Customer Rating: 
Summary: Excellent CD
Comment: First album of Iron Maiden I heard was Fear of the Dartk, later, I started to buy the rest of albums. This album is great. I recommend it to you.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: The Beginning of the End
Comment: Still a great album by Maiden but definitely a disappointment compared to its predecessors. Yes, you can hear the synthesizers starting to creep into to the music and the creative talent starting to slip. Mostly great songs though but 'Heaven Can Wait' and 'Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner' are just atrocious!!! If only the latter had lyrics dealing with the runner from the Battle of Marathon then I could relate but the lyrics are just terrible! I like 'Alexander the Great' but I always thought the song would have been better if Dickinson would have been more poetic about it instead of making the song just a history lesson. In terms of music, one definitely gets the feeling of less innovation in just about every department except the synthesizers and that's pretty sad for a band like Maiden that just hadn't sold themselves out. Nothing compared to the abysmal production of '7th Son...' but one can hear the sound starting to get campy and that's my reason for the 4 stars instead of 5.
Customer Rating:
Summary: "Maiden Goes Progressive"
Comment: Iron Maiden experimented with bass and guitar synthetizers wich had becomed very popular by the time this album was released,in 1986."Somewhere In Time" does have a distinctive sound that you can recognize easily due to the fact that it sounds like 1986 or any time when the synths very famous,it has the feel of those years but with the metallic and creative touch that Iron Maiden generally put into each of their albums.The musical direction did change for this one but they still managed to release something true to the band.It was released between two of their best albums the 1984 classic "Powerslave" and the 1988 epic "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son",so it sometimes ain't noticed,while it should as this is really a great Maiden album with memorable songs and great arrangements.With classic songs such as the single "Wasted Years" and "Stranger In A Strange Land","Somewhere in time secured its place as a classic in the Maiden catalog.
At this time in their career,1986,Maiden were pretty much at the peak of their careers.This album is often described as a concept album by the band but its hard to tell,one thing we do know tought,is that the album was themed loosely around the themes of time and time travel.For this album Eddie was a robot and the album's cover is fantastic and looks really cool,another great artwork cover made by Derek Riggs,this might be the best one he did for Maiden.The tour for the album was excellent being one of Maiden's best ones and the stage for that tour looked great with the spaceships and all,that was great is saw some footages of the tour and I can tell that it was a great time to be into Maiden.With "Somewhere" they explored into the progressive rock and would go even further in it with their next album,"Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son".
Now the songs.Each song on this one has its own sound and the album opens with the title track "Caught Somewhere In Time" wich has a great overral feal with solid playing and you can't get a much better opener.The next track "Wasted Years" was the single and a pretty big hit at the time it was released,its arguably the best track here and it has great lyrics and a catchy chorus along with terrific guitar playing."Sea Of Madness" follows up and while not as strong as the previous song its still a great piece of music that has a great chorus as well,a great song."Heaven Can Wait" is up fourth,it has great harmonies and a memorable gang signing and its most underrated track here,but its one of my favourite you will the chorus stuck in your head!"The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner" is a favourite of everyone's it seems but I don't like it that much to be honnest,still it is good people just exagerate."Stranger In A Strange Land" is a contender for the best song on the album,the video for it was great as well back then,its slower-paced with a great vocal performance by Bruce."Deja Vu" is good but I don't have much to say about this song except the feeling of the song much like album overral,has a great feel unique to this album."Alexander The Great" is one of the band's last epics and is too often compared to "Rimes Of The Ancient Mariner" from Powersalve,it certainly ain't as good but I have to say that despit some complaints of other fans its a masterpiece and an epic with its 8:37 lenght.A song about(you guessed it!)Alexander The Great and the course of his life,Bruce goes very sentimental on this one and its an awesome song.
The album's best tracks were written by guitarist Adrian Smith who did some great work on earlier albums and goes strong on that one with a total of 3 tracks.The three songs he wrote,"Wasted Years","Sea Of Madness" and "Stranger In A Strange Land" are great tracks.He was very strong on this album.Harris was equally impressive with his songs like "Alexander The Great","Heaven Can't Wait" and "Caught Somwehere In Time",its to note that Bruce Dickinson didn't get any song credits as his songs were refused for the album and Smith's was chosen instead,Dave Murray got one.All those tracks blend the metal and synths togheter very well to make this classic album,true to the 1986 sound and Maiden's and I just have to recommend this,I can't do any other than tell you what a great album it is and that you should get it if you don't already have it.So its come to this usual blah-blah review ending that can't be skipped.As a huge Maiden fan I have to say its one of their great albums(they have many great albums and classics)and its often overlooked while it really shouldn't.Don't let the synths fool you,its a once again brilliant work of Maiden.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not as good as their first album
Comment: The band is eclipsed in their first album. This album did not impress me much at first with not much singing as I thought there should have been. When getting the album from cassette to cd I had renewed interest in the band and the songs had different meaning and seemed more classic metal than before. The new line-up as I learned along the way had Bruce on vocals now and does a decent job but again it is nowhere near the consistency in terms of atmosphere and picture as Iron Maiden's first album. The album cover and art is A+ and the music does compliment the original art and that I will give credit due. The long distance runner is a great song with open ended drumming and soloing on guitars that keeps in best compliments with the original Iron Maiden structure. I would say that is the best song on the album.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Face up, make your stand...and realize you're living in the golden years!
Comment: Think of any power metal band from the late '80s onward. There's a good chance they were influenced by Iron Maiden's "Somewhere in Time" album. Need proof? Take a listen to the long, progressive songs that take on a futuristic, epic feel to them. The synth-styled guitar and bass work alongside the adventurous lyrics. Even the artwork through this entire album presents music that is both beautiful and influential.
All right, so influence isn't the only thing that makes an album great. However, I think that "Somewhere in Time" is, regardless of how influential it is, remains one of the best heavy metal albums of all time. From the larger-than-life opener of "Caught Somewhere In Time", we are taken to a futuristic world in the style of Iron Maiden. Where powerful drumwork and amazing guitar and bass melodies compliment ingenious and adventurous lyrics. Take the effects-driven lead guitar riff, wondrous guitar solo and sing-a-long chorus of "Wasted Years". Even "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" takes a topic like running and makes it seem so much more bold and majestic.
Some people may say that adding this tone to classic Iron Maiden may have been a slight mistake on the band's part. This was ironically released in the same year as Judas Priest's "Turbo", which had very similar, futuristic-sounding elements to it. Even though this album is generally remembered as being much better, I happen to like both albums.
What you have to remember is to keep an open mind. Don't you think if a band released the same album over and over it would get tiring? Admittedly, "Alexander The Great" runs up a bit short in comparison to the absolute epic of Iron Maiden's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", but that's all right, because the rest of the album is great all the same.
Other strong points include "Stranger in a Strange Land" which features a great, opening bassline and another catchy chorus. A personal favorite is "Deja Vu", which seems to be enormously influential in the power metal genre. The driving energy behind the drums, the spacey wah-wah riffing of the guitars, and Bruce's untouchable wailing of "Feel like I've been here before!". And it all ends up being classic Maiden with a new twist to it.
So, some people may have mixed feelings about this album. Me? I think it adds an exciting, new element to an already awesome band. This is personally an album I hold in high regards. In my opinion, if you want more great Iron Maiden and have an open mind, this is something I hope you're really gonna love. After all, Maiden's already known for their incredible musicianship and professional songwriting, what's wrong with taking a little trip through time? Speaking of which, thanks for the time, and peace.
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