1
I used to consider The Angel and the Gambler the very worst of the catalogue but no more. During my recent reassessment of the catalogue I was reminded some of its qualities such as the unique use & fitting sound of organ, the main melody and the solos. What I dislike is the lyrics, Blaze's performance & pre-chorus melody. And of course, repetitiveness.
Unlike Don't Look to the Eyes of a Stranger which at least gives an advice, this song's message is on the negative side. Add repetition to that and it's nearly impossible to bear a listening from start to finish. Only exception is when I'm driving on an empty highway -where the song flows- as I recently discovered. This is how the song moved up a few places from the very bottom.
Should I were to rate the single version, the rating would be a solid 5 (top 100 song).
As it is though, The Anger and the Gambler is ranked somewhere between
154 -162 in Maiden's catalogue, probably ~157.