Singles that disappointed from albums

[@RonaldBrown59]

I have to admit I actually like some of the songs on this list, but still a very interesting conversation. Great video John, and thanks for sharing

[@justlookingaround9834]

I’m not sure that is true, the track is weaker than previous material and it was ‘ground breaking’ to have slang in the period of the Beatles. Not so for Elton, it seemed lazy.

[@davidj3416]

Great video grouchy John Heaton 😂 I agree with Say, Say, Say. The ELO song, but I kinda liked Supe pa pa Troup pa pa. I like the George song and video. Have a pleasant day.

[@henryhemming1494]

Utterly agree on Harrison's Got my Mind Set on You. And the rest probably!

[@NowhereMan2710]

There is a slight irony in a big Beatles fan criticising Elton for ' yeah yeah yeah'

[@invisibleray6987]

Yes this is a very snobby list

[@NowhereMan2710]

@@invisibleray6987 I wouldnt say snobby, it's just inevitable that some big hits rub people up the wrong way because they're overplayed. I like most of the tracks John names but I wouldn't die on a hill for them

[@richardmagasy2970]

That's what I was thinking 🤣

[@theintelligentsceptic]

A video on great songs (excluding B sides) that weren't singles but should have been would be interesting, John.

[@jackcone1124]

Two videos in one day?! Lucky us! Love the videos! I’ve notice you’ve never discussed the 2nd Wilburys album (vol.3) in a video! Would love to see that! I love that album!

[@randytaylor220]

I will say Let’s Dance is a really good album, especially side 2 without all the hits. And I always like to hear Stevie Ray Vaughns guitar on it.

[@Wayner71]

That's a good selection. The George Harrison single was so schlocky it shocked me. Yes, those two Dire Straits songs you mention are their nadir in my opinion. Around the time of "I'm Still Standing" I gave up on Elton. Cheers.

[@jillshinault9442]

I very much agree with you on I’m Still Standing and Say Say Say. George Harrison was looking for a commercial comeback and Got My Mind Set on You was just what he needed.

[@thomasscharf8886]

Hello John, I totally agree with your choice! Greetings from Germany, Thomas.

[@jaylene.turner6524]

Love it,John!

[@chatham43]

..all Paul's duets with Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder I found terminally cringeworthy.😊

[@j7jov32]

Ebony and Ivory I enjoy but Say Say Say is just a disaster from start to finish.

[@markalexander6501]

Totally agree with you on the ELO single Shine A Little Love...perhaps too much to expect a continuation of the greatness. I think it was Kennny Everett that had Jeff Lynee on his radio show about time of release and he walked us all through the album track by track in complete form.

[@wolftree3948]

these singles you listed can only be disappointing when you compare them to other singles by these same artists, you nailed it with these choices

[@jazzthunder50]

Yep agree with nearly all those choices !

[@oneida41859]

John, thank you! You said what an awful lot of people were thinking. I agree with your list except for the AC/DC track. Take care!

[@justlookingaround9834]

We seem to be the same person with regard to Discovery and the single, after OOTB it was a disappointment, same for LTBR I was so disappointed. But after so many great albums there has to be a turning point. I still have the shop display of Discovery and I was so hoping it would be better the OOTB, it just wasn’t.

[@jimbrown195]

Great List. I agree with I'm Still Standing.

[@elvisleeboy]

This list seems to consist mainly of songs most commonly played on hits radio every single day, along with Africa, Karma Chameleon and Fast Car.

[@simonandrewx]

This is my favourite video of yours of all time 😂😂😂😂😂

[@garypeacock5919]

Agree with most of your choices especially you can call me Al, money for nothing, and walk of life, if I never hear them again, it'll be too soon. Though I do like let's dance, the track itself.

[@christopher9152]

"Walk of Life" is indeed terrible, and in my opinion, it's far worse than "Money for Nothing," which I wouldn't say is "bad" so much as just lightweight. One song you forgot, maybe, or simply would disagree with: "She's Waiting," off of Clapton's overproduced "comeback" album Behind the Sun. I found it then and still find it annoying in the extreme, especially the Phil Collins 80s drum sound, which was ubiquitous at the time, unfortunately.

[@bobfennell3717]

Interesting list John, but having let Dire Straits off a second entry because you were only choosing one per artist, poor old George gets two!

[@jedikiah1541]

I agree on all, aside from maybe ''Shine A Little Love'' and ''Let's Dance''. Neither are among my favourites, but possibly not bad enough to be on my list. The others i agree with you 100%. There is something about those eighties style singles i hated. The songs were so blatantly commercial. Many were catchy, but not in a good way.

