For Somewhere In Time fans

I've just listened to SIT as a whole for the first time in about 5-6 years.

Wow, Beforehand i was certain that this was the best and my favourite classic maiden album and only surpassed by brave new world.

Apart from Stranger in a strange land which I gave a 9/10 and Deja vu and heaven can wait which I gave a 7.3/10, all the other tracks were rated between 8.2 and 8.9/10. So the album is very consistent, there is nothing that feels "fillerish" but there is nothing that is close to a 9.5 or a 10.

The pro's of the album:

- Great artwork
- Adrian smiths best solos (probably)
- Great guitar tone
- Lots and lots of melodies
- Quite a few high energy songs
- Contains one of maidens best rockers (wasted years)
- Some awesome bass work

Negatives :

- Maybe too much reverb, its a little over-powering
- No songs up to the standard of Rime or hallowed or paschendale etc
- Some pretty bad lyrics (Deja vu, ATG come to mind) I think Adrian might have wrote the best lyrics on the album (SIASL)
- Bruce's vocals are his worst on a maiden record in my opinion, his voice sounds very tired and strained. I don't think he hits any notes above a B4 either which is odd

After I've done my ratings for all the albums I expect SIT to be below NoTB, SSOASS, all the reunion albums and maybe the x factor. A huge change considering it was number 2 on my list before today ...
 
I also listened to some SIT today and I agree that the weakest point on this album are vocals, probaby because of World Slavery Tour. On my ratings the album comes in at no.4, behind SSOASS, BOS (maybe this one will change) and BNW. I still feel that the "fillers" are stronger than the ones on the other classic era albums (I would take Deja Vu and TLOTLDR over Invaders, Gangland, Quest For Fire, Sun And Steel every day). That is also the first 80's maiden album I ever heard so it is even more important to me.

P.S. Somebody get them to play SOM live again! I listened to that song today again after a long time and would kill to hear it live.
 
I really do like it a lot even though it sits in between my two favorite Maiden albums which is probably why I have underrated it for so long. Yesterday I did listen to it in full for the first time in like 20 years and realized what I have been missing. Its a solid record, not one I would always listen to back to front (which I rarely do anyway) but there are lots of tasty goodies.
 
viced92 said:
This is my all time favorite album, period. There's not one second of weakness on this album to me. Everything about it captivates me. The artwork is also probably my favorite album cover ever, and perfectly captures the music inside.

The beginning is sublime, setting the stage for what is to come. CSiT is my favorite Maiden opener ever, and also has what I think are the best Maiden solos ever. This and Wasted Years are both in my top 10 Maiden ever, and Heaven Can Wait might be as well. So many moments on this album feel as if they transport me to the album cover, and the performances from the members are absolutely top notch. This wouldn't be my favorite album if it wasn't also consistent, which is one reason why it's also my favorite, and I think the most consistent Maiden album ever. There also seems to be so much..energy..coming from the songs. I can't quite explain it. In addition, I love the lyrics on this album, especially Wasted Years and Long Distance Runner. Some of Adrian's best ever solos, as well as my favorite Nicko album.

I'm also a huge sci-fi fan, which undoubtedly helps my love for SiT. I could go on about this album but that's a summation of my love for it.
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Hi everybody,

I'm a longtime reader on this excellent forum, but what with all the exciting material regarding The Book Of Souls I have now decided to participate more. Somewhere In Time is my favourite Maiden album, too, and I agree with everything posted above by viced92.
I rate all of the songs 10/10 except for Alexander The Great, which I can only give 8/10 because of the lyrics (otherwise it would be full marks as well).
 
SiT is pretty much tied for second place with BNW as my favourite album, with Powerslave easily in first place.

CSIT, with the exception of Aces High, is the best opening track to an album I have ever heard. It's even better than stuff like Holy Wars, Battery and Painkiller, all of which are legendary in their own right. Wasted Years is a perfect follow up and Sea Of Madness is an underrated classic. I'd honestly rate these 3 songs just slightly above Powerslave's first three (albeit only for Losfer Words being a strong song, but not as strong as the other 5). Then the album falls off by a considerable margin, with HCW, and never really recovers. Sure, Loneliness, Stranger and Alexander are all strong tracks, but none of them hold a candle to the first three songs on the album in my view.
 
Severian said:
@7thRunner

:welcome:
Alexander would be 8/10 for me too but then the guitar solos start and all other music becomes irreverent
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Thanks for the welcome. I agree, the music of that song is sublime, but for rating purposes I have to take into account the lyrics as well: unfortunately I can't ignore the historical inaccuracy and I'm not fond of historical accounts of conquerors, anyway.
 
I have to admit I've never quite gotten the fascination with this album, as it's generally seemed like just a consistently good album without many standouts to me, and the lyrics to Alexander irk me a bit. I intend to give it a proper relisten soon to see if it finally clicks though.
 
The first 3 tracks are stellar, the next 4 aren't and Alexander is entertaining.
It all sounds a bit wishy-washy to me though. It lacks a real hard edge and saw them change direction in style, if not substance.
 
I love the reverb-heavy/still-retaining-crunch guitar sound on Somewhere In Time. The fact they never really kept it makes the album all the more special for me.
Glad to see a few fans waving the flag for Sea Of Madness here. I rediscovered this track for myself about 6 or 7 years ago and it became an all-time favourite.
 
Jemlyn said:
I love the reverb-heavy/still-retaining-crunch guitar sound on Somewhere In Time. The fact they never really kept it makes the album all the more special for me.
Glad to see a few fans waving the flag for Sea Of Madness here. I rediscovered this track for myself about 6 or 7 years ago and it became an all-time favourite.
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100% agree with everything you said
 
matic22 said:
I also listened to some SIT today and I agree that the weakest point on this album are vocals.
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Wow I completely disagree with you. Bruce's vocals imo in this album are faultless. They are as amazing as the songs he is singing .We've read so many interviews where he expressed his disappointment that not even one note in the album was his and that he just swallowed it and went out to do the tour. But nothing in his performance hints at a disappointed bitter singer who's had all his input rejected by the rest of the band or a singer that was completely burnt out after a colossal tour that ended 6/10 months earlier . He sounds so enthousiastic probably because he is singing a lot of Adrian material. A material that signifies a huge departure from classic maiden sound and that was so refreshing and challenging for Bruce. I remember reading a Bruce interview and he was saying that David Coverdale gave him thumbs up and complimented him on his singing after listening to Stranger in a Strange land. Just my two cents!!
 
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