Iron Maiden POLL: Piece of Mind or Somewhere in Time?

[WildRanger]

Which IM album do you prefer?

I prefer SIT.

[EPICVIEW]

POM

[Zook]

Somewhere in Time

[cramx3]

SiT, my second favorite IM album behind AMoLaD

[Grappler]

Somewhere in Time

Aside from Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, every other song on that record kicks ass.  Especially Deja Vu.   

[bosk1]

Depends on my mood.  These are my two favorite albums from the classic era, and are my #2 and #3 Maiden albums overall.  They are both really good.  Today, I'll go with SiT. 

[Zydar]

SiT, my second favorite IM album behind Seventh Son.

Fix'd for me.

[ChuckSteak]

Piece of Mind.

[The Walrus]

Despite Piece of Mind having two of Maiden's very worst, most annoying songs ever - Quest for Fire and Sun and Steel - its highs are still way higher than Somewhere In Time's, for my ears.

[bosk1]

Quest for Fire is top 10, but I'm with you on Sun and Steel.

[pg1067]

Neither album has any bad songs (I LOVE Sun and Steel and like Quest for Fire), but Somewhere in Time doesn't have anything on the level of the best songs on Piece of Mind.  If I were to rank the songs on both albums, I suspect 4 of the top 5 would be POM songs (#1 being To Tame a Land).

[MirrorMask]

Piece of Mind without even have to think about it. Masterpiece of an album, Bruce in god-mode and chock full of classics including the songs that introduced me to Maiden and therefore Bruce and therefore heavy metal in general, Revelations.

I assume me and Bruce are the only two persons that never really got into Somewhere in Time 

[Zydar]

The only annoying song on Piece Of Mind is Die With Your Boots On. Never could stand that one

Sun And Steel and Quest For Fire are great though.

[TAC]

I remember when Somewhere In Time came out, I loved it. I was so disappointed with Powerslave, and I literally thought Somewhere In Time was their best album to date. Unfortunately for me, it hasn't aged as well as I had hoped.

Going with the timeless Piece Of Mind.

[The Walrus]

How can you be disappointed with Powerslave? WTF, TAC?

[TAC]

How can you be disappointed with Powerslave? WTF, TAC?

I don't even know where to start.

Suffice to say it has aged pretty well, but for a 16 y/o TAC, I thought it was quite weak, formulaic, and convoluted.

[bosk1]

I know Bruce had his earlier comment about keyboards having no place in metal.  And then not long after, Maiden would use them quite liberally on SiT.  I remember feeling during this period in time that most hard rock/heavy metal bands that were trying to use keyboards weren't doing a very good job.  A lot of bands were just using them mostly to add cheesy synth-sounds that often seemed designed to create mainstream appeal with pop fans, or so it sounded.  As a fan of both keyboard driven pop and new wave and guitar driven hard rock, I found myself wishing that more bands could do a better job of integrating the two rather than the direction most bands seemed to be taking (which is one of the reasons DT's sound was so appealing to me when I discovered them in '92).  I think Maiden really did it right with their use of keys on SiT.  Often, it was to blend with the guitars and/or create background atmosphere rather than to add a pop synth sound.  I, for one, really like this fuller Maiden sound with other things going on behind or underneath the guitars to add another layer.  It suits their music well and is something that they started doing even better with in the reunion era.

[bosk1]

How can you be disappointed with Powerslave? WTF, TAC?

I don't even know where to start.

Suffice to say it has aged pretty well, but for a 16 y/o TAC, I thought it was quite weak, formulaic, and convoluted.

Exactly.  It's kind of their Images & Words, in terms of having half an album's worth of some of their all-time best material, a middle portion that is some of the most forgettable stuff they have ever done. 

[The Walrus]

I mean, Powerslave has 3 whatever tracks, but the rest? Aces High, 2 Minutes, Flash of the Blade (I love this song, but I recognize others don't), Rime, and the title track? Those 5 are among my all-time favorite Maiden songs!

