Iron Maiden’s ‘Wasted Years’ Gets Ryan Adams Acoustic Treatment
Ryan Adams is known for whiskey-soaked, alt-country rock, but he’s also a closet metal head. He came out of that closet in a 2008 Blender magazine feature, when he listed his 13 all-time favorite metal songs.
He’s also known for being insanely prolific songwriter, and when he’s not penning his own new music he’s often playing other people’s tunes.
Put that together and what do you get? Ryan Adams covering Iron Maiden’s ‘Wasted Years,’ of course.
The indie darling (pictured above in a Maiden T-shirt) busted out an unplugged version of the band's chart-topping 1986 ‘Somewhere in Time’ single (which landed at No. 7 on his Blender list) Tuesday during an appearance on BBC Radio2. Adams manages to transform the scorching metal classic into a gentle acoustic ballad, with Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson's soaring falsetto replaced by plaintive, almost whispered vocals.
Adams was at the BBC to promote his forthcoming 13th album, 'Ashes & Fire,' which drops Oct. 10. He also performed a track from the disc titled 'Lucky Now.'
His extensive catalog of covers includes tunes by the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones, the Byrds, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and, of course, Bryan Adams. Check out an online archive that collects many of the covers he has recorded over the years at CoverMeSongs.
Listen To Iron Maiden's 'Wasted Years'
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