Round this time of year, you do often find yourself in the mood for lists. Earlier today, I was listening to one of my favourite albums, Dog Man Star and mused over how many great tracks there were on the album that never made the light of day as singles. And naturally that leads on to "S
o what are the best album tracks ever?". The definition being any tracks that have never been released as singles and only 1 per artist. In
addition, choices that will annoy
Stuart have been specially selected. I imagine there are countless versions of my list, but today, this is the list I came up with. As they say on the X-Factor, in no particular order:
Suede - Dog Man Star - Asphalt WorldWell, listening to this gave me the idea, so best place to start. I can never quite put my finger on why I love this song so much, but I just do. Listen to it in the dark, its sublime. There are other notable album tracks on Dog Man Star but this is my fave.
The Beatles - Rubber Soul - In My LifeI've never really taken part in the Lennon Vs McCartney debate but this song shows that when John was on top form he could produce songs that Paul could never get near. In My Life is one of these, 2
mins 24 seconds of genius.
The Smiths - Meat Is Murder - What She SaidLike The Beatles, Bowie and a few others, you could spend a long time just listing great Smiths' songs that were never singles. Therefore, its quite hard to choose one but What She Said is where
Marr's guitar meets
Morrissey's words come together at their very best. There is only one rule. Play it loud.
New Order - Low Life - SunriseProbably not a popular choice, but these lists will invariably get infected by personal nostalgia. Sunrise was one of those songs that got played endlessly when I was 15/16. And, like so many other New Order songs, is generally better when Barney isn't singing. Check out the
vid, a classic New Order live performance. If you've seen them live you'll know what I mean. Also, look out for some top quality moshing. Its a shame I never did make it to the Hacienda.
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - View From The AfternoonAnother thing that often blights lists like these is their somewhat contemporary nature. Check out any Q Top 100 to see what I mean. So, this makes it on the list as I've been listening to it a lot recently. It was a close run thing between this and
Fake Tales of San Francisco, but as that doesn't really get good until 2 minutes in, this had to win. But if you haven't heard Fake Tales, check out the end, wig-out-
tastic.
PJ Harvey - Bring You My Love - Long Snake MoanAny great artist who is not a
prolific singles
releaser will always cause a problem with this list. Polly is one of these. Again, its not easy to pick one. Obviously, I could have gone for
Kamikaze to keep Stuart happy, but I've always loved Long Snake Moan, its just cries out to be played at full bung, maybe even 12. I VERY nearly went for
Rid of Me, watch the
vid, you'll see why. Actually, I've just watched the live performance again, can I change my mind?
Portishead - Dummy - RoadsThe live version of this could have been one of the best moments in music ever if it hadn't been for some dumb Americans not knowing where the end of the song was (watch the video, you'll see what I mean). Still unbelievably good nonetheless. Another one for a dark room.
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures - New Dawn FadesThis should be a joint thing with "Day of the Lords" but New Dawn Fades swings it because of the lyrics. Cut to me standing in a bedroom with an unamplified electric giutar playing along with some quiet gusto.
Oasis - Definitely Maybe - Slide AwayObviously, I was close to choosing
Rock 'N' Roll Star but I've always a had soft spot for Slide Away. I think it was once claimed to be Paul McCartney's favourite Oasis song.
Radiohead - OK Computer - Exit Music (for a film)Radiohead (and similarly Muse) are quite a tricky proposition when it comes to a list like this. They seem to have had a knack of releasing the best songs as singles. You can kind of understand why this wasn't a single but the loss to the charts is this list's gain. The bass kicking in still gives me goose bumps.
Thomas Dolby - The Flat Earth - Screen KissSo obscure its not on
YouTube, so great it should be. Fab lyrics.
David Bowie - Aladdin Sane - Cracked ActorIts very difficult to deal with Bowie in this list. There is a lot to choose from and a lot of things that have been released as a single in one way or another. I could probably list 10 without pausing but you have to choose one and before you go thinking that I'm all a bit melancholy and naval gazing, this will bump it up a notch. I love this song (with apologies to all the great tracks on Hunky Dory).
The Fall - Live At The Witch Trials - FrightenedNo explanation required. Can't find a video, so instead
here's Mark in fine form at the
Von Sudenfed gig I was at.
Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy - Taste The FloorIt was a straight fight between this and "In a Hole" and this won because it was on "the tape" and it didn't kill my fingers on an acoustic guitar like "In a Hole" did.
This one was easier too.
The Sundays - Reading, Writing and Arithmetic - My Finest HourCome back Harriet, come to my house for tea. Another cracking chorus from one of the great, forgotten voices. Why "Can't Be Sure" was picked before this as a single escapes me.
The The - Infected - The Mercy BeatMatt Johnson before the Hank Williams fixation. Another great builder. Video ain't bad either, if you like that 80's kinda thing.
That Petrol Emotion - Manic Pop Thrill - TightlippedOK, so you were wondering when I would have a That Petrol Emotion song. Obviously, hugely tempted by
Creeping to the Cross, but that's what you were expecting. So I've gone for
Tightlipped, always loved the chorus. Ask me tomorrow, I will have changed my mind. Sadly, can't find a video for this, so have
Genius Move instead and then
listen to me killing it (if you dare).
Turin Brakes - The Optimist - State of ThingsThis is a little bit of a cheat as I think it was maybe an E.P. but what the hell, who's going to disqualify me? Can't find a video, so have
Long Distance instead, candidate for the "Best Chorus Ever" award, but it was a single so can't be listed here.
Andy White - Rave On - Things Start To UnwindSo good I've got the title on a T-Shirt. Half nostalgia, half
coz its great. I love songs that build up steadily (none better than
this). Can't find a
vid so
here's Andy proving he's seen some Bob Dylan.
Blur - Blur - You're So GreatOK, so its really a Graham
Coxon song but a hidden gem nonetheless, quite Bowie-
esque. Tricky choice as there were a good few candidates but this won out over tracks like
Best Days and
This Is A Low.
Belle and Sebastian - Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant - Don't Leave The Light On BabyNot the greatest quality, but listen anyway, fantastic, should have been a single, best song by a Scottish band for many, many years.
Fun Boy Three - Waiting - The More I See The Less I BelieveSo good I wrote an essay about it at school. Terry, if you're out there, you're a hero.
Travis - The Man Who - Slide ShowBet you didn't see that one coming? Forget all the light and breezy singles, this is the best song on the album. And its dead easy to play on the guitar too, which helps.
B. 52's - Good Stuff - Deadbeat ClubAgain, another nostalgia trip I'm afraid. It was 1990, it was sunny and I was a studying to this album. This track shows that they could be a very good, straightforward pop act. When Fred shut up. Probably doesn't deserve to be on the same list as some of these other tracks but hey, its my list.
Claude Debussy - Clair de LuneOK, this is definitely a cheat but, strictly speaking, it wasn't released a single. Speaks for itself.
So, there you have it. I have to say, I've had immense fun putting this together, far more than you'll ever get from reading it. It has taken hours as I watched all the videos and many more besides. Hope you watch a few, they are all fab.
Happy New Year!
Labels: zeitgeist