Somewhere in Time (album)
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| Somewhere in Time | ||
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| Studio album by Iron Maiden | ||
| Released | 29 September 1986 | |
| Recorded | Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas and Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum, The Netherlands, 1986 | |
| Genre | Heavy metal | |
| Length | 51:20 | |
| Label | EMI (U.K.) Capitol (U.S. original) Sanctuary/Columbia (U.S. reissue) |
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| Producer(s) | Martin Birch | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Iron Maiden chronology | ||
| Live After Death (1985) |
Somewhere in Time (1986) |
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988) |
Somewhere in Time is the sixth studio album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 29 September 1986. The studio follow-up to the hugely successful Powerslave/Live After Death pair, it was the first Iron Maiden album to feature guitar synths. Bruce Dickinson's song material was refused in favour of the songs of guitarist Adrian Smith, who wrote the bulk of the songs identified with the album (including the singles "Wasted Years" and "Stranger in a Strange Land ").
Most of the songs from Somewhere in Time have disappeared from the band's live shows throughout the years, though "Wasted Years" and "Heaven Can Wait" have been consistently performed. In addition, performances of "Heaven Can Wait" have always featured a group of local fans and celebrities invited onstage to sing along during the song's middle section.
Despite promises from Bruce Dickinson that the band would never use synthesisers[citation needed], they were used for the first time on this album. Synth sounds for guitar and bass guitar were used. This was followed by actual keyboards in Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Caught Somewhere in Time" (Steve Harris) – 7:25
- "Wasted Years" (Adrian Smith) – 5:07
- "Sea of Madness" (Smith) – 5:42
- "Heaven Can Wait" (Harris) – 7:21
- "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" (Harris) – 6:31
- "Stranger in a Strange Land " (Smith) – 5:44
- "Déjà Vu" (Harris, Dave Murray) – 4:56
- "Alexander the Great" (Harris) – 8:37
[edit] 1995 Reissue Bonus CD
- "Reach Out"
- "Juanita"
- "Sheriff Of Huddersfield"
- "That Girl"
[edit] Credits
- Bruce Dickinson - vocals
- Dave Murray - guitar, guitar synth
- Adrian Smith - guitar, backing vocals
- Steve Harris - bass guitar, backing vocals, bass synth
- Nicko McBrain - drums
- Martin Birch - Producer, engineer, mixing, tape operator
- Albert Boekholt - Engineer, assistant engineer
- Ronald Prent - Engineer, assistant engineer
[edit] Album cover trivia
The cover for Somewhere In Time displays a cyborg-enhanced Eddie in a futuristic, Blade Runner-type environment. Much like the visual richness of the cover of Powerslave, the wrap-around album cover holds a plethora of references to earlier Iron Maiden albums and songs, such as:
- Pyramids in the background on the back of the album (Powerslave cover)
- A clock reading 23:58 ("2 Minutes to Midnight")
- "Acacia" on the right ("22 Acacia Avenue")
- Below "Acacia" is a spraypaint of Eddie from the first album.
- Eddie appearing in a similar posture as on the Killers album cover. His victim is killed with a futuristic weapon, as opposed to the axe seen on the Killers cover.
- A banner with "This is a very boring painting" is displayed backwards within the lobby of the Bradbury Towers Hotels International. This can be seen to the left of Eddie's right leg.
- The album art, particularly that for the song 'Stranger in a Strange Land' was a major inspiration for the music video "The Angel and the Gambler" from the Virtual XI album in 1998.
- In the very center, just above the "Department" ad and behind the cable going to the cyborg's weapon, there is a small vertical ad with red glyphs. The text of this ad is Russian, it is "MENYA RVET" - which is "I'm vomiting". Really so.
References on the back include:
- On the left side, the "Aces High Bar" ("Aces High" song)
- Above the "Aces High Bar", flies a Spitfire-shaped plane
- To the left of the "Aces High Bar", there are four letters in yellow and green. These are hebrew letters spelling out the name of god, namely "yehoa" or "jehoa".
- Below the "Aces High Bar", is a sign that says "Sand Dune" ("To Tame A Land" song, based on a novel "Dune")
- Below the pyramids, the "Phantom Opera House" ("Phantom of the Opera")
- In the background can be seen Bradbury Towers and The Million Dollar Movie Theater both located in Los Angeles
- The marquee for the Movie Theater reads Blade Runner, the film which is the obvious inspiration for the futuristic scene. It also reads "Live After Death", the name of the live album released in 1985.
- The cinema is named "Phillip K. Dick Cinema", named after the author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the book on which the movie Blade Runner was based.
- More Blade Runner references include "Dekkers Department Stores" and a "Tyrell Corp" sign.
- To the right of the clock is a neon sign that reads "Ancient Mariner Seafood Restaurant," a reference to the song "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" from the Powerslave album
- On the bottom left hand side of the cover is "The Ruskin Arms", famous for being one of the first venues performed at by Iron Maiden
- Just above "The Ruskin Arms", there is a neon sign that reads "RAINBOW", another famous venue for Iron Maiden
- On the second floor of the "Ruskin Arms" building is a woman sitting in a red lit room which is a reference to "Charlotte", a repeated theme in Iron Maiden songs
- On the roof of the same building is a police telephone box; this is likely a reference to the time-traveling TARDIS of the BBC TV series Doctor Who
- Above the Bradbury Towers neon sign is Icarus in flames falling from the sky, in the same style of the cover for the band's 1983 single "Flight of Icarus"
- On the walkway above the clock is an electronic sign that says "LATEST RESULTS.......WEST HAM 7........ARSENAL 3," a nod to bass guitarist Steve Harris who is a West Ham supporter.
- At the right edge below, just near the guys, there is another Russian ad - "KEFIR", which means - "fermented milk drink".
- On the right side there is a bird similar to, or an eagle. ("Where Eagles Dare") Some people consider this Batman.
- There is a sign that says "Gypsy's Kiss" which was the first band Steve Harris ever played with.
[edit] Additional notes
- Catalogue: (LP) Capitol 12524, (CD) Capitol C2-46341
