Worst songs on each of a favourite artist's albums

Banana album: 'European Son' - great, but maybe goes on a bit too long.
White White light: 'The Gift' - music is nice, the short story is a sixth-form effort.
3rd album: 'Murder Mystery' - now sounds a bit clichéd "experimental"
Loaded: 'I Found A Reason' - hand in hand with myself indeed.

Surfin Safari - "Surfin"
Surfin USA - "Finders Keepers"
Surfer Girl - "South Bay Surfer"
Shut Down Volume 2 - "Pom Pom Playgirl"
Little Deuce Coupe - "No-Go Showboat"
All Summer Long - "Drive-In"
Today! - "Good To My Baby"
Summer Days - "The Girl From New York City"
Party - "Hully Gully"
Pet Sounds - "I Know There's An Answer" (not as good as "Hang On To Yr Ego")
Smiley Smile - "Fall Breaks And Back To Winter)
Wild Honey - "A Thing Or Two"
Friends - "Transcendental Meditation"
20/20 - "All I Want To Do"
Sunflower - "Got To Know The Woman
Surf's Up - "Student Demonstration Time"
Carl & The Passions - "Marcella"
Holland - "Funky Pretty"
15 Big Ones - "Chapel Of Love"
Love You - "Roller Skating Child"
MIU - "She's Got Rhythm"
Light Album - "Shortenin Bread"
Keepin The Summer Alive - "Oh Darlin'"

Couldn't be arsed to do the rest.

Bob Dylan - Fixin' To Die
Freewheelin' - Bob Dylan's Blues
Times They Are a-changin' - Times They Are A-changin'
Another Side - Ballad in Plain D
Bring It All Back Home - Outlaw Blues
Highway 61 Revisited - From a Buick 6
Blonde on Blonde - Pledging My Time
John Wesley Harding - The Wicked Messenger

(Apologies to From a Buick 6 - but what would YOU pick?)

Killing Joke - "Tomorrow's World"
What's THIS for...! - "Who Told You How?"
Revelations - "Dregs"
Fire Dances - "Lust Almighty"
Night Time - "Multitudes" (though I still love it)
Brighter Than a Thousand Suns - "Adorations"
Outside the Gate - "America"
Extremities.... - "Inside the Termite Mound"
Pandemonium - "Jana"
Democracy - "Democracy"
Killing Joke [2003] - "Total Invasion"

generation terrorists - crucifix kiss
gold against the soul - drug drug druggy
the holy bible - intense humming of evil
everything must go - removables
this is my truth tell me yours - SYMM
know your enemy - wattsville blues

SAW 85-92 - Green calx
SAW II - Disc 1 track 2
I Care Because you do - ventolin
Richard D james - Cornish Acid
Drukqs - omgyija-switch (yes, i had to look up the name of that one)

leisure - come together
modern life is rubbish - sunday sunday
parklife - bank holiday
great escape - top man
blur - theme from retro
13 - battle
think tank - jets

"I KNow There's An Answer" is worse than "Sloop John B"? I demand a recount!

"Sloop John B" is great - why do people hate it so? I don't mind "I Know There's An Answer" but I always skip it and put "Hang On To Your Ego" instead.

I love "Roller Skatin' Child"!!! "We do it holding hands, it's so cold I go 'brrrrr'"

Strangely enough, Love You was one of the hardest to find a fault. I was thinking of putting "I Wanna Pick You Up" but it's just so fucked up it manages to be their worst and best song at the same time. I was never a massive fan of "Mona" except for the Phil Spector reference. I'd say the second half of the album is slightly better than the first so I had to default with "Rollerskating Child" as it's the only one that doesn't jump out at me and I hate the way it starts.