[TAC]

I know Bruce had his earlier comment about keyboards having no place in metal.  And then not long after, Maiden would use them quite liberally on SiT.  I remember feeling during this period in time that most hard rock/heavy metal bands that were trying to use keyboards weren't doing a very good job.  A lot of bands were just using them mostly to add cheesy synth-sounds that often seemed designed to create mainstream appeal with pop fans, or so it sounded.  As a fan of both keyboard driven pop and new wave and guitar driven hard rock, I found myself wishing that more bands could do a better job of integrating the two rather than the direction most bands seemed to be taking (which is one of the reasons DT's sound was so appealing to me when I discovered them in '92).  I think Maiden really did it right with their use of keys on SiT.  Often, it was to blend with the guitars and/or create background atmosphere rather than to add a pop synth sound.  I, for one, really like this fuller Maiden sound with other things going on behind or underneath the guitars to add another layer.  It suits their music well and is something that they started doing even better with in the reunion era.

They thought so much of it, that for the Seventh Son promotion, they actually included Michael Kenney in promotional pics of the band.

How can you be disappointed with Powerslave? WTF, TAC?

I don't even know where to start.

Suffice to say it has aged pretty well, but for a 16 y/o TAC, I thought it was quite weak, formulaic, and convoluted.

Exactly.  It's kind of their Images & Words, in terms of having half an album's worth of some of their all-time best material, a middle portion that is some of the most forgettable stuff they have ever done. 

The Number Of The Beast is their Images And Words.

[bosk1]

I mean, Powerslave has 3 whatever tracks, but the rest? Aces High, 2 Minutes, Flash of the Blade (I love this song, but I recognize others don't), Rime, and the title track? Those 5 are among my all-time favorite Maiden songs!

That's basically what I said.  Those 4 classic songs being some of their best ever.  And you seem to recognize that the 5th that you added to the list would not be near most other people's lists. 

How can you be disappointed with Powerslave? WTF, TAC?

I don't even know where to start.

Suffice to say it has aged pretty well, but for a 16 y/o TAC, I thought it was quite weak, formulaic, and convoluted.

Exactly.  It's kind of their Images & Words, in terms of having half an album's worth of some of their all-time best material, a middle portion that is some of the most forgettable stuff they have ever done. 

The Number Of The Beast is their Images And Words.

Okay, fair enough.

[ProfessorPeart]

Somewhere In Time is my favorite Maiden album, so this was easy.

[Stadler]

Despite Piece of Mind having two of Maiden's very worst, most annoying songs ever - Quest for Fire and Sun and Steel - its highs are still way higher than Somewhere In Time's, for my ears.

This is why I love you.  In a purely 80's, bro- kind of way.   That's exactly what I would have written (same songs, too).

[Stadler]

How can you be disappointed with Powerslave? WTF, TAC?

I don't even know where to start.

Suffice to say it has aged pretty well, but for a 16 y/o TAC, I thought it was quite weak, formulaic, and convoluted.

Y'ever watch NCIS, when Leroy Jethro Gibbs would slap Tony DiNozzo on the back of the head?   52 year old Stadler would liek to do that to 16 year old TAC.     

I love Powerslave - I sometimes call it my favorite Maiden album, but that's like picking my favorite tooth - but the more I think of it, there are not a lot of weak spots in that Killers>>>Seventh run.   

[Peter Mc]

I find SIT to be the weakest of the classic Maiden albums so POM wins this by some distance for me.  When I say classic albums, I mean albums made with the classic lineup so NPFTD and FOTD don’t count and neither do the pre-Dickinson ones.

[wolfking]

SIT for me, easily.  I never had a problem with Quest or Sun, I had like Zydar more of a problem with Boots.  The album has classics in Eagles, Revelations, Still Life and the underrated To Tame A Land but it could be my least listened to of the golden era.

When I first heard SIT, the sound and whole atmosphere hooked me right away.  I simply love the synths from that very first E chord of the title track.  I don't think there is anything bad on this one.  I always thought Heaven Can Wait was the weakest, mainly from the chorus, but that's aged really well.  The title track blisters and the solo section of both is insane.  Wasted Years is an 80's melodic rock gem.

Sea of Madness is one of the bands most underrated and that riff is heavy as fuck.  Steve souonds massive here and the whole song sounds thick and full, very powerful.  Special mention to Adrian's little technique of tapping the bent note in the outro, and then when he taps and slides on a bent D note gives me chills.

Long Distance Runner would be a top 20 Maiden song, probably even top 10.  If you ask me, I think this quite possibly has the best guitar harmonies the band has ever done.  The lyrics are silly I admit but musically it's brilliant.  Deja-Vu I never had a problem with, cool lyrics and I like Bruce's delivery on this one.  The harmonies in the middle are cool and well written from Dave. 

