It’s no secret that I’m generally not the most analytical or harsh music critic in the world. It doesn’t take all that much for me to really dig an album or a mixtape most of the time. However, there are those occasional moments where not even I could salvage a certain record. Even then, though, regardless of how bad the record is, I can generally find at least one song worth taking away from each project (“Cozy Tapes Vol. 2: Too Cozy” is a rare exception).
This list will focus on just that: songs I enjoyed from albums I did not. For the songs to qualify for this list, they have to have come from an album/mixtape/EP that I reviewed and gave a rating of or lower than “okay.” That means a few “okay” projects will make the cut (think of them as the “low okays,” if you will), but generally, these all come from “bad” and “awful” projects.
Also, ideally, if the songs listed here were released as singles, I will use their single covers. If not, I’ll just use the album covers. And again, sorry if the images are of different sizes. Blame Google. That said, here we go.
THE WEEKND FT. DRAKE - LIVE FOR
I’ve made it known quite a few times before that I am not that crazy about The Weeknd’s debut album “Kiss Land.” While I certainly see the appeal of it and don’t dislike it, I feel like it’s just not for me, and I didn’t really connect with a lot of the songs on it. Perhaps I just need to go back to some of the songs and try to re-listen to them, I’m not sure. What I do know, however, is that even if the album wasn’t entirely to my liking, “Live For” clicked with me from the jump. I loved the song’s fast pace, The Weeknd’s vocals are on point as always, and the hook remains very fun and catchy to me. Drake’s performance and rapid-fire flow also add an extra layer of enjoyment to the song. Maybe I might do what I did with this song (go back to it and let it grow on me) for the rest of the album.
FERGIE - TENSION
I could’ve also used “Just Like You” or “A Little Work” here, but since this was the song that clicked with me first, I’m picking it. Fergie’s long-delayed second album was definitely a disappointment, and with her recent performance of the Star-Spangled Banner at the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, she has been the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons lately. However, I have to give her credit for “Tension,” because God, is this song infectious! On an album where Fergie tried to take a new route and “modernize” her sound with some less-than-stellar rap tracks, “Tension” felt like a pleasantly old-school Fergie song, with an infectious, pumping instrumental, a charismatic performance from Fergie, and an ear-wormy hook. Did it single-handedly save the album it was on? Well, the damage was done with “M.I.L.F. $,” but all in all, at least we got this out of it.
TAYLOR SWIFT - NEW YEAR’S DAY
Taylor Swift’s latest record “Reputation” was definitely a major disappointment, even for someone like me that’s generally not into her music. However, “New Year’s Day,” the final song on the album, damn near saved it entirely for me. It’s definitely one of the more “minimalist” songs on the album, given that it’s just a piano, some minor guitar plucking, and Taylor’s vocals, but it’s a track that just feels so raw, subdued, and sincere in comparison to a lot of what else comes off of the record. Where songs like “Look What You Made Me Do” and “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” felt so mired in Taylor’s recent controversies, this felt like old-school Taylor in the best of ways, as she sings so beautifully about finding a New Year’s love that you have a great night with, but also stay with the next morning when you’re cleaning up after the party. She yearns for someone that will hold on to these memories, but also not become a stranger after the ball drops. It’s such a beautiful track that I’ve definitely held onto, even if I was largely unimpressed with the rest of the album.
POST MALONE FT. QUAVO - CONGRATULATIONS
While I’ve generally found Post Malone to be a decent person from the videos I’ve seen of him, I wasn’t really impressed by the collection of elevator music that was “Stoney.” However, one song that I particularly took away from the record was “Congratulations.” Though I wasn’t crazy about it at first, this one grew on me with its ear-wormy hook, upbeat production, and a solid guest performance from Quavo. While I definitely think it’s not Post’s best song to date, especially after how good “Rockstar” and “Psycho” were, I definitely dig this track, and I think it was one of the stronger songs off of “Stoney.”
EMINEM FT. BEYONCÉ - WALK ON WATER
There’s no two ways about it, Eminem’s “Revival” was a colossal disappointment. Even if you were one of the album’s defenders (like I was), there’s a good chance you found that this record wasn’t up to Eminem’s usual standards. And while the remix of “Chloraseptic” definitely did a great job letting us know that Eminem heard us, was angry, and had his fire back, it didn’t change my thoughts on the album. Regardless of how I felt about the record as a whole, though, I definitely have returned to “Walk on Water” several times before and since reviewing the album. Beyoncé’s angelic vocals make the hook on this really memorable, and the very minimal instrumental goes well with Eminem’s performance, as he raps in a sort of spoken-word style about his anxieties and fears as an artist who has something to prove, given the high expectations placed on him. It’s a song that shows a side of Eminem we don’t see much of, and beyond that, it’s just a great song.
