Best Of The B'Sides

Best Of The B’Sides is the last of the three albums taken from the Eddie's Archives Box Set. This double CD contains the best of the Maiden’s b’sides singles. First of all, let me tell you that this is a joke. Who is going to spend more than 70 euros to buy the Eddie's Archives Box ? It’s the fans. The fans who already bought all the Maiden’s reissues containing all the B sides. I am sure the band had in their archives, something more interesting to give away to the fans instead of this filler CD. Best Of The B’Sides double CD contains live stuff, new recordings, cover stuff, and studio leftovers. Among the live stuff you’ll find another version of Drifter recorded with Paul Di’Anno, Remember Tomorrow recorded with Bruce Dickinson, and Blood On The World’s Hands and The Aftermath recorded with Blaze Bayley. Although I have never been a huge fan of Blaze Bayley, I think his voice is too close to that of Bruce Dickinson, it would have been justice to put a live show featuring Blaze in this Eddie's Archives Box instead of that Best Of The B’Sides stuff. Finally, there's live versions of Futureal and Wasted Years recorded during the Ed Hunter tour in 1999 with Bruce Dickinson. As for the left-over stuff or re-recorded versions, you’ll find Burning Ambition which appears to be the first track Steve Harris wrote completely by himself and Invasion recorded with Paul Di’Anno. Prowler and Charlotte The Harlot are presented here in their re-recorded 1988 version. Justice Of The Peace and Judgment Day are two left-over tracks recorded during the studio sessions for The X Factor with Blaze Bayley and Nodding Donkey Blues and Black Bart Blues are songs composed by the guys themselves but not suitable for Maiden records. There are also a lot of covers taken from bands such as Jethro Tull, The Who, Montrose, Led Zeppelin and UFO, but Maiden has never been a good cover band in the choice of the covers or in their interpretation. If you take Metallica for example, I am really fond of almost all their covers and I love to listen to some stuff as So What, Overkill or Killing Time. With Maiden's covers this has never been the case. All in all, this CD is not in its place in this Eddie's Archives Box and I really wished the band had chosen something else instead.