Edward the Great

Edward the Great: The Greatest Hits is Iron Maiden's third "best-of album", originally released on 4 November 2002. In contrast to other works by the group collecting together songs from different albums, such as Best of the Beast, Edward the Great includes no tracks with performances with vocalist Paul Di'Anno; however, material from when Blaze Bayley fronted the band were included.

Edward the Great
Compilation album by Iron Maiden
Released	4 November 2002
Recorded	1982–2001/2003 (2005 reissue)
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	74:04[1]
Label	EMI
Iron Maiden compilations chronology
Best of the 'B' Sides (2002) Edward the Great (2002) The Essential Iron Maiden (2005)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

Background

According 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] Notably, neither edition features any songs from Paul Di'Anno's tenure.

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

Original track listing (2002)

Original track listing

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)

Revised track listing

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

Production and performance credits are adapted from the album liner notes.[1]

Iron Maiden

• Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals (except "Man on the Edge", "Futureal")
• Steve Harris – bass guitar, producer ("Man on the Edge", "Futureal"), co-producer ("The Wicker Man", "Fear of the Dark", "Brave New World", "Wildest Dreams", "Rainmaker")
• Dave Murray – guitar
• Janick Gers – guitar ("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", "Rainmaker")
• Adrian Smith – guitar (except "Holy Smoke", "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter", "Man on the Edge", "Futureal")
• Nicko McBrain – drums (except "Run to the Hills", "The Number of the Beast")

Additional musicians

• Blaze Bayley – lead vocals ("Man on the Edge", "Futureal")
• Clive Burr – drums ("Run to the Hills", "The Number of the Beast")

Production

• Martin Birch – producer (except "Man on the Edge", "Futureal", "The Wicker Man", "Fear of the Dark", "Brave New World", "Wildest Dreams", "Rainmaker")
• Nigel Green – producer ("Man on the Edge", "Futureal")
• Kevin Shirley – producer ("The Wicker Man", "Fear of the Dark", "Brave New World", "Wildest Dreams", "Rainmaker")
• Simon Heyworth – remastering (except "Man on the Edge", "Futureal", "The Wicker Man", "Fear of the Dark", "Brave New World", "Wildest Dreams", "Rainmaker"), mastering ("Man on the Edge")
• Ronal Whelan – mastering ("Futureal")
• George Marino – mastering ("The Wicker Man", "Brave New World", "Fear of the Dark" — 2002 edition)
• Tim Young – mastering ("Wildest Dreams", "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

Chart performance

Country	Chart (2002)	Position
Japan	Oricon	242[5]
Sweden	Sverigetopplistan	16[6]
United Kingdom	Official Albums Chart	57[7]
Country	Chart (2003)	Position
Belgium (Flanders)	Ultratop	46[8]
Finland	The Official Finnish Charts	34[9]

Certifications

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

1. Edward the Great (Media notes). Iron Maiden. EMI. 4 November 2002.CS1 maint: others (link)
2. Henderson, Alex. Iron Maiden – Edward the Great: Greatest Hits at AllMusic. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
3. Wall, Mick (2004). Iron Maiden: Run to the Hills, the Authorised Biography (3rd ed.). Sanctuary Publishing. p. 365. ISBN 1-86074-542-3.
4. "The Essential Iron Maiden". Ironmaiden.com. Retrieved 13 January 2012.
5. アイアン・メイデン – 偉大なるエディ～グレイテスト・ヒッツ (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
6. "Iron Maiden – Edward the Great – The Greatest Hits (album)". Sverigetopplistan. Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
7. "Iron Maiden Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
8. "Iron Maiden – Edward the Great – The Greatest Hits (album)" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
9. "Iron Maiden – Edward the Great – The Greatest Hits (album)". The Official Finnish Charts. Finnishcharts.com. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2011.
10. "Canadian album certifications – Iron Maiden – Edward the Great". Music Canada. 12 October 2006. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
11. "Iron Maiden" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
12. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2003" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
13. "British album certifications – Iron Maiden – Edward the Great". British Phonographic Industry. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Edward the Great in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.