Best Eddie

@Perun
t-shirt that Nicko was wearing at the time, saying "Eddie would go"

Not sure if you are aware, 'Eddie Would Go' is related to legendary Hawaiian lifeguard and surfer, Eddie Aikau. I believe that it refers to the fact that he was a ballsy chap.
 
73. Man on the Edge (Syme)
Overall: 3.90/10

R-2050910-1408880120-7624.jpeg.jpg


Is it just me, or is the "Iron Maiden" plate slightly out of whack? Like the ratio was screwed up. I actually don't mind the Eddie itself here, the detail is really cool. It's certainly very violent. I wonder why Eddie has hair though - shouldn't they have completely shaved his head before his lobotomy? The shadows artfully hide his eyeballs, which do not appear to exist.

Very graphic, but I actually think this is kind of OK. Probably not as bad as it received, and I think this is the best of The X Factor related covers.

This was our first Eddie to use a tiebreaker! It had the same votes at 10 (0) but more votes at 9 (3 to 1).

Your votes:
10: 0
9: 3
8: 2
7: 6
6: 4
5: 7
4: 7
3: 6
2: 13
1: 10

Overall Rankings:
73 - Man on the Edge - single - Syme
74 - Run to the Hills, Rock in Rio - single - Unknown
75 - The X Factor, alternate - Syme
76 - Best of the B-Sides - compilation album - Wilkinson
77 - Wildest Dreams - single - Greenhalgh
78 - Virus, second alternate - single - Syme
79 - Dance of Death - album - Patchett
80 - Lord of the Flies - single - Syme
81 - Futureal - single - Synthetic Dimensions
82 - Virus, first alternate - single - Unknown
83 - Ed Hunter - compilation album - Synthetic Dimensions
84 - The Angel and the Gambler - single - Synthetic Dimensions
 
72. Visions of the Beast (Peacock)
Overall: 3.91/10

max1107813024-front-cover.jpg


Yeah, this is the best image I could find. Focusing just on the Eddie, let's talk about the man himself. In the early-to-mid 2000s, after the re-departure of Mr. Riggs following the modifications made to the Brave New World cover, Eddie's visage changed. His face became more elongated with more emphasis on his mouth and chin. You can see this influence most notably in the Dance of Death Eddie as well as the A Matter of Life and Death Eddie, before the course was changed. I've always felt that this Eddie looked a little less...intelligent. Like a savage child, almost. This CGI incarnation is fine, but I wouldn't call it great, even though it was my desktop wallpaper for a solid part of 2004.

You will notice Eddie has a chin dimple in this. That's new. Anyway, not well beloved and loses out on tiebreakers to the next cover.

Oh, a little about Peacock - Peacock isn't a person, but a design studio that was used for most CGI-cover stuff in the 2000s. Peacock has worked with lots of artists to design sleeves and such, but Maiden seems to be one of the more prominent sourcing them for CGI covers.

Your votes:
10: 0
9: 0
8: 3
7: 3
6: 9
5: 6
4: 12
3: 8
2: 9
1: 8

Overall Rankings:
72 - Visions of the Beast - video - Peacock
73 - Man on the Edge - single - Syme
74 - Run to the Hills, Rock in Rio - single - Unknown
75 - The X Factor, alternate - Syme
76 - Best of the B-Sides - compilation album - Wilkinson
77 - Wildest Dreams - single - Greenhalgh
78 - Virus, second alternate - single - Syme
79 - Dance of Death - album - Patchett
80 - Lord of the Flies - single - Syme
81 - Futureal - single - Synthetic Dimensions
82 - Virus, first alternate - single - Unknown
83 - Ed Hunter - compilation album - Synthetic Dimensions
84 - The Angel and the Gambler - single - Synthetic Dimensions
 
Man on the Edge - #40: I like it. It's not perfect but it's still a good cover. 7 - 8.

Vision of the Beast - I don't even remember this one. Looking at the cover though, I like it. Eddie actually looks cool compared to the other CGI shit Maiden had. Again, 7 - 8.
 
