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Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

 
Album Review: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

  • Artist: Iron Maiden
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1988
  • Total Time: 44:14
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album, Enhanced CD-ROM
  • Genre: Rock

Review

In 1988, harsh thrash metal and radio-friendly glam rock were the two chief heavy metal styles. Instead of aligning themselves to either camp, Iron Maiden stuck to their guns and issued a concept album, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. Concept albums had spelled disaster for other metal bands in the past, but this proved not to be the case with Maiden, resulting in what many fans consider their last true classic album (and the last with guitarist Adrian Smith, until their late-'90s reunion). Although the songs are all lyrically tied together by the story of a prophet who tries (unsuccessfully) to warn a village of an impending holocaust, they don't have to be listened to in succession to be enjoyed -- one of the main reasons the album worked so well. A total of four singles were issued in the U.K. (all Top Tens) -- "Can I Play with Madness?," "The Evil That Men Do," "The Clairvoyant," and "Infinite Dreams" -- which all prove to be the album's best cuts. But like earlier Maiden albums, this is a complete album -- while "Moonchild," "The Prophecy," "Only the Good Die Young," and the epic title track are not as well-known as the singles, they are just as noteworthy. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son marked the end of a golden era for one of metal's all-time best bands. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Moonchild (Lyrics) Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith Iron Maiden (5:41)
Infinite Dreams (Lyrics) Steve Harris Iron Maiden (6:09)
Can I Play with Madness (Lyrics) Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith, Steve Harris Iron Maiden (3:31)
The Evil That Men Do Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith, Steve Harris Iron Maiden (4:34)
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (Lyrics) Steve Harris Iron Maiden (9:53)
The Prophecy Steve Harris, David Murray Iron Maiden (5:06)
The Clairvoyant Steve Harris Iron Maiden (4:27)
Only the Good Die Young (Lyrics) Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris Iron Maiden (4:42)

Credits

Bruce Dickinson (Vocals), Iron Maiden (Main Performer), Barry Guy (Producer), Barry Guy (Enhanced CD Design), Adrian Smith (Synthesizer), Adrian Smith (Guitar), Adrian Smith (Guitar (Rhythm)), Adrian Smith (Vocals), Martin Birch (Producer), Martin Birch (Engineer), Martin Birch (Mixing), Steve Harris (Synthesizer), Steve Harris (Bass), Steve Harris (Guitar (Bass)), Steve Harris (Vocals), Steve Harris (Synthesizer Bass), Steve Harris (Synthesizer Strings), George Marino (Mastering), Nicko McBrain (Drums), Tony Wilson (Producer), David Dade (Engineer), David Murray (Guitar), David Murray (Guitar (Rhythm)), David Murray (Guitar Synth), Hugh Gilmour (Art Direction), Hugh Gilmour (Reissue Design), Ross Halfin (Photography), Rod Smallwood (Design), Rod Smallwood (Concept), Rod Smallwood (Sleeve Design), Rod Smallwood (Sleeve Idea), Derek Riggs (Artwork), Derek Riggs (Design), Derek Riggs (Concept), Derek Riggs (Sleeve Design), Derek Riggs (Sleeve Idea), Derek Riggs (Sleeve Illustration), Stephane "The Vardengrip" Wissner (Engineer), Barrie Stjohn Jones (Producer), Barrie Stjohn Jones (Enhanced CD Design), Dave Murray (Guitar), Dave Murray (Guitar (Rhythm)), Sarah Polglase (Project Manager), Ian Shurmer (Enhanced CD Design)
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Wikipedia: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
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Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Studio album by Iron Maiden
Released 11 April, 1988
Recorded Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany, during 1987 - March 1988
Genre Heavy metal
Length 43:50
Label EMI
Producer Martin Birch
Professional reviews
Iron Maiden chronology
Somewhere in Time
(1986)
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
(1988)
No Prayer for the Dying
(1990)
Singles from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
  1. "Can I Play with Madness"
    Released: 20 March 1988
  2. "The Evil That Men Do"
    Released: 1 August 1988
  3. "The Clairvoyant"
    Released: 7 November 1988

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is a concept album by heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released in 1988 as the band's seventh studio album on EMI in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in the US (it was re-released by Sanctuary/Columbia Records in the US in 2002).

