FEATURE:
Everything in Its Right Place
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The Fine Art of Album Sequencing
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I may have addressed this before…
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but many people overlook the importance of getting an album’s sequencing right. I think potentially great albums have been made average because tracks are placed in the wrong order; albums that could have been a little so-so have been gifted new life because the track sequencing makes for a must-listen experience! I think someone said the golden rule for sequencing an album was to have one of the best tracks at the top – so you start strong but can still build to the best track. The strongest track, logically, should occur at the end, so that you end with a bang; arrange the rest of the songs so the top and bottom half are equally weighted and there is a nice flow. I know it is hard to achieve that, but a couple of albums have accomplished this feat. Think about Radiohead’s The Bends. We start things off with Planet Telex (strong, but not a top-three cut) and end with the standout, Street Spirit (Fade Out). The album has some brilliant tracks in the opening half (The Bends, High and Dry, and Fake Plastic Trees) and strong material in the second half (My Iron Lung, and Sulk). There is a nice balance of more emotive songs and the hard-driving numbers, so that there is not a run of same-sounding tracks. I think The Beatles achieved the same thing on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The album starts with the title track and ends with the epic A Day in the Life – that song could not have appeared anywhere else on the record as it is a titanic statement that cannot be followed! Although most of the best songs are on the first half of this album, there are some wonderful tunes on the second half. I think the band, George Martin (the producer) and team sequenced the album wonderfully.
This article from The Guardian in 2008 investigates the importance of getting the sequencing right:
“There's a story that Kirsty MacColl - who was married to producer Steve Lillywhite - sequenced The Joshua Tree for U2, and she did it in order of her favourite songs, but that's probably unusual," says Hugo Turquet, A&R man at EMI, who says that ideally albums should be sequenced like vinyl, with an imaginary two sides. "Start each with a really good track and end with a really good track. You want a strong Side B starter and strong Side B ender ... if you have those four points everything else can fit around it. You don't want two songs with the same theme next to each other. The best albums sequence themselves."
According to Turquet, bands choose tracklistings themselves - aided by their manager - although they'll usually have heard a record company voice saying "we want the strong songs first". However, he warns against "front-loading" an album with big singles - if you play all your ace cards too early, the listener might not make it to the end.
Looking at a couple of classic albums, Turquet's formula seems about right. Nirvana's Nevermind opens with Smells Like Teen Spirit. Come As You Are and Lithium appear fairly early, and the strong kidnap-song Polly ends side one. The dark, lengthy Something In The Way similarly provides an epic album closer. Blur's Parklife also opens with smash hit Girls And Boys; the Phil Daniels-sung smash Parklife appears four tracks in, while the huge, melancholy ballad This Is A Low appears just before the end (the actual closer is the one minute long organ whirl Lot 105 - another occasional theme, the novelty-track ending).
The opener isn't always a big hit single. The Smiths' classic The Queen Is Dead opens with the rampaging title track ... but imagine it kicking off with the playful Vicar In A Tutu? The whole album just wouldn't have had the same momentum. Peter Hook of Joy Division and New Order - responsible for sequencing a fair few classic albums in their time, aided by manager Rob Gretton - compares choosing an album's track listing to pacing a live set. "Build up ... slow down ... with a big finish".
There are those who say that say the concept and traditional structure of albums have been rendered obsolete in the age of streaming. If people get an album from Spotify, will they play every track in order, or merely pick at the singles? There is an argument that says albums should start very strongly and have the singles near the top. If a listener has an album that starts slow and builds up, will they be patient enough to make it to the end? Will they merely hear a few songs and discard the remainder of the album? I think there is an art to sequencing an album; there are various movements and acts that tell a story and hook the listener. I do not think the album is dead; we still invested in listening to a full album, and those who really love their music will digest a work from the opening track to the finale. Many artists put their big hit at the very start of an album, but one must be conscious of not giving away all your treasure too soon.
If all the best tracks are done with in the top half of an album, it will create a rather uneven and unsatisfying listen. It appears that album sequencing is a science that is difficult to comprehend. I don’t think it is. When an album is being made, artists will have an idea of the story and order of songs. This article talks about album sequencing in the streaming age, and it gives useful steps to create a rich and flowing album:
“From start to finish, the best albums show a good sense of dynamics, detail, and story telling. Sequencing is crucial in this process. Two soft songs in a row will play much differently than a transition from a soft song to an edgy one.
Listeners can easily skip from one song to another, so take this as your chance to convince them otherwise. Give them a reason to stick around and listen to multiple songs in a row, the way they were intended”.
There are some great articles that discuss how important getting an album’s sequence right. Bands and artists can spend months deciding which tracks go where to create the finest experience. Iconic albums like Songs in the Key of Life gets the balance just so – it is a long album, but there is never a weak patch or a run of tracks that doesn’t amaze. People debate albums that suffer from good and poor sequencing.
As a big Radiohead fan, I love Hail to the Thief, but I think there are one or two many tracks; the record starts with 2 + 2 = 5, but the album sages a little in the middle. I think U2’s Pop is an example of an album with misjudged sequencing; an album the band were fiddling around with after its release. I wonder how good the original could have been if the tracks were in a different order. Even if more people are streaming albums rather than buying them on vinyl, I feel albums are stories and bodies of work that should keep you locked in from the first song to the last. Even if there is some filler on a track, an album can still seem wonderful if those songs are put in the right place – normally, you’d expect them to go in the middle of the pack or on the second half. The album as a full body of work will always have a place, and people will always marvel over a whole story – without skipping tracks and cherry-picking the singles. Because of that, I think the sequencing is as important as the songs themselves. If every track on the album is great but the songs are ordered wrong, it creates a rather uneven and displeasing experience. Likewise, putting all the gold too far up or too far down in the running order can be a mistake. I have sourced a few articles that advise how to sequence albums just right, but there is no golden rule. I love albums in so many ways: from the cover to the completeness of it, absorbing an album is a very special thing. Whilst the sound and quality of the individual tracks is crucial, I think an album can be elevated to heavenly heights with…
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A dream sequence.