- Jul 27, 2006
- 341
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(this thread was somewhat inspired by the metal listening thread by Zephyrus)
Couple questions--- (1) Do you tend to prefer cd's with lots of tracks (over 10, mostly meaning upwards of 12 or more tracks), or less tracks (less than 10), and how much does that preference affect your judgment towards the quality of those cds? (2) What do you consider as the 'ideal number of tracks' for an excellent cd to have (meaning what is the specific usual/average amount of tracks that your most favorite cd's tend to have)? (Perhaps these questions may not matter to those who are not concerned with about listening to/judging albums as a whole) .
I prefer albums that have less than 10, mainly because, to me, that would decrease the chance for filler material to appear and therefore maintain the albums consistency and appeal. It also can make the album more focused as a whole (in my view). To me, albums with a large amount of tracks tend to need track trimming because of unnecessary tracks/interludes/etc. (this is one reason I am really not a fan of grindcore and what is generally considered as prog metal ala Dream Theater-types). For example, as much as I like albums like Obscura and Si Monumentum , I felt a few certain tracks could have been left out of both albums. That is not to say I believe albums with 10+ tracks are inherently weak in consistent quality (e.g. I seem to enjoy albums like Pestilences Testimony of the Ancients and Slough Fegs Atavism all the way through, both cds have well over 10 tracks). Nor am I saying that albums with less than 10 tracks are inherently better it just that I find that its a natural tendency for me to think more highly of albums consisting of less than 10 tracks (for reasons stated above).
The ideal number of tracks I consider for a favorite cd of mine to have is 8. I noticed a lot of my favorite metal cds each have 8 tracks to them (e.g. Close to a World Below, And So the Night Became, Dol Guldur, Unquestionable Presence, Awaken the Guardian, to name a few examples). 8 tracks is just right to me (and of course, any number of tracks can be just right if the album itself is good). In other cases, an album having very few tracks (like 3-5) can work out appropriately if for example, the songs consist of long drawn-out compositions which usually do not display a need for many, many tracks (e.g. albums such as hvis lyset tar oss, forgotten legends, etc).
Of course, I know other factors besides the number of tracks on an album (how you feel about the actual song lengths, song compositions, the way the songs sound, etc). play a part in how you judge that album qualitatively as well. And taking all these into context plays the largest role, but Im just trying to see what tendencies you notice regarding this topic
Couple questions--- (1) Do you tend to prefer cd's with lots of tracks (over 10, mostly meaning upwards of 12 or more tracks), or less tracks (less than 10), and how much does that preference affect your judgment towards the quality of those cds? (2) What do you consider as the 'ideal number of tracks' for an excellent cd to have (meaning what is the specific usual/average amount of tracks that your most favorite cd's tend to have)? (Perhaps these questions may not matter to those who are not concerned with about listening to/judging albums as a whole) .
I prefer albums that have less than 10, mainly because, to me, that would decrease the chance for filler material to appear and therefore maintain the albums consistency and appeal. It also can make the album more focused as a whole (in my view). To me, albums with a large amount of tracks tend to need track trimming because of unnecessary tracks/interludes/etc. (this is one reason I am really not a fan of grindcore and what is generally considered as prog metal ala Dream Theater-types). For example, as much as I like albums like Obscura and Si Monumentum , I felt a few certain tracks could have been left out of both albums. That is not to say I believe albums with 10+ tracks are inherently weak in consistent quality (e.g. I seem to enjoy albums like Pestilences Testimony of the Ancients and Slough Fegs Atavism all the way through, both cds have well over 10 tracks). Nor am I saying that albums with less than 10 tracks are inherently better it just that I find that its a natural tendency for me to think more highly of albums consisting of less than 10 tracks (for reasons stated above).
The ideal number of tracks I consider for a favorite cd of mine to have is 8. I noticed a lot of my favorite metal cds each have 8 tracks to them (e.g. Close to a World Below, And So the Night Became, Dol Guldur, Unquestionable Presence, Awaken the Guardian, to name a few examples). 8 tracks is just right to me (and of course, any number of tracks can be just right if the album itself is good). In other cases, an album having very few tracks (like 3-5) can work out appropriately if for example, the songs consist of long drawn-out compositions which usually do not display a need for many, many tracks (e.g. albums such as hvis lyset tar oss, forgotten legends, etc).
Of course, I know other factors besides the number of tracks on an album (how you feel about the actual song lengths, song compositions, the way the songs sound, etc). play a part in how you judge that album qualitatively as well. And taking all these into context plays the largest role, but Im just trying to see what tendencies you notice regarding this topic
