# Tracks that mess up good albums **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 9, 2012, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676 "2012-07-09T06:27:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/41 "2012-07-09T19:49:46Z")
“Who Dunnit” ruined Genesis’ Abacab for me ---
**Author:** ![Yaxche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8dc957/32.png) [@Yaxche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yaxche)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/42 "2012-07-09T19:53:33Z")
_Fitter Happier_, off the otherwise perfect **OK Computer** , is the first thing that came to mind. I agree with the previously nominated _Money_, as well. I’m one of the people who actually loves that track, but it is totally out of place on **Dark Side of the Moon**. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/43 "2012-07-09T20:35:11Z")
I’ve skipped “The Long and Winding Road” many times. ---
**Author:** ![tomcar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tomcar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomcar)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/44 "2012-07-09T21:18:22Z")
Operator, You Got The Silver and Here Comes The Sun are all great songs. She’s Leaving Home is one of the finest Beatle’s songs. ---
**Author:** ![Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Nunzio\_Tavulari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunzio_Tavulari)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/45 "2012-07-09T23:33:26Z")
[QUOTE=digs] I had the idea, when CDs first came out, that it’d be great if the user could somehow program their player to recognize a disk, and then play a single track, or the whole disk in a particular order, or skip a track. So, I’d explain, every time you put in your favorite CD, it’d skip that one song that ruins it. More than one friend said “You mean like Motorcycle Mama”? They’d all thought of Neil Young’s Comes a Time album, that’s all quiet and deep and acoustic except for one raucous track. [/QUOTE] > [@etv78](#): > > You CAN put a CD on “random”. In fact, since their introduction, many CD players have had the ability to automatically play a CD in custom order or skip specific tracks. I’ve got one with a 590 CD capacity that will play each one exactly the way I want. In fact, I have two of those wired up in series so the music never pauses. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2012, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/46 "2012-07-09T23:56:49Z")
I agree with Pine Fresh Scent. _Synchronicity_ is a fantastic album, except for that wretched “Mother” track. The rest of the album is so good, though, it still remains one of my favorite even with “Mother.” ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/47 "2012-07-10T00:13:11Z")
> [@Mixolydian](#): > > “The Guns Of Brixton” on _London Calling_ comes to mind… Oh sure…disparage Paul Simenon’s one contribution! > [@bup](#): > > On Warren Zevon’s _ **Excitable Boy** _, “Nighttime in the Switching Yard.” > > On Chuck Berry’s _ **Greatest Hits** _, “My Ding-a-Ling.” > [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > **Rush** ’s _Signals_ is a great record. _New World Man_ was a minor hit, but it seems totally out of place on the album. > And I hate that song. These are all good calls. > [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > My candidate for the Turd In The Punchbowl Award is Greg Lake’s sappy/WTF “Still You Turn Me On”; deleting it makes ELP’s _Brain Salad Surgery_ my lifetime favorite album. > . This is not. As for my contribution, Elvis Costello’s “King of America” would be THE perfect album if you excluded his execrable, whining, uncalled-for cover of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood.” ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/48 "2012-07-10T02:12:00Z")
“Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” is the true turd of **Abbey Road**. “Let Me Take You Home Tonight” was the track I always skipped on **Boston**. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/49 "2012-07-10T02:58:04Z")
No love (or hate) for Pearl Jam’s “Hey Foxymophandlemama, That’s Me” from _Vitalogy_? I think I’ve listened to that Album hundreds of times, but I may have only made it through that track once. ---
