What song could be a billboard no 1?

[kiwiclapton]

Hey, I'm driving to work this morning banging my head to Octavarium  , and in particular "I Walk Beside You",

I think that song, could be a Billboard no 1?

[jammindude]

Top 10 anyway.   I felt the same way about the single cut of Solitary Shell. 

[Zyzzyva17]

There are several songs that could have reached number 1 had they come out 40 years ago, but in today's music scene, nothing stands a chance, not even hypothetically.

[robwebster]

I think These Walls would have had a shot just around the turn of the millennium. Fit quite snugly with what the world of rock was doing around then, but also jaunty enough to stick out. Long shot, though. Muse never managed a number one, I think Supermassive Black Hole's the highest they ever got in the UK, at three. If Muse can't, DT definitely can't. I think they have plenty of songs that could've earnt mainstream airplay, though - more than their own fans tend to give them credit for.

[BlobVanDam]

I think These Walls would have had a shot just around the turn of the millennium. Fit quite snugly with what the world of rock was doing around then, but also jaunty enough to stick out. Long shot, though. Muse never managed a number one, I think Supermassive Black Hole's the highest they ever got in the UK, at three. If Muse can't, DT definitely can't. I think they have plenty of songs that could've earnt mainstream airplay, though - more than their own fans tend to give them credit for.

I agree to that.
DT do write a lot of good accessible songs that could have possibly had more mainstream appeal than they've had, but they're just not writing music in a style that would be a current #1 hit. I don't mean anything by that, they're just different worlds.

[ariich]

It's not just that - it's also the fact the sort of market that DT appeals to is not, in general, interested in buying singles.

[BlobVanDam]

It's not just that - it's also the fact the sort of market that DT appeals to is not, in general, interested in buying singles.

True, but I think the point is more about songs that could appeal to the masses, ie. the people who do buy singles, rather than just us loyal fans who are buying every album.

[wolfking]

I always thought IWBY and TW had the most potential to be hits.

[Zydar]

I'm surprised that Another Day didn't do better in 1992/1993, it has that late 80s or early 90s feel. But that single didn't do much in the charts.

[BlobVanDam]

I'm surprised that Another Day didn't do better in 1992/1993, it has that late 80s or early 90s feel. But that single didn't do much in the charts.

Maybe if it was a couple of years earlier, but they were a bit too late to catch the late '80s / early '90s style. The song itself definitely had the potential though.

[King Postwhore]

I disagree with this thread.  Non of DT's song are chart worthy.  People who listen to popular music do not by DT and the record company will not campaign (or put money to advertise) to get then on that kind of radio.  Look at Extreme as a weird example.  More than works and Hole Hearted were the aberration on that album and then look at the next album that Extreme wrote.  Their best album but sales dropped huge because it was not popular music.  Even with the marketing campaign and TV appearances.

[MustActFastToCoverUp]

I disagree with this thread.  Non of DT's song are chart worthy.  People who listen to popular music do not by DT and the record company will not campaign (or put money to advertise) to get then on that kind of radio.  Look at Extreme as a weird example.  More than works and Hole Hearted were the aberration on that album and then look at the next album that Extreme wrote.  Their best album but sales dropped huge because it was not popular music.  Even with the marketing campaign and TV appearances.

I always thought As I Am could have been something like a hit if promoted properly (no chance to reach No.1 though). New Metal was big at that time, that means it was possible to have commercial success with heavy stuff.
If they just included a rap section, then it'd have gone through the roof.

[?]

I'm surprised that Another Day didn't do better in 1992/1993, it has that late 80s or early 90s feel. But that single didn't do much in the charts.

Maybe if it was a couple of years earlier, but they were a bit too late to catch the late '80s / early '90s style. The song itself definitely had the potential though.

Yeah, AD was probably released a couple of years too late, and the chorus isn't very catchy. Or maybe it is, but it's pretty short and every time it comes up it sounds different.

[Meatrose]

I think that Wither deserves to be mentioned. Among my non-prog friends it's definitely the song they've liked the best over the years. (By now they know that taking a trip in my car comes with a healthy dose of "this so-called prog music")

[son_ov_hades]

Cover My Eyes, had they put it on Falling Into Infinity I think it could have done well in the mainstream. Its short, catchy as hell, and fit perfectly with the trendy stuff at the time. I mean if Sugar Ray or Green Day or No Doubt had released that song it would have been huge.

[TL]

Cover My Eyes, had they put it on Falling Into Infinity I think it could have done well in the mainstream. Its short, catchy as hell, and fit perfectly with the trendy stuff at the time. I mean if Sugar Ray or Green Day or No Doubt had released that song it would have been huge.

