Great albums with no great songs?

Lots of great songs.

 

Again, lots of great songs.

 

And again, lots of great songs.

All of this is subjective, but c'mon now.

 

Too much praise for this record. I was sorely disappointed when I finally listened to it. Unremarkable songs and low fi sound.

 

Read the OP. He's looking for albums with songs. Those Zappa's are mostly instrumental.

 

I agree Muswell Hillbillies has several great songs, but probably it was mentioned because it doesn't have classic or widely acknowledged songs.

We could actually use a similar argument to mention The Village Green Preservation Society; but I think some of its songs have gained classic status by their own weight.

 

The definition of "great" is open to debate -- but there are tons of songs that are great songs (IMO) that aren't well-known. It can't possibly be about popularity.

 

Cheap Trick's 1st album has very good songs, but none are great singles. As a whole, this album is great, but there isn't, a single song like "Surrender" or "I want You To Want Me" etc. that the band could point out as being a great single.

 

I disagree...Most albums by The Cure are full of great songs.

 

I'm not thinking about popularity but about classic status. For instance, "In My Life" was not a hit, but it's a truly classic.

Anyway, by definition I think a great album must have some great songs, but I'm undestanding the spirit of the thread as "classic albums with no classic songs".

 

Loveless by My Bloody Valentine.

 

I have considered the question and its intent and had this thought...



Peter Gabriel, Peter Gabriel (Scratch) (1978)

An absolutely great record with a clear and interesting sustained mood throughout. Every song on it is very good (especially 'Exposure' and 'Mother of Violence,' IMO) but it lacks any major songs of Peter's career. It was not represented at all on his first compilation, Shaking the Tree--the only one of his albums left out.

 

Fair enough, that makes sense. I didn't interpret great to mean "classic" -- my mind went straight to the subjective greatness, so in that case, the whole concept seemed strangely up for debate.

 

I can't think of any to be honest. The "greatness" of individual songs is so subjective that almost any album could be valid (or not).

I do agree that one could list favorite albums which contain no hit singles or no well-known songs. There are a wealth of those!

 

I'd actually include the real me as a great song

 

Second part of the criteria met, not so sure about the first....

 

I know of several great genres with no great songs, but that's another topic.

 

Hmm—“Warszawa”, “Subterraneans” and “Sound and Vision” are all great in my book.

 

Thick As a Brick and Tubular Bells.

 

I guess several more sonically minded acts come to mind. Not so sure how "great" the songs on "Bullhead" or "Ozma" by the Melvins are, yet these are stone cold classics. Or Kraftwerk. Is "Autobahn" full of songs? Yet: What an album!

Behind the noise there are actually great songs!

 

Many will disagree, but I feel this way about The Stooges’ Raw Power

 

Sorry, but no such thing as a 'great albums' WITHOUT 'geat songs'.

 

If it was a compilation it could begin with John Cage’s 3’34”. And the rest of side 1 would be the moments between the next 6 songs. Side 2 would simply be an etched image of the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame in flames. The record would be no. 1 on the Billboard Avant-garde Chart... not with a bullet but a watermelon slice.

I agree of course this is a silly thread but so what.

 

I think "Hand of Fate" is a great song.

I also don't think "B&B" is a great album!

 

SF Sorrow? (I wouldn't call it "great", but some would).