Bad songs on good albums - Music - Forums : Best Ever Albums

KilgoreTrout

Location: Nevada

When considering an album's place on a list, how harshly do you punish it for a bad song?

I personally hate the song "Real" off GMKC (aside from the skits), and was wondering if I would like the album significantly more if the track were omitted..
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Liedzeit

Gender: Male
Age: 64

Everybody loves Pet Sounds. I think, it is a marvelous album if not for Sloop John B. I really cannot stand this song.
Without this song Pet Sounds would be Top 10. As it is it does not make the Top 100.
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Grzywa

Gender: Male
Location: Polska

Maxwell's Silver Hammer on Abbey Road is my favourite example. I know it has some fans, but it just doesn't fit. I would definitely trade it for one of the stronger Let It Be tracks, ideally Across The Universe.
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zdwyatt

Gender: Male
Age: 45
Location: Madison WI

I'll generally forgive one or two weak songs, especially if it doesn't detract from the overall feeling of the album. Consider my #1 overall.

Decoration Day by Drive-By Truckers

This album has a couple of really weak tracks, tracks I only listen to as part of the whole album experience. But I still consider this a 5-star album. Why? It's partly because I enjoy the feeling of the album, even with the weaker tracks included. But it's also because this album has, in addition to those weak tracks, 8 perfect songs. When over half the album are great songs, I can't really punish it for the two track that look weak by comparison.

Aureus

Gender: Male
Age: 23

I loved the latest Sufjan Stevens album, Carrie & Lowell, but to me, No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross did not need to be there, easily weakening the power of album for me and not being the buildup the final track truly deserved. Hometown by twenty-one pilots, gfg by Miguel, Single for the Summer by Sam Hunt, The Hills by The Weeknd and Whiskey & You by Chris Stapleton fit into this mould as well by detracting from albums that I otherwise like; but honestly, they aren't that bad.

For a song to truly hold back the album it's from, you'd have to look over to Bryson Tiller. His album Trapsoul actually surprised me a fair bit by having some strong tracks for when you feel shallow, but the song Rambo shatters it all by being simply godawful. Don't check it out.

JOSweetHeart

Gender: Female
Age: 41
Location: East Tennessee

If it is just one bad song that is on the album, I won't make that big a deal over it especially if there are so many other songs on the album which is one thing that I have noticed about albums that are released now compared to ones from back in the day. Albums from a long time ago only had ten songs on them and sometimes just eight or nine. These days there can be as many as twelve or more on them. Smile

God bless you always!!! Smile

Holly
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Romanelli
Bone Swah

Gender: Male
Location: Broomfield, Colorado

Moderator

zdwyatt wrote:

I'll generally forgive one or two weak songs, especially if it doesn't detract from the overall feeling of the album. Consider my #1 overall.

Decoration Day by Drive-By Truckers

This album has a couple of really weak tracks, tracks I only listen to as part of the whole album experience. But I still consider this a 5-star album. Why? It's partly because I enjoy the feeling of the album, even with the weaker tracks included. But it's also because this album has, in addition to those weak tracks, 8 perfect songs. When over half the album are great songs, I can't really punish it for the two track that look weak by comparison.

I'm a big fan of DBT, Jason Isbell, and Decoration Day. I'm curious...which two tracks on this are you referring to?
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zdwyatt

Gender: Male
Age: 45
Location: Madison WI

Romanelli wrote:

I'm a big fan of DBT, Jason Isbell, and Decoration Day. I'm curious...which two tracks on this are you referring to?

"The Deeper In" and "Do It Yourself." The former is more about its placement in the sequence than the quality of the song. It just annoys me that a slow song about incest gets in the way of "Sink Hole" being the album's opener.

Satie

Liedzeit wrote:

Everybody loves Pet Sounds. I think, it is a marvelous album if not for Sloop John B. I really cannot stand this song.
Without this song Pet Sounds would be Top 10. As it is it does not make the Top 100.

I encounter so many people who feel this way and it makes me upset. Also that's crazy how much what two minutes of the album plummets its quality in your eyes. Sad

Romanelli
Bone Swah

Gender: Male
Location: Broomfield, Colorado

Moderator

zdwyatt wrote:

"The Deeper In" and "Do It Yourself." The former is more about its placement in the sequence than the quality of the song. It just annoys me that a slow song about incest gets in the way of "Sink Hole" being the album's opener.

I get that. "Sink Hole" would have been a perfect opener to this album. And yeah...it would have been nice to have had at least one more Isbell song. Two just seems like not enough. "Do It Yourself is a weaker link, for sure.
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