Gangland

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How good is Gangland on a scale of 1-10?

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    14
An eminently skippable song, although perseverance yields some small rewards. A very solid...

4/10
 
A few more elements of this song have grown on me over the years, but it's still pretty average fare for Maiden. 6/10.
 
Redeeming factors aren't everything. Sorry Clive.

Bruce goes between OK and horrible here. The guitar overwhelms Bruce in places, and it sounds so stuttered. But it's not a bad song, by any stretch of the imagination, it's merely average. I lean towards giving this a 6/10, and I think I will.
 
This song seems to be on the receiving end of a lot of hate from some fans. And true, there's nothing amazing apart from that killer solo in the middle, and it can be a little underwhelming, but I have a soft spot for this song. The small parts that are good are very good, but truth be told, other than that, the song doesn't have much to offer.

5/10.

RTC's Maiden Ranking:
1: Phantom Of The Opera: 9/10
2: Killers: 9/10
3: Children Of The Damned: 8/10
4: Remember Tomorrow: 8/10
5: The Number Of The Beast: 8/10
6: Murders In The Rue Morgue: 8/10
7: Run To The Hills: 7/10
8: Purgatory: 7/10
9: 22 Acacia Avenue: 7/10
10: Wrathchild: 7/10
11: Transylvania: 7/10
12: Prodigal Son: 6/10
13: Strange World: 6/10
14: Sanctuary: 6/10
15: Another Life: 6/10
16: The Prisoner: 6/10
17: Prowler: 6/10
18: Gangland: 5/10
19: Genghis Khan: 5/10
20: Iron Maiden: 5/10
21: Charlotte The Harlot: 5/10
22: Twilight Zone: 5/10
23: Drifter: 4/10
24: Running Free: 4/10
25: Innocent Exile: 4/10
26: Invaders: 3/10
27: The Ides Of March: 2/10
 
7/10. I've never really understood the hate towards this song, but then again it's not a masterpiece or anything. I think it's a strong early rocker and Bruce's vocals are very refreshing on it after the 1st 2 albums, though Paul was a great vocalist on the 1st 2 albums. It also sits between 3 of their most popular songs on the 2nd side of the album too so I'm sure that may have something to do with why it's disliked by a lot of fans compared to the short rockers on the 1st 2 albums.
 
7/10. I've grown some new love for this one lately. It's still the weakest on the original album (though better than Total Eclipse), although when a song is going up against Hallowed and Co., that's a tough bar to be measured against.

It's only a 6 by the songwriting, but the guitar and drum performances bump it up a notch.
 
6. A fun little song that gets a lot of hate and I don't quite understand why. Nothing special, but nothing particularly offensive either.

Rankings:

Previous Albums:

1980 - Iron Maiden - 6.67

8 - Prowler
6 - Sanctuary
7 - Remember Tomorrow
6 - Running Free
9 - Phantom Of The Opera
7 - Transylvania
4 - Strange World
6 - Charlotte The Harlot
7 - Iron Maiden

1981 - Killers - 5.91

6 - The Ides Of March
6 - Wrathchild
6 - Murders In The Rue Morgue
5 - Another Life
5 - Genghis Khan
5 - Innocent Exile
8 - Killers
5 - Prodigal Son
8 - Purgatory
6 - Twilight Zone
5 - Drifter

1982 - The Number Of The Beast

6 - Invaders
7 - Children Of The Damned
8 - The Prisoner
7 - 22 Acacia Avenue
9 - The Number Of The Beast
10 - Run To The Hills
6 - Gangland
 
B-side material. Cool drum intro, and good verses, but not a very strong song. A let down on a otherwise very good album. 6/10
 
2/10

Poor, unfortunate Gangland, a truly bad song that never should have appeared on the album. It is sad proof that (although it’s hard to believe) not everything Adrian Smith writes is great. The drum fill and guitar chords that open the track sound like Van Halen and ultimately don’t fit the general Maiden sound. The chorus is horrible, and made even more horrible due to Bruce’s incredibly earnest delivery. Lyrically, this song is a disaster, especially in the section right before the second chorus. H’s solo is only half-existent, it actually sounds like the tape ran out in the middle of recording. Gangland is just bad.
 
I don't think this song is bad, but it screams b-side. I'll never understand how they chose this instead of the immense Total Eclipse. It's also a little bit too upbeat for my tastes, especially on an album that's otherwise pretty dark sounding. It sounds like something the band came up with in an hour during jamming, really has no business being on the album.

4
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
H’s solo is only half-existent, it actually sounds like the tape ran out in the middle of recording.
Click to expand...
Just wondering if you were aware that Dave's recorded solo was accidentally left out (or deleted from the end result, not sure how it exactly happened). With a solo immediately following Adrian's, this section would probably sound quite different.
 
Forostar said:
Just wondering if you were aware that Dave's recorded solo was accidentally left out (or deleted from the end result, not sure how it exactly happened). With a solo immediately following Adrian's, this section would probably sound quite different.
Click to expand...

I was not aware, thanks! That certainly explains it. An extra solo would certainly enhance that section, which just feels empty as it is.

Still marvelling at how this made the album over Total Eclipse.
 
I think they made the correct decision. "Gangland" fits better with the rest of the album while "Total Eclipse" sounds better as a standalone B-side. In fact when I ripped NOTB for the mp3 player I kept Total Eclipse out on purpose - I think in the remastered CD it kills the flow.
 
Reminds me of some of the mundane stuff on Killers. Good tempo, nothing to hate but no character to the song at all. Not really worthy of being on this great album

6
 
Argubly the worst song on the album (even behind Invaders). This is below IM's standard (even the band admitted that). Not enjoying this one.

5/10
 
Just because it's the weakest song on the album doesn't mean that Gangland is a bad song. The drumming is superb, the guitars are strong, Bruce is great. Vastly underrated.

And to everyone who says this one should have been left off in favor of Total Eclipse, fuck you. Total Eclipse is one of my Top 15 Maiden songs overall, and even I wouldn't put it on if it meant sacrificing Gangland.

It pains me to give it an 8/10 because this is a great song. Sad jams.
 
I think this is a very underrated song, maybe not a masterpiece but definitely a good song. Nice drumming is a plus, meh lyrics is a minus.
 
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