Who says artists must record great albums? All it takes is one great performance. Below are three examples of inspiration surrounded by lyrical banalities, producer carelessness, or bad ideas.

Alison Moyet– Invisible, [Singles]

Tony Swain and Steve Jolley, chairmen of Corporate Synth Pop Ltd, gave the big-voiced belter of Yaz a Lamont Dozier tune, figuring that if they could turn Bananarama into the ‘80s model Supremes they could transform Alison Moyet into—who, Tammi Terrell? It didn’t work—how could it, with Swain and Jolley overdoing the chintzy programmed arrangements until it sags like a Christmas tree after New Year’s. But enter Moyet, singing with a fear and trembling that must have scared the shit out of Annie Lennox, and you immediately wonder how a voice this generous can inspire the indifference the lyrics describe. It’s probably my favorite ‘80s love song, and proof positive that a song needn’t be something special in order to be something special.

[visit Alison Moyet’s website here, buy Singles here]

Electronic– Get the Message, [Electronic]

Forget years of hackdom, bad hair, and singing lead for a band called the Healers. Thirteen years ago, when Johnny Marr formed Electronic with New Order singer/guitarist Bernard Sumner, he sought to combine the lilting melodies of his Smiths work with New Order’s rhythmic smarts. Electronic’s first album promised more than it delivered, but on this one track, it all comes together: elementary strumming, synth lines that swell like the rush of blood, and Sumner’s usual incoherence (“I don’t know where to begin / Living in sin,” argh). It might be the most spine-tingling song either man has never composed.

[buy Electronic here]

Loretta Lynn– Portland, Oregon, [Van Lear Rose]

Imagine a coal miner’s daughter fronting Led Zeppelin. The atmospheric guitar textures in the song’s first two minutes make Elephant seem like a bad dream you forgot; and when Lynn, voice as wide as a smile, takes White out for a night of sloe gin fizz, you wish they’d consider a threesome.

[visit Loretta Lynn’s website here, buy Van Lear Rose here, read Josh Love’s Stylus review here]