Hootenanny - Hayday

Let It Be - Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out

Tim - Left of the Dial (many think this is great, but it's boring, despite the fine lyrics the song goes nowhere)

Pleased to Meet Me - Red, Red Wine

Don't Tell a Soul - We'll Inherit the Earth

All Shook Down - My Little Problem

Zen Arcade - Hare Krishna*
New Day Rising - How to Skin a Cat*
Flip Your Wig - The Baby Song**
Candy Apple Grey - Too Far Down***
Warehouse: Songs & Stories - You're A Soldier****

*It may have been funny live, but...
**It may have been funny sitting in the studio, but...
***Bob needed some Prozac.
****The drum beat and chorus on this one annoys me.

s/t- hmmm "Six O'Clock News" ?
Diamonds in the Rough-
Sweet Revenge- "The Accident (Things Could Be Worse)"
Common Sense- "Wedding Day in Funeralville"
Bruised Orange- "Iron Ore Betty" maybe

Pavement:

Slanted & Enchanted- "Chelsey's Little Wrists"
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain- "Hit The Plane Down"
Wowee Zowee- never can remember which song is which
Brighten The Corners- "Passat Dream"
Terror Twilight- "Platform Blues"

and I think Bowie's "It Ain't Easy" is great! one of my favorite moments from Ziggy...

Debut: Play Dead
Post: Cover Me
Homogenic: All Neon Like
Selmasongs: Scatterheart
Vespertine: Pagan Poetry

It's got to be Tambourine Man off Bring It All Back Home because of the overexposure.
And since I heard the alternate takes of Desolation Row off Highway 61 Revisited I've got to say the jingle jangle album version jarrs.
Off Blonde, I almost always skip Rainy Day Women just because of those leaden lyrics.

_TIB_/_BDC_ - "Grinding Halt"
_Seventeen Seconds_ - "Three"
_Faith_ - "Doubt"
_Pornography_ - "Cold"
_Japanese Whispers_ - "The Upstairs Room"
_The Top_ - "Birdmad Girl"
_The Head On The Door_ - "Push"
_KM^3_ - "A Thousand Hours"
_Disintegration_ - "Closedown"
_Mixed Up_ - "The Caterpillar (Shiver Mix)"
_Wish_ - "A Letter To Elise"
_Wild Mood Swings_ - "Return"
_Bloodflowers_ - "Where The Birds Always Sing"

You're dead wrong.

The Head On The Door_ - "Push"

You're REALLY dead wrong.

Drums And Wires - "Helicopter" (torture chamber ad jingle)
Black Sea - "Paper And Iron" (hard choice, it just goes on a bit)
English Settlement - "English Roundabout" (great for the 'conceptual unity' but musically it's just taking up space while I wait for "Snowman")
Mummer - "Wonderland" (Colin Newman and social comment do not mix, pt 1)
The Big Express - "I Bought Myself A Liarbird" (smarmy - lots of turkeys on this albums)
Skylarking - "Dear God" (it's all great! But luckily the US edition has the rotten "Dear God" so I will cheat and pick that.)
Oranges And Lemons - "Pink Thing" (so British of me! But it's rubbish. Actually Colin's tears for fears soundalike is poor too.)
Nonsuch - "The Smartest Monkeys" (see Mummer)
Apple Venus - "My Dictionary" (talk about harshing the buzz)
Wasp Star - "Playground" (the first song I heard off this album, and it put me off buying it.)

Unknown Pleasures: Interzone
Closer: Means To An End
Still: They Walked In Line (studio LP); Decades (live LP)

You must have runny fried eggs for ears, then.

Please - "Violence" (rub unsubtle "Suburbia" retread with nasty music)
Actually - "I Want To Wake Up" (all of it is marvellous, IWTWU is just the least memorable thing on it)
Introspective - "Domino Dancing" (doesn't wear its extended mix terrible well - again, hardly a stinker)
Behaviour - "My October Symphony" (I hated this when younger, still haven't entirely warmed to it. My impression is that all their records now sound just like it.)
Very - "Liberation" (I am revealed as a PSB ballad-hata.)

I can't even remember half the tracks on Bilingual - "Before" was a big disappointment so I'll pick that. "Closer To Heaven" on Nightlife was a bit anonymous, again memory has faded as to any real stinkers.

