Edward the Great: The Greatest Hits is Iron Maiden's third "best-of album", originally released on 4 November 2002. Unlike the band's other works by the group collecting together songs from different albums, such as Best of the Beast, Edward the Great does not feature any material from the group's first two albums, which featured Paul Di'Anno as vocalist, but does include material from Blaze Bayley's five-year tenure with the band.
| Edward the Great | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 4 November 2002 | |||
| Recorded | 1982–2001/2003 (2005 reissue) | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal | |||
| Length | 74:04[1] | |||
| Label | EMI | |||
| Iron Maiden compilations chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
Background
editAccording to Mick Wall, the collection was controversial amongst fans as it was released not long after previous compilations such as Best of the Beast and Ed Hunter.[3] Bassist and founder member Steve Harris comments, "We did get a bit of flak for the Edward the Great album but it wasn't aimed at the hardcore fan, it was aimed at the peripheral people who've heard the name or seen the name on a T-shirt and wouldn't know which record to pick up."[3] To satisfy "the real collector", the band released the Eddie's Archive box set simultaneously.[3]
In 2005, a revised edition was released in Europe, Asia and South America with an updated track-listing. The new version coincided with the release of The Essential Iron Maiden compilation, released solely in North America, and featured songs from the Dance of Death album as well as an alternate live version of "Fear of the Dark".[4] The updated CD also added the song "Brave New World" from the album of the same name and the booklet included a new foreword by Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood, replacing the original foreword by founding member Steve Harris. The album cover does not differentiate between the two editions.[4]
Track listing
editOriginal track listing (2002)
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Run to the Hills" | Steve Harris | 1982 ~ The Number of the Beast | 3:55 |
| 2. | "The Number of the Beast" | Harris | 1982 ~ The Number of the Beast | 4:52 |
| 3. | "Flight of Icarus" | Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith | 1983 ~ Piece of Mind | 3:52 |
| 4. | "The Trooper" | Harris | 1983 ~ Piece of Mind | 4:11 |
| 5. | "2 Minutes to Midnight" | Smith, Dickinson | 1984 ~ Powerslave | 6:00 |
| 6. | "Wasted Years" | Smith | 1986 ~ Somewhere in Time | 5:06 |
| 7. | "Can I Play With Madness" | Smith, Dickinson, Harris | 1988 ~ Seventh Son of a Seventh Son | 3:31 |
| 8. | "The Evil That Men Do" | Smith, Dickinson, Harris | 1988 ~ Seventh Son of a Seventh Son | 4:34 |
| 9. | "The Clairvoyant" | Harris | 1988 ~ Seventh Son of a Seventh Son | 4:27 |
| 10. | "Infinite Dreams" | Harris | 1988 ~ Seventh Son of a Seventh Son | 6:10 |
| 11. | "Holy Smoke" | Harris, Dickinson | 1990 ~ No Prayer for the Dying | 3:48 |
| 12. | "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter" | Dickinson | 1990 ~ No Prayer for the Dying | 4:44 |
| 13. | "Man on the Edge" | Blaze Bayley, Janick Gers | 1995 ~ The X Factor | 4:12 |
| 14. | "Futureal" | Harris, Bayley | 1998 ~ Virtual XI | 2:55 |
| 15. | "The Wicker Man" | Smith, Harris, Dickinson | 2000 ~ Brave New World | 4:34 |
| 16. | "Fear of the Dark" (Live in Rock in Rio, Brazil 2001) | Harris | 2002 ~ Rock in Rio (1992 ~ Fear of the Dark) | 8:04 |
| Total length: | 74:55 | |||
Revised track listing (2005)
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Run to the Hills" | Harris | 1982 ~ The Number of the Beast | 3:55 |
| 2. | "The Number of the Beast" | Harris | 1982 ~ The Number of the Beast | 4:52 |
| 3. | "The Trooper" | Harris | 1983 ~ Piece of Mind | 4:11 |
| 4. | "Flight of Icarus" | Smith, Dickinson | 1983 ~ Piece of Mind | 3:52 |
| 5. | "2 Minutes to Midnight" | Smith, Dickinson | 1984 ~ Powerslave | 6:00 |
| 6. | "Wasted Years" | Smith | 1986 ~ Somewhere in Time | 5:06 |
| 7. | "Can I Play With Madness" | Smith, Dickinson, Harris | 1988 ~ Seventh Son of a Seventh Son | 3:31 |
| 8. | "The Evil That Men Do" | Smith, Dickinson, Harris | 1988 ~ Seventh Son of a Seventh Son | 4:34 |
| 9. | "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter" | Dickinson | 1990 ~ No Prayer for the Dying | 4:44 |
