Shitty Band, Great Song?

I think every DJ at some point thinks s/he's going to pluck out the one great song by every shitty band.  (My buddy Irving remembers an 'FMU DJ who had an unerring ability to excavate the one shit track by every great band, but that's another story for some other blahger).  Everyone who's had this ambition quickly realizes that most shitty bands actually have no great tracks.  But a few do, and so we keep on looking. 

Here's 2 from '72:

Tony Coulter digs em up with some regularity - he recently unleashed this one on us:
Dan Fogelberg, "Wysteria" (streaming mp3, expires Sept 4 '06); (Realaudio)

Here's one I found myself:
Styx, "Quick Is The Beat of My Heart" (streaming mp3, expires Sept 8 '06); (Realaudio)
(wasn't so hard since I've got like eleven of their records.  Oh, DJs lose a lot of shame early on too - often in a manner not dissimilar to what a cheese-grater does)

Of course, for this game to have maximum payoff, you've gotta stick to really universally reviled acts, and that's mebbe not so simple.  Every suggestion raises a thousand arguments, except in very rare cases.  Judging by certain current trends, I''ve got a theory James Taylor and The Eagles are ripe for reassessment.  I call the stuff "2-Lane Blacktop Rock". 

Anyway, I'm asking you to play.  What song gets your vote for best song by some shitty band?  I offer the two above to prime your pump.

Comments

[mjwalz]

REO Speedwagon's "Golden Country".

[Krys O.]

Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again", she said sheepishly. Well, the fact that Steve Vai is in the group might be a saving grace.

[Brother JB]

"the Stroke" by Billy Squier

[Kim Scarborough]

"Mother" by The Police

[Bjorn]

Red Hot Chili Peppers "Under the Bridge"
Black Eyed Peas "Let's Get Retarded"
Interpol "Untitled"
Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Maps"
Aerosmith "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"

[Hatch]

So far the comments section reads like a Jack FM playlist.

[K.]

Have you lost the will to live??? Those tracks were abominations, they spit upon all I love and hold dear in music. In fact, I think a thin trickle of actual _blood_ is flowing from my befouled earholes.

But I suppose to be fair, if both acts STFU the results would stand on their own as OK instrumentals.

[Jeffersonic]

"Dead End Job "- Police, "Motor City Madhouse" - Ted Nugent

[Norton Zenger]

Hmmmm.

For the Doors, I'd nominate this obscure demo recording they did in 1965 called "Go Insane". It's demented and completely unlike all their other stuff, and is the only song of theirs I can stand to listen to.

For the Eagles, I would suggest "Journey of a Sorcerer", although I admit to being a sucker for it mostly because it was the theme music to the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" radio series.

[christo]

Chicago "25 or 6 to 4" (not counting the Chicago Transit Authority album, which is pretty much all gold.)

[Account Deleted]

The problem with the Eagles is that their stuff was so overproduced that listening to their stuff just makes you cringe. And then you add in the maxi-rotation their stuff has on AOR stations.... shiver.

There's something endearing about "Take It To The Limit," though. It sounds so... drunk. Like it can only be sung by a 12-drink-minimum bar full of happy drunks.

It's the kind of song that, if soccer were the biggest thing in this country, would be sung from the stands the way Brits sing "Three Lions."

[Bazorch]

"By Way Of Love's Express" Ashford & Simpson

[Greg]

I've got two: "Was Dog A Doughnut" by Cat Stevens, and "Thunderfoot" by Seals and Croft.

[andy]

neil young: computer age

[Dale Hazelton]

Hmmmm, I think Dan Fogelbergs' "Netherlands" album has alot of good stuff on it in the Wysteria vein. Don't knock him til you give it another listen.

I don't think people are getting the fun in this. How 'bout The New Seekers doing Pinball Wizard. OK, a cover, but a rockin ' arrangement nontheless. Or the Hudson Brothers catchy "So You Are A Star". Everybody makes fun of Journey, but "Wheel in the Sky" is pretty cool. I don't think Toto ever did anything really good, though.

[Scott]

"I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner

[David P]

Two:
Kylie Minogue - Can't get you out of my head
Foreigner: "Cold as Ice"
The Kylie Minogue song is the only good song she has recorded. Everything else is bland, bland, bland. "Cold as Ice" is a very guilty cheesy pleasure.
A bit rough on the Police - (can think of three "Roxanne", "Can't Stand Losing You", and "So Lonely" off the first few albums for a start)

[A. Conundrum]

"Irving?"

Some buddy.

[Scott]

Yeah, "Irving" - an affectionate nickname. It's a buddy thing.

[poesboes]

Rollins Band - "Liar"
It was the first and only time i HAD to give away a CD, because the rest just spoiled that one great song too much...

[dtl]

The Eagles - The Disco Strangler
Skinny Puppy - The Centre Bullet
Bauhaus - Terror Couple Kill Colonel
Iron Butterfly - My Mirage [IAGDV has a good riff, but do you actually want to listen to the recording?]
Uriah Heep - Bird Of Prey

[jlh]

"young turks" by Rod Stewart is fantastic, but every single other song i've ever heard by him is pure, bleeding, ear herpes.

[norelpref]

Aldo Nova - Fantasy

[Bushfinger]

"Lay Down" by The Strawbs.Lousy pseudo-folkies with Cornish accents but this record has an infuriating hook and great dynamic.Makes you want to grow a beard.