Caught Somewhere in Time
Wasted Years
Sea of Madness
Heaven Can Wait
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Stranger in a Strange Land
Deja-Vu
Alexander the Great
The most underrated of Iron Maiden’s ‘80s albums, Somewhere In Time came between two major milestones – 1984's Powerslave and Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, released four years later – and, as a result, seldom gets the props it deserves. In fact, it still sounds fresh and vital 30 years later.
Caught Somewhere In Time is one of Maiden’s greatest album openers – and, arguably the band’s best-ever live set opener – while Wasted Years was one of their finest singles and closing epic Alexander The Great was a strong contender for the song most Maiden diehards would cheerfully stab a relative to see performed live, at least until they actually started playing it live, decades later.
"We went for a new kind of sound on Somewhere In Time, using guitar synths, and two of my songs for that album came out really well, Stranger In A Strange Land and Wasted Years," said guitarist Adrian Smith. "When we were mixing in New York, I was in my hotel room listening to the tracks with [producer] Martin Birch, and there was a knock at the door. I opened it and Tom Jones was standing there. He said: ‘I heard the music, lads. Do you mind if I come in?’
"He listened to the album, and as we talked I realized that what we do is pretty much the same: making records, doing shows. Except that with Maiden, it’s a bit louder."
Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.
Other albums released in September 1986
- Break Every Rule - Tina Turner
- Bouncing off the Satellites - The B-52's
- True Stories - Talking Heads
- Blood & Chocolate - Elvis Costello and the Attractions
- Express - Love and Rockets
- This Side of Paradise - Ric Ocasek
- Blind Before I Stop - Meat Loaf
- Third Stage - Boston
- Constrictor - Alice Cooper
- Dancing Undercover - Ratt
- Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? - Megadeth
- Vigilante - Magnum
- Blah-Blah-Blah - Iggy Pop
- Chicago 18 - Chicago
- Inside the Electric Circus - W.A.S.P.
- The Age of Quarrel - Cro-Mags
- Menace to Society - Lizzy Borden
- Music That You Can Dance To - Sparks
What they said...
"The weakest album from Iron Maiden's classic ‘80s period, Somewhere In Time is really the first true disappointment in their catalogue, too often collapsing under the weight of their now-trademark ambition. Though it sold well on the heels of the hugely successful Powerslave tour, and is often regarded as underrated by Maiden devotees, it clearly finds the band struggling to refresh what was rapidly hardening into formula." (AllMusic)
"Without any songwriting contributions from Bruce Dickinson, who had all his semi-acoustic songs ditched, a heavier burden rests on Adrian Smith’s shoulders to come up with both music and lyrics. In addition to Wasted Years, which is surely one of Maiden’s most commercially inclined tracks, he also delivers the metallic Sea Of Madness, featuring one of the greatest Maiden guitar solos ever, and the brooding and groovy second single Stranger In A Strange Land." (Maiden Revelations)
"Many of the tracks on the album such as Caught Somewhere In Time, The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner and Alexander The Great had a real epic feel to them. The guitar synthesizers seemed to enhance the various melody lines that Iron Maiden came up with. Nothing was more prevalent in that regard than the first single Wasted Years which continues to be a crowd favourite and perhaps one of the easiest Maiden songs to sing along to." (Sleaze Roxx)
What you said...
Nigel Mawdsley: I should like Iron Maiden's music more than I actually do! Iron Maiden have some superb classic songs in their back catalogue, but I find that a lot of their album tracks just merge into one.
Somewhere In Time shows brilliant musicianship all round, but then, for me, as with most of the band's albums, there's nothing really outstanding song-wise melodically. I always thought that Judas Priest were more varied and better songwriters. 6/10 from me.
Andrew Cumming: This was the current album when I first became interested in Maiden and so holds a special level of affection. At the time I thought it was great - the title track, Stranger and Wasted - two great singles - Heaven Can Wait, Sea Of Madness. All fantastic. It sagged a bit with Alexander The Great and Loneliness. But nevertheless a really good album.
With the passing of time I felt it didn’t hold up as consistently as, say, Number of the Beast, Powerslave or Seventh Son. But then last year they decided to tour the album which gave me a reason to re-evaluate. And I think it holds up really really well. Whereas those three - whilst great - are very very familiar now. Somewhere in Time doesn’t have quite the level of familiarity which makes it more enjoyable to come back to. And hearing Alexander The Great live brought it to life really well. So I think it’s a great album. A notch below the absolute classics. But those slight flaws make it worth coming back to.
