three-song runs

Over on Twitter, BBC Radio 6 Music asked, “What’s the strongest run of three songs in a row on an album?” It’s sparked a lot of answers, and I think it’s because it’s such an interesting question.

Usually, these sorts of questions are a lot simpler: “What’s the best debut song by any band?” “What’s the best album of the 1960s”? “What’s the best opening track?” In any one of these, you’re either considering the strength of a song in and of itself, independent of any other songs, or the strength of a full body of work, ie. an album. The three-song run is between that: you need more than just one killer song, but unlike an album there’s not room for any lulls that can be made up for elsewhere.

I looked at a few of my favourite albums and it really drove home just how hard this. For example, Weezer’s Blue Album is one of my favourite back-to-front and I love every song. However, looking for a run of three songs that stand on their own is harder.

You’re almost there with “Buddy Holly” followed by “Undone” but, as much as I love “Surf Wax America”, having it push out “Say It Ain’t So” pushes this out of the strongest three-song run contention. The same thing happens with a more recent favourite, Beyoncé’s Lemonade where “Sorry” disrupts two potential runs.

The problem is, great albums are often ones that ebb and flow. You have peaks, but then you need the come-down before you hit the next peak. Most of the best albums do that, but it makes it hard for a three-song run to happen, too. I found the same thing on London Calling, Axis: Bold as Love, and many others.

There are a few contenders I came up with. One is the opening of the Ramones debut album because, honestly, the Ramones just wrote one song and played variations of it for their career so you could choose virtually any spot.

I also love Side B of Abbey Road, particularly “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window” → “Golden Slumbers” → “Carry That Weight”, but given that they are a combined five-and-a-bit minutes, I’m not entirely sure they count.

On Twitter, Garth McKenzie pointed me to a pretty strong pop contender:

And, finally, at risk of being a parody of myself I actually think the first three tracks on Emotion deserve consideration here.