The big comparison of Iron Maiden CD masterings

Thank you.

Fortunately, I do have equivalent CD versions; for example:

• a 1988 first US Capitol debut (CDP 7 91415 2)
• a 1991 (circa) first Australasian EMI Piece of Mind (7 46363 2)
• a 1986 (circa) third European (West German) EMI Powerslave (CDP 7 46045 2)
• a 1993 (circa) first European (Dutch) EMI Somewhere in Time (CDP 7463412).

And I am reassured by:

• Mr Diament's explanation in Buy CDs - different country different sound? first pressings *
• the prospect that someone else will get to enjoy these Japanese editions.

 

Dude, They remastered The Final Frontier in 2015 and that album only came out in 2010

 

Correction: My first European (Dutch) EMI Somewhere in Time (CDP 7463412) was probably released around 1991 rather than 1993, as on reflexion I'm pretty sure my Dad bought it for me that year, when I was 15.

 

Sounds like you know your Maiden!
If you have heard them, where would the EMI 1995 2cd reissues rank in your opinion against the best masterings for the ‘golden years’ of the band?

 

I don't know how many official live recordings are in the 'vault,' but it might be cool to have them start a live archive like Fugazi did with official downloads available (professionally recorded or otherwise) for fans to hear the shows they saw.

Dare I say they could put together an 'official live bootleg' version of the SIT tour from fan recordings, we all know what's out there.

 

I have three of the EMI 1995 double-CD reissues: Powerslave, No Prayer and Fear of the Dark.

I gather some of this forum find them inferior to the original EMI CDs.

However, I think they sound no less good; and No Prayer and Fear give you B-sides beyond the First 10 Years set (which incidentally sounds better to me than any other CD version of Maiden).

I also have the Castle 1995 double-CD, which has the 5-track version of Maiden Japan.

All that said, to my ears, almost any vinyl pressing trumps the best CD from Piece of Mind to Seventh Son inclusive.

 

They’re pretty much clones of the early UK CDs is what I always believed.

 

No prayer for the listener.

 

Has anyone bothered to compare the 2015 versions against the original cd's of the post-reunion albums (Brave New World, Dance of Death, A Matter of Life and Death and The Final Frontier)?

Are they better? worse? the difference is so subtle that it's not worth bothering?

 

Someone uploaded most of them to the DR database, all the 2019 issues here are the 2015 remasters. If they're different, they aren't any better dynamically, at least. Album list - Dynamic Range DB

 

Thank you! I just looked at the DRs and it looks bad.

Seems to me that with the 2015 remasters of those albums you're buying the same dog with a different collar

 

Still touting the '95 Castle double CD sets. It's the best sounding 1980 S/T & 1981 Killers, out there...

Especially the bonus songs on CD 2

 

yeah I have no idea what the point of those reissues were

 

I can remember a Bruce interview where he said Maiden signed a massive deal back in the late 90’s (he wasn’t in the band at the time) for the rights to their CDs sales to, I think he said, a Japanese company, and that deal had an expiration date. So I’m guessing those 2015’s are the end of that deal, everything ‘in-house’ again so-to-speak.