Track Listing:

1. Churchill’s Speech
2. Aces High (live)
3. 2 Minutes To Midnight
4. The Trooper
5. Wasted Years
6. Children Of The Damned
7. The Number Of The Beast
8. Run To The Hills
9. Phantom Of The Opera (live)
10. The Evil That Men Do
11. Wrathchild (live)
12. Can I Play With Madness
13. Powerslave
14. Hallowed Be Thy Name
15. Iron Maiden (live)

Artist:   Iron Maiden
Title:    ”Somewhere Back In Time: Best Of 1980-1989”
Label:    Universal Music
Release Date:    5/13/2008
Genre:   Heavy Metal

Rating:    4/5

Written By:   Ken Pierce (copyright 2008) for PiercingMetal.com

The world of Metal heads doesn’t need me to tell them that Iron Maiden is not only one of the best Heavy Metal bands in history and that for decades since their debut have delivered relevant material that continually proved their dominance over the genre again and again. This information is pretty much historical fact. What began with a self-titled debut in 1980 showed the band to be killers who were continually giving the fans their all and often bringing the listener to strange new worlds and assorted points in the world’s history. Their music was thundering but well thought out and their lyrical content for the most part extraordinary and should you have been one of those fans who was growing up in Metal when each respective album was released it is very possible that a particular one has remained your favorite since that time. The CD “Somewhere Back In Time: The Best of 1980-1989” presents us with another compilation from the band and while they have done this on a number of occasions in the past, the premise behind this one comes off as rather interesting since the band is currently on a blockbuster tour that is being called “Somewhere Back In Time”. This tour is taking their legions of fans on a journey back into the catalog where they are not only presenting material from their earliest years but also are paying particular attention to albums such as “Powerslave”, “Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son” and “Somewhere In Time”. The tour is being met with incredible levels of approval because this material is kept in very high regard to this very day. If you were ever at a show and one of the Maiden classics was piped over the PA system, you will often find the entire audience singing along word for word. The tour was finding Maiden still in the middle of celebrating the long awaited release of the “Live After Death” concert film on DVD. Originally released in 1985 on VHS, this has long been referred to as one of the greatest Heavy Metal concert films of our time. The younger and new fans of the band could not have picked a more exciting time to be getting themselves into Iron Maiden with all of these cool things happening right now.

If you had seen any of the posted set lists for this tour or perhaps even attended one of them, you will most likely realize that the selections for this CD are very close to exactly what was played by the band. Of course its not the complete list since that would require a double CD effort, but it is enough to become a special memento of the show for the fan who attended and perhaps even a good motivator warm up for someone who still is holding a ticket for a pending performance. A twenty page booklet is included with the CD and it features not only lyrics but also photo illustrations of mascot Eddie across the years that the compilation covers. While the album does include material from the first eight releases from the band, the live material is their oldest stuff and originally was presented on the “Live After Death” CD. It’s a worthy addition to one’s Maiden collection even if you do have the other hits packages that they have done over the years and that’s because it is just slightly different from the others and makes their diehard fan immediately run out and snare a copy. Legacy fans be proud, since the band still continues strong and for any of the newbies out there, let's get a move on, you have some catching up to do. “Up The Irons”!!!!

Official Web Site:   www.ironmaiden.com