Doin an album??!?!

I think this is a very important part of the creative process. It's like putting together a set list for a live gig. What songs flow well together? What will keep the audience's attention? What will hook them in at the beginning and give the listener a sense of completion at the end?

I personally try to avoid grouping too many songs of the same key and/or tempo together unless the songs work really well with each other or there is a theme in common. Currently I have a list of working titles ready for an album that is yet to be written and they all follow a theme. This is the first time I've had the luxury of doing this but like writing a novel where you map out the plot I'd like to apply that mentality to my composing. Nowadays people go for the one of tunes and the idea of listening to an album from start to finish is fading but personally I like listening to albums to completion. The added benefit is in todays music world if you follow this approach people may not just download one or two songs, they might purchase the whole series. 

But as with everything artistic this is all very subjective. Try different arrangements and take a week or a month or a year mixing and matching to see what "feels right" to you or ask the opinions of your friends/fans. 

I used to get into some pretty heated arguments with my bandmates about set lists back in the day and one band actually broke up due to one of those arguments. It's that important sometimes.

Thanks, guys. It's actually sounds a bit like the setup takes a bit of analysis of my audience... And it's probably gonna take looooong hours listening through the album. I could certainly invest a coupla weeks in just seeing what the album should be like. Thanks again, guys.
Still open to additional suggestions, if there happen to be any :)

davdud101


 (mainly because I haven't really listened to many entire ablums besides a couple of the Bouncing Souls and some 116 Clique guys...)
 
Thanks!

Wow. That's incredible. It's something I can't even imagine. I almost feel sorry for you.

jamesg1213

end it with the best song you got.

I can't think of one album that does that.

The Outlaws.  Green Grass and High Tides was the last song on one side of their album (of course, there was only that one song on that side... ).

....and the CD as a music medium is close to being made extinct

craigb

jamesg1213

end it with the best song you got.

I can't think of one album that does that.

The Outlaws.  Green Grass and High Tides was the last song on one side of their album (of course, there was only that one song on that side... ).

I guess Thick as a Brick qualifies too...and Tubular Bells..

jamesg1213

daryl1968


I hate to say this but the Album as an artform is dead.

I don't care, I'm still doing me concept album.


By the time it's finished it'll have come back into fashion again.

Maybe I'll release it on double cassette.

Why not make it an 8-Track?  You gotta love fading out in the middle of a song, changing tracks, then fading the rest of the song back in!

Hi,
 
From my perspective ... on different days I want to do different things, and the answer is never the same ... so there are times, when my starting point is the 52-pickup theory, and then the Burroughs reasoning behind it ... you pick up the cards, turn them upside down, and now you are ready!
 
Tomorrow, I might find/need a different design, idea and concept.
 
I always remember one of Jean-Luc Godard's famous quotes about his films ... "everything has a beginning, middle and an end -- not necessarily in that order!"
 
The funny thing is that you define an order, and no one gets it ... you can't win ... no choice is better than any other!
 
So you put together a show, and you decide that you want to start it with high energy ... and the crowd is tired, drunk on a Friday night and they are in a sleeping mood, and all jokes stink ... you can't win! You might as well start with the F. U. Song, and I do not mean the University song, see? On the other hand, on the next day, the crowd is dancing, tired and drunk, and you play "Communication Breakdown" and they all leave! ...
 
Be flexible?
 
This was an issue while directing, as Friday audiences were not the same as the Saturday audiences or the Sunday Matinee audience! And sometimes, you had to go by feel, and it might help to start with a piece that helps everyone windup and warm up, and the same goes for the "play" ... the minute you assume that everyone wants to laugh 13.6 seconds from the start, you will crash harder than you imagine, and think you screwed up!
 
For an album? Here's an odd one ... Wold City (Amon Duul 2) was originally done in the LP with the title song as the start. When the CD was done 25 years later, the side 2 of the LP was 1st and the side 1 was second ... and for an idiot like me I got used to the other sequence of songs and ... I liked it ... now when I play the CD, it's like it's wrong ... and if you are the band, you are feeling ... what? ... I hate fans? Can I do anything? ... Does it really matter in the end?
 
As for an album, I always liked Led Zeppelin's intros in the early days ... "... nice to be back ... kaboom!!!!!!! and hard!" ... and I liked Pink Floyd ... wind all around the Hollywood Bowl gets louder and louder and becomes the first waves of "One of These Days" ... or if my name was Nektar, go straight into " Remember the Future" ... and if you are Tangerine Dream? ... I have no idea where to start ... though I know what I would like to hear!
 
Careful with "concepts" ... you may know the concept ... but assuming that everyone else is going to "get it" ... like you said? ... right ... good luck!

an album is a feeling and should be treated as such.
ive listened to mastered tracks for over a month to pick the order.
what is really critical is the first song.
ive listened to demos and if i dont like the first song it goes right in the trash.
so critical,attention must be grabed right away.

James - you should release your concept album on a thumb drive