerts on the bonus disc: a '79 show at the Rainbow, '82's Beast over Hammersmith, and an 83 concert from Dortmund. All excellent shows. And you can see with each album they got better and better.

I've hear that there's going to be a part 2 and 3. If they're as good as this first one. We're in for a real treat!

Rating:
Summary: way better than rio...
Review: if i could id rate it 6 stars or more it was a great combination of multiple concerts plus a doc/bio while rio focused on that one concert(while it was a good conert i prefer 5 concerts and a doc/bio than one concert anyday)it shows alot how they went from nothing to the awsome band...cant wait for part 2 if there is one

Rating:
Summary: A must see for all musicians
Review: It is very impressive how determined the boys were back in the day and what they have achieved. Seeing all the former Bandmates including Paul Di Anno talking about their time with Maiden was interesting at touching at times. This is a perfect Rockumentary about one of the biggest names in rock.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: Many people might wonder how Iron Maiden got to where they are today. This DVD set certainly answers the question. It includes 3 full length concerts from the early 80s (2 with Bruce, 1 with Paul) plus a bootleg concert video from before the first album! Also included on this is a 95 min. documentary on the early days of the band. It features Steve and other previous members of the band talking about the beggining- the first gig, the making of Eddie, why certain members left, etc. And thats not all- many other things are included too, like rare british tv peformances from the early 80s, and promotional videos for some of the songs (including "women in uniform").

Overall, this a great buy for any Maiden fan. And it is also a great value! Buy it today

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME DVD well worth the money.
Review: My brother got this DVD for Christmas from my dad's friend and I just watched it a couple days ago. I thought these were just gonna be a bunch of old bootlegs with bad quality but I was completely wrong. The quality of the videos is unbelievable considering the times when these concerts were taped. They seem like they're from only a few years ago. The audio quality is even better. It was restored flawlessly. You can hear every note on the guitars and bass, and the voices and drums are clear and crisp. Plus, Paul Di'Anno's voice is ALOT better on this DVD than on 'Iron Maiden' or 'Killers.' My only problem with it is that on 'Beast Over Hammersmith' and 'Live in Dortmund', they don't play that many songs off of 'Piece of Mind.'

Features- A
Quality- A+
Value- A+++
Overall- A+

If you're a REAL Iron Maiden fan, you MUST get this DVD along with 'Rock in Rio.'

Rating:
Summary: Great DVD
Review: What a fantasic overview of the early time of the band. Great for hardcore fans!!!