| 10. | "Man on the Edge" | Bayley, Gers | 1995 ~ The X Factor | 4:12 |
| 11. | "Futureal" | Harris, Bayley | 1998 ~ Virtual XI | 2:55 |
| 12. | "The Wicker Man" | Smith, Harris, Dickinson | 2000 ~ Brave New World | 4:34 |
| 13. | "Brave New World" | Dave Murray, Harris, Dickinson | 2000 ~ Brave New World | 6:18 |
| 14. | "Wildest Dreams" | Smith, Harris | 2003 ~ Dance of Death | 3:52 |
| 15. | "Rainmaker" | Murray, Harris, Dickinson | 2003 ~ Dance of Death | 3:48 |
| 16. | "Fear of the Dark" (Live in Westfalenhallen, Germany 2003) | Harris | 2005 ~ Death on the Road (1992 ~ Fear of the Dark) | 7:28 |
| Total length: | 73:52 | |||
Personnel
editProduction and performance credits are adapted from the album liner notes.[1]
- Iron Maiden
- Bruce Dickinson – vocals
- Dave Murray – guitars
- Janick Gers – guitars ("Holy Smoke", "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter", "Man on the Edge", "Futureal", "The Wicker Man", "Fear of the Dark", "Brave New World", "Wildest Dreams" and "Rainmaker")
- Adrian Smith – guitars (except "Holy Smoke", "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter", "Man on the Edge" and "Futureal")
- Steve Harris – bass, producer ("Man on the Edge" and "Futureal"), co-producer ("The Wicker Man", "Fear of the Dark", "Brave New World", "Wildest Dreams" and "Rainmaker")
- Nicko McBrain – drums
- Clive Burr – drums ("Run to the Hills" and "The Number of the Beast")
- Blaze Bayley – vocals ("Man on the Edge" and "Futureal")
- Production
- Martin Birch – producer (except "Man on the Edge", "Futureal", "The Wicker Man", "Fear of the Dark", "Brave New World", "Wildest Dreams" and "Rainmaker")
- Nigel Green – producer ("Man on the Edge" and "Futureal")
- Kevin Shirley – producer ("The Wicker Man", "Fear of the Dark", "Brave New World", "Wildest Dreams" and "Rainmaker")
- Simon Heyworth – remastering (except "Man on the Edge", "Futureal", "The Wicker Man", "Fear of the Dark", "Brave New World", "Wildest Dreams" and "Rainmaker"), mastering ("Man on the Edge")
- Ronal Whelan – mastering ("Futureal")
- George Marino – mastering ("The Wicker Man", "Brave New World" and "Fear of the Dark" — 2002 edition)
- Tim Young – mastering ("Wildest Dreams" and "Rainmaker")
- Howie Weinberg – mastering ("Fear of the Dark" — 2005 edition)
- Tom Adams – sleeve illustration
- Peacock – art direction, design
- Dimo Safari – photography
- Simon Fowler – photography
- Ross Halfin – photography
- Rod Smallwood – management
- Andy Taylor – management
- Merck Mercuriadis – management
Charts
edit| Chart (2002–2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[5] | 46 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[6] | 34 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[7] | 242 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[8] | 16 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[9] | 57 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[10] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[11] | Gold | 15,201[11] |
| Sweden (GLF)[12] | Gold | 30,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[13] | Gold | 100,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ a b Edward the Great (Media notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 4 November 2002.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Henderson, Alex. Iron Maiden – Edward the Great: Greatest Hits at AllMusic. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ a b c Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 365. ISBN 1-86074-542-3.
- ^ a b "The Essential Iron Maiden". Ironmaiden.com. Retrieved 13 January 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Iron Maiden – Edward the Great - The Greatest Hits" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
- ^ "Iron Maiden: Edward the Great - The Greatest Hits" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Iron Maiden – Edward the Great - The Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
- ^ "Iron Maiden | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Iron Maiden – Edward the Great". Music Canada. 12 October 2006. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
- ^ a b "Iron Maiden" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
- ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2003" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
- ^ "British album certifications – Iron Maiden – Edward the Great". British Phonographic Industry. 11 September 2015.