"...within the context of the album as a whole entity..."

[sorcerer999]

This forum has been a little slow going lately. Let's all discuss something that I've been meaning to ask for a long time now.

We all have our favorite Stevie songs. The ones we can't live without. The ones that go on all of our mix tapes/CD's/iTunes playlists.

But what I want to discuss is the songs that DON'T go on any of your playlists. The songs that you neither LOVE nor HATE...BUT ONLY really enjoy "within the context of the album as a whole entity." That is to say that those particular songs contribute to the atmosphere and theme of the record even though, to you, they are just simply "okay" or "nothing special" outside of the record. Does this make sense?

The frequently listen to all of her albums from start to finish, either on long road trips or to play in the background while working on projects at home. So these are the songs that I dig when listening to each album all the way through, but would NEVER put on one of my mixes...

BD - "After The Glitter Fades", "Outside The Rain"
RAL - "Imperial Hotel", "Some Become Strangers"
TOSOTM - "Ghosts"
SA - "Maybe Love..."
TISL - "Too Far From Texas", "It's Only Love"
IYD - "Wide Sargasso Sea", "Ghosts Are Gone"
24KG - "Starshine", "Mabel Normand"

Again, these are not songs that I hate. Just ones I'm not particularly fond of by themselves. But I appreciate their place on the records and the spirit they invoke within. I omitted WH from my list because it is a PERFECT album to me with the exception of "I Will Run To you", which I downright loathe. So it wasn't eligible for my list.

Okay, what about you guys? Feel free to expound on each song if you want. I'd love to hear everyone's opinion on this topic.