![]() ![]() I also learned that it was purchased by my Great Aunt Mona, my Grandmother’s sister, and not the first person you would think of to volunteer buying something with that kind of cover art for their young Great Nephew. And sitting there in my pile of seasonal booty haul was, as I had hoped, was a brand new copy of Somewhere In Time. ![]() But I’m getting ahead of myself.Ĭhristmas came. Looking back, I would have liked to have heard the band on vinyl, but given I was young and extremely stupid the cassette survived better. Cassette preferred, as I found them much more versatile than vinyl. Shortly thereafter, when it came time to put in our requests for Christmas gifts, Somewhere In Time topped the short list. Album artwork should be an extension of the music it protects. Yeah, yeah – don’t judge a book by its cover, and all that. By the album artwork alone, I made it my quest to acquire that album and discover the mysteries contained within. I didn’t care that I wasn’t familiar with the band or its music. It was then that I made a silent vow: This album will be mine. Go ahead, scroll back up and give it a good look. I remember standing there in the department store, staring at the album artwork on the LP, transfixed by the detail that looked like it belonged on a movie poster with its dystopian futuristic sci-fi theme. Which made things even more mysterious and intriguing. ![]() I saw some of the upperclassmen at school wearing concert tees from time to time, emblazoned with the band’s mascot (who I later learned was named “Eddie”), but beyond a fascination with the gruesome artwork I had no formal introduction to the music of Iron Maiden. I had no idea who Iron Maiden was at the time. Then, one afternoon, while wandering around the music section of Fremont’s ALCO – back when ALCO was a decent small town department store, and they had a good sized music section – I spotted Iron Maiden’s just-released Somewhere In Time displayed in all its glory in the prominent New Releases section. Sure, more hard rockers than most, but beyond that I had yet to get a good taste of METAL. And while the station did, indeed, rock the face off of this aspiring metalhead just barely out of his tweens, while most of my classmates were content with the sugary wasteland of Top 40 pop station Sweet 98, there wasn’t much actual metal played, mostly album-oriented rock. Most of my self education with hard rock was by way of the Omaha radio station Z-92, the self-proclaimed Home of Rock N’ Roll. The only actual hard rock albums I owned were AC/DC’s Highway To Hell and Ted Nugent’s Double Live Gonzo, both second-hand copies from my Uncle Jerry and well-played by yours truly. Up until then, my foray into the world of hard rock and metal was novice at best. This particular year, I had requested the recently released Somewhere In Time by some band called Iron Maiden. I had just turned 13, and had been asking for rock and metal albums a year or two prior rather than toys. It was the family gathering for our annual dinner and gift exchange at my Great Grandpa Wheatley’s place. ![]()
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