Chris Downie: For those of us who endured the 90's mid-career slump of Iron Maiden and many of their traditional metal contemporaries, there was a feeling of bemusement when a key accusation levelled at Steve Harris and co. was their insistence at sticking to their guns and stubborn refusal to 'move with the times'. After all, the first seven albums (surely a candidate for the greatest consecutive album run in metal history) were all markedly different, characterised by a steady evolution and ever more adventurous composition. The most divisive in that virtually flawless first decade is 1986's Somewhere In Time.
It's no secret this album marked a key turning point in the relationship between frontman Bruce Dickinson and band leader Steve Harris. While the former wanted to progress their sound in a Zeppelin-style diversification and usher in acoustic tracks and power ballads, the latter harboured a desire to introduce synthesisers for the first time, in a nod to the trends of the day.
Needless to say, Harris won out and Dickinson's name is notably absent from all songwriting credit on this album. Also notable is the fact this was released the same year as Judas Priest's much-maligned Turbo and Ozzy's equally controversial The Ultimate Sin. Looking back, however, this is not the great departure some lamented at the time. While the guitar synths date the album somewhat from a production standpoint, from a compositional point of view, they embellish, rather than dominate, the music throughout.
With Dickinson taking a step back from songwriting, this was the album where Adrian Smith really stepped up, delivering the tremendous Wasted Years and Stranger In A Strange Land, as well as the underrated Sea Of Madness, all of which underpin the fact it was his departure in 1990 and not Dickinson's two albums later, that precipitated their almost decade-long decline. That said, to call this Smith's album would do a disservice to the rest of the band.
Despite his lack of songwriting, Dickinson delivers another world-class vocal performance, while Harris penned one of their heaviest-ever compositions - and one of their best opening tracks to this day - in Caught Somewhere In Time, as well as live favourite Heaven Can Wait and epic closer Alexander The Great.
The twin lead guitar interplay between Smith and Dave Murray is as exhilarating as ever, but perhaps equally worthy of mention here is the inspirational drum performance of recently retired Nicko McBrain. The opener is one of the finest examples of single bass drum playing in metal, whilst his dynamics and tasteful fills in Wasted Years elevate an already great song and the powerful but elegant driving forward of The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner and odd time signatures in Alexander are true career highlights of an already stellar career of an iconic drummer.
Looking back at this album today, it's baffling to see why it met with a minor backlash for the introduction of synthesisers and slightly more accessible style, for the material here is very strong and, were it not sandwiched between two of their - and Heavy Metal's - most definitive albums in Powerslave and Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, it would surely be recognised as an all-time classic. That it was finally given its fair due by way of no fewer than five of its eight tracks being celebrated on their latest tour, is poetic justice and a fine touring swansong for McBrain, showcasing one of his finest performances on record. 9/10.
Gary Claydon: One of the (many) pleasures of the most recent Maiden tour was hearing some of their lesser-played tracks, especially the excellent Stranger In A Strange Land, not aired live for 20-odd years and the never-before aired Alexander The Great. Somewhere In Time isn't my favourite Maiden album but it's still mighty fine. The good bits are very good and the less good bits are, nonetheless, very decent. 8/10.
Brian Carr: Listening to Somewhere In Time this evening, it struck me that the album might be a perfect example of the inability to fulfil expectations when one has set the bar incredibly high. Despite heavy MTV play of Wasted Years and Stranger in a Strange Land (as I recall), the consensus among Maiden fans seemed to be that Somewhere In Time was a letdown after the killer string of albums that came before. Obviously, keyboards in Iron Maiden songs proved to be a hard sell, but it could have been worse (cough, cough - Turbo - hack, hack).
To me, taken on its own merits, Somewhere In Time is a quite strong record. Bruce is in great voice, the guitar work of Smith and Murray is spectacular as usual and the songs are excellent. Adrian Smith’s songwriting contributions (three of eight songs) steer the album in a more mainstream direction, but that doesn’t turn me away. The aforementioned Wasted Years might have the biggest hook in Maiden’s output and that suits me just fine. Nice choice this week in tribute to the beloved Nicko McBrain.
Mike Canoe: What I like about Iron Maiden's Somewhere In Time, I like a lot. At the same time, it still feels like a lesser version of Powerslave, which I always considered their magnum opus.
I'm not bothered by the use of synths (surprisingly). Judas Priest had already used them on their Turbo album and my friends and I loved that one at the time. While it's easy to blame the synths, I don't think they were directly responsible for softening Maiden's (or Priest's) sound. It's likely both bands were pressured to keep building their crossover audience.