Contents

History

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was the last Iron Maiden album to feature guitarist Adrian Smith until the album Brave New World in 2000 (he did write a song that Bruce Dickinson finished for the next album, No Prayer for the Dying, titled "Hooks in You", a loose tie-in to the Charlotte the Harlot saga).

"The Clairvoyant" was the first song written for the album. According to Steve Harris, the song's lyrics were inspired by the death of psychic Doris Stokes, saying "if she were really clairvoyant, if she were really able to see the future, wouldn't she have been able to forsee her own death?"

At least five of the album's songs ("Moonchild", "Infinite Dreams", "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", "The Prophecy" and "The Clairvoyant") can be directly related to a main lyrical storyline inspired by the folklore concept.

Lyrically, the album centers around some main philosophical ideas: good vs. evil, mysticism, prophetic vision, reincarnation and afterlife. Almost all the album includes direct or indirect references to questions regarding to these concepts and poetically refers the answers.

Stylistically, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son develops the sounds first heard on Somewhere in Time (1986), and continues the band's lyrical exploration of topics related to mysticism, power, and the occult.

The album debuted at #1 in UK charts (their only since The Number of the Beast) as well as #12 in the U.S, while the singles "Can I Play with Madness", "The Evil That Men Do", "The Clairvoyant (live)" and "Infinite Dreams (live)" reached #3, #5, #6 and #6 positions, respectively. Of all the songs in the album, "The Evil That Men Do", "The Clairvoyant" and "Can I Play with Madness" appear on the set lists of nearly all of the band's concert tours.

7th Tour of a 7th Tour was the tour supporting the album.

Track listing

  1. "Moonchild" (Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith) – 5:39
  2. "Infinite Dreams" (Steve Harris) – 6:09
  3. "Can I Play with Madness" (Dickinson, Smith, Harris) – 3:31
  4. "The Evil That Men Do" (Dickinson, Smith, Harris) – 4:34
  5. "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" (Harris) – 9:53
  6. "The Prophecy" (Dave Murray, Harris) – 5:05
  7. "The Clairvoyant" (Harris) – 4:27
  8. "Only the Good Die Young" (Dickinson, Harris) – 4:42

1995 Reissue Bonus CD

  1. "Black Bart Blues" (Dickinson, Harris) - 6:41
  2. "Massacre" (Brian Downey, Phil Lynott, Scott Gorham) - 2:53
  3. "Prowler 88" (Harris) - 4:07
  4. "Charlotte the Harlot 88" (Murray) - 4:11
  5. "Infinite Dreams (live)" (Harris) - 6:03
  6. "The Clairvoyant (live)" (Harris) - 4:27
  7. "The Prisoner (live)" (Smith, Harris) - 6:09
  8. "Killers (live)" (Paul Di'Anno, Harris) - 5:03
  9. "Still Life (live)" (Murray, Harris) - 4:38

Personnel

with

Production

  • Martin Birch – producer, engineer, mixing, tape operator
  • Albert Boekholt – engineer, assistant engineer
  • Ronald Prent – engineer, assistant engineer
  • George Marino – mastering engineer

Chart performance

Album

Year Chart Position
1988 UK Albums Chart 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 200 12

Singles

Year Single Chart Position Album
1988 "Can I Play With Madness" UK Singles Chart 3 "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son"
"The Evil That Men Do" UK Singles Chart 5
"The Clairvoyant" UK Singles Chart 6
1989 "Infinite Dreams" UK Singles Chart 6
1990 "Can I Play With Madness" UK Singles Chart 10 "The First Ten Years"
Sweden 12
"The Clairvoyant" UK Singles Chart 11
Preceded by
Now That's What I Call Music 11
by Various Artists
UK number one album
April 30, 1988 – May 6, 1988
Succeeded by
The Innocents by Erasure

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" Read more