# Albums where the non-singles are far better than the singles. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 13, 2016, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386 "2016-10-13T03:32:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/21 "2016-10-14T05:10:10Z")
Every other track on “Dark Side of the Moon” was better than “Money” IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/22 "2016-10-14T11:41:33Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > **Led Zeppelin IV** had a fairly popular track which wasn’t released as a single. …Four Sticks? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/23 "2016-10-14T14:26:25Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > **Led Zeppelin IV** had a fairly popular track which wasn’t released as a single. Took me a second… At any rate, I had no idea which songs were released as singles from that album. Looks like (A-side followed by B-side): “Black Dog/Misty Mountain Hop” and “Rock and Roll/Four Sticks.” Other than the obvious “Stairway” (which I’ve always been a bit puzzled by its popularity), “When the Levee Breaks” is missing (and probably my favorite song on that album, but it’s a tough call. “Black Dog” and “Misty Mountain Hop” would round up my top three, but it depends on when you ask me.) ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/24 "2016-10-14T17:19:07Z")
“New World Man” was a hit single for **RUSH** on the _Signal_s album. It was the only song on the album I actively disliked. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/25 "2016-10-14T17:22:13Z")
There are more glaring ones that aren’t coming to me right now, but… Band - \*\* Album\*\* - “Single(s)” Eric Clapton - **461 Ocean Blvd** - “I Shot the Sheriff”, “Willie & the Hand Jive” The Band - **The Band** - “Rag Mama Rag”, “Up On Cripple Creek” Rockpile - **Seconds Of Pleasure** - “Teacher Teacher” Los Lobos -\*\* By The Light Of The Moon\*\* - “Shakin’ Shakin’ Shakes” ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/26 "2016-10-14T20:27:17Z")
Genesis: We Can’t Dance No Son of Mine, Jesus He Knows Me, and I Can’t Dance were the singles. No Son of Mine is a very dark single, and it’s not bad, but not a song I go to often. Jesus and I Can’t Dance are bland pop. Driving The Last Spike, Dreaming While You Sleep, and Fading Lights are not only the best songs on the album, they also rank up there with the best that Genesis has ever done. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/27 "2016-10-14T20:31:37Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > I do remember hearing “It’s Gonna Get Better.” I guess you’re right about “Second Home By the Sea,” though. I always think of both parts as a single song, so I wasn’t differentiating. > > As for _Invisible Touch_, it looks like “Anything She Does” wasn’t released as a single. I remember hearing it on the radio, and they made a video for it, I wonder why they didn’t make it official… Anything She Does is the only song from the album that wasn’t performed on the Invisible Touch tour, so that’s why it didn’t get a single release. I’ll assume it’s because they didn’t want to bring a horn section for the tour. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/28 "2016-10-14T20:49:33Z")
IMO every song on Who By Numbers is better than _Squeeze Box_. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/29 "2016-10-14T20:51:03Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > Joan Osborne’s [Relish](http://www.allmusic.com/album/relish-mw0000125500) had the hit “One of Us”, but rest of the album was much better with its simmering blues rock tunes. > > Extreme’s [Extreme II: Pornograffitti](http://www.allmusic.com/album/extreme-ii-pornograffitti-mw0000309280) had two singles, “More Than Words” and “Hole Hearted” which sound almost nothing like the rest of the album, which is some great hard rock. The singles are not weak necessarily, just so completely different. extreme followed what became known as “the talking heads theory” TH knew its music wouldn’t ever get played on the radio and barely made mtv but when they tossed “take me to the water” as a throwaway because it was someones favorite song it made them get noticed So they always included one or 2 songs that would get on the radio … but it became a thing for all the punk/new wave 80s alternative bands to do like divinals bronskibeat Siouxsie and the banshees and many more had hits that wasn’t done in their normal style The downside is once you get past the released songs you like youd get pissed off because the rest of the album is nothing like what the singles promised ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/30 "2016-10-14T21:45:23Z")
Janis Ian “Between the Lines” Love the album except for one song… the big hit “At Seventeen”. that is the only song on the entire album I don’t like. I will skip it when playing. the rest are amazing IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/31 "2016-10-14T23:15:55Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > Joan Osborne’s [Relish](http://www.allmusic.com/album/relish-mw0000125500) had the hit “One of Us”, but rest of the album was much better with its simmering blues rock tunes. I was planning on mentioning _Relish_ as soon as I saw the thread title. I thought I was the only one in the world who believed this. > [@adhemar](#): > > Janis Ian “Between the Lines” Love the album except for one song… the big hit “At Seventeen”. that is the only song on the entire album I don’t like. I will skip it when playing. the rest are amazing IMHO. “At Seventeen” is one of the best songs ever written. At least Pulitzer Prize material. And the music is exquisite. