Make A Masterpiece Out Of An Also-Ran

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Inspired by a post on the Urban Hymns thread - if you could rearrange or substitute the tracks of an album that you don't particularly like, what would you do?

DJ Shadow - Endtroducing
zap the first two tracks and 'stem', since i always skip them anyways

The Strokes - Is This It?
kill everything except 'Is This It', 'The Modern Age', 'Barely Legal', 'Last Nite', 'Hard To Explan' and add on 'NYC Cops', thus creating a great and worthy EP

― Dave M. (rotten03), Friday, 28 February 2003 05:15 (twenty-two years ago)

remove "attack on love" and one other track i've forgotten the name of from Yo La Tengo's Electropura and becomes their best album.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Friday, 28 February 2003 05:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Pulp, This Is Hardcore. OK, it's already great, but take off 'I'm A Man' and 'Sylvia' and replace with 'Ladies Man' and 'The Professional' and it becomes...greater.

― pete b. (pete b.), Friday, 28 February 2003 09:35 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd take that backwards nonsense track off 'the stone roses'.

― neil, Friday, 28 February 2003 11:26 (twenty-two years ago)

The one Gregg Rollie sings on Journey 'Captured: Live'
"Music Never Stopped" from 'Blues for Allah'
"Turn On Your Lovelight" from 'Live/Dead'
'Call Me' off 'American Gigolo' OST
"Maniac" off Flashdance OST
The falsetto bit in "Dear Doctor" on Stones' 'Beggar's Banquet'
"I Just Wanna Stop" from 'B2B', not that it's an especially bad song or anything but I only have it on vinyl and I want to play this masterpiece to everybody but everybody's so sick of "Stop" that I have to take it off halfway through all the time. "So why not play side 2 then?" Cuz then I would just play the title track over and over and the power went out all over the world

― dave q, Friday, 28 February 2003 11:36 (twenty-two years ago)

''"Turn On Your Lovelight" from 'Live/Dead'''

I like that!

I'd delete everything off the 'stone roses' and then it would be classic.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 28 February 2003 11:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Re 'Lovelight' - dunno, totally fucks up the flow of the CD for me, esp jux w/ "Death Don't Have No Mercy" yeah I know "DDHNM" is sequenced AFTER "Lovelight" but this is the Dead so we can get Tralfamadorian here, and plus doesn't it kinda remind you of the Blues Brothers? (Pigpen vs Belushi)(Weir vs Chase?)(Garcia = R Pryor obv)

― dave q, Friday, 28 February 2003 11:44 (twenty-two years ago)

this is borrowed from someone else:

on Beach Boys - Friends replace closer "Transcendental Meditation" with contemporary "I Went To Sleep" (from 20/20 collection - easy to do on the twofer) and you get their sweetest album.

(by the way, check Chris King's off-the-mark Amazon UK review where "Little Bird" and "Anna Lee, The Healer" are dismissed as 'inconsequential oddities'...!)

― Paul (scifisoul), Friday, 28 February 2003 11:57 (twenty-two years ago)

If E Bloom had sung "Wings Wetted Down" then 'T&M' would've been the greatest album of all time

― dave q, Friday, 28 February 2003 12:00 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd delete everything off the 'stone roses' and then it would be classic.

-- Julio Desouza (juli...), February 28th, 2003.

Julio yoo isst baaad mang.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Friday, 28 February 2003 12:18 (twenty-two years ago)

''and plus doesn't it kinda remind you of the Blues Brothers? (Pigpen vs Belushi)(Weir vs Chase?)(Garcia = R Pryor obv)''

hahaha! that's a great connection dave. never thought of it (this after andrew's crime and punishment => columbo thing as well).

but here its used in a negative way.

well I'll listen to this when i get home.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 28 February 2003 12:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Take Drawn From Memory by Embrace and their b-sides to the singles from that album, plus Over and If You've Never Been In Love With Anything from the next album. Make the awkwardly long titles shorter and arrange thus;

The Love It Takes
Get On Board
New Adam New Eve
With The One Who Got Me Here
Bunker Song
Over
Brothers And Sisters
I Wouldn't Wanna Happen To You
If You've Never Been In Love With Anything
I Had A Time

