Terrible Songs in Wonderful Shows (or vice versa)

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 12:32pm

Can you name any really bad songs in great shows or any great songs in really bad shows?

I'm trying to think myself....

[Smaxie]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 12:37pm

No beating up on "This Was a Real Nice Clambake" y'all.

As far as a great song in a terrible show, "Here's That Rainy Day" from Carnival in Flanders is way up there...

[CaroleeFan]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 12:38pm

"Streets of Dublin" from A Man of No Importance. This score does nothing for me, but that song is so thrilling.

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 12:42pm

Forgive me...I love AIDA...but I couldn't stand "Like Father, Like Son."

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 12:45pm

i HATE HATE HATED Aida but loved Every STory

[Craig]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 12:48pm

Several songs in "One Night Stand" - including "Don't Kick My Dreams Around" and "There was a time" are great songs in this clunker of a show.

And you can't talk about great songs in bad shows without mentioning Carrie.

And I'll add "Stop Time" from BIG

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 1:07pm

Bad songs in good shows:

You Won't be an Orphan For Long, ANNIE
Jeanie's Packing Up - BRIGADOON
A Man Doesn't Know - DAMN YANKEES
The Rumor/Topsy Turvey - FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
Henry Street - FUNNY GIRL
Hippie Life - HAIR
Knight of the Woeful Countenance - MAN OF LA MANCHA
My Name - OLIVER
I'll Never Be Jealous Again - THE PAJAMA GAME
Bloody Mary - SOUTH PACIFIC
I Love to Cry at Weddings - SWEET CHARITY


Good songs in bad shows:

The Journey Home - BOMBAY DREAMS
Anthem - CHESS
Everybody's Girl/Final Dance - STEEL PIER
Most of TABOO
Gimme Gimme/Only In New York - THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE

[Piazzaslight]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 1:10pm

Wonderful- W*cked

I LOVE the score, but I HATE HATE HATE that song!!!

I also like Only in New York, but I think that TMM was a good show.

Updated On: 11/5/05 at 01:10 PM

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 1:11pm

Both of the wizard's songs are god-awful.

[popular_elphie]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 1:12pm

"Rüffhousin' mit Shüffhausen" in DRS - really like the show, hate the song.

I can't think of a bad show at the moment.

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 1:16pm

Munky- i agree with most of what you said except for Night of the Woeful...

i love it

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 1:38pm

Terrible Song in a Wonderful Show:
"Autumn" from TITANIC

[angelic1]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 2:21pm

Great song in a miserable wreck of a show:

"If I Could Fly" from Dracula

[JoMarch]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 2:45pm

I really like Dancing All The Time from that awful Big. I also think Someone Like You and Bring on the Men are pretty good songs but the musical they come from is pretty weak.

[jasonf]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 3:14pm

My Name is a bad song? I always kind of liked it - well, I guess it depends on how it's donet. If the guy playing Bill Sykes is mean enough,and the orchestrator doesn't soften up the "clanging" sounds (forgive me for not knowing the musical term) the song definitely can work.

I'm also surprised you'd say A Man Doesn't Know -- not the best lyrics, but the melody is nice -- it's certainly not a "terrible" song.

I would have to go with:
Clambake (I know, but it IS a terrible song)
Something Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad ('nuff said)
That damn song in Evita that I can't think of the name of on the concept recording (and I think the movie soundtrack) about the bug spray...the name'll come to me....
One More Kiss from Follies (not because it's so bad, but because the rest of the score is so great that the song just drags it down for me)

Good songs in bad shows:
Memory in Cats

About four songs each in Sunset Boulevard and Aspects of Love

Mama A Rainbow in Minnie's Boys (Man was I disappointed when I heard the rest of that score! There were maybe two other songs that were decent, the rest were pretty blah - but Mama a Rainbow is just WOW).

[CaroleeFan]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 3:17pm

I also like "Rich Is" from Minnie's Boys.

[justagirl2]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 4:30pm

I'm going to reiterate a lot of other people's comments, but...

Good songs, bad shows
-Dancing All the Time (Big)
-Memory (Cats)
-A lot of Taboo

Bad songs, good shows
-Lullaby (Scarlet Pimpernel...OK, I think it's a good show)
-I Love to Cry at Weddings (Sweet Charity)
-Something Bad, Wonderful and A Sentimental Man (Wicked)

Extremely unoriginal, I know. Maybe I'll be back :)

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 4:35pm

The Overture / Hushabye Mountain/ Anything Jan Maxwell in Chitty Chitty Bang Me.

[MusicalMan2]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 4:40pm

um... excuse me, but Throughly Modern Millie and Sunset Blvd are NOT bad shows. They both won the Tony for Best Musical and they were greatly deserved. I just noticed that someone mentioned those shows under their "good songs, bad shows" category.

[melissa errico fan]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 4:48pm

GOOD SONGS/BAD SHOWS
"Way Too Far"~THRILL ME
"Only in New York"~THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE
"On the Farm"~NEW GIRL IN TOWN
"You Won't Succeed On Broadway"~SPAMALOT
"MY Little World" and "Tug Boat"~THOU SHALT NOT
"I Don't Want It"~THE IMMIGRANT
"It's Only Love"~THE SCARLET PIMPERNAL

BAD SONGS/GOOD SHOWS
"Rare Songbirds on Display"~SIDE SHOW
"Second Chance"~STEEL PIER
"The Lady's Paying"~SUNSET BOULEVARD
"Why We Like Spelling"~THE 25TH...BEE (even if it's only on the cast album)
"The More We Dance"~DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS
"Bird Inside the House"~MARIE CHRISTINE (probably the only song LaChiusa's ever written that I dislike)
Updated On: 11/5/05 at 04:48 PM

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 5:04pm

Matter of opinion, Mr. Musical Man. You're excused.

The Overture / Hushabye Mountain/ Anything Jan Maxwell in Chitty Chitty Bang Me.

Are these good songs in a bad show or bad songs in a good show? I hope you mean the former...

[billyweeds]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 5:08pm

"Where Was I When They Passed Out Luck?" is a great song from "Minnie's Boys." A lot of the score of the misbegotten Lucille Ball vehicle "Wildcat" is terrific, including the standard "Hey, Look Me Over," "Give a Little Whistle," and "Tall Hope." The Harold Rome score for "Destry Rides Again" (which is not exactly a bad show but is certainly less than wonderful) is magnificent.

[enjolrasissex]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 5:22pm

Bad Songs/Good Shows
-'Wonderful' and 'A Sentimental Man' in Wicked (Although, Joel Grey made 'Wonderful' work live out of sheer personality)
-'Rent' in Rent
-'Dog Eats Dog' in Les Mis
-'Last Night of the World' Miss Saigon

Good Songs/Bad Shows
-'Memory' in Cats
-'Only in New York' in Thoroughly Modern Millie
-'Anthem' in Chess
-'Seeing is Beliveing' in Aspects of Love

It's unoriginal, I know.

[little_sally]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 6:19pm

Aw, I don't think "Rent" is a bad song. Actually, it's one of my favorite songs in the score.

[roquat]

Posted: 11/5/05 at 11:33pm

Sorry, but I like "Wonderful" from WICKED. I like it a hell of a lot more than just about everything in the second act of that show, except "For Good" and "No Good Deed."

"That's How Young I Feel" is the only clunker in MAME.
"Sarah Brown Eyes" from RAGTIME--it's dull and stops the show dead.
"The Motherhood Song" from HELLO, DOLLY
"Maison des Lunes" from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST