Comparing SIT to SSOASS

[SirRobbins]

Ok. Most everyone I know who likes one of these albums also likes the other close by. They share many elements like POM and PS do...

For starters, the production on these 2 albums is far superior to anything they have done. Somewhere in Time was so well produced that they could never pull off live the way the album sounded (which is a first for Maiden) considering many live versions from past albums are superior to their studio counterparts. This clearly had a huge effect on future tours and their inclusion of songs from this album. They don't work as well live as they sound on the studio and it's quite a shame. I will say songs from SSOASS are not much better live. The Maiden England release from 1988, much of the songs were obviously played too fast as songs like Infinite Dreams were ruined live by the speed. It's all subjective.

By the elements in the songs, artwork, tour, ect here are my points

Production: SIT (simply unmatched, phenomenal)
Lyrics: SSOASS (obviously being a concept album, the lyrics were more well thought out)
Artwork: SIT
Solos: SIT (think CSIT, SIASL, SOM, ATG, TLOTLDR)
Drums: SIT
Bass: SIT (think of the solos in Sea of Madness, Deja Vu, TLOTLDR, Waster Years, SIASL)
Lead Guitar work: it's a tie (too much greatness in the leads on both albums to choose one over the other)
Rhythm Guitar work: SIT (the rhythm sections are beautiful throughout this album)
Melodies: it's a tie (both are filled with magnificent melodies)

This is my opinion
Strongest song on SSOASS : Infinite Dreams
Strongest song on SIT : Caught Somewhere in Time

Fun facts for
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son:
Gold in the USA (500,000 copies)
It was the first to feature keyboards
It was the last contribution from Adrian Smith until BNW in 2000
Only the Good Die Young was featured in an episode of Miami Vice
Donington show sold 107,000 tickets
Ranked #305 in the 500 Greatest Rock and Metal albums of all time


Somewhere in Time:
Platinum in the USA (1,000,000 copies)
Best selling album in Brazil for them (Gold 100,000+ copies)
Featured no song writing credits from Bruce
Contained the most set list drops in the band's history for a tour during the 80's - 6 songs dropped in total
First tour in their history not to feature the closing track on the album (Alexander the Great)
Contains a song played live only once in history (The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner)

Stats -------------------------- SSOASS ------------------ SIT
#of shows in UK -------------- 18 ---------------------- 27
# of shows in USA -------------- 50 ---------------------- 70
# of tour dates ------------------- 102 --------------------- 151
Chart # in UK -------------------- 1 ----------------------- 3
Chart # in USA ------------------ 12 ---------------------- 11
# of singles released ------------- 3 ----------------------- 2
Copies sold WW ------------- 4,500,000 ------------ 4,500,000 (according to Billboard)

 

[Formula409]

Some people don’t like the production on SIT, especially the guitars, which have that 80’s chorus+delay sound. I for one really like it. To my ears the sound is sort of retro futuristic, in lack of a better term. A product of it’s time for sure, but a really well made one.

One thing I really love about SIT is Nicko’s playing. So damn tight, and that single pedal bass drum gallop going on for minutes in CSIT and LOTLDR, for example.

For some reason I’ve never been too crazy about the lyrics on SSOASS, but the quality of songwriting on that album with absolutely no weak tracks (forgetting about CIPWM for a minute), the melodies and overall performances more than compensate. However, I’ve always thought that SSOASS is almost too perfect. The sound is very clean, almost sterile, with very little dirt, and the whole concept thing feels a bit too grandiose. Of course the songs work very well on their own as well.

My pick: SiT.

 

[srfc]

SSOASS best album of all time.
SIT second worst album of the 80's (Killers worst)*

*use of the word worst is only relevant in comparison with other Maiden albums, all the 80's albums are obviously classics.

 

[matic22]

SSOASS is the perfect Maiden album IMO.

SIT comes at 3-4, mainly because of the less consistent songwriting.

 

[mtmccox]

Could I kindly ask for more info about The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner? Where/why was it played only once?

 

[matic22]

It was only played in Belgrade 1986 and possibly Zagreb (AFAIK there is no bootlegs from that show and the set on setlist.fm is apparently a speculation). 3rd show, Ljubljana was definitely Sea Of Madness instead of Runner.

About the 2nd question... I know as much as you. Maybe they were planning to rotate Runner and Sea, but they decided to stick with SOM after 2 shows.

 

[Sth2112]

Both albums are very 80’s products

 

[Ruflux]

It was only played in Belgrade 1986 and possibly Zagreb (AFAIK there is no bootlegs from that show and the set on setlist.fm is apparently a speculation). 3rd show, Ljubljana was definitely Sea Of Madness instead of Runner.

About the 2nd question... I know as much as you. Maybe they were planning to rotate Runner and Sea, but they decided to stick with SOM after 2 shows.

They played both in Belgrade, so that's not it. I think it was a simple case of opting not to stick with TLOTLDR because it just didn't sound that good live to them. I mean, they dropped Flight of Icarus almost immediately on that tour too so they were definitely not above leaving out songs they weren't a 100% comfortable with.

 

[phantomoftheicarus]

For LOTLDR I believe they rehearsed the song and thought it sounded great and flowed well with the set but after the first show they changed their mind so much they dropped it

I also believe the members said it was dropped after Belgrade so couldnt play it in Zagreb. I can't verify that myself but it just sounds like a desperate conspiracy theory to me

 

[matic22]

They played both in Belgrade, so that's not it. I think it was a simple case of opting not to stick with TLOTLDR because it just didn't sound that good live to them. I mean, they dropped Flight of Icarus almost immediately on that tour too so they were definitely not above leaving out songs they weren't a 100% comfortable with.

