Rock in Rio: Live [Enhanced, Limited Edition]

What is the greatest live performance of all time? Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock? The Who at Leeds? Queen at Live Aid? Pah, not any of those that's for sure. On the 19th of January 2001, at 2 minutes past midnight, Iron Maiden took the stage at the Rock in Rio festival as part of their "Brave New World" album tour, and changed perceptions of live rock albums for good.

The main ingredient to the success of the show is not just the supremely gifted sextuplet of vocalist Bruce Dickinson, bassist Steve Harris, guitarists Dave Murray, Janick Gers, Adrian Smith and drummer Nicko McBrain plus their ability to perform, it's the audience that make the concert so darn special. Hearing 250,000 fanatical Brazilian fans sing along with not only the lyrics but the riffs and solos as well is a sight and sound that's as awe inspiring as it must have been daunting.

The intro to the concert; "Arthur's Farewell" perfectly sets up whats to come. It sends an eerie feel down the back of your spine, half anticipation/excitement building, half spookyness. It's a perfect piece of music to represent Maiden. As soon as it receedes and Adrian Smith launches into the opening riff of "The Wicker Man", you know you're in for something incredibly special.

The first three songs: "The Wicker Man", "Ghost of the Navigator" and "Brave New World" fantastically show why Iron Maiden are one of the best if not THE best live band on the planet. The riffs and solos are instantly memorable, the bass and drums are played perfectly and the crowd are so fired up by it they add another musical layer to the songs. Bruce Dickinson's singing and his ability as a showman leaves you in a trance, he's that good.

"Wrathchild" is one of the highlights of the DVD, as soon as Bruce announces the song it just turns the crowd into a bunch of lunatics. From that Maiden go into "2 Minutes to Midnight then two more songs off the excellent "Brave New World" album, "Blood Brothers and "The Mercenary" with the brilliant "Sign of the Cross" in between. Then, it's "The Trooper". Definitely one of Maiden's best songs, the crowd roars with delight when Bruce announces it and screams all the way through to it's end.

The last song to be played off the Brave New World album, "Dream of Mirrors" is a 9 and a half minute epic that unfortunately the crowd don't seem to get into as much this time. But the lack of noise from the crowd is more then made up for by the noise made by Maiden. Following on is another 9 and a half minute epic, "The Clansman". Thankfully the crowd do get much more into this song, the cries of the chorus 'FREEDOM!' echo round your speakers long after they've gone. "The Evil That Men Do" isn't a huge fav of mine on the CD, but it is on the DVD as it features the appearance of a 10foot tall Eddie trying to attack Janick as he plays the solo!

And then, it's "Fear of the Dark". Nowhere near the standard of their best songs, this performance of it is now my favourite Maiden song of all time. What makes it so special is the extra effort Bruce seems to put in with his singing and the deafening noise the crowd make. My favourite bit of the entire show is the crowd making more noise at the start of "Fear of the Dark" then Dave Murray, Janick Gers' guitars and Steve Harris' bass are making together! On the DVD it's even more spectacular, as 500,000 arms go up in the air, swaying to the opening minutes, then going berserk for the rest of the song as well as singing their hearts out more then at any time so far in the concert. Bruce (of course) takes this once in a lifetime moment in his stride, calmly and sarcastically telling them: "I can't hear you! Sing it with me my friends!!!".

As soon as Fear ends, "Iron Maiden" starts up. It's the best I've ever heard Maiden play it, and you realise just how much better that third guitar makes the songs sound rather then the standard two. When "Iron Maiden" finishes, the band salute the crowd and walk off the stage. The lights dim down and there is silence for 2 whole minutes, before the band reappear with "Number of the Beast". The relief and joy going round the crowd can't be described in words, you've just got to hear it for yourself. Maiden then follow "Beast" with "Hallowed be thy Name", before Fear my favourite song. As before the six piece line up and the sound of 250,000 pairs of hands clapping to the beat actually improve it, which in Hallowed's case is almost impossible.

After the vaguely disappointing "Santuary", in which the crowd don't really get into the song at all, Maiden close the show with the ever popular "Run to the Hills", a song which even Bruce says: 'You've all wanted to hear this, and you f***ing deserve to hear it.' It's the perfect way to close the show, and it leaves you gagging for more, but alas, that's it.

So then, a near perfect rock show. My only criticism of it is that there are perhaps too many songs from "Brave New World" in the set list. But as BNW is just about my favourite Maiden album ever, I shouldn't really be complaining at all. This concert made me fall in love with Maiden more then ever, and if there's one Iron Maiden album you must buy, make it this. It's essentially a thick slice of their greatest hits coupled with the spine tingling sound of passionate, die-hard fans, and it leaves you both mesmerised and with a taste for much more Eddie.

After a rather spooky intro the album starts with a mind blowing rendition of Wicker Man, i still get chills down my back when I put this track on. The roar is unreal. You really do feel like you're there in the mosh pit, screaming your lungs out too. It's nearly a religious experience.

My personal highlights are Wicker Man, Ghost of the Navigator, The Trooper, Fear of the Dark, and, of course, Run to the Hills. RttH especially when the crowds sings along, the loudest of the entire CD.

If you care about metal at all, buy this CD.

With "Rock in Rio" Iron Maiden launch their first live album with their "new" lineup, and three guitar onslaught, and you can really feel the raw energy, sweat and blood coming out of your speakers. Songs that used to sound rather empty live, due to the absence of a rythm guitar during harmonies/solos are now filled, and the crunching riffs on tracks such as Wrathchild have even more energy.

Bruce is on form, and his enthusiasm is infectious, drawing energy from the crowd and really whipping them up in a frenzy. While the most exciting thing that groups such as Westlife do is stand up to elicit screams from the crowd, you can imagine Bruce bouncing around all over the place screaming!

My only criticism of the album is the quality of the first Maiden Track "The Wicker Man". The mix is such that the noise of the crowd becomes distorted, and as a result so do the band. However, this does add to the "live" feel for anyone who has experienced the group live, as your ears adjust from the relative silence of waiting for the band to come on stage to the explosion of the first song. After this, the mix settles down and the rest of the album is much clearer.

There is a lot of material from the Brave New World album, including the first three tracks, and there are notable absences of "classic" maiden tracks such as "Aces High" and "Can I play with Madness?" but these are available on previous live albums, and it is refreshing to hear the new material live. An added bonus is to hear Bruce singing "The Sign of the Cross" and "The Clansman"... both songs from the Blaze Bailey era, but were clearly written with Bruce's voice in mind.

This is truly a "live" album, you can hear the crowd, who are not toned down one bit, sometimes drowning Bruce out! You can even imagine Steve as he hoists his Bass up onto his knee and points the head out across the crowd.

For raw metal music in a time when, particularly in the UK, music seems to be lost in easy to sell manufactured pop, this album is a breath of fresh air.