challenge: what if the UW albums were released before CDs and cassettes?

[holden]

We get so used to the track order of records we know and love, such that rearranging them often can allow for reevaluation...you hear things you'd overlooked before, or in the case of "album bands" like UW, reassess tracks as singles rather than part of a mix or environ of the LP. In the case of the anthologies, I usually long for the tracks that are "supposed" to surround the singles. In cases like the promo DAT of Dubno and the promo AHDO(ansum), hearing different mixes and different orders makes me appreciate the effort of tracking a record, as I think the actual release is better, though still....interesting ideas that are fun to explore. Shuffling can be fun.
As a fan of continuous mixes and somewhat thematic albums, I like CDs in that it all flows and there's room to develop, whereas flipping a cassette or vinyl breaks that flow. I guess the artist can use the breaks to their advantage if the music warrants a transition, but that length restriction is a bummer.
About the quality over quantity bit...yeah, a tight and wellvcrafted short album can be great for a lot of bands ( the pumpkins example is appropriate because they always dealt in excess... Not every demo or outtake needs released, Billy!) But when I know a band such as Underworld is capable of lengthy quality compositions, a shorter record seems like a rip-off or a lack of ideas. Plenty of times I've bought an "LP" CD and found it was less than 30 minutes in length...full price didn't seem fair!

[stimpee]

Originally Posted by holden

As a fan of continuous mixes and somewhat thematic albums, I like CDs in that it all flows and there's room to develop, whereas flipping a cassette or vinyl breaks that flow. I guess the artist can use the breaks to their advantage if the music warrants a transition, but that length restriction is a bummer.

I'm not sure that Underworld are really thinking of track durations when making the running order. They just make it a double album. Which is what they did at the time. You fit what you can on one side.

[bryantm3]

i've found that if you rearrange the tracks on beaucoup fish, use all the 'long mixes' and add 'please help me', it makes it actually a bit easier to swallow as a release since it has a break in the middle. my problem is where to fit in 'please help me'; i feel like it definitely fits somewhere around winjer and skym, but i'm not sure.

it also gives it a flow that is somewhat lost on the CD version, where you get a chill out on side 2, and then you get a new energy beginning on side C with bruce lee.

side A:
cups
push upstairs (long)
jumbo (long)

side B:
shudder
king of snake
winjer
skym

-------------

side C:

bruce lee
kittens
push downstairs

side D:

something like a mama
moaner (long)

[holden]

Originally Posted by stimpee

I'm not sure that Underworld are really thinking of track durations when making the running order. They just make it a double album. Which is what they did at the time. You fit what you can on one side.

You're probably right. I was talking in general, about the advantages of an 80 minute CD format, not UW. Other than a few tracks here and there that are mixed (and the RiverRun series, digital and <30 mins, so not really an issue in discussions of album sides), they usually have discrete breaks/fades to songs and can be sequenced however the time allows it.

However, i seem to recall from the Interview disc from the Beaucoup Fish era (the white label cd that came with the terrible Emerson dj mix!) that the boys struggled mightily with the BF track order (as well as the name).