If he asked for feedback, then yeah, you should speak freely! (Being polite, of course, which I'm sure you'll do.)

Why do you dislike the song?

Well, it is repetitive and musically uninteresting, and seems way longer than it is. Plus it has a few real doggerel stinkers in the lyrics, which makes me think he didn't write it, because the rest of the songs are much better done.

I wonder if he had to put it on for reasons of pleasing one of his collaborators or something, but the album is better without it. The things done in the song are done better on other songs on the album.

There are two songs on this album that I am extremely excited about and I hope they will be on the radio soon.

One of my favourite albums has a song I absolutely hate and I always skip it. But other people have said how much they love that song.

I think you should tell him all of that, then... that's good honest feedback. He and the band will have to be able to take criticism like that if they're going to succeed. They may or may not take your advice to drop it, but hey, at least they got feedback like they wanted.

Good luck to your friends!

Is there any polite way of doing this?

"OK . . [name of buddy here], let me start off by saying that I LOVED [tracks you loved]. Loved 'em, Loved 'em, Loved 'em. [a lot more here about how much you loved 'em. Be sure to include the reference to the two songs you want to hear on the radio soon.]

I have to say, though, that that one track [name of track you hate], . . . it's just not as good as the other tracks. At all. It doesn't help the album. The album would be much stronger without it. [if he asks for more details, free free to elaborate on its repetitiveness and crappy lyrics in your reply]

Shoot for at least a 3:1 ratio of positive feedback to critical feedback.

I dunno - unasked-for advice is rarely well-received.

This is how you say it:

Dude, all the songs are awesome. Somehow song x doesn't fit though to the whole aesthetic. I dunno, it seems a bit unpolished.

It would make a sweet B-side though.

I got some feedback like that on my 2006 RPM and was really appreciative. The listener was totally right (I needed a minor key break to vary a boring repetitive set of verses) but I couldn't hear it. Being a musician himself, he couched it very beautifully: plenty of praise on either side, then "and if you're still playing with it, I bet you could get a lot more momentum and emotional lift in this part by using a Dm....just try it and see what you think."

So yeah, let them know if there's one that "doesn't suit the mood" of the album or something.

But of course...even the greatest artists have sucky tracks on their records. (Thread idea...goes to post).

I think most musicians know which tracks are weaker. Sometimes, time, money and political constraints come into play, but hearing it from someone else might be enough to get your friend to drop the song.