Here, you can read other visitors' comments on 'Gangland' as well as post your own. Any contribution to the commentary will be much appreciated, may it be cultural references relevant to the song (links to related websites, interpretations that may have been overlooked in the Commentary, and the like) or personal essays related to the topic of the song. Just be aware that messages that are either off-topic or too wacky may be deleted.
'gangland' here's a bit I found on [a href=\'http://losferwords.free.fr/1999_!!_ill17_uk_itv.htm\' target=\'_blank\']this interview[/a] on this song... How did you feel about them adding “Total Eclipse to the running order of Number Of The Beast? We all thought it should have been on the album. We were in such a hurry when we made that record. We recorded and mixed the record in five weeks. This was in the days before computer mixes so we had the break down the board after the first week. Without having recorded any songs we had to pick the single and the B-side and record them and mix them and break down the board and start all over to record the rest of the album. Originally we thought let’s do “Gangland” but it was the first song we recorded together and we thought it was just great. It couldn’t be a B-side because initially it was our idea to be but in all our enthusiasm we picked “Total Eclipse” instead as the B-side for “Run To Hills”. Actually there’s a guitar solo that is missing from “Gangland”. It was recorded but we were in such a hurry that it was never mixed and nobody noticed. There’s supposed to be two guitar solos, Dave’s which is on there and then I do this shriek and a big drum roll and there’s this backing track where Adrian’s guitar solo should be. We were all so out of it. There was a massive stack of beer cans in the studio, we actually built an entire wall of beer cans. We had a blast recording that album but there was odd moments of forgetfulness. Bruce Dickinson
'gangland' so i guess you are mistaking on the solo credits in the commentary on that song... btw, where did you get the solo credits info for the commentary in general??
'gangland' I'll have to correct that then! [!--emo&--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/smile.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'smile.gif\' /][!--endemo--] The "solo expert" for the Commentary is a friend from Holland known as Forostar, btw.
'gangland' don't correct it! i think bruce just may have mixed up the solos this time... almost everybody i've asked thinks it's H.
'gangland' Alright, I won't. Anyway, Forostar has never been wrong so far. He's a 4-0-star! [!--emo&--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/cool.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'cool.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
'gangland' here's a believable explanation from the imbb: Originally posted by SRFC ULTRAS "Dave's which is on there and then a big shriek and then the missing solo" sounds like bruce is mixing up the harmony part with a dave solo and then forgetting that Adrians solo is there. as the album version goes, harmony, big shriek, adrians solo.
'gangland' It´s a good song.but nothing special at all. I think it was a mistake picking it up and leaving "total eclipse" out of the album because even in that tour they played total eclipse instead of this one!!!
'gangland' i really like this song, its really aggressive and for me one of the most enjoyable tracks on this overplayed cd... thus my 4.5 stars
'gangland' Compared to the rest of the album this song is pretty weak, but they have written worse songs in their career. The drum intro has something special to it, making it a bit better than an average 3.
'gangland' that's what happens when you get your drummer to write something... [!--emo&--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/tongue.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'tongue.gif\' /][!--endemo--] 3,5 stars, cause it makes me laugh
'gangland' I just love that jazzy drum intro! [!--emo&--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/biggrin.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'biggrin.gif\' /][!--endemo--] Other than that it's a pretty unspectacular song for Maiden standards.
'gangland' Not a terrible song, but not spectacular either. They've done worse. 3.5/5 because it's catchy.
'gangland' Gangland gets no respect. I think it's a solid 4/5. People might be annoyed by the missing solo, but I don't mind that part much, it's unexpected. The lyrics bring the song down a little bit, and it's not an amazing song even if the lyrics were great, but it's not one of their worst songs.
Daily Song: Gangland Welcome to the Daily Vote Thread! Rules are here. Remember, only a decent review will count towards the contest. Today's song: Gangland Yesterday's song remains open for voting! You can find it here. [hr][/hr] Completely forgettable. Nothing nice to say about it. 4/10.
Re: Daily Song: Gangland It's energetic and fun at times, but the album would probably have been better off without it. Why they chose this over Total Eclipse I can not understand. 6.
Re: Daily Song: Gangland Over the years, I’ve grown to respect many thing about Gangland: the drumming performance; the unique rhythmic pattern; the risky chord sequence; the way Bruce pulls an interesting performance out of an incredibly unmelodic melody. But one thing has never changed — I just don’t really like the song. Five.
Re: Daily Song: Gangland This is the weakest song on a strong album. First of all it suffers from a weak chorus compared to the other songs on the album. Besides, it has no single parts that really stand out. 5/10 from me, and I totally agree Total Eclipse would have been a better choice for the LP. Good thing they included TE on the remastered CD.
Re: Daily Song: Gangland I like the drum intro, kinda reminds me of Van Halen - "Hot For Teacher" for some strange reason. The rest of the song is fairly forgettable to me though. I agree that it is the weakest song on the album. 5/10