Somewhere in Time (album)
| Somewhere In Time | ||||
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| Studio album by Iron Maiden | ||||
| Released |
September 29, 1986 (UK) October 28, 1998 (US) |
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| Recorded | Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas and Wisseloord Studios, Hilversum, Netherlands, 1986 | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 51:24 | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Producer | Martin Birch | |||
| Professional reviews | ||||
| Iron Maiden chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Somewhere in Time | ||||
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Somewhere in Time is the sixth studio album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 29 September 1986 on EMI in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in the US (it was re-released by Sanctuary/Columbia Records in the US in 1998). The studio follow-up to the hugely successful Powerslave/Live After Death pair, it was the first Iron Maiden album to feature guitar synthesizers. 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").
While many of the songs from Somewhere in Time have all but disappeared (and some like, "The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner" being only played once) from the band's live shows over the years, "Wasted Years" and "Heaven Can Wait" have been consistent mainstays of the band's live setlist. Performances of "Heaven Can Wait" have featured a group of local fans and celebrities invited onstage to sing along during the song's middle section.
The album also marked a change for Iron Maiden, as it was their first album to introduce synth, although this style was expanded upon in their next album, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. This is also their first studio album not to be released a year after their previous one. The band has never released a studio album a year after the previous again as of 2010. The band began to put more time into writing and recording their albums as well as touring for an extensive time after the release of Powerslave
The song Alexander the Great was the only song on the album that talked about the past, while other songs were about time travel, science fiction, and the far future.
Bruce Dickinson states in an interview that he didn't like the album because of the bass and guitar synthesizers.
The 2008 tribute CD Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden released by Kerrang! magazine features covers of two songs from this album: "Wasted Years" by DevilDriver and "Caught Somewhere in Time" by Madina Lake.[1]
Somewhere On Tour was the tour supporting the album.
Contents |
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Caught Somewhere in Time" | Steve Harris | 7:26 |
| 2. | "Wasted Years" | Adrian Smith | 5:08 |
| 3. | "Sea of Madness" | Smith | 5:42 |
| 4. | "Heaven Can Wait" | Harris | 7:21 |
| 5. | "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" | Harris | 6:31 |
| 6. | "Stranger in a Strange Land" | Smith | 5:44 |
| 7. | "Deja-Vu" | Dave Murray, Harris | 4:56 |
| 8. | "Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.)" | Harris | 8:36 |
| 1995 reissue bonus CD | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Reach Out" | Dave Colwell | 3:31 | ||||||
| 2. | "Juanita" (Originally by Marshall Fury) | Steve Barnacle, Derek O'Neil | 3:47 | ||||||
| 3. | "Sheriff of Huddersfield" (Based on an old Urchin song called "Life in the City") | Iron Maiden | 3:35 | ||||||
| 4. | "That Girl" | Merv Goldsworthy, Pete Jupp, Andy Barnett | 5:07 | ||||||
Personnel
- Bruce Dickinson – vocals, backing vocals on "Reach Out"
- Steve Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals, bass synth
- Nicko McBrain – drums
- Dave Murray – guitar, guitar synth
- Adrian Smith – guitar, guitar synth, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Reach Out"
Production
- Martin Birch – producer, engineer, mixing, tape operator
- Albert Boekholt – engineer, assistant engineer
- Ronald Prent – engineer, assistant engineer
Chart performance
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | UK Albums Chart | 3 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 200 | 11 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "Wasted Years" | UK Singles Chart | 18 | "Somewhere in Time" |
| "Stranger in a Strange Land" | UK Singles Chart | 22 | "Somewhere in Time" | |
| 1990 | "Wasted Years" | UK Singles Chart | 9 | "The First Ten Years" |
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. The cover was originally created for use as the cover to the authorized biography of the band, Running Free by Garry Bushell and Ross Halfin and therefore made many references such as:
- The street sign on the corner where Eddie is standing says Acacia (partially obscured), a reference to the song 22 Acacia Avenue from The Number of the Beast album
- Below "Acacia" is a poster of Eddie from the first album.
- The torn poster below "Acacia" is the one that appears on the Sanctuary and Women in Uniform singles.
- 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. While this is undoubtly a reference with the cover of Killers, there is also a significant reference with the cover of the album "Nightflight" (1981) of the band Budgie. On it stands a birdman holding almost the same futuristic weapon and posing as Eddie. Also a futuristic aircraft in the background is not missing. This is no coincidense because that album cover was also drawn by Derek Riggs. It is known that Budgie had its influences on Iron Maiden, were Iron Maiden at least covered one of Budgie's songs "I cant see my feelings", on their "From Here To Eternity" Single.
- A banner with the words, "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.
- 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 "Меня Рвёт", [Menya Rvyot] - "I'm vomiting", which also literally translates as "It's tearing me up", depending on the context.
- An Eye of Horus neon sign at the top of a building, a reference to the song "Powerslave".
- Below Eddie, there is a model in the department store window. Some fans believe this is former Maiden singer, Paul Di'Anno.
- On the bridge separating the two buildings is a digital clock that says: 23:58. This refers to Iron Maiden's song "2 Minutes to Midnight"
- Under Eddie's left leg there is a trash can attached to a post. This is the same trash can that can be seen attached to a lamppost in the background on the cover of the album Iron Maiden.
