Hey all,
I'm just wandering (I don't know if this is the right forum to post to)... what's the best way (or ways, coz there's surely more than one) to decide how to put tracks in an album? Which goes first and which goes second?
Or maybe you know of an article about this that you could direct me too?
Cheers.
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I don't think there can be one prescribed manner of doing this. really, it is so subjective.
things to consider: is this a concept album, all instrument, combo of fast/slow/happy/sad songs??
tell a story. use music to control the emotions or feelings.
that's how I'd do it.
I'd do it like a live concert - something loud and fast to open, slow down towards the middle, speed up a bit at halfway, slow down for a couple of tracks in the 2nd half and then build up to the finale.
A :-)
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This is a subject close to my heart. Not that I've recorded any albums and ordered the tracks, but I think track order on albums is very important. Even when creating a mix CD, I spend just as much time creating the order as I do picking the songs (sometimes more). You can create different moods with different orders. Sometimes I order songs based on the titles, with each one being somehow related to the one before it. Here's part of a track list of a CD I made for me and my friends to listen to during our poker game (I lost the thread after Wild Horses, but I view the last 3 tracks as 1 sentence :D )...
Sunshine of Your Love
In the Midnight Hour
If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day
Soul Man
Sold Me Down the River
Traveling Riverside Blues
Walk Don't Run
Steady, As She Goes
Wild Horses
You Wanted More
Sex, Lies and Money
Ain't Nothing Wrong With That
I think Alan's advice is pretty good. I like an up tempo song to start. And if you have a song with a cool intro, like a fade in, instrumental or sound effect (think AC/DC's Hell's Bells, Beatles' Back in the USSR, that would be a good candidate. 2nd track should be even harder and louder than 1st. Mix the slower stuff throughout. I'm split on the final track. A lot of people say go out big and loud, but I've got some albums that end on a slow track and it's perfect (most Pearl Jam albums end on a slower song).
playing with tempo. back in the 80's Brian WEno and David Byrne...and maybe the Talking Heads, produced an album. with each song the tempo was halved. the first song was twicthy perky and by the end the beat was very slow; like a dirge. pretty cool idea.