Oh, yeah SOM was played, but later in the set (was writing that on a bus and didn't check). Where Eagles Dare replaced Runner. Icarus was replaced by Phantom after 6 shows.

I can't verify that myself but it just sounds like a desperate conspiracy theory to me

I said that it's unlikely that it was played in Zagreb but there is no proof of that. I think that the only member that said something about song droppings during SOT was Nicko and he mixed up Runner with Alexander The Neverplayed. The only real question is if WED was played in Zagreb instead of Runner or was it debuted in Ljubljana.

 

[Ruflux]

I said that it's unlikely that it was played in Zagreb but there is no proof of that. I think that the only member that said something about song droppings during SOT was Nicko and he mixed up Runner with Alexander The Neverplayed. The only real question is if WED was played in Zagreb instead of Runner or was it debuted in Ljubljana.

I always assumed the replacement only happened in Ljubljana because it probably would've taken them a bit to relearn and rehearse it given it was last played in 1983. Not to mention they must've had some conversation on what to replace it with before landing on WED.

Unless of course it was ready to go in rehearsals but left as a "spare" song to use in case they want to drop something which is probably more likely now that I think about it. I'd imagine Phantom was a similar case.

 

[matic22]

I always assumed the replacement only happened in Ljubljana because it probably would've taken them a bit to relearn and rehearse it given it was last played in 1983. Not to mention they must've had some conversation on what to replace it with before landing on WED.

Unless of course it was ready to go in rehearsals but left as a "spare" song to use in case they want to drop something which is probably more likely now that I think about it. I'd imagine Phantom was a similar case.

They were soundchecking in those days, so rehearsing a song which was played 3 years during every night of the tour was probably not a problem. Most likely they ran through it at soundcheck and played it that night. Still, the biggest problem with this is that there is no reliable setlist from Zagreb.

 

[mihai]

Somewhere In Time is my favorite Maiden album, so in terms of comparison I will always find it better. However, I believe that SSOASS is definitely more consistent with the theme it proposes and its structure is much better built. SIT is an album which may prove difficult to digest and [unfortunately] looking back, the band (or at least those members with decisional power) did not seem to enjoy it very much.

 

[stvn1974]

Seventh Son is my favorite Maiden album and SIT is my second and is the first one that I had ever heard so it has a special place in my heart. When I was around ten years old I went to the mall and the music store had a window and in it were Maiden's SIT and Metallica's Kill Em All, Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets LPs. I bought all four based on the covers alone, I had never heard a note from either band.

 

[MindlessPieces]

Ok. Most everyone I know who likes one of these albums also likes the other close by. They share many elements like POM and PS do...

I think NOTB and POM are buddies, Powerslave is a beast of its own.
SS is way better than SIT. It sounds way better and its songs are better for the most part.
Although ATG is much better than the SSoaSS song. But Infinite Dreams is the cream of both these albums.

 

[MindlessPieces]

Some people don’t like the production on SIT, especially the guitars, which have that 80’s chorus+delay sound. I for one really like it. To my ears the sound is sort of retro futuristic, in lack of a better term. A product of it’s time for sure, but a really well made one.

It's also the production on the vocals that is a big issue. The vocals sound produced and distant. I really don't like that aspect of this album.

 

[LooseCannon]

It's also the production on the vocals that is a big issue. The vocals sound produced and distant. I really don't like that aspect of this album.

Not to mention that Bruce's voice sounds torn and strained on the high notes, giving him an unpleasant (to my ears) warble on the choruses of CSIT and Loneliness.

 

[SirRobbins]

Bruce wasn't a fan of the writing and production process for obvious reasons but he has stated he loved performing Caught Somewhere in Time and Stranger in a Strange Land.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance runner was likely played just the once because it didn't fit in the set list where they had it, hence why Sea of Madness was bumped. It wasn't a good spot to play a song that started slow like it does. Third song in should be a rocker like the first two. They loved it in rehearsals but I think that song along with the others was too much for Bruce. It was the obvious choice to drop.

I think the equipment they used for that album and tour didn't work well with past songs which may have led to the drastic number of song changes. It was the first and only tour to not play the trooper one single show the whole tour....

For me, it was the first album from them and in metal I bought on cassette tape in 1997. I didn't know what I was buying but I'm glad I did. I loved art as a kid and the cover did it for me. Man it was like listening to music for the first time. I was a raver being into hardcore, happy hardcore and trance so metal was a true departure from what I was used too. I went back and got Powerslave, SSOASS and POM a few days later. I also bought Darkness Descends, Reign in Blood and The Ultra Violence. Man what power those albums had. Nothing had the magical feeling of SIT though. It's the feel good album for me from them. The guitar tone, solos, melodies and riffs are just amazing all around. I had a new liking for SSOASS after seeing them in 2012 several shows. I wished they had played Infinite Dreams as I put that higher than everything on SIT except CSIT obviously. Seems it's gone to the grave as well

 

[Xennon]

but he has stated he loved performing Caught Somewhere in Time and Stranger in a Strange Land.

Apparently, he loved it so much that he was almost hurting the fellow band members for it.

But seriously, I wonder if Bruce ever sang this song live in the way he sings it for the album. I think he made a less tiring version of the song for the concerts, which made it somewhat less enjoyable for me.

 

[Black Bart]

Apparently, he loved it so much that he was almost hurting the fellow band members for it.

But seriously, I wonder if Bruce ever sang this song live in the way he sings it for the album. I think he made a less tiring version of the song for the concerts, which made it somewhat less enjoyable for me.

His tiredness mostly stemmed from the weight of wearing this "Christmas Tree" jacket... which usually ran out of juice before the end of the song anyway.