This is where YMMV comes into play - I think the end of Runaway is some of the best stuff on the album.
The amazing part of this song, in my opinion, is imagining Keith Richards in the studio, singing “woo woo” into a microphone over and over.
Keef’s lead is haiku-perfect.
I think that’s a specific remix though. I remember my original copy of Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret just had Tainted Love as a single track.
I really like the Bad Religion song The Defense - EXCEPT for the part where the backing vocal throws in “Yeah Right” as a response to one of the lines. That makes me want to kick them in the taco.
Oh, good one.
Maybe not super-horrible, but a disappointment, is when the Doobies’ Jesus Is Just Alright With Me segues from the strong, slick opener into a boring, sluggish blues song. I’d edit it out but then the song would only be about 1 minute long.
I did edit the synth solo out of Zep’s All My Love. It’s so freaking out of place in a song with all that medieval imagery. It would’ve been fine if they’d have had actual string instruments–and seeing how they had their own jet, they certainly could’ve afforded it.
My husband does a parody that begins: “Hey Jude, I hate this song, 'cuz it’s so boring, and so monotonous…”
I always thought the perfect example of this was Meat Loaf’s “Paradise By the Dashboard Light”. Most of the song is a classic rocker, but then the fun comes to a screeching halt for over a minute so that we can hear the eternally annoying (RIP) Phil Rizzuto doing a play-by-play of sexual baseball metaphors.
I have made myself a version with this part edited out, and it REALLY helps.
Yeah, of the two versions I prefer that one. But even the solo in Petty’s cover is a bit lacklustre. I’ve yet to hear a version of “Something in the Air” whose solo I really enjoy.
Out of curiosity, have you seen Hedwig live? That repetition sticks out like a sore thumb on the album or in the movie, but when I saw it on Broadway it really clicked. Hedwig is really singing to the crowd very directly at that point, and the repetition gave her(?) time to interact a bit.
Also, it bears mentioning that “Midnight Radio” tracks very closely with Bowie’s “Rock and Roll Suicide,” which outros with a repeated line of “Gimme your hands.”
And the Counting Crows cover needs to have Vanessa Carlton’s “ooh…bop bop bop” edited out.
Actually, it was added as a bonus track to their CD Hard Candy, and the Vanessa Carlton part was absent. It didn’t appear until their compilation album Films About Ghosts. Plus, if the track is listed on the song list for Hard Candy, it’s the Carlton version. If it’s not listed on the outside of the CD case, her vocals are absent.
Oh yes. Completely argee with you on this one.
Ditto for every other artist out there who thinks it’s funny to put a bunch of screechy distorted nonsense as a hidden “song” after a long pause following last track on an album. Beck is at fault here yet again, as he pulled this nonsense on Mellow Gold and Stereopathetic Soulmanure, though his contemporaries were also particularly fond of it (Nirvana on Nevermind and the European release of In Utero).
Audacity. Learn to use it. Stop complaining.
Oh, I do edit out the noise tracks when I rip the CDs. I just wish I didn’t have to.
In lieu of the lead singer’s passing, I could never understand Toto’s Roseanna.
I have a music degree, so I appreciate the mix of styles this song has, but why it was a hit I’ll never understand. Simply because: You Can’t Dance To This Song. The break in between the bridge and the Chorus of “Meet you all the way…” is basically when you pause the dance and get a drink. It’s a big rubato drum break with the horn section, so just pause and wait.
Rest of the song has three different tempos and three different rhythms, so I hope you can fox trot, waltz, rhumba and conga. Maybe a little break dance spin or a balance on the head you can do for that awful drum break.
It’s a well written song, requires talented musicians, singers, horn section, but it feels like it was four ideas for four songs thrown together.
I understand your criticism, but the break isn’t all that rubato. You can just dance right through it 1-2-3-4, and meet up with the 3 & 4 at “Meet you.”
The repetition is bad, I’ll admit, but, musically, that’s the best part of the song. Up until that point, it’s just really basic. And then they go all Mixolydian and rock up the joint.
I remember not liking that song at first, and thinking it sounded like Rob Zombie’s work. I remember a classmate specifically citing that a capella bridge. It wasn’t long before I came to love that album, and frankly I think it’s a towering achievement. You should also give Monuments to an Elegy a try, though they are quite different.
True story, but yeah.
Now, I was thinking of “Roll the Bones”, by Rush. The song would be ruined by the rap sections, but at least Geddy Lee’s voice is electronically deepened, and that makes it less goofy, but even so, it’s really jarring and awkward.
Everybody who sang on “Rosanna” is still alive. Toto have had any number of singers.