Maiden sounded like they were trying to better Powerslave but didn't know how to do it. Steve Harris's use of movie titles to spark song ideas felt increasingly desperate and Alexander The Great was a clunker that aimed to top Mariner's” glories but only accentuated the big gap between the two as Bruce Dickinson was forced to awkwardly sing out a history lesson. Even Derek Riggs, the artist who breathed life into the greatest metal mascot of all time, seemed to be overcompensating with a cover so detailed that only the most ardent fan could decipher everything since the internet wasn't around for the common people yet.
Despite all that, there's some great stuff here. Adrian Smith steps up as MVP with two excellent singles, Wasted Years and Stranger in a Strange Land, as well my favourite Maiden deep cut of all time, Sea Of Madness. Aside from Alexander the Great, Steve Harris contributes some great songs too. Opener Caught Somewhere in Time lays out the album's M.O. and Heaven Can Wait, with its gang chants is much better than the Warren Beatty movie it shares its name with. No idea about the movie Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner," but the song is pretty great. Of course, the band still plays like the stadium-conquering heroes they are and Dickinson, while he didn't contribute any songs, still demonstrates why he is one of the greatest metal singers ever.
Truth be told, Somewhere In Time was the last Maiden studio album that I truly enjoyed. Seventh Son was a little too soggy and proggy for me and the band and I went our separate ways as far as new stuff goes. Fans talk about bands having hot streaks of three or four albums but, along with the phenomenal Live After Death, Maiden had a great showing of seven stellar albums in a row.
Greg Schwepe: In today’s marketing world of “branding” and having a “consistent product,” Iron Maiden certainly follows the guidelines to a “T,” or should I say dots the “I?” With every Iron Maiden song and album, you fully know what you’re gonna get! The banshee wail of Bruce Dickinson, the galloping, ringing bass of Steve Harris, the guitars of Murray and Smith (and Gers too, depending on the album you’re listening to), and the thumping drums of the newly retired Nicko McBrain. Like their classic rock compadres AC/DC and ZZ Top, they don’t stray too far (or at all) from their tried and true musical formula. Whether you put the needle down, hit the “Play” button on your cassette deck, CD player, or streaming service app, you’ll get the same consistent Iron Maiden blast every time.
As someone who was a compilation CD consumer of Iron Maiden’s music before the streaming services gave you access to a band’s output from the dawn of time, Somewhere In Time sounds like all the other Iron Maiden albums I’ve heard. And that’s no slight, that’s exactly what I want. That distinctive Maiden sound, track after track. The title track, Wasted Years, and a whole slew of other great tracks provide me exactly the Maiden fix I’m looking for.
For the ultimate Maiden fan, there are distinct differences between various albums that they can point out, but for me, this “sameness” leads to that sound and enjoying every song all the way through. 8 out of 10 for me on this one. Eddie approves.
Adam Ranger: I stopped buying Iron Maiden albums after Poweslave. Not because I was tired of them, but my musical tastes were broadening as a 19-year-old. Back then, no streaming service, so you had to choose what to buy or have a friend who had bought it already. And to me Poweslave was such a great album, that it felt right to leave Maiden there for a while. So this is my first proper full listen to Somewhere In Time.
It sounds like Maiden, has all the hallmarks of the previous albums. But it lacks something for me. It seems very well produced, and that synth guitar tone a little tamer than Powerslave or Piece Of Mind. Great playing, and a great vocal performance, but I got a little bored halfway through.
My favourite tracks: Alexander The Great (Maiden always good at telling a tale) and Sea Of Madness, because it sounds different from the rest of the album.
Not a bad album, veering towards prog metal rather than good old-fashioned British heavy metal. Solid, but not a Maiden album I will revisit in a hurry.
Brett Deighton: I got this on vinyl for my 14th birthday and nearly wore the needle off my dad’s record player. Sadly I don’t have most of the old records, but this is one I would consider collecting on vinyl again.
Nigel Taylor: For me this is the finest Bruce Dickinson-era Iron Maiden album and the last true classic Iron Maiden album. The production is amazing, the use of guitar synths is just perfection and the songs, especially those written by Adrian Smith are amazing. And yep, Nicko nails it, with Stranger In A Strange Land being my favourite of his performances on it.
Adam McCann: Four words describe this album best: Adrian Smith's Finest Hour.