**Author:** ![Chicagojeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@Chicagojeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicagojeff)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/50 "2012-07-10T03:22:44Z")
> [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](#): > > I agree with Pine Fresh Scent. _Synchronicity_ is a fantastic album, except for that wretched “Mother” track. The rest of the album is so good, though, it still remains one of my favorite even with “Mother.” Beaten TWICE to it LOL.. Okay.. I’ll ante up “She’s so fine” a weak track that Hendrix allowed on Axis bold as love as a nod to Noel Redding.. He didn’t deserve it.. After a stunning song like Castles.. I use to hop up and move the needle on.. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/51 "2012-07-10T03:26:08Z")
C’mon, no hate for Yellow Submarine on the otherwise astoundingly good _Revolver_ album? McCartney should have had his knighthood stripped for that clunker and somebody should have garroted Ringo before he sang it (or anything else, for that matter). Bob Dylan singing _Scarborough Fair_ in a duet with a croaking and off-key Johnny Cash on _Nashville Skyline_. _Mother’s Lament_ on Cream’s Grammy-winning _Disraeli Gears_ album. Truly, what the fuck was _that_? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/52 "2012-07-10T03:27:43Z")
I’m on the _Revolution Number 9_ train. First song I thought of reading the OP. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/53 "2012-07-10T05:15:32Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > My candidate for the Turd In The Punchbowl Award is Greg Lake’s sappy/WTF “Still You Turn Me On”; deleting it makes ELP’s _Brain Salad Surgery_ my lifetime favorite album.. > [@Maserschmidt](#): > > This is not. _(“A good call”)_ One thing I’ve learned over 40 years is that almost everybody has a higher opinion of Greg Lake than I do. My loss, perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/54 "2012-07-10T06:16:59Z")
Money is OK, but I’ve never got through A Great Gig in the Sky, once that excruciating wailing starts - _click_ ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/55 "2012-07-10T06:48:02Z")
> [@tomcar](#): > > Operator, You Got The Silver and Here Comes The Sun are all great songs. She’s Leaving Home is one of the finest Beatle’s songs. If it’s any consolation for the fact that I dislike a song that you like, I’ve had “Operator” stuck in my head for the last two days. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/56 "2012-07-10T07:22:12Z")
Agree with Revolution 9, My Ding-a-ling, Alabama Song, Motorcycle Mama and would like to add “Happy Trails” from Quicksilver Messenger Service. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/57 "2012-07-10T11:43:20Z")
Now that people have mentioned it I have to agree with Alabama Song. I actually like the song, but it is _very_ out of place on the album. It’s like the album stops, another album from a different group comes on, and then the album starts up again. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/58 "2012-07-10T11:45:12Z")
I can’t agree with “Revolution 9” fitting the OP, because that would mean that you think “Wild Honey Pie” DOESN’T mess up the album. In other words, the White Album has not one but rather several low points that should have been axed. ETA: Oops, I see now the OP wasn’t actually necessarily asking for the situation when it’s just ONE trackthat messes up the album. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/59 "2012-07-10T12:24:15Z")
> [@solost](#): > > I always thought “Money” seemed jarringly out of place on “Dark Side of the Moon”, as if it was slapped on to ensure a hit on an otherwise cohesive, flowing concept album. I like the song itself, just felt that it didn’t belong. ^^^^ this, for sure. Pink Floyd had a few albums with really bad single tracks, the kind you’d leap over coffee tables to stop the tape back in the day. Meddle’s side one ended with “Seamus”, treating us to howling doggie-music Obscured by Clouds had that bewildering out-of-tune-with-each-other thing with the a capella bleating singers at the end of “Absolutely Curtains” which wasn’t bad for the first 10 seconds or so but just kept going and going. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/60 "2012-07-10T14:30:17Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > _Mother’s Lament_ on Cream’s Grammy-winning _Disraeli Gears_ album. Truly, what the fuck was _that_? Only my kids’ favorite bathtub song when they were 2 and 3: “We want the BabyDownThePlugHole song!” And I _had_ to sing it in that cockney-in-his-cups accent. Hey, at least it was at the end of the album. I have a lot more patience with a throwaway ditty (like _Her Majesty_) if it’s at the end. Sort of “Okay, record’s done. Oh, but there’s this, just us having fun, someone might like it”. Like my kids! _[“A muvver was warshing her bayby one noight…”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg4GAyxwNUQ)_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676.md?page=4)