I've bought a few recent releases that fly against that theory Daryl!  Maybe those are just flying against the winds of change, but I liked 'em for it.

(Hmm... "Flying Against the Winds of Change" might be a good song or album title!)

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..

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.

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!

Hey David,
I don't think I would save my best for last.  Most people judge an album by the first couple songs.  If they don't like what they're hearing towards the beginning, out comes the CD.

GOOD LUCK
Kev

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!

jamesg1213

end it with the best song you got.

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

BS ... a certain Led Zeppelin album ended with Stairway to Heaven!

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.

Moshkiae

jamesg1213

end it with the best song you got.

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

BS ... a certain Led Zeppelin album ended with Stairway to Heaven!

If you're referring to Led Zeppelin IV, that album ends with 'When The Levee Breaks'.

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