References on the back include:
- A clock reading 23:58 ("2 Minutes to Midnight").
- Below the clock there is a sign that reads "Phantom Opera House" in reference to the song "Phantom of the Opera" from the first Iron Maiden album.
- Just below the "Phantom Opera House", a writing in very small characters says "Bollocks again & again". This is one of illustrator Derek Riggs' in-jokes, as the word "Bollocks" was hidden in a similar fashion on his previous album cover for Iron Maiden, Powerslave.
- On the left side, the "Aces High Bar" ("Aces High" song).
- Above the "Aces High Bar", flies a Spitfire-shaped plane. (Spitfires are referenced in "Aces High")
- Just below the "Aces High Bar" sign, there is a neon sign representing a plane, apparently in battle, formed by two glasses of stemware.
- 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 יהוה, Jehovah/Yahweh (really it is not read, as it is not known exactly how, and, usually, the word אֲדֹנָי, Adonai - the Lord, is pronounced on its place in Jewish religious practices).
- Below the "Aces High Bar", is a sign that says "Sand Dune" ("To Tame A Land" song, based on a novel "Dune").
- Pyramids in the background (Powerslave cover, also another reference to Blade Runner).
- Among the pyramids, a grim reaper. (Similar to the grim reaper that appears on the cover of "The Trooper").
- 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.
- In the background can be seen "Bradbury Towers" (a likely reference to the Blade Runner prominent Bradbury Building) and The Million Dollar Movie Theater, both located in Los Angeles. It could also be a reference to science fiction author Ray Bradbury
- 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.
- 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.
- Just above "The Ruskin Arms", there is a neon sign that reads "RAINBOW", another famous venue for Iron Maiden.
- Above and to the left of the "Rainbow" sign is a neon sign reading "L'AMOURS Beer Gardens", a reference to the "L'Amours" rock venue Iron Maiden once played in Brooklyn, New York.
- 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. The TARDIS is featured on the cover of the Maiden single "Wasted Years".
- 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". It also bears a resemblance to the logo for Swan Song Records, a label founded by Led Zeppelin.
- 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, a team known as the "Hammers".
- At the right edge below, just near the band, there is another Russian ad - Кефир, "KEFIR", which means "yoghurt".
- Just above the Russian ad for "KEFIR" there is the street sign for "Upton Park" - this is where West Ham United F.C. play their home games.
- In the band group, Bruce Dickinson is carrying a brain, the main symbol from the Piece of Mind album.
- There is a sign that says Gypsy's Kiss which was the first band Steve Harris ever played with.
- On the right side, above "Bradbury Towers" sign, there is a Japanese ad "浅田 彰." This refers to a notable Japanese philosopher, economist and critic, Akira Asada.
- Right of the pyramids there is a sign where "Long Beach Arena" is written. The Live After Death album was mostly recorded at Long Beach Arena.
- The neon sign above the band reads "Maggies Revenge" and refers to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and also references the cover of the Sanctuary and Women in Uniform singles.
- One of the buildings is labeled "Asimov Foundation", a reference to the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov.
- A character wearing a large cloak stands above the walkway's right side. He has been identified as Batman by The Iron Maiden FAQ, but is actually more reminiscent of Erik, the Phantom of the Opera - another reference to the Iron Maiden song inspired by the character.
- The cat from Live After Death is on the sidewalk, behind Eddie.
- Just below the cloaked character and just above the "Latest Results" is the bracket that held Eddie's skull together from the "Piece of Mind" album on, including this album.
- The windows of the Ruskin Arms Hotel, at the far left, are similar to those on the cover of Killers.
- In the top left hand corner, in the sky just behind the clouds, is a spaceship. This could be a reference to Steve Harris's favourite band UFO.
- Derek Riggs' artistic signature symbol can be found on Eddie's chest.
- In the bottom right hand corner all five members of the band are standing in a line. Bruce Dickinson is holding a brain, a reference to Piece of Mind, and Nicko is wearing aviator goggles (he had a pilot's license by this time, long before Bruce Dickinson) and a t-shirt that says "Iron What?". Dave Murray's t-shirt says "Irons 1".
- To the right of the "Long Beach Arena" sign, there is a sign that says "Hammerjacks", a night club and concert hall in Baltimore, MD, frequented by the band. The night club closed in 1994; the concert hall is still open however.
- Below the Hammerjacks sign, there is a sign that says "Tehe's Bar", which is where the choir vocals in the middle of "Heaven Can Wait" were recorded.
- To the left of the clock is a sign that says "Herbert Ails" a reference to author Frank Herbert who wouldn't let the band use the title of his book "Dune" as a song title.
- To the left of the Hammerjacks sign, there is a sign that says "TEXAS RECORDS AND TAPES". The band have stated several times that some of their favourite American venues to play are in Texas.
- Beneath the Phantom Opera House sign, there is a sign that reads "EMI REC.". Iron Maiden's international records have all been released on the EMI label.
Ed Hunter
In the Iron Maiden computer game Ed Hunter, one of the levels has the player walk through the scene depicted on the Somewhere In Time album cover while eliminating enemies.
Additional notes
- Catalogue: (LP) Capitol 12524, (CD) Capitol C2-46341
References
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