Best Eddie

[LooseCannon]

45. Maiden Japan - alternate (Riggs)
Overall: 5.28/10

Pretty standard Killers Eddie here, though with a poorly detailed face. This is the first of two executed singers covers that would get created over the years, at least chronologically. I don't have much to say about this Eddie, I find him to be very bland. The Paul head is good though. Charlaaaaaaaaaay!

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

44. Rock in Rio (Peacock)
Overall: 5.34/10

A computer-generated version of Riggs's last Iron Maiden classic, the BNW cloud Eddie. I don't find this one to be offensive, I don't find it to be good, and the cluster of votes this one got in the mid-range are evident of that. I do like the way the stage almost serves as the Eddie's mouth. Kinda neat.

By the way, the 5s have a huge amount of covers, so we're gonna be in these doldrums for awhile.

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

Overall Rankings:

Spoiler

44 - Rock in Rio - live album - Peacock
45 - Maiden Japan - alternate, EP - Riggs
46 - Twilight Zone - single - Riggs
47 - The Wicker Man - single - Wilkinson
48 - No Prayer For the Dying - album, remaster - Riggs
49 - From Here to Eternity - compilation album - Grant
50 - Live at the Rainbow - video - Riggs
51 - Iron Maiden - album, remaster - Riggs
52 - 12 Wasted Years - video - Riggs
53 - Holy Smoke - single - Riggs
54 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter - original, single - Riggs
55 - Virus, original - single - Riggs
56 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter - alternate, single - Riggs
57 - El Dorado - single - Dry
58 - Live at Donington - live album - Wilkinson
59 - Be Quick or Be Dead - single - Riggs
60 - En Vivo! - live album - Grant
61 - Hallowed Be Thy Name - single - Riggs
62 - BBC Archives - live album - Riggs
63 - Rainmaker - single - Watson
62 - Edward the Great - compilation album - Adams
65 - No More Lies - EP - Patchett
66 - The Early Days - video - Peacock
67 - The Final Frontier - single - Dry
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

 

[chaosapiant]

The cloud Eddie has a weird nose.

 

[Number 6]

The cloud Eddie has a weird nose.

Thanks a lot, I'll never be able to unsee that now.

 

[chaosapiant]

Eddie's nose to me is his most unmistakeble quality, even among all the artists. And this one has a nose instead of just the muscle stretched over the skull look. It's weird and unsettling. Like he's smelling the stadium.

 

[srfc]

The cloud Eddie has a weird nose.

is it the same Eddie from The X Factor era that was giving the finger?

 

[LooseCannon]

43. A Real Live One - (Riggs)
Overall: 5.41/10

I, personally, gave this a two. Just a terrible Eddie, that horrible monster Eddie of the early 90s with the dumb monster face. Salivating all over and stuff. A few people really love this but it clocked in with twelve 5s, so I think middle of the pack is deserved.

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

42. The Final Frontier (Grant)
Overall: 5.47/10

This one was controversial when it was released. We've talked about Alien Eddie further down in the countdown, but I actually really like this cover. I just wish the Eddie was more identifiable as Eddie. Over the years we've seen our favourite zombie in all sorts of odd predicaments. He's been lobotomized, mummified, roboticized, and hell, he even got fucking knocked up once. But this one was a little much, it seems. The six 1s it received dragged it down.

I like how big the Eddie is compared to the dead alien astronauts, too. Makes him look like a proper monster.

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

Overall Rankings:

Spoiler

42 - The Final Frontier - album - Grant
43 - A Real Live One - live album - Riggs
44 - Rock in Rio - live album - Peacock
45 - Maiden Japan - alternate, EP - Riggs
46 - Twilight Zone - single - Riggs
47 - The Wicker Man - single - Wilkinson
48 - No Prayer For the Dying - album, remaster - Riggs
49 - From Here to Eternity - compilation album - Grant
50 - Live at the Rainbow - video - Riggs
51 - Iron Maiden - album, remaster - Riggs
52 - 12 Wasted Years - video - Riggs
53 - Holy Smoke - single - Riggs
54 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter - original, single - Riggs
55 - Virus, original - single - Riggs
56 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter - alternate, single - Riggs
57 - El Dorado - single - Dry
58 - Live at Donington - live album - Wilkinson
59 - Be Quick or Be Dead - single - Riggs
60 - En Vivo! - live album - Grant
61 - Hallowed Be Thy Name - single - Riggs
62 - BBC Archives - live album - Riggs
63 - Rainmaker - single - Watson
62 - Edward the Great - compilation album - Adams
65 - No More Lies - EP - Patchett
66 - The Early Days - video - Peacock
67 - The Final Frontier - single - Dry
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

 

[Mosh]

The Final Frontier: love the cover, concept, color scheme. Hate the Eddie.

 

[Diesel 11]

I actually do like the Eddie but it's certainly his most non-Eddie looks.

 

[Working Warhurst]

I had no love for this one until I saw the big Eddie. Somehow that did work.

 

[Perun]

Maiden Japan: The "proper" cover is a lot better, this one only has rarity value. The logo ruins the cover though, did they really not find a few centimetres of blank space instead of having Paul's head partly concealed?
Rock in Rio: The stage integration is cool, but I could never really take it seriously as an album cover.
ARLO: Horrid. I've always hated this one. The appeal of Eddie was always that despite his appearance, there was a human factor to him. Here, he's just a random monster, and something is really wrong with his mouth.
TFF: Something tells me they had more ideas floating around involving this key thing. The cover isn't bad from a technical viewpoint if you get used to the highly unusual Eddie. He doesn't have much personality, and he's more a random space monster, but at least, unlike ARLO, it's drawn well.

