Best Ever Albums

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

kidamnesiac — Wed, 9 Nov 2011 00:41:22 GMT

Author: kidamnesiac

Posted: 11/09/2011 05:41

swedenman, in case you haven't seen this

Link

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

nrs182 — Tue, 8 Nov 2011 23:32:31 GMT

Author: nrs182

Posted: 11/09/2011 04:32

Hayden wrote:

nrs182 wrote:

in Funeral too

...

I'm confused. Funeral has no bad tracks..... :-k

Well yeah probably but I just can't put my finger on "in the backseat". Anyways the album is so good I can easily forget I'm not that much into that track.

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

Anonymous — Tue, 8 Nov 2011 23:22:21 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/09/2011 04:22

Well let's take a look at my top 3 albums in this respect:

1. A Night at the Opera - Excellent, intense opener (Death on Two Legs). Closer (God Save the Queen) may not be one of the best individual tracks on the album but is in my opinion the best way they could have ended it.

2. Superunknown - Opener (Let Me Drown) is one of the weaker tracks on the album in my opinion (though it's still great). Closer (Like Suicide) is likewise not one of my favorites, but is nevertheless a great song and a very appropriate ending.

3. Toxicity - Opener (Prison Song) is one of the best on the album and quickly grabs the listener's attention. Closer (Aerials) is probably the deepest song on the album, and quite a good one, at that.

I guess for me the opener's not that big of a deal (though having a strong one is certainly a plus). As for the closer, it doesn't necessarily have to be that "great" so long as it's an appropriate, meaningful ending, as is the case in all three of these albums.

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

Hayden — Tue, 8 Nov 2011 20:51:48 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 11/09/2011 01:51

nrs182 wrote:

in Funeral too

...

I'm confused. Funeral has no bad tracks..... 🤔

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

nrs182 — Tue, 8 Nov 2011 20:07:50 GMT

Author: nrs182

Posted: 11/09/2011 01:07

I personally think the opener is more important than the end tracks, I usually have problems with last tracks i dont know why.
For example Unknown Pleasures has a killer opener but i totally hate the last one; in Funeral too, awesome opener and the only track i dislike of the album last.
At the end I think that a bad track at first can ruin the album completely even if the other songs are great, but a bad closer just might be like, oh shame on you dammit why would you do that??, and thats all, no big trouble

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

CellarDoor — Tue, 8 Nov 2011 12:22:13 GMT

Author: CellarDoor

Posted: 11/08/2011 17:22

What Squishy said.

Like you only remember what people say at the beginning or the end of an oral presentation.

As for music, I also think it's an important part of the album construction.

I keep thinking for ex that Teenage Fanclub's "Bandwagonesque" is a great album. But I then realise it's probably only because "The Concept" as an opener and "Is This Music ?" as a closer are such great songs. Because the rest, with highlights, seems pretty samey.

Oh well, you'll probably just remember that I think what Squishy thinks. 😉

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

revolver94 — Tue, 8 Nov 2011 12:04:18 GMT

Author: revolver94

Posted: 11/08/2011 17:04

Often, when there's an album that is great, but has an opener I'm not crazy about, I'm often less motivated to go back to that album (for me, this is Revolver... I'm just not that keen on Taxman).

If an album has a lame closer, it's often hard to motivate yourself to finish the album. For me, listening to the end of OK Computer isn't very appealing (Lucky and The Tourist). They just don't match the caliber of the rest of the songs, at least to me.

Having a good end track can pull you to the end of an album even when there's a lot to get through on the way there, like A Wolf at the Door on Hail to the Thief.

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

alelsupreme — Tue, 8 Nov 2011 11:57:31 GMT

Author: alelsupreme

Posted: 11/08/2011 16:57

I don't really mind but it's nice to have songs that grab your attention as the opener (sgt peppers lonely hearts club band for example) and end on a high note (a day in the life)

I also agree about the adding extra tracks, i think they should only be on their for the rare example where they were originally meant to be on there but for some reason were not. Otherwise put them on a seperate disk.

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

GARY — Tue, 8 Nov 2011 02:57:31 GMT

Author: GARY

Posted: 11/08/2011 07:57

Street wrote:

In order for an album to work as an album, the opening track needs to build anticipation and excitement, and the closing track needs to leave the listener with a feeling of closure and satisfaction. The tracks inbetween tell the story.

I really dislike reissue albums that tack 4 or 5 extra tracks on to the end of the album... it ruins the story for me, by going on far longer than it should. It's much better when extra tracks are included on a separate CD.

