Ignored second side of an album

Dean wrote: tdfloyd wrote: Pink Floyd's Meddle.  I don't mind the first side but it pales in comparision to the second, so many times I don't play it.  BTW, I don't mess with the order with the exception of  PF's Wish You Were Here.  In the days of cassettes, I recorded the second side first, followed by the first side.  That way you get Shine On You Crazy Diamond parts 6-9, followed by parts 1-5 together.  About 25 minutes of bliss and the rest of the tracks are great too!        mess with Floyd and then have the audacity to use their name...             ...I'm going out, I may be gone some time...

What - messing with the Floyd.  Hmmm - aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhh

Hey - you ever tried putting together parts 1-5 with 6-9 straight off on "Shine On.." - eh why parts 6-9 then 1-5 - I feel upside down and inside out - Hey, didn't Rick Wright say that?

But I could mess with Yes - actually I would put my mess on Yes...

hahhaha.. how about side 1 of L' Egitto prime delle Sabbie

I'm generally a complete album kind of guy.  If I don't listen to the whole thing I feel sort of incomplete inside.  A good album is not just a set of songs, but one that works also as a whole.  This is not to say all albums are good in that way.  There are a couple of albums I have that I will play on shuffle though, neither prog: Derek and the Dominoes and The UFO Has Landed by Ry Cooder.  For some reason, I like to be surprised by what will come next on either of those.  Skipping tracks is also a rarity for me.  If I like the artists I will tend to like all of their songs, or at least not dislike them.

Normally if I don't like one side, I don't like an album, although Brain Salad Surgery was kind of like that with me. I like the tracks on the first side, don't get me wrong, but Karn Evil 9 is so good the first side to me is kind of boring.

Okay, I have to say I find some of this crazy.  I mean, when I said early on that I listen often to just side 1 of Tarkus and  A Wizard (and caught a ribbing for it) that was one thing.  Tarkus side 1 stands alone, Wizard side 1 stands alone... makes sense, they're contained concepts.  But, to choose one of the more egregious examples, to not listen to side 2 of Thick as a Brick?!?!?  That I could never think of doing; it's all or nothing, that's a whole piece. 

I guess this thread makes me realize that I'm a purist for the most part.  Even with iTunes, 99% I play whole albums, in order, even if the album is a collection of songs and not some concept through (and when it comes to vinyl, it's time to just leave it alone, play that whole record).  If I don't listen to a whole album in one sitting it's just because of time constraints.  Some days you can't take in all of Tales from Topographic Oceans or Tago Mago at once, so you catch up on it the next day. 

Now there are times when you need to hear that one song; in a case like that I'm not so crazy as to think, well I want to hear that one 6 minute song so I'm going to have to find 40 or more minutes to do it since I'm a slave to the whole record.  And of course there are times when you don't need to hear that one song.  "Money" by Floyd was mentioned above and it's a good example; who, of a certain age, hasn't heard that song enough on the radio over the decades?  That, or say "Stairway to Heaven", can be skipped often, despite their high quality, just due to the over-saturation of my addled ears.  This way, when on occasion I do play them, it's a special event.

P.S. Micky:  Looks like no one got your reference.  Funny though.

Phideaux wrote: I totally agree about Tarkus

I totally disagree. Sorry, but Bitches Crystal, the Only Way, Infinite Space and Time and a Place are great side 2 tunes. Admittedly, Jeremy Bender and Are you Ready Eddy are throw aways,  but I think because Tarkus itself is such a powerful piece, it's hard to follow up with single songs on the second side. Had it been a longer piece and taken up more of side two (a la BSS) then maybe it wouldn't be thought of in this way.

JD wrote: I totally disagree. Sorry, but Bitches Crystal, the Only Way, Infinite Space and Time and a Place are great side 2 tunes. Admittedly, Jeremy Bender and Are you Ready Eddy are throw aways,  but I think because Tarkus itself is such a powerful piece, it's hard to follow up with single songs on the second side. Had it been a longer piece and taken up more of side two (a la BSS) then maybe it wouldn't be thought of in this way.

American Khatru wrote: raindance wrote: Sides 3 & 4 of 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'. If any double album should have been a single disc, this is it! Sweet KeeeRIST!  It just keeps mounting.  Laz, you've quite innocently posted a thread that has brought out something really ugly, something I'd rather not know about.  I've got to unsubscribe from this thread; I'm going to look away.

raindance wrote: American Khatru wrote: raindance wrote: Sides 3 & 4 of 'The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'. If any double album should have been a single disc, this is it! Sweet KeeeRIST!  It just keeps mounting.  Laz, you've quite innocently posted a thread that has brought out something really ugly, something I'd rather not know about.  I've got to unsubscribe from this thread; I'm going to look away.   It seems the critics suggest I may have  been too kind for even liking the first half of 'The Lamb'       http://paralleluniverse.msn.com/photos/music/rock-concept-albums/?GT1=28140&photoidx=25

tdfloyd wrote: I never was a big fan of Pillow of Winds and Fearless and lets face it, Meddle is all about Echoes.  So side 2 was always first.