The Unthinkable... Cutting the Fat From Double Albums

[Unrepresented]

So, most of us will admit that even the best double albums could probably benefit from getting a song or two cut out. The White Album had "Revolution 9," Exile on Main Street had a tad too much sprawl, and I can't be the only one who skips forward through a few tracks on London Calling.

So, TBers, you've been assigned the task of reorganizing one of history's double albums to improve it. You get half the total tracks of the original, and you get to explain your reasoning. Yes, albums originally double LP that've been reduced to one CD still count.

I'll start with my favorite band, Guns N' Roses

Use Your Illusion (yes, paired releases count, so if anyone wants to fix the mess that Mesmerize/Hypnotize was, feel free).

Use Your Illusion I
1. "Right Next Door to Hell"
2. "Dust N' Bones"
3. "Live and Let Die"
4. "Don't Cry"
5. "Perfect Crime"
6. "You Ain't the First"
7. "Bad Obsession"
8. "Back Off Bitch"
9. "Double Talkin' Jive"
10. "November Rain"
11. "The Garden"
12. "Garden of Eden"
13. "Don't Damn Me"
14. "Bad Apples"
15. "Dead Horse"
16. "Coma"

Use Your Illusion II
1. "Civil War"
2. "14 Years"
3. "Yesterdays"
4. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (Bob Dylan cover)
5. "Get in the Ring"
6. "Shotgun Blues"
7. "Breakdown"
8. "Pretty Tied Up"
9. "Locomotive"
10. "So Fine"
11. "Estranged"
12. "You Could Be Mine"
13. "Don't Cry" (alternate lyrics)
14. "My World"



30 tracks/2 = 15 tracks for the new masterpiece...

1. "Right Next Door to Hell"
2. "Pretty Tied Up"
3. "Locomotive"
4. "Live and Let Die"
5. "Don't Cry"
6. "Bad Obsession"
7. "November Rain"
8. "Get in the Ring"
9. "You Could Be Mine"
10. "Breakdown"
11. "Garden of Eden"
12. "Estranged"
13. "Bad Apples"
14. "Dead Horse"
15. "Coma"

I always felt that if there were an issue (with what was otherwise an awesome double release by GNR) it was that Illusion I was a little mediocre in the middle, and that Illusion II doesn't have enough steam in the first half and closes on what's universally accepted as the weakest album closer ever: "My World." As a result, I chopped most of Izzy's Stonesy stuff out, and replaced it with more of Axl and Slash's harder hitting stuff. Swapped some tracks around to keep things moving.

Begin your ruthless editing, and villagers arm yourselves with pitchforks and torches. I know someone's going to go after Physical Graffiti.

[John Wentzien]

I just "skip" the trax I don't want to hear on any record....I'd rather still have them all on there though...(just in case I got the urge to hear them later)

[electracoyote]

I don't have time to go song-by-song, but The White Album by The Beatles immediately comes to mind. Even George Martin is on record as saying he wishes they had cut out the junk and reduced it down to a single disc superb recording. It would have rivaled Abbey Road.

[John Wentzien]

Originally Posted by Unrepresented

So, most of us will admit that even the best double albums could probably benefit from getting a song or two cut out. The White Album had "Revolution 9," Exile on Main Street had a tad too much sprawl, and I can't be the only one who skips forward through a few tracks on London Calling.

So, TBers, you've been assigned the task of reorganizing one of history's double albums to improve it. You get half the total tracks of the original, and you get to explain your reasoning. Yes, albums originally double LP that've been reduced to one CD still count.

I'll start with my favorite band, Guns N' Roses

Use Your Illusion (yes, paired releases count, so if anyone wants to fix the mess that Mesmerize/Hypnotize was, feel free).

Use Your Illusion I
1. "Right Next Door to Hell"
2. "Dust N' Bones"
3. "Live and Let Die"
4. "Don't Cry"
5. "Perfect Crime"
6. "You Ain't the First"
7. "Bad Obsession"
8. "Back Off Bitch"
9. "Double Talkin' Jive"
10. "November Rain"
11. "The Garden"
12. "Garden of Eden"
13. "Don't Damn Me"
14. "Bad Apples"
15. "Dead Horse"
16. "Coma"

Use Your Illusion II
1. "Civil War"
2. "14 Years"
3. "Yesterdays"
4. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (Bob Dylan cover)
5. "Get in the Ring"
6. "Shotgun Blues"
7. "Breakdown"
8. "Pretty Tied Up"
9. "Locomotive"
10. "So Fine"
11. "Estranged"
12. "You Could Be Mine"
13. "Don't Cry" (alternate lyrics)
14. "My World"



30 tracks/2 = 15 tracks for the new masterpiece...