I was actually thinking this the other day. I think Cover My Eyes definitely could have fit into the radio landscape of 97/98.

[TheGreatPretender]

In a perfect world, Metropolis Pt. 1 would be #1.

[rumborak]

I don't know, IAW came out July 7th, 1992. That week "Baby got back" was #1 on Billboard. That's hard to top, I mean come on, it's Sir Mix-a-lot!

[King Postwhore]

I don't know, IAW came out July 7th, 1992. That week "Baby got back" was #1 on Billboard. That's hard to top, I mean come on, it's Sir Mix-a-lot!

Plus sales of peaches went through the roof as well.  DT can't sell peaches like Sir Mix-A-Lot.

[rumborak]

The Presidents of the United States of America would though. They got millions of them, and they're giving them away for free.

[GasparXR]

I'm surprised Lie didn't get that success. It has a very mid-90s contemporary metal influence, and it's a really catchy. The radio edit version mind you, not the album version. The ending would botch the chance.

[theGonz]

If 10 minute songs were the norm, DT would be a chart topper.

[adastra]

I'd say that I Walk Beside You is the only one  

[Mladen]

Cover My Eyes, had they put it on Falling Into Infinity I think it could have done well in the mainstream. Its short, catchy as hell, and fit perfectly with the trendy stuff at the time. I mean if Sugar Ray or Green Day or No Doubt had released that song it would have been huge.

Yep. I've been saying this for years. How the label people didn't recognize its potential is beyond me.

[robwebster]

Yeah, Cover My Eyes was spot on. Frankly, Speak to Me was closer than most of the tracks that reached the album, too.

I have no idea what the label were playing at with Falling Into Infinity. They piss about with the band for commercial reasons, then consign the catchiest songs to the scrapheap. Mad.

[BlobVanDam]

It was pretty catchy, but so is herpes, and it was a generic bubblegum pop rock song that wouldn't have stood out amongst the rest (that said, it's still one of my most liked of the FII rejects).
I think JLMB would have had a much better chance at the time, and would have been a perfect single for the album.

[jammindude]

I'm surprised Lie didn't get that success. It has a very mid-90s contemporary metal influence, and it's a really catchy. The radio edit version mind you, not the album version. The ending would botch the chance.

I remember waiting for, and hearing the radio premiere. Biggest blue ball ever. In my area, the reaction was pretty much, "Well, so much for that band." I almost didn't buy the album because of my complete disappointment with Lie...luckily, it turned out to be the weakest track on the album.

[jammindude]

I just wanted to add that Lie, structurally speaking, is kindof a mess. I still can't figure out what they were thinking releasing that as a first single. If they wanted catchy, the obvious choice would have been The Mirror.

[BlobVanDam]

I don't know that The Mirror would be the obvious choice for catchy, as great as it is, and they would have had to butcher the hell out of it to get it to radio length, whereas Lie had a lot more they could give the snip.

I think the obvious choice would have been any of the first 3 tracks. My choice would have been CIAW, if you wanted catchy and heavy.

[jammindude]

That would've been good as well. And wasn't it the second single? Sophomore efforts are so tough, because it doesn't necessarily have to be PMU part 2, but it does have to grab you right away. Lie didn't.

[BlobVanDam]

Was it the second single? If it didn't have a music video, then I don't know what got released. 
TSM was a good choice for a lighter song though. I don't think any song is going to be representative of the album, especially with time restrictions.

[ariich]

I would say Innocence Faded is the only typical-single song on Awake (though the end would need to be snipped), and maybe The Silent Man.

And I love Cover My Eyes.

[King Postwhore]

The Presidents of the United States of America would though. They got millions of them, and they're giving them away for free.

Amen Rumbo.  Amen  Haven't hear that song in ages!

[son_ov_hades]

Cover My Eyes, had they put it on Falling Into Infinity I think it could have done well in the mainstream. Its short, catchy as hell, and fit perfectly with the trendy stuff at the time. I mean if Sugar Ray or Green Day or No Doubt had released that song it would have been huge.

Yep. I've been saying this for years. How the label people didn't recognize its potential is beyond me.

Yeah, Cover My Eyes was spot on. Frankly, Speak to Me was closer than most of the tracks that reached the album, too.

I have no idea what the label were playing at with Falling Into Infinity. They piss about with the band for commercial reasons, then consign the catchiest songs to the scrapheap. Mad.

The supposedly experts at the label must have been wholly unaware of what was popular at the time. They were probably business men that didn't even like music, like most big label executives are.

[jammindude]

I think FII was the result of a power struggle between the label and the band. It appears the band had most of the control over what made it to the album,  but were forced to compromise by restructuring one longer piece, allowing an outside writer for another, and possibly including more than one ballad. But that's only speculation.