[@LapsangTe]

I agree on most of your choices, especially Bowie's "Let's Dance" which I couldn't stand when it first came out and I still find it extremely annoying. The one song I don't agree with you on is ABBA's "Super Trouper" which I think is one of their greatest songs, with superb harmonies and a catchy tune. Perhaps the lyric isn't a masterpiece but It's alright. To rhyme "Glasgow" with "last show" is a bit too much, I must say.

[@ziggypop79]

Walk of Life is annoying haha. 💯 agree on FTATR AC/DC too, never understood it’s appeal.

[@NicholasSadlier]

Jeff Lynne's ELO did play Shine a Little Love during the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 concerts... and it actually worked really well live.

[@invisibleray6987]

Heresy....im still standing... LANDMARK HIT 🎯

[@ricardo_miguel13]

I thought the same but I left the „cringeworthy“ feel and the commerical 80s disliking behind, I stand to it that I enjoy it to dance or just appreciate that it was a big hit!

[@david-stewart]

she told me that I'm her forever lover!

[@bradbull3926]

A few of those I found less negative than disappointing John. I did find your got of bed the wrong side this morning delivery quite refreshing though 😂 Shine A Little Love is on ELO’s Wembley or Bust, so Jeff Lynne had performed the song live in the last 10 years - in front of 60,000 people

[@shyman99]

Just shocking commentary that often times defy all music sensibilities and knowledge. I'm guessing the record labels will not be reaching out to you for recommendations on single releases from albums. I needed smelling salts after hearing you trashing Bowie's "Let's Dance". 😳

[@SDLearmonth]

Let's Dance is naff

[@aarond23]

'Let's Dance' is ok...its not a greatest of all time or anything...Stevie Ray Vaughn part is the best part of the song.

[@ricardo_miguel13]

Its a fantastic song, the obvious choice for a single and the charts proved it. A single doesn’t have to be the best song on the album but when its such a smash hit that generations afterwards still enjoy the most then it has to be good. It could be the other way round aswell. Whatever gets you thru the night was the big hit of walls and bridges, but when you look at the spotify streams now, #9 Dream deservetly has more streams now, because its just better.

[@Poverello2001]

Interesting list. I’m not a fan of either of the Paul McCartney/MJ collaborations, so I’d put them both on this list. I never did get the point behind Call Me Al, but I liked the song because I have an Uncle Al. Go figure.

[@graymarkets1957]

part time lover....got my mind...you can call me all, you are so right about those. just leaden songs. only really disagree with Let's Dance...it ruled the radio in Philly when it came out. Heard it everywhere and it sounded great everywhere. Still does.

[@jeffkaufman9875]

This is a “Horses For Courses”-classic from Lord Heaton: OFF with their heads!..

[@warrenbutson349]

The lead single from Ghost in the machine Invisible Sun at the time disappointed me as felt it a dreary tune. Has more impact now though

[@NowhereMan2710]

In all seriousness this is just a very good indication that sometimes what's popular/catchy/commercial is not always what's substantial

[@ricardo_miguel13]

And that many people (me included) can enjoy the lesser deep and dancy tracks that still went to number one for a reason.

[@NowhereMan2710]

@@ricardo_miguel13 Absolutely - I haven't got a grudge against most of these tracks, but I can surely find 12 that annoy me. There's LOADS more inferior tripe out there. It's just personal taste.

[@ricardo_miguel13]

@@NowhereMan2710 Yeah okay I agree. But I nearly enjoy all of the songs John chose.

[@NowhereMan2710]

​@@ricardo_miguel13 Yeah fair, I like a lot of them too

[@tyronewhitehead3123]

Bowie ,ELO Paul and Michael Dire straits are my favourites .Not Necessary in the right order on your list. Thanks John .

[@nazaholicable]

It's the chorus of 'Shine a little love' that lets it down. The music is good. For me ELO's greatest achievement was the FACE THE MUSIC album.

[@jillshinault9442]

Face the Magic would be perfect but for the inclusion of Down Home Town. That song is an abomination, but the rest of Face the Music is sublime.

[@nazaholicable]

@@jillshinault9442 I see what you're saying about that track. On a wider note, there are very few perfect albums in my experience, and most of my favourite examples have one or two cuts that I dislike. And when I do listen to albums that are listenable from start to finish, they tend not to be 'faves.'

[@shiroibasketshoes]

@@jillshinault9442 You called the "Face The Music" album "Face The Magic." But after I first saw the song title "Strange Magic" written, I misremembered it as "Strange Music." I think the whole album is great.

