I think that's actually a pretty good track. The piano in the background and the odd little effects make it interesting to listen to, and the lyrics are very atmospheric and set up a good mood if you actually listen to them. "The Tourist" is the real disappointment on that album, and it's not even that bad.
EDIT: Last minute entrance into the contest!
BLEUThe Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Not as hard a choice as I thought it would be. I listened to both albums back to back, and though I liked BIABH a whole lot, it just didn't have enough bells and whistles to keep me interested. The music was good, and the lyrics were passable (though he had a tendency of repeating himself), but the energy and variety and overall musicality of Sgt. Pepper's was much more captivating and kept me entertained throughout the entire album (Lovely Rita especially).
MIDORIThe Beatles - Abbey Road
So I takes a listen to Joy Division, I takes, and a first time listen says to me: "I am the winner. This is unlike any album you've heard before. You are voting for me." Truly, Curtis's lyrics/voice and the rest of the band's tightly constrained desperation drew me in and really gave me a reel, and the fact that Abbey Road is my second least favorite Beatles album really solidified this fact for me from the start. ...And then I gave Abbey Road a playthrough. I must admit, I am a sucker for production and this is what this album has in spades. The songs, while nowhere near my favorites, are still extraordinarily composed and George Martin's warm Reverb-and-Delay-heavy production compliments their arrangements incredibly well. I guess this goes to prove that even a secondary Beatles album is still a Beatles album. Joy Division is definitely a new favorite of mine, but Unknown Pleasures just could not match up to the second half of Abbey Road alone.
GELBRadiohead - OK Computer
Another surprise to myself, as once more, one of my least favorite albums by an artist have made it to the semisemi-finals. I play Kind of Blue and enjoy it thoroughly, the dark and mellow tones of Davis and Friends made me feel very chilled out, and put me in a pretty good mood. All the songs are around 10 minutes long, but you never feel that. The just seem to skirt along and end themselves in a very timely fashion. Very good and atmospheric. However, I realize, that I just don't have too much experience with Jazz and I could have been listening to most good Jazz albums and enjoy myself just the same. If you played me one of the songs, I wouldn't be able to tell you which one it was. I hear OK Computer, and I immediately know who it is, what song it is and who plays what part of the song. I discount OKC, but when I listened to it I was impressed with how good it was and how dynamic all the songs were. The lyrics were a bit weak, but Yorke's vocal melodies make up for it tenfold. Greenwood manages an incredible atmosphere, and the rhythm section is impressively tight and original. The verdict would be that Kind of Blue is amazing, but just doesn't stick with me like OK Computer does.
ROJOThe Clash - London Calling
This was tough. I liked the Low album when I listened to it, and I was lukewarm about the Clash album, but I think someone else explained it much better.
London Calling vs. Things We Lost in the Fire was an interesting fight: vibrant punk energy vs. slow-slow-oh! atmosphere. This proved to be a battle of endurance. The Clash struck first with London Calling, Low countered with Sunflower and Whitetail, but in the end not even Dinosaur Act could save them from the onslaught. The second half of TWLITF just couldn't hold up against the steady blows of The Clash. A final knockout punch from Train in Vain sealed the deal in the fourth round.
I went with the four albums I had already heard out of this seed! Huge surprise!