NAV - LONELY
Honestly, I could possibly add a few examples of NAV songs because, while I haven’t really enjoyed either of his projects on the whole, there have been quite a few songs off of both mixtapes that I’ve regularly returned to. In fact, with how much I listen to NAV songs, you’d think I loved both projects, but I didn’t. It just happens that the songs I did like, I REALLY liked, and enjoy coming back to often. “Lonely” is an example of that; with its moody, sad R&B feel, decent vocals from NAV (even if his performance is right in his comfort zone, and his lyrics leave a lot of questions in my mind), and a hook that gets stuck in your head too easily, this is a song I’ve definitely returned to over and over again.
NAV & METRO BOOMIN - CALL ME
See? Like I said, another “NAV” song. Once again, while NAV and Metro Boomin’s collaboration project “Perfect Timing” was a step back from NAV’s self-titled debut mixtape, there were definitely some tracks I took away and threw into my regular rotation. In fact, I was trying to decide between this song or “Held Me Down,” because I do love both of them, but in the end, I went with “Call Me,” because again, it was the track that clicked with me first (since I heard it before reviewing the tape). Once again, a rather moody instrumental compliments NAV’s crooning, as he talks about how the fame made him miss his old life when he didn’t have to worry as much if others were there for him. It’s something I’ve definitely enjoyed a lot, and have continued to return to over time.
MIGOS - OUT YO WAY
It’s pretty clear at this point that I’m not exactly a “Migos fan.” If it wasn’t established by my “bad” review of “Culture,” which went way against the general norm, I just can’t get into their music. However, “Out Yo Way” was a song that ended up really growing on me. Beyond the pretty charismatic vocal performances throughout this song (specifically Quavo’s), it was pretty cool to see these guys end their first album with a song that talks about the women that have stuck with the Migos since starting their music career. It’s a kind of different take on women that’s not seen enough in the industry today, and it feels refreshing for them. Even if I’m not a huge fan of theirs, “Out Yo Way” is a song that I definitely kept coming back to, and will continue to come back to.
MIGOS - STIR FRY
And speaking of Migos, “Culture 2” was an album that, for me, was a huge step back from the first one, but despite the album making me slip slowly into madness, I found myself returning quite often to “Stir Fry,” and I actually consider it potentially my favorite Migos song (though, admittedly, I also really liked “Gang Gang” off of this album). Quavo, despite being the least interesting part of “Culture 2” to me, actually had a pretty fun performance and an ear-wormy hook on this one, Offset’s verse was filled with really fun and exciting flow, and Takeoff proved to be no slouch on the song. On top of that, the production is far more bright and vibrant helped this to not feel like “just another Migos song,” like a lot of the other tracks on the album. Was “Culture 2” still a weak record? Absolutely. Is “Stir Fry” an extremely enjoyable song on its own? Yes indeed.
LIL YACHTY FT. PNB ROCK - SHE READY
Let’s end things off with a very recent example! While Lil Yachty’s latest album “Lil Boat 2” felt like largely wallpaper trap with less-than-stellar performances and lyricism from Yachty, “she ready” felt refreshing in comparison to what most of the other songs on the album provided. The flute-driven, kind of video game-like instrumental called back to some of the more vibrant, fun, oddball tracks Yachty has been involved with (like “One Night,” “Broccoli,” and “iSpy”), Yachty’s autotune-driven crooning also hearkens back to those tracks and injects that character and kind of odd innocence that the other songs on the album failed to provide, and PnB Rock’s performance only adds more fun to the song as a whole. Great track that definitely felt more in Yachty’s wheelhouse than most of the other stuff on the album.
And that’s all I’ve got! Once again, a nice even blend of songs here; five from albums I considered “okay,” and five songs from albums I considered “bad” or “awful.” Always nice when you get that even blend. What are some examples that you have? Think deep into an album, mixtape, or EP that you did not like, and tell me one song that you have kept with you from said project. Comment your examples down below!
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