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/32 "2016-10-14T23:48:49Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > “At Seventeen” is one of the best songs ever written. At least Pulitzer Prize material. And the music is exquisite. I didn’t like it maybe because I was an ugly 17 year old when it came out and I didn’t like hearing about my life. What ever I like the other songs on the album much better. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/33 "2016-10-15T03:57:51Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I was planning on mentioning _Relish_ as soon as I saw the thread title. I thought I was the only one in the world who believed this. > “At Seventeen” is one of the best songs ever written. At least Pulitzer Prize material. And the music is exquisite. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/34 "2016-10-15T04:35:08Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > extreme followed what became known as “the talking heads theory” > > TH knew its music wouldn’t ever get played on the radio and barely made mtv but when they tossed “take me to the water” as a throwaway because it was someones favorite song it made them get noticed > > So they always included one or 2 songs that would get on the radio … but it became a thing for all the punk/new wave 80s alternative bands to do like divinals bronskibeat Siouxsie and the banshees and many more had hits that wasn’t done in their normal style > > The downside is once you get past the released songs you like youd get pissed off because the rest of the album is nothing like what the singles promised So Talking heads and all new wave bands were distinguished in their approach by wanting to get 1 or 2 songs on the radio? Yeah who else could have thought of that? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/35 "2016-10-15T09:03:01Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Genesis: We Can’t Dance > > No Son of Mine, Jesus He Knows Me, and I Can’t Dance were the singles. > > No Son of Mine is a very dark single, and it’s not bad, but not a song I go to often. Jesus and I Can’t Dance are bland pop. > > Driving The Last Spike, Dreaming While You Sleep, and Fading Lights are not only the best songs on the album, they also rank up there with the best that Genesis has ever done. “No Son of Mine” is a very good Phil Collins kind of single. The other two singles are at least fun songs, suited to making videos. I have a hard time seeing “Driving the Last Spike” as a single, but maybe if it had been a single, the world would be a better place. “Dreaming While You Sleep” is a really good song, and really dark for pop/rock radio–but it wouldn’t be too grim for country & western I guess. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/36 "2016-10-15T14:23:08Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > I have a hard time seeing “Driving the Last Spike” as a single, but maybe if it had been a single, the world would be a better place. It wasn’t released as a single, but part of it did get played on the radio, at least in my neck o’ the woods (SF Bay Area). They would start in the middle of the song and play the last four minutes or so. Used to drive me nuts. Late one night, I was so pissed when it came on like that, I called a competing radio station and requested it, but told the DJ he had to play the whole thing. It was like 3:00 in the morning, and he did it! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/37 "2016-10-16T11:34:29Z")
I’ve changed my mind on this recently and I’d like to add _A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out_ by Panic! at the Disco. _I Write Sins, Not Tragedies_ is pretty similar in tone to the other songs, but is … lesser somehow. I always thought that it was the weakest track but only by a small margin. Now I realize that I skip it whenever it comes up on shuffle. But seriously, if you like that style of music, or even Panic!'s other songs in different styles, you should check out Fever because it has great hooks and singing. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/38 "2016-10-16T21:53:02Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > “New World Man” was a hit single for **RUSH** on the _Signal_s album. > > It was the only song on the album I actively disliked. It’s also the only Rush song ever to reach the Billboard Top 40. I loved Dire Straits’ “Brothers in Arms” album, but never much cared for “Walk of Life” or “Money for Nothing.” Bassist John Illsley was always annoyed that “Walk of Life” was their biggest hit in America. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2016, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/39 "2016-10-16T22:04:00Z")
I loved the Small Faces, whose only hit single in the USA was “Itchycoo Park.” Cute little piece of psychedelic bubblegum, but they had so MANY better songs than that one! In America, it appeared on an LP called “There Are But Four Small Faces.” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2016, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386/40 "2016-10-17T02:35:42Z")
So many choices… I agree that “Walk of Life” and “Money for Nothing” are two of the weaker songs on “Brothers in Arms”, which is really an atmospheric album full of great music punctuated by a couple of pop ditties. “Dark Side of the Moon” was the first one I thought of. “Money” is a great song, but the whole album is better than any individual song and some of the other songs are fantastic. Warren Zevon - “Excitable Boy.” Werewolves of London was the big breakout hit, but the rest of the album is full of stronger songs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/albums-where-the-non-singles-are-far-better-than-the-singles/768386.md?page=3)