 

[Black Bart]

Rock in Rio: The stage integration is cool, but I could never really take it seriously as an album cover.

This. Neither could I for Flight 666 or En Vivo.

 

[Randalf]

I had no love for this one until I saw the big Eddie. Somehow that did work.

I sort of agree, they really executed that Eddie very well on stage, both "walk-on" and the Big One. The one on the album cover isnt't bad either, but as @Perun speculated, the whole concept might've been elaborated a little bit. I don't hate it or love it, it's ok and interesting as it is, but I think the proportions are a a bit strange (at least for an Eddie, who has usually been pretty human-like). But yeah, the on-stage-version actually works very well, because they managed to make it a bit more Eddie-like than the more alien-like version from the cover. I think the concept art on the last pages of TFF booklet are pretty interesting takes on the Alien Eddie idea. Not sure if I've actually preferred any of them, but they could've been used in tour shirts and such.

 

[Black Bart]

Funny to notice that both #43 (ARLO) and #42 (FF) Eddies seem to have a jaw problem.

 

[chaosapiant]

Was ARLO a Riggs drawing? I was looking at it last night and couldn’t find his logo/signature. But ARDO is a Riggs work and has the sig so I wasn’t sure.

 

[Black Bart]

Was ARLO a Riggs drawing? I was looking at it last night and couldn’t find his logo/signature.

It is made of slobber and can be seen at the level of his right thigh.

 

[LooseCannon]

41. A Real Dead One - (Riggs)
Overall: 5.81/10

I love the irony of a fairly mediocre Eddie wearing a t-shirt with one of the far more iconic Eddies uponst it, and the fact that the Killers Eddie on the shirt is probably better than this terrible thing here. I don't like this style of Eddie, I hate how he's lost his personality, as Perun noted. He looks so generic now, dull and uninspiring. He's technically well drawn, I suppose. This has a big concentration of votes in the 7s, 5s, and 4s, and nothing at 1, giving it a slight advantage over its partner in A Real Live One.

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

40. Beast Over Hammersmith (Riggs)
Overall: 5.53/10

The fact that two people gave this a 10 boggles my mind. When you get up and close to this Eddie he really looks like shit. In fact, this Eddie seems to presage the early-90s "monster Eddie" that I personally dislike a lot. He's very hastily thrown together with big poofy hair. It's really not good, and I think this is a case of the cover getting up-voted due to the content of the album, which is excellent. This should be about ten places lower. As an aside, we've now had all three Eddie's Archive covers.

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

Overall Rankings:

Spoiler

40 - Beast Over Hammersmith - live album - Riggs
41 - A Real Dead One - live album - Riggs
42 - The Final Frontier - album - Grant
43 - A Real Live One - live album - Riggs
44 - Rock in Rio - live album - Peacock
45 - Maiden Japan - alternate, EP - Riggs
46 - Twilight Zone - single - Riggs
47 - The Wicker Man - single - Wilkinson
48 - No Prayer For the Dying - album, remaster - Riggs
49 - From Here to Eternity - compilation album - Grant
50 - Live at the Rainbow - video - Riggs
51 - Iron Maiden - album, remaster - Riggs
52 - 12 Wasted Years - video - Riggs
53 - Holy Smoke - single - Riggs
54 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter - original, single - Riggs
55 - Virus, original - single - Riggs
56 - Bring Your Daughter... ...To the Slaughter - alternate, single - Riggs
57 - El Dorado - single - Dry
58 - Live at Donington - live album - Wilkinson
59 - Be Quick or Be Dead - single - Riggs
60 - En Vivo! - live album - Grant
61 - Hallowed Be Thy Name - single - Riggs
62 - BBC Archives - live album - Riggs
63 - Rainmaker - single - Watson
62 - Edward the Great - compilation album - Adams
65 - No More Lies - EP - Patchett
66 - The Early Days - video - Peacock
67 - The Final Frontier - single - Dry
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

 

[chaosapiant]

It is made of slobber and can be seen at the level of his right thigh.

This sentence is hilarious.

 

[Black Bart]

This sentence is hilarious.

And you're the one who made it possible.

 

[Cosmiceddie]

40. Beast Over Hammersmith (Riggs)
Overall: 5.53/10

The fact that two people gave this a 10 boggles my mind. When you get up and close to this Eddie he really looks like shit. In fact, this Eddie seems to presage the early-90s "monster Eddie" that I personally dislike a lot. He's very hastily thrown together with big poofy hair. It's really not good, and I think this is a case of the cover getting up-voted due to the content of the album, which is excellent. This should be about ten places lower. As an aside, we've now had all three Eddie's Archive covers.

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

Here's a proper picture of that awesome tour poster:

 

[Cosmiceddie]

45. Maiden Japan - alternate (Riggs)
Overall: 5.28/10

Pretty standard Killers Eddie here, though with a poorly detailed face. This is the first of two executed singers covers that would get created over the years, at least chronologically. I don't have much to say about this Eddie, I find him to be very bland. The Paul head is good though. Charlaaaaaaaaaay!

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

Here's a proper picture of the initial Maiden Japan EP cover.