Philip Qvist: Underrated for sure and it is packed with great songs, but I would say that it is my least favourite Maiden album from the 80s. For sure it's miles better than what they produced in the 90s, and it beats a lot of their albums that they produced this century - but it's no Number Of The Beast or Powerslave.
The album definitely could have done with a lot less synthesiser, while many of the songs were too overproduced for their own good. Of course, it didn't help that Bruce Dickinson was too exhausted to write any songs of real value either, although Adrian Smith really did come to the party with three great songs. And then there is Alexander The Great - which is one of their weakest closing album songs in my opinion.
Okay, so enough of the negatives - are there any positives? Oh yes, you bet there is - and there are plenty of them. There aren't many albums that start off with songs of the quality of Caught Somewhere In Time, followed by Wasted Years. Then you also have Stranger In A Strange Land and the Steve Harris composition The Loneliness Of The Long Distant Runner, while Heaven Can Wait is also a great song.
The musicianship is of high quality and more proof that Dave Murray and Adrian Smith formed one of the greatest guitar duos in the rock industry. Even Bruce more than made up for his lack of songwriting credits with a great vocal performance.
And then there is the memorable cover, with hidden gems all over the place - including Steve's rather fanciful West Ham 7 - Arsenal 3 scoreline (I'm not a Gunners fan, but most of my family is). That album cover alone is worth a bonus point on its own.
My verdict? I'm going to give Somewhere In Time an 8. It is a very good album - but those three studio albums before it, not to mention Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, are all worth a 9 or 10; heights that Somewhere doesn't quite hit.
And finally, I want to wish Nicko a very happy (semi) retirement - he certainly deserves it. He easily fits on my list of Top 10 All-Time Rock Drummers - and let's not forget his larger-than-life personality. So thanks for all the memories Nicko - and enjoy your retirement.
Andrew Bramah: This is what happens when you use guitar synths to their best effect. Compare this to Turbo by Judas Priest.
Douglas Mackenzie: I like it, but it's a drop in quality from Piece Of Mind and Powerslave, and its successor, Seventh Son..., is also way better.
John Davidson: It took me a long time to accept Iron Maiden were better without Paul DiAnno. He brought a punky charm that I always felt Bruce "Bruce" Dickinson lacked. It wasn't until a friend gave me a tape of Live After Death that I realised what I'd been missing.
As a consequence, Somewhere In Time was the first Iron Maiden studio album i'd bought since Killers and I played it to death, even though I'd moved in with a girl by then and she was decidedly not a fan.
Side one is flawless. The opening one-two punch of Caught... and Wasted Years gets it off to a flying start and Sea Of Madness and Heaven Can Wait close the deal.
Side two is more of a mixed bag. Loneliness... goes on a bit, Stranger In A Strange Land is fantastic, Deja Vu is better than I remembered, even if it sounds like Judas Priest half the time, and even Alexander The Great manages to rise above its rather cheesy lyrical history lesson (the bit about paving the way for Christianity is pure bunkum).
The album was too long for one side of a c90 so I'm pretty sure I missed Alexander The Great off the end when I taped it for my Saisho walkman knock-off.
Off the bat I'd have given this an 8, but listening to it again for the first time in many years I'm leaning towards a 9.
Elad Winberg: It's my favourite Iron Maiden album along with Powerslave, and I think that it was way ahead of its time with its progressive sound and with the use of guitar synths. I always say that this album and Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son were highly influential for both power and progressive metal, and many of my favourite bands in these genres sound like they were inspired by the bombastic and epic sound of these two legendary albums.
Bill Griffin: They did the synth thing much better on the next one but this is still a fine album and the tour marked the first of my many visits to their live show.
Tony Bickerdike: One of the very of best of Iron Maiden’s albums and in my personal top three. No fillers on this album, all the songs are superb, even The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, the name of which actively discouraged me from initially listening to it. Alexander the Great is my favourite track, given it’s an epic as well as educational.
I love it and hope Nicko enjoys his retirement from the Irons at his home in Florida
Jacob Tannehill: I’m a little younger than most Iron Maiden fans. But I stumbled upon this album as my first introduction to them. It's my favourite album by them as a whole. I knew all the hits before this, but I never actually listened to a whole Iron Maiden album until this one. Not a stinker in the bunch. Some people that I grew up with think that they went a little too commercial on this one – maybe digital, I should say – but I think it’s a great album and they’ve worked very hard to defend this album.
Final score: 8.11 (98 votes cast, total score 795)
Join the Album Of The Week Club on Facebook to join in. The history of rock, one album at a time.
