A new album - Songs for Fearful Flyers, which promises to calm the nerves of air passengers - is released today.

Michael Hearst's 38-minute, seven-track LP features song titles such as "Like Bumps in the Road", "It's Only a Sound", and "Alprazolam" [a drug typically prescribed to combat panic attacks], and features narration on one track by the actress Whoopi Goldberg, a well-known nervous flier.

It was inspired by Hearst's own aviation anxieties. "While in San Francisco working on a theatre production, he was suddenly struck with intense anxiety about his upcoming flight to Paris," the website songsforfearfulflyers.com explains. "He told the director of the play about his anxiety. She said, 'You should talk to my friend Whoopi—she’s also terrified of flying.' Whoopi? Minutes later, a cell phone was pressed to Michael‘s ear. An unmistakable voice said, 'Hi Michael. I understand you have a fear of flying.' Ms. Goldberg and Michael talked for fifteen minutes. She coached him on how to relax during takeoff and landing—how to practice his controlled breathing, and how to distract himself from his overactive imagination.

"By the end of the conversation, Michael asked if she might be willing to let him record her soothing voice. She was. And here, two years later is Songs For Fearful Flyers."

Will it help anyone? The twee, high-pitched tracks - featuring a string trio and a flugelhorn - are more grating than calming - and occasionally reminiscent of the soundtrack of the computer game The Sims. Though you might consider downloading "Baggage Claim", featuring Whoopi's reassurances ("Remember, 3 million passengers fly every day - what makes you think you're so special? Relax...") just for the novelty factor. Anyone with a serious phobia: consider something more substantial.

But what about the worst songs to hear on a plane? Nervous fliers should steer well clear of this playlist:

1. Leaving on a Jet Plane - John Denver (who died in a plane crash)

2. Hit the Plane Down - Pavement ("Hit the plane down, taking over. There's no survivors. There's no survivors")

3. Crash - The Primitives ("Here you go way too fast, don't slow down, you're gonna crash...")

4. At the Bottom of Everything - Bright Eyes (the music video - see below - features a plane crash)

5. Broken Wings - Mr Mister (wings are a very important part of an aircraft)

6. Flying Without Wings - Westlife (not possible - see above)

7. S*** luck - Modest Mouse (A song of few lyrics - "This plane is definitely crashing!" - and lots of screeching, disconcerting sounds)

8. Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters (Hopefully the pilot already has)

9. Free Fallin' - Tom Petty ("Gonna free fall out into nothing")

10. Ironic - Alanis Morissette ("He waited his whole damn life to take that flight, and as the plane crashed down he thought: 'Well isn't this nice...'")

^{Alanis Morissette (Photo: Getty)}

11. Going Down - Freddie King (or perhaps "I'm Going Down" by Bruce Springsteen)

12. Parachutes - Coldplay (Commercial planes don't even carry the blasted things)

13. Lucky - Radiohead (Most Radiohead songs could get on the playlist, but the lyric "pull me out of the air crash..." earns this a special mention)

14. The End - Doors (Already sombre Jim Morrison turns it up to 11)

15. Light Aircraft on Fire - The Auteurs ("Disintegrate at 2,000 feet")

16. B.O.B. - OutKast (It stands for "Bombs Over Baghdad". Not one to sing out loud, unless you want to spend the rest of the flight being sat on by an air marshall).

^{OutKast (Photo: Getty)}

17. Tailspin - The Jayhawks (On the list of things you don't want a plane to do, this is up there...)

18. Crash and Burn - Savage Garden (... but not as high up as this.)

19. Jump - Van Halen (Or "Jump" by the wonderful Kris Kross)

20. The Final Countdown - Europe (Otherwise known as: the soothing tones of your pilot, as he steers you to the runway.)

21. Dash 7 - Wilco (named after a type of turboprop aircraft - no nervous fliers like propellors. Lyrics include: "Dash 7 pointed down, the captain's announcement, doesn't make a sound")

22. It's the End of the World - R.E.M. (What's wrong with Shiny Happy People, Mr Stipe?)

23. Buddy Holly - Weezer ("Ooh-eee-ooh I look just like Buddy Holly" - yes, and he died in a plane crash.)

^{Buddy Holly and the Crickets (Photo: Getty)}

24. Another One Bites the Dust - Queen (Thanks for that, Freddie. Really helping.)

25. Ice On the Wing - Nada Surf ("Ice is growing on the wing. Underneath the oxide" - that's bad, right?)

26. Knocking on Heaven's Door - Bob Dylan/Guns and Roses (A poetic way of putting it, but you're probably more worried about heading in the other direction.)

27. Plane Crash in C - Rilo Kiley (The song isn't actually about plane crashes, but the title is bad enough)

28. Plane Crash - Moe (This one, however, is: "Too f****** high. I don't wanna die")

29. Anything by The Crash Test Dummies (Remember: you're just another statistic.)

Which songs have we forgotten? Tell us using the comment box below by tweeting @telegraphtravel.