Rattus Norvigicus - "Goodbye Toulouse"
No More Heroes - "Bitching"
Black'n'White - "Sweden - All Quiet on the Eastern Front"
The Raven - "Baroque Bordello"
Gospel According to the Meninblack - "Two Sunspots"
La Folie - "La Folie" (yawnsome)
Feline - Lots to choose from here. Forgettable album, basically.
Aural Sculpture - "North Winds Blowing"
Dreamtime - "Big in America"
10 - "96 Tears" (ugh! reduced to cover tunes as singles. Shame!)

Optigan 1 is so obviously the worst song on 13... it just sits there at the end pissing me off. No Distance Left To Run is the perfect closer... then there's that irritating organ doodle. Grr.

Anyway: Tori Amos

Little Earthquakes - 'Happy Phantom'
Under The Pink - 'Past The Mission'
Boys For Pele - 'Talula'*
From The Choirgirl Hotel - 'Jackie's Strength'
To Venus And Back - 'Suede'
Strange Little Girls - 'Happiness Is A Warm Gun'
Scarlet's Walk - 'Amber Waves'

*oddly, when BT remixed this monstrosity for its single version it turned out really well - all it ever needed was a half-decent beat.

Piper At the Gates of Dawn: "Pow R. Toc H."
A Saucerful of Secrets: "A Saucerful of Secrets"
More: "Quicksilver (Water Pipe)"
Ummagumma: "The Grand Vizier's Garden Party, Part Two: Entertainment"
Atom Heart Mother: "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast"
Meddle: "San Tropez"
Obscured By Clouds: "Absolutely Curtains"
The Dark Side of the Moon: "The Great Gig in the Sky"
Wish You Were Here: "Welcome to the Machine"
Animals: "Pigs on the Wing"
The Wall: "Young Lust"
The Final Cut: "Not Now John"
A Momentary Lapse of Reason: "A New Machine Part One"
The Division Bell: "High Hopes"

No I'm not. _Pornography_ has three impeccable songs ("Siamese Twins", "The Figurehead", "A Strange Day"), four excellent songs ("One Hundred Years", "A Short Term Effect", "The Hanging Garden", "Pornography") and one great song ("Cold"). Ergo, by process of elimination, "Cold" is the worst song on the album.

You're REALLY dead wrong.

_HOTD_ has five songs verging on perfect ("InBetween Days", "Close To Me", "Kyoto Song", "Six Different Ways", "The Blood"), four songs that are great ("The Baby Screams", "A Night Like This", "Screw", "Sinking") and an outright clunker that tries to be swaggering pop-rock and ends up sounding like tentative, mealy-mouthed nonsense ("Push"). NO CONTEST.

The guitar work is fluid, elegant, and graceful not busy and Van Halen-damaged. The intricate ensemble stuff is perfectly fit into the compositions. Nothing feels as gratuitous as the opening to "Spirit Of Radio" or as OTT as "Jacob's Ladder". The lyrics, at least up to and including "Camera Eye", actually come together for me and work with the music to create meaningful images. The whole thing has a nice sort of overall wintry feel. There's nothing as pointless as "Entre Nous" or "Different Strings". And I love "Limelight".

Note the frequent showing of hit singles during most of their later output...

Speak & Spell: Tora Tora Tora!
A Broken Frame: Shouldn't Have Done That
Construction Time Again: More Than a Party
Some Great Reward: Master And Servant
Black Celebration: A Question Of Time
Music For The Masses: Pimpf
Violator: Clean
Songs Of Faith And Devotion: I Feel You
Ultra: Uselink
Exciter: The Dead Of The Night

And The Beatles, obviously:

