IRON MAIDEN – Somewhere In Time

I swear I’ve heard Somewhere in Time a thousand times. It’s one of the few Iron Maiden albums I play regularly to this day. I kept my job long enough to score balcony seats to see Iron Maiden live. I never want to see a chicken gizzard again!

My exposure to Iron Maiden began around age 14 but I really didn’t get into them seriously until 1986’s Somewhere In Time. This was largely due to the success of the song “Wasted Years”. I remember hearing the song on the radio and tracking down a copy of the cassette tape.

Unable to legally drive, my modus operandi at the time was to get a job within walking distance of my home and remain employed there just long enough to buy a concert ticket for a show and grab a t-shirt while I was there.

Concert shirts were a big deal in the 80s and it was traditional to wear a shirt you got last night’s show to school the following day. This was murder on the parents who insisted on doing late night laundry but to the kid lucky enough to wear it, you were immediately considered cool.

I made my trek to Brown’s Chicken for two weeks straight. I felt like a stranger in a strange land, navigating the dark neighborhood streets after most of the world had gone off to bed but I did it. My cassette tape running nonstop. I swear I’ve heard Somewhere in Time a thousand times. It’s one of the few Iron Maiden albums I play regularly to this day. I kept my job long enough to score balcony seats to see Iron Maiden live. I never want to see a chicken gizzard again!

This was the first time I saw Maiden live and the last time I ever sat in the fucking balcony! After this show we started sleeping out for concert tickets and seeing Maiden live is a big reason why. I’d never seen lights, theatrics and pyrotechnics before. A glance at that enormous Eddie and I was sold.

Over the years, I’ve seen Iron Maiden live several times, I own all their albums, but my experience with Somewhere in Time has jaded me. This is the effort I listened to with most frequency. In my mind it will always be one of their best. Highlight tracks for me: “Caught Somewhere In Time”, “Sea Of Madness”, “Wasted Years”, “Stranger In A Strange Land” and “Deja-Vu”.

As we move on in this world, I urge to you cherish not only who you but what helped you get there.

Iron Maiden helped me learn responsibility, I wouldn’t change walking down those dark streets listening to “Seas of Madness” for anything. I was at the cusp of my life, and anything seemed possible. The opportunities were endless, music fueled my dreams. \m/