Title:Somewhere In Time By: Iron Maiden Released by: EMI(Raw) Released on: 1986 Rating (out of 10): 8 Date: 03/18/2002
A Stranger In A Strange Music Collection
"Oh my god! They use synthesizers on this album!" That was the first thought that crossed my mind as I read the liners notes to Somewhere In Time. How could this be? This is Iron Maiden, the greatest metal band in the world! How could they do this to me? Had Iron Maiden sold out? My mind started pondering horrible thoughts. Will I hear disco beats in the background? Will the set for their tour include a Saturday Night Fever version of "Eddie"? Is the judgement day at hand? I decided to stop pondering these horrible thoughts, and give this disc a spin. I made sure to take certain precautions before giving this album a listen.
I gathered my checklist and certain items next to the record player. Crying towel? Check! Bottle of booze to drown my sorrows in? Check! Megadeth and D.R.I. albums to bring my ears joy again? Check! Hammer to smash album with? Check! Iron Maiden tee-shirts to burn? Check! Dead rat to mail to the band? Check! I was ready to give this album a listen for the first time. To my surprise, I was utterly pleased. Well, maybe not utterly pleased, but utterly satisfied. That's the utter truth too! This album was pleasing enough that I caught Maiden twice on their Somewhere In Time tour.
"Caught Somewhere In Time" is the first track. Don't let the synthesizers at the start of the song scare you like it did me. This tune is fast with nice galloping bass lines, as Steve Harris is so famous for. This song brings back a great memory of mine. During this tour Maiden did a show at the Oakland Collosseum. This was the opening song for the show. As soon as singer Bruce Dickinson started singing the lyrics, his mouth was introduced to a flying boot! He immediately threw the mic to the ground and walked off stage. The band played two songs afterward without a singer. Mr. Dickinson finally came back and thanked the boot thrower for breaking a tooth. During the rest of the show other stupid people tried hitting the band with various objects, but Iron Maiden prevailed and pulled off a great concert. Before they finished, Mr. Dickinson promised everyone they would never play that place again. To his credit, they never did.
"Wasted Years" is next, and is my absolute favorite Maiden song. The intro will always stick with you once you've heard it. The guitar solos are also some of the greatest Maiden has ever done. The theme of the song is not to look back at the things you didn't do, but look at the time you're in now and make the best of it. Written by Adrian Smith, "Wasted Years" is about his view of life on the road. He knows they must make the most of the situation they're in, but does miss home. He knows he will always look back on these years as golden, and the future will be better. Most metal music gives a mood of anger or despair, this one gives a message of hope without sounding wimpy.
"Sea of Madness" follows, and is easily the heaviest song on the album. Excellent riffs are accompanied by pile-driving bass lines and beat. Iron Maiden does something a little quirky here that they also do on other albums—they love to contradict themselves. "Wasted Years" is a song about hope for the future, and "Sea of Madness" is about how hopeless the world's future is. They also do this on Powerslave. "Aces High" opens that album praising fighter pilots the world over. "Two Minutes To Midnight" follows, and is very anti-military. Iron Maiden need to see a psychologist.
"Heaven Can Wait" follows, and while I don't like it, I know many who do. To me this sounds like something they had to slap together real quick, while others insist it is a great fist-pumping song. I imagine Iron Maiden were running short on time and just made this up in the studio at a moments notice. Nothing stands out on this song other than it is very poor. However, there are many that like its positive attitude and aggression, so it gets a few points for that.
"The Loneliness of The Long Distance Runner" is an improvement upon the last song, and follows the Iron Maiden tradition of songs based on novels. Thing is, it is not one of Maidens' best songs either. The song paces at 200 MPH during the chorus, but the guitar riffs are contained. This song is about a runner in a marathon. His thoughts keep pushing him harder and harder to stay ahead and win the race. When he nears the finish line, he then ponders on how futile the whole thing is. The same can probably be said for this song.
"Stranger In A Strange Land" follows, and it is an absolute Maiden classic. This is perhaps the slowest song on the album, but with exception to "Wasted Years," it is the best. The guitar riffs are superb and the basslines are sharp. This song uses the synthesizer, but it is kept in the background setting a very somber mood to the whole song. How do you say...instant classic? The only complaint I have with this song is with the lyrics. When I first saw the title, I had figured it would be based on the novel by Robert Heinlein. I grokked wrong. It is about a man who is lost, and isn't re-discovered until 100 years later. Maiden usually bases a lot of their lyrics on books and movies. I wish they had done so here as well.
There is no confusion with the lyrics on "Deja-Vu." The lyrics are about deja-vu. The thing that stands out on this number is the vocals. Dickinson gives a very srong effort here. This song is good until close to the ending, then sounds cheesy because of the weak finish. They just didn't know how to end this one. Overall a good song, but not a great one.
"Alexander The Great" closes the album, and continues Maidens' tradition of ending the album with a long epic song. The song is about Alexander The Great. Who else? The song is rather monotonous till the last few minutes when it really comes together to deliver some great metal. This would have been a much more effective if the song was a few minutes shorter. Overall it is not as good as other Maiden epics like "To Tame A Land" and "Rime of The Ancient Mariner," but better than some of their later attempts.
The last thing you get when you buy this CD is videos! Iron Maiden CDs are interactive, and with this album you get videos for "Stranger In A Strange Land" and "Wasted Years." You also get photos and links to Iron Maiden Websites. I wish every CD was sold like this.
Summing up this album is not very hard. The synthesizers did not kill the album like I thought they would. This is a very good album, but not great. If you are a Maiden fan, you should grab this up if you haven't already. If you are new to Maiden, don't make this your first purchase. Try Live After Death or Powerslave instead. One word of warning though to all who enter the world of Iron Maiden: when you purchase a 1990's Maiden album, make sure you have all the precautionary equipment listed above with you. You will need it.
