Eddie's Archive

Metal fans appreciate merchandise that's as extravagant as the music is heavy. And Iron Maiden's "metal," (tin) box, with a bas-relief, red-eyed Eddie mascot on its lid and a gothic, pewter-based shot glass with a glowering Eddie on the bottom, is indeed a nice bit of heavy metal. Nestled inside are three two-CD sets, comprising 77 live songs, as well as a "family tree" scroll secured with a metal Eddie ring. As usual with Maiden's prolific live output, Eddie's Archive contains uniformly excellent recordings. The first set, "The BBC Archives," chronicles four concerts conducted between 1979 and 1988; it serves up the expected hits, including "Run to the Hills," with the first four songs of disc one featuring original singer Paul Di'Anno. The gem of Eddie's Archive is "Best of the B-Sides," which features 31 tunes (mostly studio recordings), including awesome covers of Jethro Tull's "Cross-Eyed Mary," Golden Earring's "Kill Me ce Soir," two Montrose songs, and cuts originally done by Chuck Berry and Led Zeppelin--as well as covers of such obscure bands as Nektar and Beckett. "B-Sides" is almost worth the price of admission, though the package's "stash" box and shot glass are musts for militant Maiden devotees. --Katherine Turman