71. The X Factor (Syme)
Overall: 3.91/10

IRON-MAIDEN-The-X-Factor-DLP-BLACK-VINYL.jpg


The final Syme cover, this really ends our tour through The X Factor era of covers. It's really curious what Syme tried to do here, making visual allegories to many of the previous covers - obviously the lobotomy that occurred before Piece of Mind, the transected Eddie from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, The long hair reminiscent of the Killers and Live After Death covers. But it doesn't really work, does it? I want it to work, but it's simply a little too violent and realistic. Had this been penned instead of build and photographed, perhaps it would be a bit more palatable.

The font with the album's title is far too small and hard to read, and you can see some parts of the model that were photoshopped after - such as the top of the head appearing to be pasted - but yeah. Mostly, this is a cool idea that just didn't quite get there. There's a few people who love it - with four 10s and a 9 - but a lot of people who hate it.

Your votes:
10: 4
9: 1
8: 5
7: 3
6: 5
5: 0
4: 7
3: 7
2: 12
1: 14

Overall Rankings:
71 - The X Factor - album - Syme
72 - Visions of the Beast - video - Peacock
73 - Man on the Edge - single - Syme
74 - Run to the Hills, Rock in Rio - single - Unknown
75 - The X Factor, alternate - Syme
76 - Best of the B-Sides - compilation album - Wilkinson
77 - Wildest Dreams - single - Greenhalgh
78 - Virus, second alternate - single - Syme
79 - Dance of Death - album - Patchett
80 - Lord of the Flies - single - Syme
81 - Futureal - single - Synthetic Dimensions
82 - Virus, first alternate - single - Unknown
83 - Ed Hunter - compilation album - Synthetic Dimensions
84 - The Angel and the Gambler - single - Synthetic Dimensions
 
70. Virtual XI (Grant)
Overall: 3.93/10

11-VXI.jpg


I'm not entirely sure that the rating here is fair, and the more I think about it, the more I honestly believe the music drags this down a couple points. Virtual XI is no masterpiece, by any means - Grant's followup to the Eddie tree on Fear of the Dark is a little more bestial and you can see the origins of the more elongated face on Eddie that I mentioned previously. But I have to say I like the concept quite a lot, and I think the execution is good. This isn't a bad cover and the idea of Eddie as a virtual reality monster is well developed. It involves imagination, for sure. But while not on the same level as the Riggs-era covers, definitely a lot better than the stupid-monster Eddie of something like 10 Wasted Years.

Your votes:
10: 1
9: 0
8: 1
7: 6
6: 5
5: 10
4: 8
3: 8
2: 13
1: 6

Overall Rankings:
70 - Virtual XI - album - Grant
71 - The X Factor - album - Syme
72 - Visions of the Beast - video - Peacock
73 - Man on the Edge - single - Syme
74 - Run to the Hills, Rock in Rio - single - Unknown
75 - The X Factor, alternate - Syme
76 - Best of the B-Sides - compilation album - Wilkinson
77 - Wildest Dreams - single - Greenhalgh
78 - Virus, second alternate - single - Syme
79 - Dance of Death - album - Patchett
80 - Lord of the Flies - single - Syme
81 - Futureal - single - Synthetic Dimensions
82 - Virus, first alternate - single - Unknown
83 - Ed Hunter - compilation album - Synthetic Dimensions
84 - The Angel and the Gambler - single - Synthetic Dimensions
 
I have to say, I quite like the X Factor album cover but I had never really looked in detail at any Eddies beyond the 80s Riggs stuff and I agree with LC, there is so much shoddy work in terms of font, pasting etc. Some of it is actually shocking.
Virtual XI has potential, the apocalyptic hell creature thing is a decent idea but I think the Eddie is poor. His cranium, nose and ears are too rounded for my liking, he loses a lot of what makes him Eddie, IMO. Plus the font for 'VXI' is terrible and doesn't fit the rest of the cover and those guys playing football in the corner can just fuck right off.
 
