Been Away Too Long

A grower. Good opener, one of the better songs on the album.

Non State Actor

Bit of a no note. Doesn't grab you very much, eering on the side of filler.

By Crooked Steps

The demo has a better intro, but the album cut is actually a lot better because of a little thing they do at 2.48. I think they could have a done little bit more on that part though. Not as good as the opener, but a good song.

A Thousand Days Before

First "ballad". Cornell is good here. On the level of BCS, maybe a little better.

Blood On The Valley Floor

Taking a little dip here. Feels a bit flat, tired perhaps. Skip candidate.

Bones Of Birds

Another mellow piece. Again I'm left with the feeling this kinda material suits Cornell better. Probably the albums second best song at this point. The demo is a more stripped down version, also worth a listen.

Taree

I immediately like the melody here. Groovy and what should I say, teasy? There are some flaws with the chorus and solo but still a quality effort.

Attrition

Does little for me. Monkey's comments fit very well here.

Black Saturday

Alright, but leaves you wanting. First minute or so is pretty solid. Demo is a lot better.

Halfway There

Getting a little late, late Aerosmith vibes here. Tame and popish.

Worse Dreams

The most glaring example of the effects of crack smoking in post production. The final cut is decent but the demo is the best song on the album. The somewhat tedious intro is gone and the guitar is much loader and rawer. Massive song, the demo that is. Album version feels like a neutered dog in comparison.

Eyelid's Mouth

Below par. Filler if you like.

Rowing

Cornell doing his best Dead Man impression. It's good but gets repetitive for 2 and a half minutes, after which the song really starts. Think this is the first and only proper guitar solo. It's very good though. Flawed song, and for this record that's a kind of fitting climax.

Out of 13 songs 5 are badish. 7 if you discount the demo version of Worse Dreams and Black Saturday. Though if you count them I'd say there are at least 7 good to very good songs on King Animal. About as much as you can expect from a thing like this.

Best song: Worse Dreams (demo)

Yeah, but it's not a list about single runs. You brought that in, I'm saying I don't buy it.

Maybe not the best description. It's just that apart from White I don't know any of those artists.