‘We Built This City’ – Jefferson Starship

While every band in this list has betrayed their origins to some degree, there might not be a stronger example than Jefferson Starship. The core members were once icons of the counterculture movement with Jefferson Airplane and so it seemed genuinely impossible for them to ever backtrack on their pursuit of quality.

But with one swift name change and the embrace of something as corny as a Starship, their morals shifted. No longer focused on psychadelically-tinged melodies but heavily produced rock pop whose subtle attempt at criticising capitalism in the lyrics fell completely flat because of the vapid and utterly grating arrangements.

‘Give Ireland Back To The Irish’ – Wings

Truthfully, Paul McCartney was one of the best musicians to take on a political anthem in the 1970s. Not only was the world in desperate need of commentary, but McCartney carried himself with the sort of reverence that would allow him to be heard; no one was bigger or more influential than Macca.

But the manner in which he fluffed up this attempt removed all privileges we thought he had. Aside from the heavy-handed production, his sort of sweet optimism was exactly the opposite approach to take to a socio-political topic so layered and complex. Moreover, his lyrics were desperately simple and seemed to inadvertently mock the severity of The Troubles.

‘Oh Daddy’ – Fleetwood Mac

Despite being one of the most universally loved albums in history, Rumours suffers from a horrific tracklisting, not just because ‘The Chain’ should have ended things, but because ‘Oh Daddy’ was involved at all, as it really serves no purpose to the wider narrative arc of the record and doesn’t have the musicality to warrant being included despite it.

Considering the track was written by their finest writer, Christine McVie, the lyrics are genuinely terrible and, worst yet, bring none of McVie’s vocal strengths as she performs them. But ultimately, it feels like a black mark on an album people will love no matter what, even if they haven’t listened to it, and so it’s up to us to rectify history and remind you all that this is a terrible song.

‘The Greeks Don’t Want No Freaks’ – Eagles

Eagles always felt like they were on the cusp of a bad song; even at their very best in ‘Hotel California’, ‘Take It Easy’ or ‘Life In The Fast Lane’, it felt like a trashy hook or misguided guitar solo was just around the corner, ready to take them to commercial or worst yet, showbiz territory. But they always eluded it, and returned to authenticity with their harmonies intact.

‘The Greeks Don’t Want No Freaks’ is the literal sound of how that could have manifested. It sounds like the baseless soundtrack of a high school musical, where a simple good-versus-evil story follows the title’s lead. Also, for a band that delivered an acute observation on fame and all of its vices on Hotel California, the lyrics are disappointingly vapid and ultimately sound like a band losing touch with the real world.

‘Revolution 9’ – The Beatles

It always feels like there is an easy out for anybody unwilling to criticise experimental music, this idea that by not liking something, you are missing the point. With ‘Revolution 9’, I am not missing the point; I know and love the experimental side of The Beatles, seen best on ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’, which pushed the boundaries but crucially had vision and direction, but ‘Revolution 9’ had none of that.

It was the sound of The Beatles toying with their arrogance, knowing full well that they could pretty much release anything at this point and still receive critical acclaim. And they were right, as bar a few, no one was really willing to tear the song down appropriately, and so it has lived on as this vague representation of misunderstood genius. It’s not; it’s just complete nonsense.