Four terrible albums that featured one ridiculously good song

Let's say you just bought an album from one of your favorite musical artists, and you rush home and put it on the turntable. You cannot wait to hear every potentially wonderful track. But then the worst happens.

Not only is the record a disappointment based on the previous albums the artist has put out, but it also sounds terrible compared to almost anything. You've wasted your money. You feel personally offended the artist would put out such trash.

But then, there is a light in the darkness. One great song appears, saving the album from being tossed in the garbage. You listen to the one song over and over and pretend the rest does not exist. The four songs below are examples of excellence in a realm of gloom.

Four fantastic songs from albums that are otherwise terrible

"Creep" - Radiohead (Pablo Honey)

Radiohead has only made one iffy record. The shock is that the same band who released the inconsistent and murky Pablo Honey next released The Bends and then OK Computer. It was almost like nearly every musician in the band was replaced by a better one. Only we learned that early Radiohead was just working through the kinks before becoming iconic.

Even the success of "Creep" was accidental. The crunchy guitar ahead of the chorus was not originally supposed to be there until a happy accident during recording. This song is likely still the band's best-known tune, and while it has been overplayed, the track is still amazing.

"Under Pressure" - Queen (Hot Space)

The huge success of "Another One Bites the Dust" in 1980 likely led the band, or at least Freddie Mercury, to decide to make an entire album of disco tunes. The issue was that, at its best, the band was a straightforward rock band. Sure, they could do tunes that were quite theatrical, but "Bohemian Rhapsody" isn't as great without the rush of headbanging to the guitar section.

Hot Space is a mess. The best thing Queen did for "Under Pressure" was make it the last song on the album. That way its excellence did not get lost by being followed by more disco drivel. Plus, there is nothing quite like David Bowie and Mercury playing off one another in the build-up to the end of the track. The song is brilliant and as vibrant today as it was in 1982, but the rest of the album is forgettable.

"Human Touch" - Bruce Springsteen (Human Touch)

There is no doubt that Springsteen deserves his iconic status. He and the E Street Band produced album after album of brilliance in the 1970s and into the early 1980s. But since 1992's Human Touch, his records have been hit and miss as far as high-end quality. The Boss has not made many bad albums, but this one is arguably his worst.

The title track on the record comes first, which makes the rest of the album even dimmer in its glorious light. If one had heard nothing from the album before listening to the entire thing, one might have high hopes after listening to "Human Touch." Those hopes are dashed quickly by track two, "Soul Driver." Things get worse from there.

"This is England" - The Clash (Cut the Crap)

Released three years after Combat Rock, Cut the Crap was just a shell of the former greatness of the Clash. Mick Jones had been fired, and the record was mostly just a Joe Strummer solo record draped in the name of the band. Even Strummer tried to disown the record a few weeks after its release when critics and fans alike panned the album as dreadful.

The miracle is that "This is England" was part of the album. It would have fit on earlier Clash records which is probably the highest compliment that can be paid. The song is also one of the last pure punk songs of the era. It works as a requiem for the subgenre.

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