[@jillshinault9442]

@@shiroibasketshoes Oops, looks like I had a brain burp there! It's definitely Face The MUSIC! By the way, I also think A New World Record is perfect -- without the caveat of one bad song. That one, and sometimes Eldorado, is my favorite ELO album.

[@shiroibasketshoes]

@@jillshinault9442 It was only on first listen I did not like "Rockaria!" from '"A New World Record." I was 12 and I did not yet understand the performers and composers referenced. Now I think that album and "Eldorado" are all excellent, as well as most other Electric Light Orchestra albums. Thanks for correcting! Have a nice day! P.S: "Gotta get down! Gotta get down!" hahaha. I do see what you mean about that song, although I think it fits fine in the overall sequence and context of "Face The Music." (But "ucedemwinnin"?)

[@justlookingaround9834]

Having now watched the whole vid, we are in fact the same person. Couldn’t agree more with everything. 😀

[@markmusiclover9139]

Agree with all of these, especially Bowie, I’m a big fan but never bought the album

[@kevinmuldoon224]

Hi John. Maybe I’m misunderstanding, but isn’t the point of releasing singles that they’re commercial? The same could arguably be said about albums, but I can see how they’re often taken to represent an artistic statement, with the hope of commercial success being secondary (in some cases). But singles existlargely for one reason only, don’t they? To be as big a commercial success as possible? And hence promote the album or the artist (or both). I’m not seeing how it would be possible for a single to be too commercial. Other than that, I should mention that I do enjoy your videos, so this isn’t a criticism in any way. Cheers!

[@j7jov32]

You expressed 'I'm Still Standing' like you hadn't seen it before which cracked me up. 🤣

[@Ridersonthestorm8899]

Superb upload, You Can Call Me Al and Say Say Say suck like a Dyson upload. Money For Nothing , what a yawn. And don't get me started on I Just Called To Say I Love You and Ebony and bloody Ivory.

[@fwnfaa]

Great great songs all, Super trouper/Abba is really a great singel, Fleetwood mac/Little lies great,David Bowie/Lets dance one of his best albums, Elton John/ Im still standing one of his great succes singels, George Harrison biggest singel nearly, Poul Simon/Graceland all tracks great,Dire Straits/money for nothing what a banger , long live the good popsong, ELO never made a bad track, you sound like a angry old man im sorry to say, i like you anyway JH.

[@markfernandes9715]

Part Time Lover is at least a lot better than I just Called To Say I Loved You, and that was inexplicably a No 1 hit. Safe to Say, Stevie recovered with 1985's Overjoyed. I agree with your Dire Straits, Paul Simon, Harrison, McCartney, Elton and Fleetwood Mac choices. Too many 70's artists seemed to have put out cheesy, and in some cases, cringeworthy singles in the mid 80's for some reason, instead of putting out the better tracks from the albums they came from, even if overall most of those albums were not up to their 70's standards. Such was the 80's. Maybe by the mid 80's the Record Companies, when it came to the choice of lead single/singles , perhaps overruled/ignored the artists' own choices, who knows?

[@paulsontag9233]

We almost got an eff bomb out of you John! You can call me Al IS annoying for sure but I never liked that whole album to begin with. Unlistenable for me.

[@richardhewitt4252]

Agree with all those choices, John. You are very generous to describe some of the tracks as cringeworthy and other similar phrases: for me - go direct; they’re all really crap.

[@neilsumner6440]

There's only the stevie wonder song I agree with, how on earth can you put little lies in this list if you like fleetwood mac? Agree with the hypocrisy of the yeah yeah yeah comments.

[@johnheaton5667]

Well to be honest I never much cared for yeah yeah yeah when the Beetles did it….little lies is fine just got a bit bored with it over the years

[@kevinetheridge7201]

I personally think “Let’s Dance” is up there with Bowie’s greatest recordings, the production and his vocal performance on it are exquisite, but I am a Chic/Niles Rogers fan.

[@matthewmedley8532]

Agree. Such a great single. Very catch too.

[@markmusiclover9139]

@@matthewmedley8532 Bowie should never be “catchy” lol

[@j7jov32]

Some of these I like but they aren't favourites, You Can Call Me Al is fine but nothing in comparison to Boy In The Bubble or Homeless.

[@jamesgriffithsmusic]

Aw John, you just hate the eighties.🤣

[@NowhereMan2710]

Rightly so! 😜

[@randytaylor220]

I don’t like Whatever Gets You Through the Night. Too repetitious. But the rest of the album is good.

[@SteveM-ly7oy]

I actually agree with some of these but I think you had a bad day! Deffo grumpy old man mode.