1. "Right Next Door to Hell"
2. "Pretty Tied Up"
3. "Locomotive"
4. "Live and Let Die"
5. "Don't Cry"
6. "Bad Obsession"
7. "November Rain"
8. "Get in the Ring"
9. "You Could Be Mine"
10. "Breakdown"
11. "Garden of Eden"
12. "Estranged"
13. "Bad Apples"
14. "Dead Horse"
15. "Coma"

I always felt that if there were an issue (with what was otherwise an awesome double release by GNR) it was that Illusion I was a little mediocre in the middle, and that Illusion II doesn't have enough steam in the first half and closes on what's universally accepted as the weakest album closer ever: "My World." As a result, I chopped most of Izzy's Stonesy stuff out, and replaced it with more of Axl and Slash's harder hitting stuff. Swapped some tracks around to keep things moving.

Begin your ruthless editing, and villagers arm yourselves with pitchforks and torches. I know someone's going to go after Physical Graffiti.

Personally...I'd cut the whole G 'n' R albums and substitute the entire "Physical-G." albums

[M0ses]

Originally Posted by electracoyote

I don't have time to go song-by-song, but The White Album by The Beatles immediately comes to mind. Even George Martin is on record as saying he wishes they had cut out the junk and reduced it down to a single disc superb recording. It would have rivaled Abbey Road.

Tru dat. I cannot understand why people think of it as a "great album" or how many people consider it to be the Beatle's best album. Yeah it has a lot of great songs on it, in fact most of them are great, but as an ALBUM the White Album is really rather pathetic and well under Beatle's par, IMO. ANY release containing Revolution Number 9, which I don't consider to be music at all, is a fail, again IMO. Magical Mystery Tour, now THERE is an album.

[Unrepresented]

Originally Posted by John Wentzien

I just "skip" the trax I don't want to hear on any record....I'd rather still have them all on there though...(just in case I got the urge to hear them later)

There's no sense of adventure left in the world.

Originally Posted by electracoyote

I don't have time to go song-by-song, but The White Album by The Beatles immediately comes to mind. Even George Martin is on record as saying he wishes they had cut out the junk and reduced it down to a single disc superb recording. It would have rivaled Abbey Road.

Yup. It's wonderful to have such diversity, but there's also something to be said for albums that can be filled with perfect 10's throughout.

Originally Posted by John Wentzien

Personally...I'd cut the whole G 'n' R albums and substitute the entire "Physical-G." albums

[Kink Rimson]

Originally Posted by M0ses

Tru dat. I cannot understand why people think of it as a "great album" or how many people consider it to be the Beatle's best album. Yeah it has a lot of great songs on it, in fact most of them are great, but as an ALBUM the White Album is really rather pathetic and well under Beatle's par, IMO. ANY release containing Revolution Number 9, which I don't consider to be music at all, is a fail, again IMO. Magical Mystery Tour, now THERE is an album.

I quite like Revolution 9. It's amusing to listen to this sprawling sound collage and laugh at the bits that used to terrify me when I was little.

I've often thought Yes' 'Tales From Topographic Oceans' could do with a 'trim' - Obviously as it consists of four extended tracks you couldn't really cut a whole song (although I'm sure there are many on here who would like to ). There are some shining moments in there but sadly it's such a trudge to get to them. The recording quality is a bit ropey as well, very muddy.

I also think George Harrison's 'All Things Must Pass' could lose those loose jams. It would be a perfect album without them.

[lbwdog]

Too much music all at once, huh? Reminds me of a Van Morrison story told to me by Bas Hartong, (Big Dog at Mercury records).

He tried for a long time to get Van to put out a four CD box set but Van resisted time and time again. Finally, he brought him Eric Clapton's box set and after a few days, Van called and said "Alright I'll do it, but I want to do all original material"!!!
Can you imagine having forty fresh tunes to record?

[Unrepresented]

No one's going to give Sandinista a try? Goodbye Yellow Brick Road? Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness? The Wall?

[MonetBass]

Take tracks from a particular album and they lose their indentity. While I agree with the thought that there are double albums that could shed some tracks, to me, those 'disposable' tracks help make the album what it is.

BTW, two of the albums you mention above, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and The Wall, should never have any tracks removed.

[JimK]

Originally Posted by Kink Rimson

I quite like Revolution 9. It's amusing to listen to this sprawling sound collage and laugh at the bits that used to terrify me when I was little.

Thank you!
"Revolution 9" definitely doesn't fit in the "traditional song category" by any stretch. As a teen, I thought it complete noise. Later, I came to believe it has its place on that particular album...especially in that particular time in the band's evolution(?).
That said, it's too bad Harrison's "Not Guilty" got the ax from The White Album.

[Pilgrim]

I'll defend the White Album as an experience that's not just music. I've listened to the whole thing a number of times, and never found it lacking. It is what it is...and what it was intended to be.

