Should an Album be listened to as a whole.
Now with Digital downloads to become even more commonplace (death of HMV)
Will this see the end of the Album as a complete piece of work. Albums like Dark Side, The Wall, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway all have a central theme running though them. Whilst others are different songs but have been put together as to give light and shade to the listener.
I like to listen to my albums as the artist intended them to be. am I now in the minority?
Will this see the end of the Album as a complete piece of work. Albums like Dark Side, The Wall, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway all have a central theme running though them. Whilst others are different songs but have been put together as to give light and shade to the listener.
I like to listen to my albums as the artist intended them to be. am I now in the minority?
0
Comments
I try to listen to complete albums most of the time, though, not because there's necessarily a theme but because the running order of the tracks works well. I think artists (at least those who have a say in how their music is put together) do think a lot about which track should go where and which tracks to include or omit from albums, so listening to an entire album in the correct running order gives you a better and more complete experience.
Perhaps. But it's becoming bigger in r&b and hip hop.
True. Kendrick Lamar's new album is like a movie with dialogue at the end of each song! Amazing.
For me it depends on the album - some I like to listen to all the way through, others I listen to only a few songs off because the rest aren't to my taste.
A few bands like Ash have chosen to only release singles and I believe most will go this way eventually, but there will still be some full albums although I expect them to be concept albums rather than collections of stand-alone songs.
As all the tracks are segued into each other it would sound abrupt if you listen to them separately.
But albums were made to listen to from beginning to end - or at least, in the days of vinyl and cassettes - the length of each side.
I'm pretty much the same, if it's a concept album I have to listen to the entire album from start to finish.. Also, if it's a new album I tend to listen to it in full for a few weeks until I start picking out individual tracks...
God bless you and my favorites always!!!
Holly
However, I tend to now do that. Maybe the first time I listen I listen all the way through, but from then on it's just random tracks.
If the album format is to survive then artists need to either create a theme or concept to their albums or not allow individual tracks to be downloaded (if that's possible) or - heaven forbid - make sure every track on the album is great and no filler.
It is extremely rare that my favorite song on an album is the song that prompted me to buy the album. So if I only bought and listened to singles, I would never have even heard my favorite songs of all time.
Example:
I bought this Slip album due to their single:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKhV1Z1nylo
but this song is so much more special:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_KH5CsTtAw