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List Price: $17.98 | | Label: Sony
Salesrank: 8366
Released: March 26, 2002 |
| Our Price: $8.44 |
| Used Price: $7.48 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Seventh Son of a Seventh Son Track Listing:
1. Moonchild
2. Infinite Dreams
3. Can I Play with Madness
4. Evil That Men Do
5. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
6. Prophecy
7. Clairvoyant
8. Only the Good Die Young
Editorial Review:
The original version of their 1988 EMI album, unavailable inthe U.S. Eight tracks, including 'Can I Play With Madness','The Evil That Men Do' and 'The Clairvoyant'.
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son Reviews:
Iron Maiden's last album with the "classic five man incarnation" is one of their best efforts 
2009-12-13 - English metal masters Iron Maiden's seventh studio album coincidentally called Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was released in April of 1988.
The album was the band's first new studio album in nearly two years and coincidentally was to be their last with the five man lineup of singer Bruce Dickinson, guitarists Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, bass player Steve Harris and drummer Nicko McBrain as Smith would resign from the band for a decade until his return on 2000's Brave New World. Iron Maiden and longtime producer Martin Birch made certain that Adrian's last album with Maiden for over a decade was also arguably the band's best album as I found out when I first got the Capitol Record cassette version in May of 1988 and later the remastered CD.
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was Maiden's first proper concept album about a cursed child who is born with special powers and it tempted by the side of both good and evil. Also, the band was starting to blend more progressive rock into their majestic brand of metal (it's no coincidence that Iron Maiden were influenced by Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, UFO, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Genesis, Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd).
We begin the album with "Moonchild" which begins as an acoustic passage giving this album's theme and then it builds into a superb rocker penned by Smith and Dickinson. Next is the superb "Infinite Dreams" penned by Harris and was a great progressive metal rocker alternating between quiet and heavy, mid-tempo and fast tempo and as the British call it "light and shade" sections. Next was the album's biggest hit "Can I Play With Madness" penned by Smith/Harris/Dickinson which sounded reminiscent to the previous album, 1986's Somewhere in Time's biggest hit, "Wasted Years" and Smith's synthesizer guitar solo here says "take that Richie Sambora". Next is "The Evil That Men Do" also penned by Harris/Smith/Dickinson and is another stellar rocker. This song was always one of my favorites.
The album's second half begins with the epic length title cut! Like the 13 plus minute "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" and 9 minute "Alexander The Great" before it, it's the longest and best track on the album. Unlike those two aforementioned epics, the Harris penned title cut was the band's first 10 minute track which they created the story themselves. Wonderful musicianship throughout, especially Murray and Smith's guitar duels at the end which is an awesome piece of music. "The Prophecy" is next and is a great track penned by Murray/Harris and ends with a superb acoustic guitar section. next is the album's third single "The Clairvoyant" which is another great rocker. We end the album with arguably one of Maiden's best album closers "Only The Good Die Young". This Harris/Dickinson penned piece is a killer rocker. Then when you think the album ended after the big finish, the album ends with a reprise of the acoustic passage that started Moonchild.
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son was yet another Top 20 charting US million seller (to date their last Platinum selling album here in the US) and it was because the material was strong, the production was killer and because it was Iron Maiden!
RECOMMENDED!
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son 
2009-12-11 - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is the 7th studio album by Iron Maiden and was released in 1988 and to me it is an album that is a rock album with heavy metal elements but not an album that is a pure Heavy Metal album. The booklet contains no lyrics but does have a list of whom plays what. The album was met with poisitive reviews by Allmusic, Kerrang! and Sputnikmusic. Even though I find their sound to be Heavy Metal light this is not a bad album with great melodies and some great guitar solos. The songs I like the most are the following: "Can I Play With Madness", "The Evil That Men Do" and "The Clairvoyant". 4/5.
Going Down!
2009-11-29 - This wasn't a bad album, but it's not nearly as great as their earlier stuff. This is when maiden started to decline, actually, somewhere in time was when the first cracks appeared. Still, both albums are good.
The End of The Golden Age of Maiden
2009-11-14 - This is the seventh studio album by Iron Maiden, and it marks the end of an era for the band. This is a worthy following to "Somewhere in Time", and like that album it relies upon synthesizers to fill out the sound.
This is power metal at it's finest. The songs are massive, powerful, and epic. The opening track "Moonchild" sets the tone for the whole album. Indeed, there is a nice flow and transition between songs, and many longtime fans consider this Maiden's finest album.
I have a hard time picking between this album "Powerslave" and "Somewhere in Time", because all three of those albums are complete and utter masterpieces from start to finish. From 1980-1988 Iron Maiden was the master of the metal universe. Every one of the first seven albums has something special, and this is no exception. "Can I Play With Madness", "Moonchild", "The Evil That Men Do", and "The Clairvoyant" are all strong offerings from the band. They stand among the best songs Maiden has ever done. If you don't own this, buy it now! Otherwise Satan will rain down on you with hot acid, turn your guts into snakes, and tear your wife in half! Up The Irons!
Give me the sense to wonder...
2009-09-30 - The last great album of genre defining career, `Seventh Son of a Seventh Son' was also the last album to feature the band's most important lineup. So it truly was the end of an era....and what an era!! The LP was Maiden's first true concept album and the concept would seem to be the brainchild of band vocalist Bruce Dickinson whose fascination with the occult had already been visited in such classics as "Revelations" and "Powerslave" and in his own solo material. Notably absent from the last album, Dickinson's songwriting returned in full force and as a result `SSSS' is a marked improvement over the previous LP. The album also claimed four top ten singles in the UK, a remarkable achievement and was also Maiden's last platinum selling record in the US. The synth layered sound was also in attendance and it did nothing to compromise the metal onslaught. True classics include the four singles "Can I Play with Madness", "Evil That Me Do", "The Clairvoyant" and "Infinite Dreams". The album cuts such as the title track and album opener "Moonchild" are just as important as well. The storyline seems to follow the life and times of some sort of doomed prophet, the "Seventh Son" but as other reviewers have mentioned, each cut can be enjoyed independently....which isn't always the case with concepts. Sadly, Adrian Smith would fall victim to album/tour burnout as he felt his ideas needed further expression than Steve Harris seemed willing to give, so he left for about a ten year hiatus. Maiden would soldier on, but the band was never the same....until now! Seven deadly sins....seven ways to win...
