Entertainment For Lively Minds
Best and worst tracks on an album
Posted by MatDavies on 30 August 2008 - 12:12pm.
My mate Gareth- who posts on here- says that invariably the worst song on an album is the penultimate one, whilst the best is the second one on "side two" (yes we are that old); is he right?? it caused a furious debate over pints of Paulaner lager last night- whats does everyone else think?
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Side Two
Side two is almost always the best.
First penultimate songs that spring to mind:
There is a light that never goes out (The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead)
Lucky (Radiohead - OK Computer)
But then a quick browse through my itunes seems to broadly support your mate's theory.
Most artists like to offer a big ending to their album, so if the last track is the big finale, the spot before it is usually then given over to some kind of scene-setter or palate-cleanser of a track in preparation for the final push, and thus this track often doesn't stand up too well in it's own right.
The alternative to this is to have your penultimate track as the biggie, and then finish off with a gentle come-down coda, as the two albums mentioned above seem to do.
Re your last point
The Seldom Seen Kid, Where 'One Day Like This' is followed by 'Friend of Ours' also fits the biggie/coda pattern.
Pleased that my theory is
Pleased that my theory is holding up. Only applies to pre-cd era records though. I think when bands/artists had less time and songs to put on a record they put more thought into how they were sequenced. The cd era means longer, bloated albums where you're less likely to get to the final few tracks. As marathon runners are fond of saying - 'mile 20 is the halfway point'. Wise words.
Track 7
was regarded as the place for a top track - side 2 track 2. I was told this by a producer of some repute.