a little inconsistent

I bought this really soon after I got hooked on a burnt copy of powerslave, I didnt really know what to expect but I was pretty damn surprised at the synthwork, this album defenitely marks a high point in the musicianship aspect of maiden, even though they were never sloppy before.



Alot of the percussion has more double bass than what youre used to hearing from nicko (not a bad thing at all) and the bass is just as melodic and pounding as before, and they are all just kicking ass througout... but the production seems a little more distant and sometimes the guitars get buried under it which means that alot of the melodies are not as clean and clear as they should be but the risky move pays off because the synths add alot to the songs... even though they defenitely comes off a little too strongly once in a while.



There are a few songs on this album that are catchy (heaven can wait, stranger in a strange land, wasted years) but dont really have the substance of the others...The songs caught somewhere in time, and the lonilness of the long distance runner have some of Iron maidens most elegant melodies... and theyre also heavier than most of what theyve done up to this point in the classic era. Sea of madness also has a really awesome chorus... and alexander the great is pretty good, even though there is sort of a noodling section in it that doesnt mesh well with the song.



I think the good songs on this album, are defenitely worth the price (actually the best songs on somewhere in time would give anything on piece of mind or powerslave a run for their money) but there are also alot of other sections where it gets repetetive, and the songs all tend to blur into each other... there is a pretty well defined prog thing going on here too, and a few of the songs lose momentum because there are some relentlessly mean solos that unfortunately drag on a bit, but the guys always pull the songs back into perspective just before youre ready to get frustrated or bored.



If you were to just buy this album,having never heard any other Iron maiden albums, it would stand pretty high on its own, but Id probably get any one of the other three "classic dickinson" maiden albums first... even though some of my favorite iron maiden songs are on this album.

great as per usual maiden album

another brilliant maiden product. slight change off sound from previos albums

Incredible! 1986 wasn't a wasted year

This is an album where nothing was wasted: it's flawless.

It isn't so easy finding something like this.

The Smith/Murray solos are beautiful especially on Alexander,the great

; The loneliness of the long distance runner; sea of madness(in the middle)

Deja vu (one of my favourite Maiden songs).

Caught somewhere in time has bits of progressive rock in the beggining

that lets the listening be more interesting.

Don't think twice, buy it!

To give a clue about how it's special:I bought this in 2003, when I

wasn't enjoying the band anymore. When I listened, my taste came back.

Nowadays ,I still like Iron Maiden and I have all of their studio albuns.

marks the beginning of the end...

First, the gripes: As others note here, this album seems like an experiment for IM. There are synth guitars (and synth bass) here and there, and sometimes the guitars get sort of "lost" in all the sound they're producing--that is, at times the guitars seem quite a bit more "distant" than they did on previous albums. This album, as I said, marks the "beginning of the end" of IM because it would lead to what I believe their high-point (Seventh Son) and subsequent dismissal of Adrian Smith (the better of the two guitarists) for Jannick Gers, who I saw live in 1991 and about made me want to puke he was so bad. "No Prayer for the Dying," the album after Adrian's departure, was the last draw and I quit liking IM after that point.



After about 10 years of smooth jazz, I decided it was time to rediscover my roots, and I went back to the first IM album I ever heard or owned: Somewhere in Time (incidentally, I bought it for no other reason than being attracted to the album cover art--I had never heard them before). Seriously, I think this album is worth picking up. It is fair to their older style and also a caustic segue into Seventh Son. Some argue whether this is a concept album or not (the concept being time travel), and I would say "maybe." If it is a concept album, "Sea of Madness" and "Long Distance Runner" are out of place. The others all could be considered "time-travel relevant." Perhaps this mild coherence between songs led to the full-blown and subsequent concept album "Seventh Son" (in which the concept is death/duying/religion/spiritual stuff)--which is bookended by a 20 second creepy acoustic-vocal inclusio.



The goods: Sometimes very raw (Title track), fast and heavy (Long Distance Runner), well-crafted (Alexander the Great) and sometimes written with a live crowd in mind (Heaven Can Wait), and other times subdued (Stranger in a Strange Land). I'm NOT with most fans, in that I DON'T care too much for "Sea of Madness" (bass-line sort of flat), and "Deja Vu" (just doesn't sit well with me - I can't explain why). However, the guitar solos on ALL the tracks are worth it--especially Adrian's solos.



This one is at the top of my IM list; the others that I would pick up are (at least) Seventh Son of a Seventh Son and Live After Death. With these three albums, you've got the high-point of the career of one of Britain's best metal bands.



UP THE IRONS!

Masterpiece

[Before you start reading this review, I want to apologize for making it so long. I had a lot to say, and there was no short way to do it.]

Although Iron Maiden's first three albums (and one live album) with vocalist Bruce Dickinson were wildly successful, they all followed a very similar sound. In 1986, the band was ready to try something new out. Around this time, guitar and bass synthesizers had arrived, and, you guessed it - the boys in Maiden wanted to try them out. With them, they created one of their masterpieces - the Somewhere In Time album. In 1998 and again in 2002, the band's entire CD catalogue was rereleased as part of a remaster series. Read on for track-by-track comments and grades, as well as my comments on the remaster series.

Caught Somewhere in Time - The opener is a good strong track, with the band in perfect shape. The instrumental opener is priceless.

Wasted Years - A fellow Amazon reviewer considers this to be his all time favorite song from this band. I don't agree with him there, but I do agree with one thing - THIS SONG IS EXCELLENT! The chorus must be heard to be appreciated.

Sea of Madness - An excellent rocker, probably the hardest one on the album. Once again, Dickinson's vocals rule the show.

Heaven Can Wait - The biggest hit off of the album, and with good reason. This is fast-paced melodic rock at its very best! This is also the best version of this song (it puts the live versions availiable on early nineties live albums to shame.)

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner - An interesting bit of Maiden trivia - That's the longest title ever given to any of their songs! This one doesn't really stand out too much, but it's still an excellent rocker and not worth skipping.

Stranger in a Strange Land - Probably the second biggest hit on the album. This one deals with being lost, and the melodic rock sound couldn't be much better here.

Deja Vu - While TLOTLDR was the longest title ever given to a Maiden song, this is the shortest one. Though this one doesn't stand out a whole lot, the chorus is quite nice, even if it's a tad redundant.

Alexander the Great - The lengthy epic closer. THIS IS AN UNDERRATED MASTERPIECE! It's not quite up to the incredibly high standard of Rime Of The Ancient Mariner, but it's still arguably the finest song on this album.

Now for my comments on the remasters series - as a die-hard Maiden fan, I AM SEVERELY DISAPPOINTED. Sure, the sound quality is improved over the original CD issues and there is some cool enhanced CD footage (all the remasters before the X Factor have this), but this reissue is lacking the most important thing a remaster needs: BONUS TRACKS.The total play time isn't even that close to eighty minutes. There were a plethora of B-Sides from this era that have never before been issued by the band (except for in the restrictively expensive box set.) that would have made this album even better.To put it simply, if you already own the original issue of this album on CD, it's really not necessary to get the new remaster.

Iron Maiden's newfound progressive sound was something truly great, indeed. However, Somewhere In Time and Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son are NOT recommended for Maiden newbies. If you're new to the band, you need to start with Number Of The Beast. It's the best place to start. If you buy this album first, you may be left confused, so go with the sure thing if you're just getting into the band.

MASTERPIECE!!

Simply put, the best Iron Maiden album ever made. If you consider yourself even romotely a Maiden fan, you already own this album.