# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/101 "2012-07-13T00:01:35Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > In fact “Tago Mago” is a great example of a good double album that could have been slimmed down to a great single album by just _getting rid of the second disc_. There’s a second disc? Oh look, there it is. Looking as if I played it once in forty years. ETA a correction: I recall playing it a second time in the late 80s. ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/102 "2012-07-13T00:10:42Z")
“Dig It” off the Beatles Let It Be album. It’s less than a minute long but that horrid little thing somehow manages to leave a bad taste on the whole record. It’s the kind of song that Austin Powers would enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/103 "2012-07-13T01:54:31Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > For me, it always changed the album into a Chipmunks song. Looks like you got the better deal. Wow. You just reminded me of the Moby Grape LP where the last track was a 1920s-style number that you were required to change to 78 rpm to hear properly. I’ve often suspected the band never took off just because of that. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/104 "2012-07-13T01:59:06Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Yup, it’s Levon. He’s singing so softly that I found it hard to tell, but his accent gives it away. I still don’t like the song, but I can see it working as a lullaby. Knockin’ Lost John is Robbie double tracked, which is a bad idea twice. 😉 > I don’t think any of that is correct. I don’t find the song comical, it’s not a parody of anything, there are no unusual sounds (it can’t have “unusual sounds” and be a capella at the same time, and “overly emotive” is how Joplin sang), and it’s not for comic effect. It’s about a poor woman who envies her rich friends. I think we would agree it has an ironic component - the gospel style highlighting the commentary on crass consumption as the cause of the singer’s sorrow - but she’s not trying to make you laugh. I think the sadness is supposed to be real and isn’t played for laughs. I saw it as a satire of people who regard God as Cosmic Santa Claus. Certainly the people who were repeating it _ad nauseam_, in much the way Monty Python routines later would be, thought it was funny. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/105 "2012-07-13T02:07:10Z")
Threads like this remind me of how much music I don’t buy. On the whole, I’m not sure if I’m missing out a little bit, or missing out a lot. Also, I still don’t get Joe Cocker. Why do people like him? Also also, in another one of these thread between the one linked previous and this one, I mentioned Livin’ It Up on [Drawing Dead](http://homestuck.bandcamp.com/album/midnight-crew-drawing-dead-2), but I’ll mention it again because I really love that album, and I really hate that song. The week after I bought it, I deleted it off my computer and never looked back. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/106 "2012-07-13T02:34:27Z")
> [@Trepa\_Mayfield](#): > > Also, I still don’t get Joe Cocker. Why do people like him? Not to continue this hijack, though I am, think of him as a “song stylist,” like Sinatra. They both have a _je ne c’est qua_ way with a song that makes it better than when it is sung by a better singer. Later Beatles albums—you know, when they started to suck—were like demos from which Cocker would choose his next brilliant release. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/107 "2012-07-13T02:51:24Z")
On Bowie’s Heathen (2002), tracks 2 (Cactus) and 3 (Slip Away) are pretty horrible. The rest of the album is some of his best music in years. One of the bonus tracks is a remix by Moby of the first track (Sunday) and it is really great. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/108 "2012-07-13T02:51:33Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Later Beatles albums—you know, when they started to suck— Is the Joe Cocker in your alternate reality the same one as in mine? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/109 "2012-07-13T04:54:43Z")
> [@Trepa\_Mayfield](#): > > Also, I still don’t get Joe Cocker. Why do people like him? Because we like his singing. There’s not that much to explain- sometimes he sounds tortured but I think it’s powerful stuff. While I disagree that the Beatles’ later output sucks, I do think Cocker did a lot of great versions of their songs and I think nobody else did more and better Beatles covers. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/110 "2012-07-13T05:46:57Z")
> [@Yaxche](#): > > _Fitter Happier_, off the otherwise perfect **OK Computer** , is the first thing that came to mind. Ah! Guy! Blasphemy. _Fitter Happier_ perfectly fits _ **OK Computer** _. The one song that doesn’t is _Electioneering_. A good song, and I like it. But it doesn’t quite jive on the album. _Fitter Happier_ does. …just my opinion. But _ **OK Computer** _ is damn near the perfect album, we can agree on that. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/111 "2012-07-13T07:18:41Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > True. Now that I appreciate punk more than I did as a younger person, “Just a Touch” isn’t so bad. And “Superman,” conversely, has aged poorly – it bears several parallels to “Sloop John B”, from the Beach Boys’ _Pet Sounds._ I’m not sure what you are saying here, could you please expound on the parallels between “Superman” and “Sloop John B”? I think REM’s “Superman” is a terrific pop song and does nothing to harm my favourite of their albums, and “Sloop John B” is in my opinion one of the few perfect pop tracks ever recorded. ---