[sarcastro83]

Originally Posted by Unrepresented

No one's going to give Sandinista a try? Goodbye Yellow Brick Road? Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness? The Wall?

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness... I never skip a track. Never. That was basically the soundtrack to my pre-adolescence...

[Unrepresented]

Originally Posted by MonetBass

Take tracks from a particular album and they lose their indentity. While I agree with the thought that there are double albums that could shed some tracks, to me, those 'disposable' tracks help make the album what it is.

You don't have to remove tracks because they're bad, you could simply streamline an album to be more focused, more heavy, more sensitive, whatever. And this is for fun, no real albums will be harmed in the making of these revisions.

Originally Posted by MonetBass

BTW, two of the albums you mention above, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and The Wall, should never have any tracks removed.

I think that Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is nearly flawless myself. One of the clear exceptions to the case of double albums struggling with filler, but that's not to say we can't have fun trying to improve on perfection.

[Unrepresented]

So, I was thinking that Notorious B.I.G.'s Life after Death album was particularly bloated. As a result, here's my suggestion to keep it more uptempo, more uniform, and get rid of the "smooth" R&B tracks that pop up and keep it more oriented towards the darker sample heavy grooves.

Disc 1:

1. Life After Death (Intro)
2. Somebody's Gotta Die
3. Hypnotize
4. Kick In The Door
5. #!*@ You Tonight (Featuring R. Kelly)
6. Last Day (Featuring The Lox)
7. I Love The Dough (Featuring Jay-Z & Angel Winbush)
8. What's Beef
9. B.I.G. (Interlude)
10. Mo Money Mo Problems (Featuring Mase & Puff Daddy)
11. Niggas Bleed
12. I Got A Story To Tell

Disc 2:

1. Notorious Thugs
2. Miss U
3. Another (Featuring Lil' Kim)
4. Going Back To Cali
5. Ten Crack Commandments
6. Playa Hater
7. Nasty Boy
8. Sky's The Limit (Featuring 112)
9. The World Is Filled... (Featuring Too Short & Puff Daddy)
10. My Downfall (Featuring DMC)
11. Long Kiss Goodnight
12. You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)

Revised Single CD version:

1. Kick In The Door
2. Hypnotize
3. Somebody's Gotta Die
4. Mo Money Mo Problems (Featuring Mase & Puff Daddy)
5. What's Beef
5. Ten Crack Commandments
6. Going Back To Cali
7. Niggas Bleed
8. Another (Featuring Lil' Kim)
10. My Downfall (Featuring DMC)
11. Long Kiss Goodnight
12. You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)

[D.A.R.K.]

this premise is lame imho.
that's why i prefer vinyl, focusing, and actually listening deeply.
no skipping tracks, no diminishing the experience to background noise. quieting the mind and actually listening isn't the norm anymore, i guess.
i just got flying lotus' new record on double vinyl.
wouldn't change a thing, it's killer beginning to end.
i guess though, if a band is just a crappy corporate creation, half of it will suck.... but i wouldn't buy that record anyway, so it is moot for me. ymmv.

[Unrepresented]

Originally Posted by D.A.R.K.

this premise is lame imho.
that's why i prefer vinyl, focusing, and actually listening deeply.
no skipping tracks, no diminishing the experience to background noise. quieting the mind and actually listening isn't the norm anymore, i guess.
i just got flying lotus' new record on double vinyl.
wouldn't change a thing, it's killer beginning to end.
i guess though, if a band is just a crappy corporate creation, half of it will suck.... but i wouldn't buy that record anyway, so it is moot for me. ymmv.

I disagree. The fine art of self-editing is not necessarily a "corporate" thing. It's something an artist does constantly, whether it's deciding whether or not to repeat a section, change a verse, include a song or whatever.

I'm just second guessing those great artists.

[elgecko]

Originally Posted by Unrepresented

No one's going to give Sandinista a try? Goodbye Yellow Brick Road? Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness? The Wall?

Bite your tongue man! Not only would I NOT trim songs from the Wall, I'd add in the ones that got cut, mainly When The Tigers Broke Free!

[Rocker949]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

I'll defend the White Album as an experience that's not just music. I've listened to the whole thing a number of times, and never found it lacking. It is what it is...and what it was intended to be.

+1

[XigXag]

I find theres more fat in your average regular length album.
The only people putting out doubles are established acts. Bands that have refined their sound, and composition style.
And its good enough to sell a ton of albums.
Most groups making a double album are better prepared to edit their output than you are.

And I'm not even going to go into putting a piece of art into the context of its time. Trying to judge Rev9 today, requires that you be able to see things from a 'then' perspective. Most people neglect to do that. Today it maybe a sound collage, at the time it was epic balls to release such a track.