Et voila, a very good album. I must MD that song sequence when I get home.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Friday, 28 February 2003 12:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Amalgamate Kid A and Amnesiac so the tracklisting now goes:

Everything In Its Right Place
Pyramid Song
National Anthem
Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors
How To Disappear Completely
Like Spinning Place
Packd Like Sardines
Morning Bell
Life In A Glass House
Motion Picture Soundtrack

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 28 February 2003 14:10 (twenty-two years ago)

And Idioteque in after Morning Bell.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 28 February 2003 14:10 (twenty-two years ago)

its actually called Like Spinning Plates.

― rex jr., Friday, 28 February 2003 14:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Coldplay - A Rush of Blood to the Head

Politik - REMOVED
In My Place - REMOVED
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face - REMOVED
The Scientist - REMOVED
Clocks - REMOVED
Daylight - REMOVED
Green Eyes - REMOVED
Warning Sign - REMOVED
A Whisper - REMOVED
A Rush Of Blood To The Head - REMOVED
Amsterdam - REMOVED

And replaced with the whole of Appetite for Destruction.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 28 February 2003 14:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Matt DC speaks the truth.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 28 February 2003 14:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Fuck yeah.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Friday, 28 February 2003 14:36 (twenty-two years ago)

um, he is basically ripping off my post abt the first stone roses rec.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 28 February 2003 14:37 (twenty-two years ago)

''Fuck yeah.''

yeah for both coldplay and stone roses. thank you.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 28 February 2003 14:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh please. Appetite For Destruction could only be a good record if all the songs except for "Sweet Child O Mine" and "Paradise City" were removed.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Friday, 28 February 2003 14:44 (twenty-two years ago)

''Fuck yeah.''
yeah for both coldplay and stone roses. thank you.

-- Julio Desouza (juli...), February 28th, 2003.

Julio yoo isst styylll ay baaaad mang.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Friday, 28 February 2003 14:44 (twenty-two years ago)

um, he is basically ripping off my post abt the first stone roses rec.

Heh... actually, I didn't read most of the thread so I hadn't noticed that comment.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 28 February 2003 14:49 (twenty-two years ago)

*joking* of course

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 28 February 2003 14:54 (twenty-two years ago)

"In Limbo" is the best track on _Kid A_, though.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 28 February 2003 14:55 (twenty-two years ago)

"In Limbo" the best track radiohead eva done.

― rex jr., Friday, 28 February 2003 14:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Apart from *Creep*

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Friday, 28 February 2003 14:59 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm kinda sick of Creep already ;)

― rex jr., Friday, 28 February 2003 15:01 (twenty-two years ago)

If we pretend for a second that "Creep" doesn't suck, Nick's post makes sense. Only for that second, though.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 28 February 2003 15:02 (twenty-two years ago)

I think both Kid A and Amnesiac are fine enough as they are, but if I was to combine them, it would be more like this:

01. Everything In Its Right Place
02. Kid A
03. The National Anthem
04. How To Disappear Completely
05. You And Whose Army?
06. I Might Be Wrong
07. Knives Out
08. Optimistic
09. In Limbo
10. Idioteque
11. Morning Bell
12. Dollars & Cents
13. Like Spinning Plates
14. Life In A Glass House

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Friday, 28 February 2003 15:02 (twenty-two years ago)

This is the most cheerless ILM thread ever.

― hstencil, Friday, 28 February 2003 15:03 (twenty-two years ago)

You can't include "Kid A" over "The Pyramid Song"!

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 28 February 2003 15:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes I can. It's my favorite Radiohead song.

― Matthew Perpetua (Matthew Perpetua), Friday, 28 February 2003 15:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Substitute orig. "The Thing that Should Not Be" on 'Master of Puppets' with Daniel Johnston's versh

― dave q, Friday, 28 February 2003 15:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Edit the last 3 proper GBV releases.

