Review Summary: This album is the turning point for Maiden, between the commercial success of the 80's to the punishing 90's. This is a great bridge between Powerslave and the keyboard laden Seventh Son. A very good album
Somewhere In Time to me, is a very overlooked album. Not only did Bruce and the boys broaden their songwriting horizons, having 3 songs only written by Adrian Smith and one by Dave Murray, but also broadening their horizons soundwise, by featuring guitar synthesizers, paving the way for the keyboard filled Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son.
The album starts out with the superb album opener Caught Somewhere In Time. Giving a great introduction to the overall sound of the album, with the synth underneath the opening riffs and also being an absolute epic. It grabs you immediately and doesn't let go until the song ends. The vocals soar, the bass rolls and any guitarist should hear those solos at least once. Adrian and Dave really stepped up their game on this record. 10/10
The next song Wasted Years, one of the few songs they still play from this album, kicks off with a great riff, from Adrian. And now to adres the elephant in the room: Bruce's voice was destroyed after the World Slavery Tour. Obviously, it was a 13 month tour with almost no breaks in it, and you can already hear it on the live album Live After Death and at the end Bruce was burned out, which is the reason he has no contributions on this album, since all of his ideas were acoustic songs. So basically to give his voice a chance of recovery, he toned his vocals down. That fact is very notabel on the singles, while on the deep cuts he soars like never before. Anyway, back to the song. Wasted Years is fine. The opening riff promises so much more than it delivers, but it definitely isn't a song I mind. 7,5/10
Next up the second Adrian Smith song out of 3, Sea Of Madness. In my personal opinion very underrated, a song with a good riff, great guitarwork again from Adrian and a catchy chorus. The song has a nice breakdown around the 3:00 mark and Bruce gives one of his best performances during said breakdown. The lyrics of the song quite nicely follow the overall Blade Runner inspired theme of the album, especially in the artwork, which is the best Derek Riggs would ever make. So overall a very good song, very unappreciated and should be played again sometime. 9/10
Next up is my least favorite song on the album, Heaven Can Wait. And by that I mean, that this album is all killer no filler and this song still rules! This reminds me of the 70's prog rock influences that Steve mentions a lot. The bridge of this song is very progressive with it's gang vocals, steady drum beat and fluid guitar work. After it's slow intro, this song really kicks into high gears with a rabid, somewhat punk like tempo. The chorus might be a tad bit repetitive, it makes for a great sing along, which makes sense this is one of the few tracks they have played after the album's tour 7/10
Next up another really underrated song, with that being The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner. Another Steve Harris penned track, again this one having a slower intro which after a buildup, starts kicking ass, this one even more than Heaven Can Wait. Based on a short story by Alan Sillitoe, when it kicks in, this song roars like (British ;-P) lion. And this song has to take the cake for the best vocal performance on this record. Bruce's out of breath wail in the chorus is the perfect inflection for this song. And again the solo's are a highlight on this one as well 10/10
*fun fact: The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner was only performed once in concert*
The second single to be released and the final Adrian written song (the others being Wasted Years and Sea Of Madness), Stranger In A Strange Land has a great rhythm. Nicko doesn’t get enough credit for also being able to lay down a good beat. This song stands out a lot in the Maiden catalogue, since this song focuses heavily on a simple, yet effective riff and beat followed, again by an amazing solo from Adrian, and finally ending on a great chorus, with a fade (one of the 4 maiden songs with a fade). Since this is a slower song on an album which has more uptempo songs, it gives Bruce more space to really nail those high notes in the chorus. It goes for a more groovy, western rhythm, and Adrian nails it. 8,5/10
Deja Vu stands apart since it is the first and one of the only Dave Murray penned songs. Since this is a Dave Murray song, the guitar work on this song is simply great. The drumwork is very punky and fast which really suits the basic but still manic lyrics. Tough this is the only song on the album without a guitar solo but the incredible guitar melodies, which serve as a bridge absolutely slay. 9/10
And the album ends on Alexander The Great. Maiden fans have been begging for years to hear this song live. On one side I totally understand this since the instrumentation is top notch, Bruce’s vocal soar and it has a good chorus to sing along to. But I will say, the lyrics just like Deja Vu are not very good. But on this song it’s more noticeable since the vocals, and with that the lyrics take a front seat. This song is basically a copy paste of the wikipedia page. But again, the music is so good, it does somewhat redeem it. 8/10
Overall this album is really underrated, and if your tired of the same 80’s hitfest albums such as Number Of The Beast or Powerslave, or if you want something more progressive without being BORING (I’m sorry I hate A Matter Of Life And Death), this is THE album to check out