Correct answer �'�

.

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

sgraham1990 — Tue, 8 Nov 2011 02:56:22 GMT

Author: sgraham1990

Posted: 11/08/2011 07:56

Personally, I find it easier to forgive less than stellar tracks on an album if it has a real strong intro and closer. My personal favorite bookend songs are "Thunder Road" and "Jungleland" off Born to Run.

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

hairymarx1 — Tue, 8 Nov 2011 02:27:44 GMT

Author: hairymarx1

Posted: 11/08/2011 07:27

Squishy and pearljammer make some good observations. Personally, rather than a collection of 'songs', I generally prefer albums as concepts conceived as a totality. There might be individual passages or songs that don't necessarily work in and of themselves, but to my way of thinking, the measure of a great album is whether the individual component parts come together as a satisfying whole. I don't generally find the traditional pop arangement or song format a very satisfying one. My favourite albums tend to be the ones that I initially thought "what the fuck was all that about?" 'Faust 1' and Resident's 'Not Available' come to mind.

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

Anonymous — Tue, 8 Nov 2011 01:59:52 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/08/2011 06:59

In order for an album to work as an album, the opening track needs to build anticipation and excitement, and the closing track needs to leave the listener with a feeling of closure and satisfaction. The tracks inbetween tell the story.

I really dislike reissue albums that tack 4 or 5 extra tracks on to the end of the album... it ruins the story for me, by going on far longer than it should. It's much better when extra tracks are included on a separate CD.

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

SquishypuffDave — Mon, 7 Nov 2011 21:25:39 GMT

Author: SquishypuffDave

Posted: 11/08/2011 02:25

Like with movies, I think ending well is more important than opening well. Sort of like if something is in focus then goes out of focus it's annoying, but if it starts out of focus then comes into focus it's satisfying.

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

Necharsian — Mon, 7 Nov 2011 21:22:39 GMT

Author: Necharsian

Posted: 11/08/2011 02:22

I don't think it matters much to me about the beginning and the end.

Looking at some of my faves:

Loveless: Perfect beginning song and ends with my favorite song on the album.
In the Aeroplane: Neither the beginning nor the end are my favorites, but both our outstanding.
If You're Feeling Sinister: The first track is my least favorite on the album.
Kamelot in general have amazing finishers, but mixed starters.

So, yeah. It doesn't matter. Although I think having a really good first song makes it easier to get into the rest of the album.

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

pearljammer13 — Mon, 7 Nov 2011 20:59:21 GMT

Author: pearljammer13

Posted: 11/08/2011 01:59

I don't think any album can be considered "great" unless it's weakest tracks are nothing less than "good". Certainly if there are two or more songs less than good it just can't be a great album to me. A great album is a collection of great songs, not two or three great songs and a half dozen songs of junk. As far as openers and closers, I think the opener is slightly more important just because it sets a tone and formulates an early opinion. Even if the next few songs are great, the first one will still stick with me more. Closers are always important too just because it ties everything together and hopefully leaves you satisfied, not disappointed. My personal favorite opener/closer combination is Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness. The opening title track is a beautiful piano piece, and at the end of Farewell and Goodnight the piano hook loops back in and brings the whole thing full circle. It gives me chills every time and leaves me totally contented.

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

Anonymous — Mon, 7 Nov 2011 20:35:22 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/08/2011 01:35

I'll just give examples of a few of my Favourites

Loveless has incredible openers and closers although 2 tracks in the middle are not up to the incredible standard
(they are just really good)

Likewise with Unknown Pleasures, Perfect intro and exit to an album

Having said that, it isn't necessary to have a good intro to have a great albums

Examples Blonde On Blonde (rubbish first song, Perfect last song) Fever To Tell (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) has a not so good last track and okay intro track.

Keen to see what other people think too 😁

Re: First and Last Tracks of an Album

kidamnesiac — Mon, 7 Nov 2011 20:26:24 GMT

Author: kidamnesiac

Posted: 11/08/2011 01:26

it varies

First and Last Tracks of an Album

ZebraRock — Mon, 7 Nov 2011 20:25:07 GMT

Author: ZebraRock

Posted: 11/08/2011 01:25

Q: How important is an album Opener (the whole song or just the first minute) versus a closer?
Can an Album open/close poorly but still be considered "great"? Can they open/close strongly but have a weak midsection and still be considered "great"? How Important are they compared to each other?

What do you think?