Do bad songs detract from the good on an album?

[soulthug]

Take this:

Would you rather have an album with 8 songs you like/love on, or the same eight songs plus three or four ones that don't impress you/you hate?

Some say there's nothing wrong with the bad songs that are there, just skip them. Fair point, but in my opinion, bad songs or fillers tend to detract from the album as a whole.

What say you?

 

[djdelly]

... What one person consider a bad song, others might think it is a good/great song...

out of all the albums I have, there are only a small handful that are truly great from start to finish... they are something special, they are rare, and when you find a new one there is nothing quite like that feeling... So 8 tracks plus some other ones for me.

 

[skotgun]

just DON'T put the songs you don't like on your ipod.

plus you may come around to liking them someday.

 

[Lovergoat]

I always skip the first track of Puzzle - Biffy Clyro. Just because I hate the first 30 seconds or so. I think I'd rather the first track was there though as it's a good song, shame the intro sucks.

 

[djdelly]

plus you may come around to liking them someday.

Good point, there are many some that I didn't like on the first few times through, but over the years, as my music taste changes, I have started to enjoy them more.

 

[soulthug]

oh come on, the thing with a painting is, you have to know when it is finished

anything added at the end is usually just a few fillers to meet requirements

i'm not saying exactly eight songs, just an example, and i'm only talking on albums that roughly fit that description

if you like every song on it, then there'd be no songs removed

just saying on an album that's good on the majority, would completely removing the unsavoury make it better?

 

[skotgun]

whether you like them or not, some songs just need to be there to make a "whole" album.
and i'm not talking about how many tracks there are.
some albums i love have songs i don't like, but i know they fit.

 

[Lovergoat]

oh come on, the thing with a painting is, you have to know when it is finished

anything added at the end is usually just a few fillers to meet requirements

i'm not saying exactly eight songs, just an example, and i'm only talking on albums that roughly fit that description

if you like every song on it, then there'd be no songs removed

just saying on an album that's good on the majority, would completely removing the unsavoury make it better?

In a word. No.

In more than one word. That's like saying the mona lisa may be better without the unnecessary background fluff. Hey, why not go the whole hog and remove all but the smile?

I do agree that nothing should be added at the end though. I think any creative process works best by only adding at the beginning then taking out whatever isn't up to the general standard towards the end. If anyone feels like adding at the end of an album or any other creative project. They simply haven't finished yet and need to go back to the beginning.

 

[alec]

bro, its whatever.

 

[ViewtifulZFO]

I'd rather have a perfect album than an imperfect album.

All things considered, 8 perfect songs and nothing more is better than more filler.

 

[SonGohan]

You mean people actually listen to the songs between 'Angel of Death' and 'Raining Blood' on Slayer's "Reign in Blood?"

 

[Timorous Scott]

silver ruined doolittle from being perfect

just sayin'

 

[black_wizardd]

I definitely prefer the first option. Fillers serve only to make an album appear more appetising to the buyer by facilitating the illusion of value for money. IMO they shouldn't be included for that reason. They add nothing to the experience and detract from the overall impact of the album.

These days I tend to be more skeptical of albums with too many songs since very few artists can keep creativity ripe over 15+ tracks (excluding Grindcore/mix CDs).

 

[Takumaji]

#2

Some records/CDs I have owned for decades, then listen to them again and lo and behold, the tracks I didn't find very hot back then are much cooler now than I thought they were.

Preferences change with age and situation, experience, etc. When I was 10 I loved "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck from the Time Out album but couldn't stand the rest of the tracks, now I love them even more than ol' Take Five...