Artists with only one great song

[Mack_Again]

Harder to Breathe is a masterpiece. Come on here (I'm semi joking)

 

[gump]

Their last album; Zeroes to Heroes was really good.

Thanks. Just listened to it last night and I agree. I still think their best output is in The Three EPs, but they were generally a pretty consistently good band. It's a shame they didn't put out more records.

 

[corianderstem]

I've never liked Aerosmith. Their only song I like is Dream On.

 

[david]

My old boss had dream on as his ring tone. I got sick of it pretty quick.

 

[Hewson]

I'm going to go big here, and I'm not just trying to be funny:


Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion

Just an overall middling career, with an ok number of good songs. But this is the only one that truly stands out as great.

No, Dream On doesn't do much for me. Steven Tyler is just a weak-ass vocalist for such a "legendary" band.

Journey has a more impressive roster of hits, and they're not pretending to be these old bluesmen.

Come at me.

Come on. I recall you posting your dislike for Aerosmith in the past, but let's not be ridiculous here. There's a lot of great stuff from them in the 70's
Toys in the Attic
Last Child
Seasons of Wither
Back in the Saddle
Kings and Queens
Draw the Line

 

[MrPryck2U]

If we're sticking to the theme of artists with only one great song then you could easily rattle off thousands of one-hit wonders.

Chumbawumba's greatest song is easily Tubthumping. "Pissing the night away!" is the greatest chorus ever.


As for Aerosmith, I was more into them during their resurgence in the mid 1980's, but I didn't really care for 90's songs like Amazing, Crying, Crazy, or (barf) Don't Wanna Miss a Thing.

I've always dug Sweet Emotion, Dream On, Mama Kin, Walk This Way and their cover of Come Together from their early years.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Chumbawumba's greatest song is easily Tubthumping. "Pissing the night away!" is the greatest chorus ever.

 

[lazarus]

Come on. I recall you posting your dislike for Aerosmith in the past, but let's not be ridiculous here. There's a lot of great stuff from them in the 70's
Toys in the Attic
Last Child
Seasons of Wither
Back in the Saddle
Kings and Queens
Draw the Line

You tried, Boston loyalist.

Middling.

No one knows/cares about all those tracks. Any other legit classic rock bands have like 10 songs most people can name, you're throwing out the equivalent of Styx.

 

[LemonMelon]

I absolutely love the first four Aerosmith albums (and Pump, albeit to a lesser degree) so I guess I should add something to this conversation but it would probably be a waste of time. I play Rocks and Toys in the Attic all the time and if others don't like them, that's OK.

Of all the really middling classic rock bands out there, the Eagles are the one where I really struggle to find more than 3-4 songs worth defending and I've heard most of their discography.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Dave Matthews Band - Crush
Temple of the Dog - Hunger Strike
The Outfield- Your Love
Athlete - Wires
The Breeders - Cannonball
The Knife- Heartbeats
Cults - Go Outside

 

[Kieran McConville]

Why not narrow this exercise down even further and make it: artists who have only one great song and that song happens to be a cover.

 

[LemonMelon]

The Breeders - Cannonball

Cannonball is probably their best, but:

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Dave Matthews Band - Crush

Yes .

I'll also back cobl up on that first Maroon 5 album.

 

[lazarus]

Cannonball is probably their best, but:

Yeah, Divine Hammer far and away the best Breeders track.

 

[Hewson]

Any other legit classic rock bands have like 10 songs most people can name, you're throwing out the equivalent of Styx.

Now you're talking a different argument, and for 10 Aerosmith songs most music fans can name:
Dream On
Walk This Way
Sweet Emotion
Mama Kin
Sweet Emotion
Back in the Saddle
Dude (Looks Like a Lady)
Love in an Elevator
Janie's Got a Gun
Livin' on the Edge

There's 10 without going into any of the latter day schmaltzy ballads lots of people know, and ignoring covers (Train Kept a Rollin' is one everyone knows).

To quote the indisputable Wikipedia,

Aerosmith is the best-selling American hard rock band of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide, including over 70 million records in the United States alone.[21][22] With 25 gold albums, 18 platinum albums, and 12 multi-platinum albums, they hold the record for the most total certifications by an American band and are tied for the most multi-platinum albums by an American band

To say they don't have 10 songs most people can name is disingenuous, its just laz being laz for the sake of his argument.

 

[Hewson]

Temple of the Dog - Hunger Strike

A. They only have the one album.

B.

 

[lazarus]

I guess it's easier to get to 10 when you list Sweet Emotion twice, n00b.


Most people don't know Mama Kin.

 

[Hewson]

Ha!
Monday morning strikes.

 

[Acrobat_Al]

Dave Matthews Band - Crush
Temple of the Dog - Hunger Strike
The Outfield- Your Love
Athlete - Wires
The Breeders - Cannonball
The Knife- Heartbeats
Cults - Go Outside

You should really listen to:

DAVE MATTHEWS - DON'T DRINK THE WATER
TEMPLE OF THE DOG - SAY HELLO TO HEAVEN
THE KNIFE - SILENT SHOUT

The other bands I agree with you

 

[MrPryck2U]

I guess it's easier to get to 10 when you list Sweet Emotion twice, n00b.


Most people don't know Mama Kin.

You could place What It Takes in there and still have 10.

 

[phanan]

I heard Possum Kingdom the other night for the first time in a while. That would certainly qualify.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Aerosmith has an endless plethora of chart hits...and at least that first four album run was pretty much all gold. Not sure how any hard rock fan can ignore the quality of their 70s work. Opinions can vary on their career resurgence, however, and it never produced a great album (Pump was probably the closest, but hardly indispensable).

Bon Jovi is literally one of the most creatively bankrupt bands of all time. Livin' On A Prayer is an undisputed classic, but you would have to be absolutely tasteless to like anything else they've done. It's the equivalent of Jon Bon Jovi's arena football team set to music - with exactly the same amount of artistic merit.

 

[martha]

When I think of a Bon Jovi song, they all tend to blend into one.

 

[Extra15]

I heard Possum Kingdom the other night for the first time in a while. That would certainly qualify.

On the same note. Spacehog - In the Meantime

Shouldn't this be simplified to one hit wonders?

 

[cobl04]

Ooh here's a great one - Bran Van 3000. "Drinkin in LA" is one of my favourite songs ever, but everything else I have heard by them is trash.

 

[Kieran McConville]

On a personal note, literally the only song I have ever heard by My Morning Jacket that I didn't think was rubbish, was 'Gideon'. That must be ten or twelve years ago now. Literally just that one song.

 

[Mack_Again]

i was about to say Smash Mouth, but........

 

[Hewson]

You could place What It Takes in there and still have 10.

I'd rather let laz win the argument than put that song on the list.

 

[iron yuppie]

On the same note. Spacehog - In the Meantime

Shouldn't this be simplified to one hit wonders?

A hit often isn't a great song.

 

[BVS]

On the same note. Spacehog - In the Meantime

Shouldn't this be simplified to one hit wonders?

No, because some one hit wonders could actually have several great songs, but just never had another hit.

And not every hit was a great song.