Album Track Order
Lately I've been revisiting some of Prince's first albums, and I've noticed how much in perfect order his songs are. Not only that, he also made sure that each album side had about the same amount of running time.
I changed a few tracks in a specific order I thought might work but no dice. It just sounded "out of context" plus the running time for each side would differ too much. Do you have a favorite artist/album you could easily change track order without 'disrupting the flow'? |
Re: Album Track Order
Regarding running time, that was common due to the size constraints of vinyl and cassette tapes.
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Re: Album Track Order
http://application.denofgeek.com/pic...views/am03.jpg
Why do I gotta listen to the songs in the order THEY pick? Fuck that. I wanna listen to the songs in the order I wanna hear 'em. https://screenagekicks.files.wordpre...gienights2.jpg |
Re: Album Track Order
Originally Posted by Mabuse
(Post 12160362)
Regarding running time, that was common due to the size constraints of vinyl and cassette tapes.
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Re: Album Track Order
Originally Posted by hbilly
(Post 12159509)
Lately I've been revisiting some of Prince's first albums, and I've noticed how much in perfect order his songs are. Not only that, he also made sure that each album side had about the same amount of running time.
I changed a few tracks in a specific order I thought might work but no dice. It just sounded "out of context" plus the running time for each side would differ too much. Do you have a favorite artist/album you could easily change track order without 'disrupting the flow'? Thankfully there are many non-mainstream artists who still create full albums of music, and not a few singles strung together with filler tracks. |
Re: Album Track Order
The album side is definitely a lost art form. With few exceptions, a side had a defined beginning, middle, end. After flipping the disc, instead of continuing, you had a new beginning. You could listen to just one side and feel like you'd heard a complete piece.
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Re: Album Track Order
No point in working hard on album order and concept when people just buy singles anyway.
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Re: Album Track Order
Originally Posted by bunkaroo
(Post 12162203)
What you're hearing is the lost art of the "album". It's pretty much gone from pop music now. Any great album should really make you feel the way you do about the track order. It's why I don't like most "Greatest Hits" albums.
Thankfully there are many non-mainstream artists who still create full albums of music, and not a few singles strung together with filler tracks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Album http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Album_Era
Originally Posted by hbilly
(Post 12159509)
I changed a few tracks in a specific order I thought might work but no dice. It just sounded "out of context" plus the running time for each side would differ too much.
XTC's album Skylarking was reissued with a new tracklisting when the b-side Dear God got play on US radio. They pulled the track Mermaid Smiled and put Dear God in its place, even mixing the intro and outros with the surrounding tracks to get it to feel in place. Mermaid Smiled became relegated to a later b-sides and rarities compilation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylarking#Track_listing The Beatles ended up having a lot of their early work collected as completely different albums in the UK and US. Even when the albums had the same name, there'd be differences in track listing; it wasn't until Revolver that The Beatles releases in the UK and US had all the same tracks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatles#Discography I've read of people sometimes rearranging albums, occasionally digging into the b-sides to singles from the album, since it's often assumed that the b-sides were songs recorded for but left off the final album. Sometimes they'll just extend the album with the b-sides, other times they'll excise former album tracks in favor of the b-sides. CD/MP3 bonus tracks also often mess with the track listing. Typically they're just tacked onto the end, so an aware listener may be able to distinguish between the "proper" album end and the start of the bonus tracks. However, I remember the original XTC CD releases by Virgin for their first 8 albums put the bonus tracks (which were originally b-sides to the various singles) between the end of side A and the beginning of side B, making for a very different album experience. |
Re: Album Track Order
One album I can really remember vastly different track orders for was the UK vs US versions of The Clash. They're practically different albums, just with the same cover. And I'm realizing it's not in my collection (at least not on vinyl). Gonna have to fix that.
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Re: Album Track Order
An interesting note about track ordering from the vinyl era: the frequency response is different at the outer edge of the record than it is closer to the center, because the needle is moving faster there (going a farther distance at the same speed). As a result, sometimes the primary frequency content of a song determined whether it would be placed near the end of a record side or not.
