Songs That Rocked (My World) Pt. II.V

When I returned home after my first semester, I decided to buy whatever Maiden tapes I could find at my local HMV store (the one at the top of Brigade Road ... I wonder whether it's still around). I was the proud owner of copies of Fear of the Dark and Piece of Mind. I will admit, part of my pride stemmed from my teen rebellion mentality in having pictures of Eddie :-) Moreover, my tape deck automatically flipped sides, and so I essentially had continuous/ unlimited music.

It was sometime in my second semester that I was reading The Lord of The Rings to Piece of Mind ... and by some deliciously freakish coincidence the end of side A - Die With Your Boots On - played as I read "Ride of the Rohirrim". As I got caught up in the book, the tape deck flipped, and music and word infused into a heady mixture ... of The Trooper scoring "The Battle of Pelennor Fields".

Thirteen years on (ye Gods, has it been that long?), whenever I listen to The Trooper, I always remember that fleeting, perfect moment. And believe me, I've tried several times to recapture that experience, but history remains in the past.