The X Factor - #41: Again, don't think it deserve the hate it gets. It's a weird album cover not all that bad. 7 or 8.

Virtual XI - #30: I remember Loudwire said that the cover is amazing, except for the dipshit in the bottom corner of the cover who can get lost. I'm starting to see why people would dislike this one, but I personally find it a pretty good cover overall, fitting for the album. 8/10
 
69. Different World (Greenhalgh)
Overall: 4.07/10

51zGrCdqnCL.jpg


I believe this is the highest ranked CGI cover, and it's clearly the best of them all - though, I really do not believe it is better than, say, the Virtual XI cover. This Eddie looks pretty straightforward, though I do wonder why we can see his spine in his neck - very weird. The hand is slightly blurry, out of focus, and the thing he is holding looks poorly cut in there. Hell, the whole Eddie is poorly cut in there - and I dislike when the Iron Maiden nameplate is partially covered. Anyway, Different World tends to be a more-highly-regarded song than many of the ones/albums that have come before, and let's accept that's part of its better (though not great) ranking.

I will admit the Eddie itself is a little standard - no attempt to differentiate him, and not even an attempt to key him in to Soldier Eddie from the A Matter of Life and Death cover. He's just...an Eddie, and I think that's probably the biggest crime here.

Your votes:
10: 1
9: 0
8: 3
7: 5
6: 9
5: 8
4: 4
3: 8
2: 13
1: 7

Overall Rankings:
69 - Different World - single - Greenhalgh
70 - Virtual XI - album - Grant
71 - The X Factor - album - Syme
72 - Visions of the Beast - video - Peacock
73 - Man on the Edge - single - Syme
74 - Run to the Hills, Rock in Rio - single - Unknown
75 - The X Factor, alternate - Syme
76 - Best of the B-Sides - compilation album - Wilkinson
77 - Wildest Dreams - single - Greenhalgh
78 - Virus, second alternate - single - Syme
79 - Dance of Death - album - Patchett
80 - Lord of the Flies - single - Syme
81 - Futureal - single - Synthetic Dimensions
82 - Virus, first alternate - single - Unknown
83 - Ed Hunter - compilation album - Synthetic Dimensions
84 - The Angel and the Gambler - single - Synthetic Dimensions
 
68. Out of the Silent Planet - alternate (Wilkinson)
Overall: 4.24/10

0RzwNVw9_yf-rpFIi-gZ-9eMhDo.jpg


The nameplate arrangement on this varies depending on the cover. I dislike this one a little more - the subtext is really unnecessary, but the other one oddly has "Iron Maiden" with a carriage return between the words, which is exceedingly odd. The background and foreground art is really really good on this, but the Eddie itself is not great - he looks like a Killers-era throwback, combined with the early 1990s "monster-faced" Eddie (although those Eddies tend to have bulging faces). This is one of Mark Wilkinson's first Iron Maiden covers, culminating in the amazing Mayan Eddie from The Book of Souls, so it's good that he got more chances after this poorly ranked creation.

Your votes:
10: 0
9: 0
8: 5
7: 3
6: 10
5: 6
4: 12
3: 8
2: 9
1: 5

Overall Rankings:
68 - Out of the Silent Planet, alternate - single - Wilkinson
69 - Different World - single - Greenhalgh
70 - Virtual XI - album - Grant
71 - The X Factor - album - Syme
72 - Visions of the Beast - video - Peacock
73 - Man on the Edge - single - Syme
74 - Run to the Hills, Rock in Rio - single - Unknown
75 - The X Factor, alternate - Syme
76 - Best of the B-Sides - compilation album - Wilkinson
77 - Wildest Dreams - single - Greenhalgh
78 - Virus, second alternate - single - Syme
79 - Dance of Death - album - Patchett
80 - Lord of the Flies - single - Syme
81 - Futureal - single - Synthetic Dimensions
82 - Virus, first alternate - single - Unknown
83 - Ed Hunter - compilation album - Synthetic Dimensions
84 - The Angel and the Gambler - single - Synthetic Dimensions
 
Back
Top