Stranger is another underrated one.  80's all over which I love.  The riff is awkward but it works.  Adrian again shines with a brilliantly constructed well written solo.  Every note here has a place.  The closer is a classic.  Musically it was beyond anything the band had done at the time.  My only criticism is the amount of lyrics Bruce has to sing at times, but it's not a big issue really.  Epic closer, great song, brilliant album.

[The Walrus]

Despite Piece of Mind having two of Maiden's very worst, most annoying songs ever - Quest for Fire and Sun and Steel - its highs are still way higher than Somewhere In Time's, for my ears.

This is why I love you.  In a purely 80's, bro- kind of way.   That's exactly what I would have written (same songs, too).

My brother from another mother.

[pg1067]

I never had a problem with the keys in SIT and SSOASS.

Ranking the songs on POM and SIT:

--To Tame a Land
--Where Eagles Dare
--The Trooper
--Revelations
xxAlexander the Great
xxSea of Madness
--Sun and Steel
--Flight of Icarus
xxDeja Vu
xxThe Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
--Quest for Fire
xxStranger in a Strange Land
xxCaught Somewhere in Time
--Die with Your Boots On
xxWasted Years
--Still Life
xxHeaven Can Wait


As far as Powerslave, Aces High and Powerslave are at the top.  Rime and Two Minutes and The Duelists are a notch down.  Flash and Losfer Words are another notch down.  And Village is WAY, WAY, WAY down -- probably the only song on Number through SIT that I consider to be "bad."

[TAC]

Hey PG, even though at the time I thought the album was great, I never liked Heaven Can Wait. I hated it even more that they insisted on playing it on every tour right after.

That said, while my overall opinion of the album has dropped, Heaven Can Wait might be my best aged song. I actually love it now.

Caught Somewhere In Time is a Top 5, maybe Top 3, Iron Maiden track for me.

[NoseofNicko]

Long Distance Runner would be a top 20 Maiden song, probably even top 10.  If you ask me, I think this quite possibly has the best guitar harmonies the band has ever done.  The lyrics are silly I admit but musically it's brilliant.

Yes!!! By far their most underrated song imo.

Voted SiT. My favorite Maiden album and probably in my top 5 favorite albums of any band.

[jammindude]

It still surprises me how much love SiT gets these days.   There was a LOT of flack in the US when it came out. 

The synths eventually grew on me...it just seemed weird on Maiden.  But I still far prefer SSOASS.   But SiT in particular is turning point in my mind not just because of the addition of synths, but because this seems like the beginning of the "let's sing a single line 4-8 times for the chorus" era of the band...which would culminate in the "let's sing a single line 80 times for the chorus" era of the band (aka - VXI). 

[pg1067]

Hey PG, even though at the time I thought the album was great, I never liked Heaven Can Wait. I hated it even more that they insisted on playing it on every tour right after.

That said, while my overall opinion of the album has dropped, Heaven Can Wait might be my best aged song. I actually love it now.

Caught Somewhere In Time is a Top 5, maybe Top 3, Iron Maiden track for me.

I don't know if they did this everywhere, but our local radio station had a contest and they had about 25 winners get up on stage during HCW to sing the "whoa-oa-oa" part.

Also, this:

this seems like the beginning of the "let's sing a single line 4-8 times for the chorus" era of the band. 

The actual start of that was Back in the Village.

[TAC]

Hey PG, even though at the time I thought the album was great, I never liked Heaven Can Wait. I hated it even more that they insisted on playing it on every tour right after.

That said, while my overall opinion of the album has dropped, Heaven Can Wait might be my best aged song. I actually love it now.

Caught Somewhere In Time is a Top 5, maybe Top 3, Iron Maiden track for me.

I don't know if they did this everywhere, but our local radio station had a contest and they had about 25 winners get up on stage during HCW to sing the "whoa-oa-oa" part.

Yeah, same here, and as much as I didn't like the song back then, I always thought that was the coolest thing. Our friend Cram got to do that, I believe.

[Setlist Scotty]

Somewhere In Time is my favorite Maiden album, so this was easy.

Ditto. Nevermind the killer artwork - best Maiden cover art EVER!

[Elite]

Kind of have to go with SiT here.