Originally posted by Bloodraven:I recalled Radiohead's Ok Computer / In Rainbows theory that both albums were meant to be played intertwined, and I wanted to try that theory in here.
We know that both albums communicate with each other and there's some explicit connections.
The idea is:
-Create one single tracklist containing both albums, alternating between one SOI with one SOE, using all the 24 songs of both albums, AND NOT using b-sides or non-album tracks.
-The SOI and SOE pairs should have a connection, explicit or otherwise (I'm trying to assume that every SOI has a SOE counterpart, even if sometimes that connection seems rather weak)
-The album has to flow nicely, no "sharp turns", make transitions that work.
-There's 2 songs more in SOE than in SOI, which means we'll need to open and close with SOE, and to have a double SOE somewhere in the middle. The obvious in here is opening with All We Have Left (that's its reason of being after all), and in the middle don't split Get Out and American Soul, since both are connected with the blessings.
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Well, here's my go at mixing both albums in one big double album. I've been working on this all afternoon, so I've already listened to the full thing twice.
Please give it a shot and comment which transitions you don't like or how it could work better for you:
SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND EXPERIENCE
1. Love is All We Have Left
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2. Iris
3. Lights of Home
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4. California
5. Summer Of Love
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6. Every Breaking Wave
7. Landlady
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8. Reach Me Now
9. Red Flag Day
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10. The Troubles
11. Get Out of Your Own Way
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12. American Soul
13. Volcano
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14. The Showman
15. The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)
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16. You're The Best Thing About Me
17. Cedarwood Road
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18. The Blackout
19. Raised by Wolves
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20. There Is a Light
21. Song For Someone
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22. Love Is Bigger
23. Sleep Like a Baby Tonight
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24. The Little Things That Give You Away
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The Connections
Some connections are explicit: Volcano, SFS, Iris.
The rest are more subjective and sometimes very weak, but let's have fun with it:
*In Summer, you've been thinking about the west coast? That's California.
*Caledonia mentioned (correctly, imho) that Red Flag Day gave a The Clash vibe? That's Reach me Now
*In Landlady Bono mentions every wake that broke him, that's Every Breaking Wave
*The Showman... is there something about being an artist and performer in SOI? that's The Miracle
*Ali's the best thing that happened to a boy, to a boy that lived in Cedarwood Road with all the problems of living in there.
*In Troubles, you realize that the trouble is you, so you better get out of your own way.
*I don't know the lyrics of it, but at least the title of Love is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way fits with the really dark subject of Sleep Like a Baby Tonight.
*Then, the political Blackout meets the political Wolves.
*And although I don't want to close this album with the line "The End Is Here", you have to admit that it works poetically.
The transitions some are excellent: Love is All We Have Left --> Iris seems almost as if that was intentional, and Song for Someone works beautiful right after There Is a Light (thematically sound better the other way around, but musically this worked better). But I really loved the majority of them.
Listen to them and let me know if they worked for you.