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Re: Album Track Order
Originally Posted by kefrank
(Post 12162477)
An interesting note about track ordering from the vinyl era: the frequency response is different at the outer edge of the record than it is closer to the center, because the needle is moving faster there (going a farther distance at the same speed). As a result, sometimes the primary frequency content of a song determined whether it would be placed near the end of a record side or not.
http://performermag.com/tips-on-vinyl-track-sequencing/ After you decide which tracks are going to be placed on each side, it’s recommended that you put “hotter” songs, or tracks with more frequency information, at the beginning of each side. That way, mellower songs, or tracks with less frequency information, can be placed at the end of the side. With less room for musical information, packing the end of each side with blistering tracks will all but ensure you end up with noticeable inner groove distortion, even on good playback systems. For an example of a well-sequenced album, look no further than The Replacements’ Tim. Side A kicks off with the rocking “Hold My Life” and ends with the more subdued “Swingin’ Party.” Side B opens with glorious slop-rock of “Bastards of Young” and closes with the acoustic “Here Comes a Regular.” |
Re: Album Track Order
I remember Peter Gabriel re-ordered some of the tracks on So when it was remastered on CD because he was no longer bound by the frequency restrictions on each side of vinyl.
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Re: Album Track Order
Originally Posted by Supermallet
(Post 12162631)
I remember Peter Gabriel re-ordered some of the tracks on So when it was remastered on CD because he was no longer bound by the frequency restrictions on each side of vinyl.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_(alb...tes_and_legacy |
Re: Album Track Order
Back to the OP....Once I start listening to "Sign O' the Times"...I have to let it play all the way. I think it's one of the best flowing albums ever.
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Re: Album Track Order
Originally Posted by bunkaroo
(Post 12162203)
It's why I don't like most "Greatest Hits" albums.
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Re: Album Track Order
Originally Posted by tommyp007
(Post 12162728)
Back to the OP....Once I start listening to "Sign O' the Times"...I have to let it play all the way. I think it's one of the best flowing albums ever.
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Re: Album Track Order
Have to say I was never aware of the sonic limitations of vinyl - makes me wonder why so many tout it as a superior sounding format if it can't even reproduce certain frequencies properly all the time.
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Re: Album Track Order
Originally Posted by The Infidel
(Post 12163131)
Then there's always Lovesexy, which, on CD, was released as just one long track, pretty much preventing you from rearranging anything, or even just skipping a song. Prince wants you to listen to EVERYTHING, IN THAT ORDER, and that's all there is to it. :)
http://www.amazon.com/Lovesexy-Expli...dp/B002C7GBQG/ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/lovesexy/id219202920 I used an mp3 cutter to split the album into tracks.
Originally Posted by bunkaroo
(Post 12163140)
Have to say I was never aware of the sonic limitations of vinyl - makes me wonder why so many tout it as a superior sounding format if it can't even reproduce certain frequencies properly all the time.
http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php...=Myths_(Vinyl) |
Re: Album Track Order
I ordered the UK version of Lovesexy from Amazon.uk a few years ago. It has separated tracks.
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Re: Album Track Order
Originally Posted by JZ1276
(Post 12162993)
I see your point but have you ever heard Billy Joel's GH Vol 1 & 2? Even though a greatest hits album, it's like a regular album of it's own with a perfect track listing. I used to listen to this album non stop when I was a kid. Now,even though I havent listened to that album in many years, whenever I listen to a song on his studio album that was on the GH album, I'll expect to hear the track thats next on the GH album (if that makes any sense).
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Re: Album Track Order
Personally, I don't think I could switch any albums around for a better flow.
That being said, Bob Dylan's Desire probably has the best flow of anything I've ever heard. In the last few months, it's really shifted to one of my all-time favorite albums with every song being a total knockout...but hearing them in order as they were intended is something else. |
Originally Posted by JZ1276
(Post 12162993)
I see your point but have you ever heard Billy Joel's GH Vol 1 & 2? Even though a greatest hits album, it's like a regular album of it's own with a perfect track listing. I used to listen to this album non stop when I was a kid. Now,even though I havent listened to that album in many years, whenever I listen to a song on his studio album that was on the GH album, I'll expect to hear the track thats next on the GH album (if that makes any sense).
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