**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 13, 2012, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/112 "2012-07-13T11:26:29Z")
> [@Quint](#): > > I’m not sure what you are saying here, could you please expound on the parallels between “Superman” and “Sloop John B”? I think REM’s “Superman” is a terrific pop song and does nothing to harm my favourite of their albums, and “Sloop John B” is in my opinion one of the few perfect pop tracks ever recorded. On otherwise coherent (musically, lyrically) albums consisting of a collection of original songs, they are both cover tunes that were sort of tacked on, I think at the suggestion (or even insistence) of one member of the group. And they’re both a pleasure to hear the first few times – catchy melodies, nice harmonies, simple lyrics… (and SJB does have that pioneering a capella break)…but a majority of fans eventually see them as (harmless) intrusions in a work of art. YMMV, and that’s fine! ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/113 "2012-07-13T15:59:27Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > On otherwise coherent (musically, lyrically) albums consisting of a collection of original songs, they are both cover tunes that were sort of tacked on, I think at the suggestion (or even insistence) of one member of the group. > > And they’re both a pleasure to hear the first few times – catchy melodies, nice harmonies, simple lyrics… (and SJB does have that pioneering a capella break)…but a majority of fans eventually see them as (harmless) intrusions in a work of art. > > YMMV, and that’s fine! Yep, we will have to agree to disagree. While Sloop John B is a cover, Brian Wilson absolutely put his own stamp on it and it’s arrangement and sound fit perfectly on Pet Sounds in my opinion. Lyrically it may be simple, thematically it may seem out of place, but I think in term of the overall album it fits really well. I am interested to hear your opinion as it is always interesting to hear what others think, but saying “the majority of fans see the track as an intrusion on a work of art” is a pretty bold statement to make without any cite. Also, I would love to see a cite for the track being included at the “insistence of one member of the group.” As far as Superman goes, I think it does stand out somewhat as a cover and a lot fluffier than the rest of the album. It’s still catchy as hell and fun to dance to and I have never skipped it in listening to Life’s Rich Pagent. So I’ll concede that one if you like. ---
**Author:** ![Yaxche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8dc957/32.png) [@Yaxche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yaxche)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/114 "2012-07-13T16:13:31Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > The one song that doesn’t is _Electioneering_. A good song, and I like it. But it doesn’t quite jive on the album. Great, now I feel like I have to defend _Electioneering_… 😛 I think it’s right for the record, it’s just in the wrong place, after the album has calmed down from it’s frenetic opening. If you put it after Paranoid Android or Subterranean Homesick Alien, it’s not going to seem as ‘jarring’, but once the album has settled in, it sticks out like a sore thumb. End hijack. ---
**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 13, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/115 "2012-07-13T18:11:43Z")
> [@Quint](#): > > While Sloop John B is a cover, Brian Wilson absolutely put his own stamp on it and it’s arrangement and sound fit perfectly on Pet Sounds in my opinion. And: he composed (arranged), rehearsed, and recorded the instrumental track in an amazingly short time. A day or so, IF memory serves. Doing the same for the vocals took longer. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/116 "2012-07-13T20:26:49Z")
Upon returning to this thread I see in **TrecherousCretin** ’s post that I have sinned against the apostrophe gods. In my defense the iPhone autocorrects to “it’s” and my level of vigilance is not that high. Particularly when suffering from a debilitating hangover. ---
**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 13, 2012, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/117 "2012-07-13T20:39:56Z")
The Beach Boys’ Al Jardine, who was a keen folk music fan, suggested to Brian Wilson that the Beach Boys should do a cover version of “Sloop John B.” As Jardine explains: “Brian was at the piano. I asked him if I could sit down and show him something. I laid out the chord pattern for ‘Sloop John B.’ I said, ‘Remember this song?’ I played it. He said, ‘I’m not a big fan of the Kingston Trio.’ He wasn’t into folk music. But I didn’t give up on the idea. So what I did was to sit down and play it for him in the Beach Boys idiom. I figured if I gave it to him in the right light, he might end up believing in it. So I modified the chord changes so it would be a little more interesting. The original song is basically a three-chord song, and I knew that wouldn’t fly. So I put some minor changes in there, and it stretched out the possibilities from a vocal point of view. Anyway, I played it, walked away from the piano and we went back to work. The very next day, I got a phone call to come down to the studio. Brian played the song for me, and I was blown away. The idea stage to the completed track took less than 24 hours.”[4] Choosing the lead vocalist Al Jardine then explains that Brian "then lined us up one at a time to try out for the lead vocal. I had naturally assumed I would sing the lead, since I had brought in the arrangement. It was like interviewing for a job. Pretty funny. He didn’t like any of us. My vocal had a much more mellow approach because I was bringing it from the folk idiom. For the radio, we needed a more rock approach. Brian and Mike ended up singing it… – from Wikipedia (I’ll change my “most fans…” comment to “some fans…”) (As for the "most ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/118 "2012-07-14T04:27:03Z")
> [@Yaxche](#): > > I think it’s right for the record, it’s just in the wrong place, after the album has calmed down from it’s frenetic opening. If you put it after Paranoid Android or Subterranean Homesick Alien, it’s not going to seem as ‘jarring’, but once the album has settled in, it sticks out like a sore thumb. You know, I think you might be right. Like I said - I like _Electioneering_ as a song. After _Paranoid Android_ I think it would fit. We’re splitting hairs here on one of the best albums ever. I think we can agree on that 😃 ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/119 "2012-07-14T13:09:51Z")
“Don’t Stop” on “The Stone Roses” by, err, “The Stone Roses”. Whenever they did that backwards crap (it appeared a lot on B-sides) it just sounded like shit. I always hated it when Spiritualized put on their punk hat. They seem to do it once - or twice - an album. ---
**Author:** ![Tad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tad)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676/120 "2012-07-14T13:14:22Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Dating myself… > > On the _Kinks_’ _ **Arthur** _, “Young and Innocent Days.” NO WAY!!! That song is amazing. I’d even venture so far as to call it the best song on that record. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tracks-that-mess-up-good-albums/627676.md?page=7)