Please Please Me: A Taste Of Honey
With The Beatles: Roll Over Beethoven
A Hard Day's Night: I'll Cry Instead ("You Know What To Do" would have been the only obvious choice from a perfect album though)
Beatles For Sale: Mister Moonlight
Help!: Act Naturally
Revolver: Yellow Submarine
Sgt. Pepper: Good Morning Good Morning
Magical Mystery Tour: Flying
The Beatles: Revolution #9
Abbey Road: Come Together
Let It Be: One After 909

(Don't get me started on solo albums :-) )

Duran Duran:

debut album -- "Girls on Film"
Rio -- "Rio"
Seven & the Ragged Tiger -- "(I'm Looking For) Cracks in the Pavement"
re-release of debut album -- "Is There Something I Should Know?"
Arena -- "Hungry Like The Wolf (Live)"
Notorious -- "Meet El Presidente"
Big Thing -- "Big Thing"
Liberty -- "Read My Lips"
The Wedding Album -- "Drowning Man"
Thank You -- "911 is a Joke"
Medazzaland -- "Midnight Sun" (but I *like* this one)
Pop Trash -- "The Sun Doesn't Shine Forever" (I like this one too)

Japan:

Adolescent Sex -- "Don't Rain on My Parade"
Obscure Alternatives -- "Deviation"
Quiet Life -- "In Vogue" (but I *like* this one)
Gentlemen Take Polaroids -- "Ain't That Peculiar"
Tin Drum -- "Sons of Pioneers" (I like this one too)
Oil on Canvas -- "Voices Raised in Welcome, Hands Held in Prayer"

My Aim Is True: "I'm Not Angry"
This Years Model: "Hand In Hand"
Armed Forces: "Goon Squad"
Get Happy!!: "B Movie"
Trust: "White Knuckles"
Almost Blue: "Success"
Imperial Bedroom: "The Loved Ones"
Punch The Clock: "Mouth Almighty"
Goodbye Cruel World: "Sour Milkcow Blues"
King of America: "Don't Le Me Be Misunderstood"
Blood And Chocolate: "Blue Chair"
Spike: "Stalin Malone"
Mighty Like A Rose: "Hurry Down Doomsday"
Brutal Youth: "Still Too Soon to Know"
Kojak Variety: "Hidden Charms" (in comparison to the orig.)

Real Life -- "The Light Pours Out of Me"
Secondhand Daylight -- "The Thin Air"
Correct Use of Soap -- "Thank You" (I like this a lot, but hey, I had to pick one, and this was a cover, so...)
Magic, Murder and the Weather -- "So Lucky"
Scree -- "The Book" (that shouldn't count, so "I Love You You Big Dummy")

Japan:

Adolescent Sex -- "Don't Rain on My Parade"
Obscure Alternatives -- "...Rhodesia"
Quiet Life -- "Despair"
Gentlemen Take Polaroids -- "The Experience of Swimming" (though really this wasn't on the original album. I really feel that GTM is a perfect album)
Tin Drum -- "Ghosts" (I have NO idea how this became a hit single!!)

Deanna, I LOVE "Ain't that Peculiar"!!

And for post 'Dance' Gary Numan, I'll do his next two albums:

I, Assassin -- "1930s Rust" (obvious choice. This album is PERFECT without it)
Warriors -- "Love is Like Clock Law"

... I'm at a total loss. It's second only to "All is Full of Love."

BJÖRK:
Debut: "Crying"
Post: "I Miss You"
Homogenic: "Bachelorette"
Selmasongs: "In the Musicals"
Vespertine: "Heirloom"

STEVIE WONDER ('70s stuff):
Music of My Mind: "Sweet Little Girl"
Talking Book: "You Are the Sunshine of My Life"
Innervisions: "All in Love is Fair"
Fulfillingness' First Finale: "It Ain't No Use"
Songs in the Key of Life: "Joy Inside My Tears"
Secret Life of Plants: "Finale" or whatever that thing is.
Hotter Than July: "Happy Birthday"
Original Musiquarium: "Front Line"

