I managed to listen to it the other day (once I'd figured out how to use my turntable - try using the on/off button at the back, andrew... :roll:).
It is indeed a very good live album. I think I agree with HTH about the Long Beach stuff being better, but the Hammersmith recordings are good as well.
I did manage to work out why they don't/didn't grab me as much as they could/should. It's poor old Mr Harris's bass-playing :lol:. It's very good bass-playing, and I couldn't come near it personally, but it gets a bit repetitive for me when he's going "dugga-dugga". I think it's all down to the fact that he's a fingers man in a riffing band. I love some of the stuff he does, but the "dugga-dugga" parts are too up-front for my tastes, and I think I'd prefer the bassist using a plectrum if he's going to play those parts for that long.
But having said all that, a) they wouldn't sound like Iron Maiden without his bass playing, and b) I suspect they wouldn't have got famous without his drive and musical input... so big respect to the bloke :D
The guitar playing on this album, and the sounds they were getting, are superb though...
