# So what’s the worst song on the best album by your favorite band? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 5, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576 "2006-05-05T18:33:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/1 "2006-05-05T18:33:14Z")
Inspired by [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=7365611) 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. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/2 "2006-05-05T18:35:57Z")
“Thousands are Sailing” on the Pogues “If I Should Fall From Grace With God” ---
**Author:** ![some\_white\_dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b487fb/32.png) [@some\_white\_dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/some_white_dude)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/3 "2006-05-05T19:07:05Z")
The Clash - _Four Horsemen_ on **London Calling** Spoon - _Merchants of Soul_ on **Gimme Fiction** ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/4 "2006-05-05T19:14:18Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/5 "2006-05-05T19:27:23Z")
From the [same bands listed](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7359477&postcount=41) 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” ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/6 "2006-05-05T19:33:22Z")
Guns N’ Roses, Appetite for Destruction: Anything Goes Metallica, Black Album: My Friend of Misery Nirvana, Nevermind: Lounge Act, (but I like it too) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/7 "2006-05-05T19:42:05Z")
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.) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/8 "2006-05-05T19:56:02Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/9 "2006-05-05T20:06:55Z")
**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) ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/10 "2006-05-05T20:45:34Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > “Five Years” on David Bowie’s album \*\* The Rise & Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars 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. ---
**Author:** ![Webner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/0ea827/32.png) [@Webner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Webner)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/11 "2006-05-05T21:32:09Z")
“Golden Slumbers” on Abbey Road by the Beatles. Melodramatic garbage that ruins the pacing of the second side. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/12 "2006-05-05T22:24:18Z")
“Frankly Mr. Shankly” on _The Queen is Dead_ by **The Smiths** ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/13 "2006-05-05T22:28:17Z")
“Autopsy” on “Unhalfbricking” by Fairport Convention “She Said, She Said” on “Revolver” (American release) by the Beatles ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/14 "2006-05-05T22:31:04Z")
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” ---
**Author:** ![Logan\_5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/fbc32d/32.png) [@Logan\_5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Logan_5)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/15 "2006-05-05T22:46:44Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![Endless\_Flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e480ec/32.png) [@Endless\_Flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Endless_Flight)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/16 "2006-05-05T22:49:01Z")
**Beach Boys - Pet Sounds** - Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) ---
**Author:** ![CharlotteRuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@CharlotteRuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CharlotteRuse)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/17 "2006-05-05T22:57:07Z")
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…) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/18 "2006-05-05T23:07:59Z")
> [@saoirse](#): > > The Kinks: “Beautiful Delilah,” on **You Really Got Me**. 😕 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. ---
**Author:** ![Exploding\_Oven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@Exploding\_Oven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exploding_Oven)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/19 "2006-05-05T23:18:45Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2006, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576/20 "2006-05-05T23:27:47Z")
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. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-s-the-worst-song-on-the-best-album-by-your-favorite-band/355576.md?page=2)