Inspired by this thread
Pick you favorite band, or bands if you can’t narrow it down to fewer than three. Think of their best album, and then the worst song on it. If you posted in the other thread, use the same bands, unless you’ve changed your mind about one of them (as Cut the Crap could do for Clash fans).
Note: Worst is not at all the same as bad. One is relative, the other is not. So none of this, “None of them” crap.
My own:
“I’m So Bored with the USA,” on The Clash, narrowly beating out London Calling’s “Lover’s Rock.”
The Kinks: “Beautiful Delilah,” on You Really Got Me.
“Five Years” on David Bowie’s album ** The Rise & Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars
** or “Sweet Head” for the CD (it was included as a bonus track).
If you haven’t heard “Sweet Head,” it’s kind of like a Mod version of “Rebel, Rebel.” Sounds interesting, I know. Interesting, but not good.
“Thousands are Sailing” on the Pogues “If I Should Fall From Grace With God”
The Clash - Four Horsemen on London Calling
Spoon - Merchants of Soul on Gimme Fiction
Derek Trucks Band - Revolution on Songlines. It’s not horrible, it just lacks any kind of depth. It’s not a dTb song; the album’s producer wrote it and it isn’t in character with their music. Basically it’s a radio-friendly trifle of a song. It does include the very unfortunate lyric “daylight coming like a wonder drug,” which would make anybody who doesn’t work for Pfizer grind his teeth. The band has never played it live, which tells you what they think of it. But I got a hell of a shock when I heard it on New York’s major classic rock station yesterday afternoon.
From the same bands listed in the inspirational thread:
Black Sabbath (Original line-up): Black Sabbath - “Evil Woman”
Well, that Crow cover version is only on the orginal UK release and the re-mastered edition - but that should count. Why it was included next to the brilliant cover of Aynsley Dunbar’s Retaliation song ‘Warning’ is inconceivable.Blue Öyster Cult (Thru 1988): Spectres - “I Love The Night”
The worst way to close such (an IMHO) great work.
Mothers of Invention: We’re Only In It For The Money - “The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny”
The satire of Sgt. Peppers goes on about a minute too long.
Captain Beefheart & His Band: Trout Mask Replica - "When Big Joan Sets Up"Just following the OP’s rule: So none of this, “None of them” crap.Naked City: Naked City - “Blood Duster”
Is it cheating to list one of the shortest (14 seconds) tracks on the album?Beethoven (Of the 9 Symphonies) : 9th Symphony - “3rd Movement-Adagio”
Guns N’ Roses, Appetite for Destruction: Anything Goes
Metallica, Black Album: My Friend of Misery
Nirvana, Nevermind: Lounge Act, (but I like it too)
The Wall - hmmm, any of the stuff on the last 1/4. Can I count the monologue after The Wall comes down? It’s not even really singing and isn’t that profound. Although The Trial isn’t that great either. Come to think of it, neither is Run Like Hell.
For all of the last 1/4 it’s like they thought to themselves “Gee! Let’s write another Top 100 Rock Songs of All Time and put it on the album! Only this time, no guitar solo! That way these songs will be different from the others!” Well, they were right. (Although I hear they may have has some collaboration, especially on The Trial.)
Pink Floyd’s Atom Heart Mother: Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast. Not terrible, but most just background.
The Bonzo Dog Band’s Urban Spaceman: 11 Mustachioed Daughters.
Lyle Lovett Live in Texas: Wild Women Don’t Get the Blues. Actually, a pretty good song, but a showcase for his backup singer Francine Reed, not Lyle. It was a nice gesture, but I would have preferred to have heard L.A. County
Jethro Tull - A Passion Play - “A Passion Play,” which is also the best song on the album since it’s the only song on the album (the MFSL CD edition that added names for the different sections doesn’t count).
Frank Zappa - Civilization Phaze III - “This Ain’t CNN” (impossible to choose a single favorite FZ album; this one gets the nod since there’s no way I could choose a “worst” song on Grand Wazoo)
King Crimson - Lizard - “Lady of the Dancing Water” (lovely song, and placed right where the album needs a mellow moment, but just isn’t as crushingly, mind-meltingly brilliant as the rest of the album)
Gentle Giant - Octopus - “Think of Me with Kindness” (almost the same situation as the King Crimson, but this one takes the fall mainly for the stiffness of the bridge section, which doesn’t match the beauty of the main melody)
NOOOOO!! You just haven’t been listening to the album at maximum volume. Follow the instructions MUST BE PLAYED A MAXIMUM VOLUME! (can’t believe someone picked my favorite song as the weakest track on anything :smack: ) The weakest track on that album is clearly It Ain’t Easy. Its a great song, but not as great as the rest.
I would also nominate Night Rally from Elvis Costello’s This Years Model
and Here Comes Your Man from the Pixies Doolittle.
“Golden Slumbers” on Abbey Road by the Beatles. Melodramatic garbage that ruins the pacing of the second side.
“Frankly Mr. Shankly” on The Queen is Dead by The Smiths
“Autopsy” on “Unhalfbricking” by Fairport Convention
“She Said, She Said” on “Revolver” (American release) by the Beatles
I was wondering when this thread would come along.
Group: Beatles
Best album: Revolver
Worst song on it: “Dr. Roberts”
Group: Sleater-Kinney
Best album: Dig Me Out
Worst song on it: “The Drama You’ve Been Craving”
Group: The Magnetic Fields
Best album: 69 Love Songs
Worst song on it: “Love Is Like Jazz”
Artist: Elvis Costello
Best album: This Year’s Model
Worst song on it: “Little Triggers”
Group: The New Pornographers
Best album: Mass Romantic
Worst song on it: “Mystery Hours”
Group: They Might Be Giants
Best album: They Might Be Giants
Worst song on it: “The Day”
same bands as on other thread;
Band:Skinny Puppy
Best album: Mind: The Perpetual Intercourse
Worst song: Love
Band: The Misfits
Best album: Static Age
Worst song: Spinal Remains
Beach Boys - Pet Sounds - Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
Great thread.
Bruce Springsteen: Darkness on the Edge of Town: Prove it all Night (LOVE every song, but I have to choose…)
Lyle Lovett: Joshue Judges Ruth: Baltimore (Flyswatter Icewater Blues was my wedding song; single most under-appreciated album I know of…)
I am baffled—first as to how you could think this, their first album, is their best, and second, how anything other than “Bald Headed Woman” could possibly be the worst song on the album.
My own vote: their best album is arguably The Kinks are The Village Green Preservation Society (though there are other contenders), and the worst song on it is… well, I’ll just say “Last of the Steam Powered Trains” just because it goes on too long compared to the other tracks.
Jeff Beck - Blow by Blow: Freeway Jam (doesn’t really suck, but it’s basically hard elevator music)
Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien: Satch Boogie (Note: I am aware that I am crazy for thinking this)
Jackson Browne - Running on Empty: Shaky Town
The Tubes - The Tubes - Space Baby. In fact, I don’t much like Side 1 at all. Side Two, however, is one more stellar moment after the next, all the way through.
Wings - Back To The Egg - So Glad To See You Here. This was a hastily-assembled song played by the Rockestra, Paul’s all-star jam band. It’s trite and boring, and has no hard parts so it wouldn’t require much rehearsal. The other track they recorded, “Rockestra Theme,” while not being of any great weight itself, was much better as a song.