PRINCE:
Dirty Mind: "Gotta Broken Heart Again"
Controversy: "Let's Work"
1999: nope, nothing wrong here (twist my arm: "All the Critics Love U in NY")
Purple Rain: "Purple Rain" (at least until the last third)
Around the World in a Day: "Tambourine"
Parade: "I Wonder U"
Sign o' the Times: "Strange Relationship"... sorry, Matos. I think "Play" is fantastic.
Lovesexy: "I Wish U Heaven"
Glyph: "Blue Light"
The Hits/The B-Sides: "Pope"
Come: "Orgasm"... if that even counts.
Gold Experience: "We March"
Emancipation: "My Computer"
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic: "Everyday is a Winding Road"

And I think it sounds kinda awkward. Then again, I was never really one for the covers Japan performed, save for "I Second That Emotion" and "All Tomorrow's Parties", both of which I adore.

But on the same tip, I adore "The Experience of Swimming" and "Rhodesia", the latter especially when I'm listening to it while driving and can sing along to it at the top of my lungs.

This is the beauty part about being a fan of the same group, though. You get to have differences of opinion here. :) I'm glad we agree on "Don't Rain on My Parade", though. 'Tis the one snag in an otherwise lovely album.

Ok, this makes no sense, because I named fully half of the Japan covers performances as songs I love. Um, so they batted .500 in the covers arena. Not bad, really.

David Bowie: "Sell Me a Coat." (Okay, admittedly I don't remember much from this album, and don't feel like putting it on.)

Space Oddity: "Memory of a Free Festival."

The Man Who Sold The World: "Black Country Rock."

Hunky Dory: "Kooks" is cute, but gets annoying fast. I'm not crazy about "Queen Bitch," either. ("Bewlay Brothers" is underrated, on the other hand.)

Ziggy: "Star."

Aladdin Sane: "Let's Spend the Night Together."

Pinups: "See Emily Play."

Diamond Dogs: "Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family."

Young Americans: "Can You Hear Me."

Station to Station: "Stay."

Low: "Subterraneans."

"Heroes": "Sense of Doubt," maybe. All in all one of my least favorite albums.

Lodger: "African Night Flight."

Scary Monsters: "Up the Hill Backwards," because I can't divorce it from the fuckedupitude of the Glass Spider tour.

Let's Dance: "Criminal World."

Tonight: "Dancing with the Big Boys."

Never Let Me Down: "New York's In Love"?

Black Tie White Noise: "The Wedding."

Outside: "Voyeur of Utter Destruction."

Earthling: "The Last Thing You Should Do."

Hours: "Brilliant Adventure."

Heathen: "Afraid."

Anyway, I'll try this with the Malkmus album catalog:

Slanted & Enchanted - "Chesley's Little Wrists"

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - "Hit The Plane Down"

Wowee Zowee - "Western Homes"

Brighten The Corners - "J Vs. S"

Terror Twilight - "Major Leagues"

Stephen Malkmus - "Black Book"

Pig Lib - "Animal Midnight"

Vamos
Bone Machine (sorry!)
La La Love You
Stormy Weather
Lovely Day

Pumpkins -
Window Paine
Rocket
We Only Come Out At Night
Shame
Blue Skies Bring Tears

Weezer -
In The Garage
No Other One
Smile
Love Explosion

This is probably true.

Nothing much, really

I'd say "Hello Goodbye" or "Baby You're A Rich Man".

But those are both classics, as most of the rest of the album.

Mr Tambourine Man - We'll meet again
Turn!Turn!Turn! - Oh!Susannah
Fifth Dimension - 2-4-2 foxtrot
Younger than yesterday - Mind Gardens
Notorious Byrd Brothers - Space Odyssey
Sweetheart of the rodeo - Pretty boy Floyd
Dr Byrd and Mr Hyde - Old blue
The Ballad of easy rider - Jack Tarr the sailor
Untitled - Hungry planet

Haven't bothered with Byrdmaniax or Farther along....