[@aarond23]

As a 9 year old kid I can say I liked 'I'm Still Standing' :) but yes in retrospect its not great. Although 'That's Why They Call it the Blues' from that era is good.

[@richardmagasy2970]

Hey John, I like these videos where you share your critical opinion, very amusing. I was wondering how would you compare the other McCartney / Jackson duet, "The Girl Is Mine" vs "Say, Say, Say". For me personally, I wish the latter was on Thriller, and the first was on....well nowhere. I think it's one of the worst songs in history, musically it's nothing, and lyrically it's so imbecile it hurts.

[@johnheaton5667]

I agree mate! Though not too fond of say say say either!

[@pintpot]

No "Hello. It's John Heaton."?!

[@shyman99]

After listening to the video, I think this may be an imposter. 🤔

[@simon7212]

@@shyman99 hair's different too

[@murdockreviews]

Oh dear. Disagree with pretty much your entire list this time. "Super Trouper" is one of the few ABBA singles I really like. The title might sound ridiculous but its lyrics are not "pointless" at all, reflecting the disillusionment and exhaustion of touring and being in the spotlight every night paired with a sense of longing and lonliness.

[@SuperNevile]

As you say 'Super Troupers"' were the spot-lights used to illuminate the performers on stage. As in "Super trouper beams are gonna blind me" . IMO one of the best ABBA singles which got away from lyrics about their marriage problems. I pretty much agree with John's other choices though.

[@ijeff2005]

I love great melodies and I find "Little Lies" to be one of CV's best songs. Yes, it is quite commercial, but it doesn't really bother me. The harmonies are great with all 3 vocalists contributing. To me it embodies what Fleetwood Mac and in particular what Lindsey Buckingham does best when creating a hit single. As for "You Can Call Me Al", it prompted me to not even buy the album! Any McCartney duet with Michael Jackson is bad. I love "Brothers In Arms" album and the album is indeed better than the "Money For Nothing" single. Nonetheless, I don't agree with the criticism of that song being a ripoff of "Jumpin Jack Flash". As a very mediocre guitar player, I can attest to how much more complex the MFN riff is compared to JJF which is much simpler. Also, even not playing them, I don't hear the similarity at all. This is the first time I've heard that comparison.

[@mikeysaint4368]

A pretty flawless list, which largely echoes my own thoughts. How did Dire Straits go from Sultans of Swing to abysmal junk like Money For Nothing and Walk of Life? Sting somehow managed to make the former even worse with his terrible high supporting vocal. You could have maybe charted the decline of Queen and the dreadful singles they released after circa 1979, but the albums they came from were even worse. With reference to Bowie. China Girl from Let's Dance is a fantastic song, superbly produced, and is much too good for that album. It was also written by Iggy Pop, which enhances the fact that David was on a downward trajectory which would last for over a decade.

[@ingivalgeirsson4483]

Stevie Wonder is great, but I think if I was tied down and forced to listen to, I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU. I'm not sure I would survive it.

[@ricard3135]

I totally agree with I'm still Standing. Stupid uninspired song, falsely cheerful that Elton plays at every concert and everybody seems to like and I never understood why. But I totally disagree with Harrison's Wake up my love and Dire Straits Money for nothing. Powerful songs imo.

[@invisibleray6987]

A large does of SNOB here me thinks 😂

[@neilsumner6440]

You've only limited your list to one track per artist but you've put two George Harrison tracks in there???

[@Rh143]

I quite like all of them. :) I was dissapointed with John Lennon´s single ( Just Like ) Starting Over and Now and Then by "The Beatles".

[@thanosb.5403]

"Wake Up My Love" doesn't even belong on "Gone Troppo"! Such a bad single!! It should have been a stand alone one! The rest of the album is a marvel!! "Dream Away", "Mystical One", "Unknown Delight", "" I Really Love You" and why not the song that is titled after my own country... Oops, forgot "Circles"!!!!

[@TheAnarchitek]

You selected a group of loser albums to complain about, until you got to George Harrison's best work since All Things Must Pass, because he selected an oldie to re-imagine? You Can Call Me Al is the best song on Graceland. You whine meanderingly through late '80s crap, some of the worst music committed to vinyl. Go back a decade, find some albums with really crappy singles, or crappy albums with one great single, like We're An American Band, from Grand Funk's execrable LP of the same name, almost any of the later Steppenwolf albums, or most of REO Speedwagon, Styx, April Wine, early Journey LPs, et al.

[@chrishickman1211]

Every ABBA single was annoying!

[@shyman99]

As is every comment you leave.