25th September 1995
1. Man On The Edge (Bayley, Gers)
2. The Edge Of Darkness (Harris, Bayley, Gers)
3. Judgement Day (Bayley, Gers)
4. Blaze Bayley Interview, Part I (Wilfort, Bayley)
I Live My Way (Harris, Bayley, Gers)
This is part I of the Man On The Edge single from The X Factor album. It was released as sort of a box set with five postcards and room in the box for five CDs: part I and II of Man On The Edge, part I and II of Lord Of The Flies (Part II was never actually released), as well as The X Factor album.
The highlight of the single is 'Judgement Day', a Bayley/Gers composition that didn't make it onto the album. The single's cover picture is a gruesome shot of Eddie's lobotomy which was also included inside the uncensored version of the album. While it is possible to understand the picture and acknowledge the way it fits into the "Eddie mythology", its extreme realism is a bit disturbing. Riggs's comic-book horror style is much better than this type of explicitness. But it is a worthwhile single nonetheless.
Man On The Edge (Bayley, Gers)
This is the same version as the one that appears on the X Factor album.
The Edge Of Darkness (Harris, Bayley, Gers)
This is the same version as the one that appears on the X Factor album.
Judgement Day (Bayley, Gers)
'Judgement Day' is a song that never made it onto The X Factor album, although it is definitely good enough to have been included. The main thrust of the song is that a person's appearance is no indication of their character, perhaps hinting at the evil that exists inside the hearts and minds of many "beautiful" people. Musically the song has a fairly fast riff and manages to avoid the overly upbeat mood that sometimes ruins otherwise good songs.
Both 'Justice Of The Peace' and 'Judgement Day' were written at the time of the X-Factor but didn't make the album as you can only get 74 minutes of music on a CD!
Blaze Bayley Interview, Part I (Wilfort, Bayley)
This is an interview with Blaze Bayley that seems to be dated relatively soon after the release of The X Factor. The topic of discussion is Blaze's auditions with Maiden and his perceptions of Maiden's songwriting and recording style. Unfortunately, this is not a complete interview – it begins somewhere in the middle and abruptly ends several minutes later. It would have been probably better to include the whole thing, since there's certainly plenty of space for it on the disc.
I Live My Way (Harris, Bayley, Gers)