― christoff (christoff), Friday, 28 February 2003 15:51 (twenty-two years ago)

'Kid A' is a great song if you're really really high. I'd leave it :)

― Alexis, Friday, 28 February 2003 15:56 (twenty-two years ago)

sharp darts. it's the only one where he does an american style and it just hangs poorly. i don't need an interpreter to tell me skinner's just goofing - but it's a bad idea to make your battle/boast track your goof track unless you're ODB. surrounding an out-take that's just an out-take with autobiographically brilliant pieces is NOT recommended, back-in-the-day or otherwise.

still on the fence about the first one. too much tell, not enough show i think. the big string section gets wearying in a jay-z kind of way, especially as track 1.

who got the funk? yeah it's just a groove but so was sly and family stone's entire catalogue.

leave remaining order as-is.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 28 February 2003 16:08 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm allowed to mention *Creep* because it is inspired by my brother. Or so he claims.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Friday, 28 February 2003 17:25 (twenty-two years ago)

tracer, i really like sharp darts, but its mostly for the rhythm

― jess (dubplatestyle), Friday, 28 February 2003 17:30 (twenty-two years ago)

"have you ever heard a beat like this before?" no, not exactly like this mike, but that's not enough i'm afraid.
"in 500 years they'll play this in museums" - a good point well made.

'turn the page' (track 1) is ace! it's like his blatant, shameless attempt at a big 'this is my moment' album opener, and just like the rest of the record it both falls completely flat and works brilliantly *at the same time.*

NB: this is why the album is so good.

― pete b. (pete b.), Friday, 28 February 2003 17:34 (twenty-two years ago)

There are loads of albums that would have made classic mini-albums, if you loped off loads of the tosh (i.e they hit the heights with their best stuff, but include stuff which is clearly beneath them.)Like Guided by Voices "Mag Earwhig" (from what I hear from others, this is a common trend on GBV albums).

I once set up a thread on similar lines, entitled "Albums your stereo's program function was made for". It was inspired by Fonda 500's "Number 1 Hi-Fi Hair", which should be programmed thus:
1,3,5,6,8,9,11,13,14

Other good examples:

Flaming Lips' "Transmissions from the Satellite Heart" should run: 1. Turn it On 2. Pilot can at the Queer of God 4. She Don't Use Jelly 5. Chewin' the Apple of your Eye 7. Be My Head 9. * * * * * * * 11. Slow Nerve Action. Chuck out the rest.

The Beta Band's "The Three EP's" should run: 1. Dry the Rain 2. I Know 3. B + A 5. Inner Meet Me 8. She's the One 11. Dr.Baker 12. Needles in my Eyes.

Underworld's "Beaucoup Fish" :
2. Push Upstairs 3. Jumbo 4. King of Snake 6. Skym 7. Bruce Lee
11. Moaner

Massive Attack - Protection
2. Karmacoma 3. Three 5. Spying Glass 7. Eurochild 8. Sly

I'd take the first two tracks of REM's "Up", and hey presto - their best rec.

Manic Street Preachers' "This is my Truth Tell me Yours": Take off SYMM, Be Natural, I'm Not Working, Nobody loved You. Put on b-sides "Montana Autumn 78" and "Prologue to History." Goes from being ok to very good.

I wouldn't take anything off Kid A or Amnesiac, except maybe "Dollars and Cents".

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Friday, 28 February 2003 18:06 (twenty-two years ago)

this may prove contentious, but:

take "Touched" off Loveless.

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Saturday, 1 March 2003 07:20 (twenty-two years ago)

The Cult, 'Electric' - "If Billy Duffy could play a half-decent guitar solo, this would be classic hard rock" - from 'People' magazine! What would a 'People' writer know or care about guitar solos or 'classic hard rock'? Poss. answers - a) the writer was a frustrated music crit who managed to get something by the editor (ie usually getting the 'tech' bits cut out of his submissions) b)the gtr playing was SO BAD that even readers of 'People' magazine would notice. On listening, the guitar solos are incredibly poor, lacking variation, form, structure, technique, tone, and purpose, but I'm optimistic that in ten years time Neal Hagerty will show me why they're actually really good, like he did when the rest of the world was unconvinced re Mark Farner. Gtr solos dealt with, the real obstacle between 'Electric' and greatness is the "Born to be Wild" cover, where they prove their Englishness by doing a stupid conceptual thing that probably seemed like the cleverest idea ever on paper.

