My band has been in the studio doing some recording and is looking forward to coming out with our first real CD. Previous “releases” by us have been bits of live performances. These tracks are taken from the sound board, not mastered but pieced together into a small CD with minimal attention to sequencing. We sell these cheap only at gigs.
Well now the question of sequencing has come up and I wonder if any of you have some suggestions. We know how to put together live sets. What we do to keep inebriated people in a pub entertained is different than what we do in a concert venue; but a CD might be another cup of tea altogether and we don’t have a clue. I know I’ve heard to fill the first three tracks with your best fast and lively stuff. I’ve also heard people talk about a CD having a “play arch” that goes from lively to more mellow then ending with a roar (kind of what we do in concerts).
You always want to start out strong, but how you end depends on your repertoire. If you have a tune that has the feeling of an anthem or a “good-bye” tune (the Beatles’ end to the Abbey Road album - “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make” - is a good example of a tune that just cannot be followed). Otherwise, end as strongly as you began.
For the rest, I’d advise never putting two slow tunes together. Fast tunes can come in groups, but vary type. If you do vocals, but they are in the minority, do the first vocal as the second or third tune, and weave them in from there. If vocals dominate, reverse the foregong.
Let interest be your guide - what is the ear ready for based on what just ended? For fun, try running your CD on random play and see how the juxtaposition of tunes strikes your ear. You may be surprised to see how certain tunes combine.
Don’t overlook sequencing. For me, it often makes the difference of what makes me come back to an album. I really listen to music, so I see an album as a recorded peformance. Again, using the Beatles, I think the success of Sgt Pepper owed much to the sequencing of the tunes. There was no through-line, but it sounded like a “concept album” because of how the tracks were sequenced. And notice that the reprise of Sgt Pepper did not end the album; it just didn’t sound finished. But what could possibly follow “A Day In The Life”?
Thanks Cubit. Your advise is helpful. We have about 2/3 more tunes than songs. Some we mix together (like doing a piece of a reel as the break of a song and then going into the reel at the end of the song). Anyway, it sounds like what you suggest is roughly the same as what we try to do for a set in a concert venue. I particularly like the idea of listening to everything randomly…might lead to some unexpected juxtapositions.