Free the Knight
What does Mitch Weissman (1) actually have to do with Iron Maiden? I mean, one reads more and more about this guy here lately, doesn't one?
Not that he has written that many songs with Gene and/or Paul, but just for the simple reason that these few songs have a not inconsiderable crossover with certain others. Kinda like a billard ball on a full table in play that sooner or later inevitably collides with one or the other of his multi-colored kinds.
Moreover this should be at least the second or even the third entry for today's Thief in the Night (1987) alone, and I can't say for sure how many more of those might spontaneously turn up.
And that should pretty much hit the nail on the head, because once you look through the peephole of Thief in the Night's front door, you can't help but notice that the merry bunch of Iron Maiden are already waiting there with big and broad smiles on their faces, presumably guided by the noble sentiment of showing their appreciation for one of their early riffs getting the accolade of being promoted to a real Kiss song.
Not from King Gene himself this time, of course, but representatively from the noble squire of the day… Mitch Weissman (2).
Needless to say we're talking about nothing less than Running Free (1980) (3) from Iron Maiden's Di'Anno-esque debut album. And yes, its similarity to the main and chorus riff of Gene's Thief in the Night is indeed, despite all the rhythmic and elaborated differences, almost phenomenally striking.
And I have to frankly admit that I didn't see this one exactly coming because, with the exception of a handful of their classics, I'm completely unfamiliar with Iron Maiden's catalog, which I'm sure could be due, perhaps even to a serious degree, to Bruce Dickinson's vocal performances.
But, after many and long years of longing, I've also managed to find ways and means of even dealing with Paul Stanley's Cheese Drama Voice (4), only in a somewhat dignified manner...
... and, who knows, maybe I can pull off the same trick with Bruce Dickinson's British knightly pathos, always a little too dynamic for my taste, always ready for a duel with a dragon or similar supernatural critter, a sword always at hand that at least matches the sharpness of his quick tongue.
Then again, Dickinson didn't sing at all on Iron Maiden's first album, did he? There you have it again, I have no bloody idea about Maiden.
Woe to you, oh earth and sea, just listen to the darn thing.
Side Note:
(1) You know, that Beatles musical guy who also sang background vocals on Gene's 78's solo album.
(2) I think with the Simmons/Weissman compostions it's a safe bet to say that the musical parts are largely Weissman's doing.
(3) Iron Maiden must certainly have played the song on their joint tour with Kiss in 1980, see Mötley Crüe's Life Wire.
(4) My wonderful little 5-part column about the expansion of Paul's vocal arts in the early to mid-80s.
Thief in the Night (1987)
Running Free (1980)