― dave q, Saturday, 1 March 2003 10:30 (twenty-two years ago)

The Cult, 'Sonic Temple' - Gtr + flirtation-w/Brit-style-concept-fuckery problems solved subbing frankly pop production for previous attempted-cred-by-Dej-Jam-association, defeat snatched from jaws of victory again however by inclusion of "American Horse" which proves that if one chooses to follow the path of creating records combining all the subtlety of Bad Company w/ all the subtlety of U2, you are allowed a certain amount of leeway in some areas - ie, the lyrics do not have to make rational/moral/emotional sense/resonance, they do not have to say anything, they do not even have to mean anything - but they MUST SCAN. They must have some 'flow'. And "he-he's gone ker-ay-zee...(pause)KIMPLETE-lee ker-ay-zee!" doesn't. It's the 'completely' that ruins it. However if you delete this track (3, I think), you have the album that JAMC would have made if they could ever leave their room in Unintentionally Funny Flats at the intersection of Boring Blvd and Poser Parkway, Dull District, Pompous Precinct, Reverent Region, Uranus

― dave q, Saturday, 1 March 2003 10:41 (twenty-two years ago)

take "Touched" off Loveless.

*sniffs sadly*

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 1 March 2003 13:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Gtr solos dealt with, the real obstacle between 'Electric' and greatness is the "Born to be Wild" cover, where they prove their Englishness by doing a stupid conceptual thing that probably seemed like the cleverest idea ever on paper.

Agreed wholeheartedly. From my AMG review of the album: ""Peace Dog" starts good but ends up being what happens when the Doors are used as a model in the wrong way, while the version of the Steppenwolf classic "Born to Be Wild" should be taken out and shot."

However if you delete this track (3, I think), you have the album that JAMC would have made if they could ever leave their room in Unintentionally Funny Flats at the intersection of Boring Blvd and Poser Parkway, Dull District, Pompous Precinct, Reverent Region, Uranus

Dave Q, already the best critic of the year.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 1 March 2003 13:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Take "Dance the Night Away", "Bottoms Up!", "DOA", "Beautiful Girls" (alright, "Spanish Fly" too) from 'VH2', then stick them on the debut in place of "Feel Your Love Tonight", "Little Dreamer", and the pointless "You Really Got Me", and there's yr fuckin' masterpiece

― dave q, Sunday, 2 March 2003 13:50 (twenty-two years ago)

Midnite Vultures: replace "Peaches & Cream", "Broken Train" and "Milk & Honey" with "Salt in the Wound" and the epic seven-minute '70s sleaze-lounge masterwork shoulda-been-the-title-track "Midnite Vultures".

Combat Rock: Axe "Sean Flynn", insert "Midnight to Stevens".

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Sunday, 2 March 2003 15:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Ack! Can't take "Cups" off of Beaucoup Fish!

Maybe it's because I'm more a movie person than a music person, but this thread is sort of like people asking what scenes should've been chopped from [insert so-called "flawed masterpiece" from "acclaimed director here]. Just doesn't fly so well with me.

That said, Kid A is a great album except for "The National Anthem."

― Eric H. (Eric H.), Sunday, 2 March 2003 21:42 (twenty-two years ago)

'Virgin Killer' - Cut "Pictured Life", "In Your Park" and "Backstage Queen" and replace them w/ "We'll Burn the Sky", "Sails of Charon" and "He's a Woman, She's a Man" from the otherwise crap 'Taken By Force'

― dave q, Monday, 3 March 2003 20:06 (twenty-two years ago)

For Pogues records...
Take both Rum, Sodomy and the Lash and If I Should Fall from Grace with God throw out the obligatory stinker track from each album ("Gentleman Soldier" from RS&TL and "Fiesta" from IISFFGWG) and make a Double Album of incomparable genious.

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Monday, 3 March 2003 20:39 (twenty-two years ago)

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