10 Great Songs On Otherwise Terrible Albums
Saving Graces Amid the Dumpster Fire.
Every artist has that one album in their discography that they don't really like to talk about. No matter how perfect we like to think our favorite artists' track records are, no one can keep an impressive run of albums going forever. Though there can be some dumpster fires, not all of them have to be wretched from back to front.
Despite the trash that surrounds it, these albums actually sported some songs that could have been legendary if they were in the right context. Oftentimes, these are either masked by some of the more flagrant flameouts on the track listing or hidden in the background so much that no one even brings them up. On the rarest of occasion though, you have songs that are absolutely amazing across an album that does not measure up to its standards. It's as if the one song was a preview for the rest of the album, only to have the other songs pale in comparison to its potential.
While most of these records might look like disappointments nowadays, songs like these were a good enough proof of concept before things really started turning sideways. They may have been horrible, but for one shining moment, things were looking glorious.
10. What Could Have Been Love - Aerosmith
For a band that has reinvented themselves time and time again, the '00s era of Aerosmith has not shown their best light at all. Aside from a fairly solid record of cover songs with Honkin On Bobo, Just Push Play signaled the peak of the Bad Boys from Boston's sell out phase. So how do you remedy that with fans? You do it all over again with Music From Another Dimension.
Whereas Just Push Play already sounded like Aerosmith milking the pop formula, this record is a mess in terms of production, going from heartbroken ballads to songs that vaguely hint at the badass persona we used to know. Instead of the heavyhitters though, the best written song on here came from What Could Have Been Love, which feels like the distant cousin of something like I Don't Want to Miss A Thing.
In fact, the hooks of this song are so good that they may even surpass Aerosmith's biggest hit. Compared to the soundtrack fodder they had on their hands with I Don't Want to Miss a Thing, this feels like a long lost ballad from the days of Pump and Permanent Vacation, with Steven Tyler more in his element than he's been in years. While pop may have fully sunken its teeth into Aerosmith at this point, What Could Have Been Love shows that they can still sell a killer hook when the time calls for it.