The Flaming Lips EP: Out for a Walk
Hear It Is: Godzilla Flick
Oh My Gawd!!!: Ode to C.C. Pt. 2
Telepathic Surgery: Redneck School of Technology
In A Priest Driven Ambulance: There You Are - Jesus Song No. 6
Hit to Feath in the Future Head: Hold Your Head
...Satellite Heart: Plastic Jesus
Clouds Taste Metallic: Evil Will Prevail
Zaireeka: A Machine in India
The Soft Bulletin: The Observer
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots: All We Have is Now

....That Was Hard

Enter the 36 chambers: Tearz
Wu Tang Forever: Black Shampoo
The W: Conditioner
Iron Flag: Soul Power

ALL of Musicology just stinks. Yes, I still can't believe it.

Bleach - "Sifting"
Nevermind - "Something In The Way"
Hormoaning - "Even In His Youth"
Incesticide - "Aero Zeppelin"
In Utero - "Dumb"
Unplugged In New York - "Something In The Way"
Muddy Banks - "Been A Son"
Nirvana - "Been A Son"

Most Can albums have at least one stinker on them, but "Monster Movie", "Landed" and "Saw Delight" don't really (which is not the same as saying they are the best Can albums)

Small Change: Small Change
Heart Attack And Vine: In Shades
Swordfishtrombones: Down Down Down
Rain Dogs: Motown
Franks Wild Years: I'll Take New York
Bone Machine: Black Wings
Mule Variations: Hold On
Alice: That German thing
Blood Money: Lullaby
Real Gone: Baby Gonna Leave Me

you are fucking insane

Delay 1968, "Man Named Joe"

For someone's Ween list above:

Pure Guava - "Poop Ship Destroyer"
Chocolate And Cheese - "A Tear For Eddie"
12 Golden Country Greats - "Japanese Cowboy"

Wrong! Wrong ! Wrong!

The Kick Inside: "James and the Cold Gun"
Lionheart: "Wow"
Never for Ever: "The Wedding List"
The Dreaming: "Sat in Your Lap"
Hounds of Love: "Waking the Witch"
The Sensual World: "Between a Man and a Woman"
The Red Shoes: "Eat the Music" maybe? Can't remember.

The Smiths: "You've Got Everything Now"
Meat Is Murder: "Meat Is Murder"
The Queen Is Dead: "Never Had No One Ever"
Strangeways, Here We Come: "Death of a Disco Dancer"

BEEFHEART
Safe As Milk - "Plastic Factory"
*Strictly Personal - "Ah Feel Like Ahcid"
Trout Mask Replica - "Hair Pie: Bake 1"
**Lick My Decals Off, Baby - "Space-Age Couple"
*Clear Spot - "Circumstances"
Spotlight Kid - "There Ain't No Santa Claus on the Evenin' Stage"
Unconditionally Guaranteed - "Peaches"
Bluejeans and Moonbeams - "Captain's Holiday"
*Shiny Beast - "Love Lies"
Doc at the Radar Station - "Telephone"
Ice Cream for Crow - "Skeleton Makes Good"

*really really REALLY tough to choose!
**yet, paradoxically, underneath all the saxophone garble, this is actually one of the best songs on the album

KRAFTWERK:
*I - "Vom Himmel Hoch"
**II - "Atem"
*Ralf und Florian - "Kristallo"
Autobahn - "Kometenmelodie I"
Radio-Activity - "Nachrichten"
***Trans-Europe Express - "Endless Endless"
*Man-Machine - "The Model"
*Computer World - "Computer World 2"
Electric Cafe - "Electric Cafe"
Tour de France - interminable title track(s)

*tough choice
**the obvious choice but, let's be frank, apart from "Kling Klang" most of this album stinks
***a cop out, I know!

*Safe As Milk - "Plastic Factory"
**Lick My Decals Off, Baby - "Flash Gordon's Ape"

*really really REALLY tough to choose!
**yet, paradoxically, underneath all the saxophone garble, this is actually one of the best songs on the album