For Somewhere In Time fans

nuno_c

nuno_c

A hollow universe in space
I've always loved SIT, but recently i have to admit i've really fallen in love with this album and it's whole vibe.

I think it has a really unique sound and, to some extent, i think it is an underrated album.

If you're a big fan of SIT, can you discuss your appreciation for it?
 
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My favourite 80's album. I don't think it is underrated though, just about half of the Maiden fans I've ever run into seems to rate it as their favourite... Adrian Smith fans all of them, mostly. His guitar solos and his songwriting is frequently cited to be at the absolute peak here. I tend to agree.

The first three songs are absolute killer, no doubt about it. Overall I think it's a record that's lifted to great heights due to the production - they would have to write a really bad song for it not to sound cool with all these 'spacey' synth-guitars... "Caught Somewhere in Time", "Sea of Madness" and "Alexander the Great" are all songs I'd be dying to hear live - and I don't tend to feel that way about the other 80's material, because on the other albums all my favourite songs tend to be those which are frequently played live. If I haven't heard them in concert, there's probably 10 DVD's that feature it in the setlist... With Somewhere in Time it's different, because they dropped these songs almost instantly on the tour, and the only recorded material I've come upon is a super-low quality bootleg on Youtube.
 
Ok, first of all let move the elephant from the room - Bruce didn't write anything on this album and you can feel that.

But beside that - this is most entertaining album from 80's. I love sound of this record, riffs and solos and this is another album where I love every single song. And i LOVE, i mean I LOVE cover of this album. For me - SSOASS can't touch this album.
 
This is the Adrian Smith album. I love a lot of it, but I hate, absolutely hate the overuse of the synths. For this reason alone SIT is lower in my catalogue.

I also simply don't have the love affair that many Maiden fans have with its weaker songs - as a result, I don't listen to this album as much as I do some others. In addition, some songs that people consider true classics, I don't get. The problem with it is me. But it's stronger songs, to my ears - Wasted Years, the sublime Sea of Madness, Stranger in a Strange Land, and Alexander the Great are really awesome.
 
The thing with SiT for me is its consistency. Other albums have songs I enjoy more than anything out of SiT but they arent as rock solid throughout.
 
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.
 
DJMayes said:
The thing with SiT for me is its consistency. Other albums have songs I enjoy more than anything out of SiT but they arent as rock solid throughout.
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Took the words right out of my mouth.
(Although I am finding BOS to be consistently rock solid. We'll have to see if that's still me view when the dust settles).
 
Pand said:
Took the words right out of my mouth.
(Although I am finding BOS to be consistently rock solid. We'll have to see if that's still me view when the dust settles).
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BOS is an interesting case because it has a couple of songs I find weaker but it certainly has as many strong songs as SiT to me.
 
This is a great thread! My experience with SIT was that I was expecting pretty much Powerslave II. My first time listening to maidem was NOTB. My second and maybe all time fav was Powerslave. All that and a 13 minute song that told a story from Samuel Taylor Coleridge was unheard of back then. It blew me away.

SIT comes out and to be honest, back then they were moving towards progressive Rock with the synthesizers and the intricate intros to the songs. The only song I had adored was Stranger in a strange land. It wasn't until after Bruce and Adrian Split and returned that my eyes were opened and I realized that with the new albums post reunion that they had already turned the creative corner way back then which gives them their musical identity. I love SIT now and really dig the structures of each song. BOS for me has quickly surpassed everything they've done up to this point. First, with powerslave, everything was set against an Egyptian theme. Can you imagine how much fun this tour is going to be with a Mayan backdrop and set. But yeah, bs k to SIT, that album was really ahead of its time. Most maidem fans IMHO had to warm up to it a little... Plus lyrically fans are used to certain themes with maiden. That album was all over the place. It had their biggest hit ever and then introducing the new Maiden sound!:)
It's a classic now in my book.
 
SIT is a great Maiden album.
There are some brilliant songs on it.
Particularly like TLOTLDR, ATG, Stranger, CSIT and SOM.
Adrian and Steve practically wrote this whole album between them although maybe Davey Co-wrote Deja-vu.
 
For the Bass/ Guitar interaction right before the solo in Stranger in a Strange Land might be Maidens finest moment (musically) in their 40 year career.

That alone is reason enough ( besides the incredible melodies on this record) to consider it the best they've done
 
Out of Adrians top 10 solos I would say 4 are off this album (CSIT, wasted years, SoM, SIASL).

For me, this is the album where he surpassed Dave as a lead guitar player.

The only downers with this album is the lack of a masterpiece (think hallowed, paschendale, starblind etc) and Bruce sounds quite strained, maybe due to the world slavery tour
 
SiT is probably my favorite album, but BNW, NOTB, SSoaSS and TBOS are all rivaling it. PS is good on most songs. I can't decide. Those are probably my top 6.
 
Wasted Years itself is a good enough reason to put this album high in the rankings.... Absolutely one of their best.
 
cynick said:
and what would be those five albums you pick ahead of SiT?
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Well, the 5 albums before it plus SSOASS. ;)

Although I love SiT, this has to be the least excellent album of the 1980-1988 period: the band was burnt out from touring and comparatively uninspired* -which is compensated by an effort not to repeat themselves as far as production goes- and there is no input from Bruce on the album, and lyrics and vocal melodies have seldom been Steve's strongest assets. In other words, how they played it was great but what they played was not as great -in my opinion- as what they had been releasing up to then.

The wonderful cover also tends to shield the album from a general negative appraisal. I firmly believe that a great cover does a lot for an album (or at least, it has until the advent of dematerialized music - check Angra's Holy Land!)Once again, I love this album but not as much as many others.

*for example, "TLOTLDR" and "Déjà-vu" especially sound like excuses for instrumental self-indulgence, "CSIT" would have too, had it not been the opener.
 
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