Albums vs. Songs

When The Decemberists most recent album, The Hazards of Love, was released not long ago, I read many reviews that wondered if the songs would work out of the context of the album. Much was made of The Hazards of Love being a concept album (something my metal-enthusiast friends are quite familiar with). Metal aside, concept albums went out with prog-rock in the late-70s, early-80s (don’t point out exceptions… I know there are exceptions).

While the jury is still out as to whether the songs work individually or not, my reaction is, who cares if the songs don’t work outside of the album context? It’s an album and should be listened to all at one time. There is nothing wrong with creating something that works only as one unit. There are thousands of albums released that people can pick and choose tracks from, but there should be room in the industry for aberrations such as this. And reviewers should review it on how it was designed, not how they want to listen to it.

I’ve recently put a moratorium on the random song setting on my iPod, instead choosing random album. I believe that the bulk of the bands I listen to are concerned with how the album works as a whole. The sort of moods song transitions build and which song goes best where. It’s my way of stepping away from the singles culture we are returning to.

Perhaps the best example I can give is listening to “You Never Give Me Your Money” – “Sun King” – “Mean Mister Mustard” – “Polythene Pam” - “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window” – “Golden Slumbers” – “Carry That Weight” – “The End” on The Beatles’ Abbey Road. You simply cannot listen to them out of order, and why would you want to? Each song makes the others that much better. I think it’s fair to say that few would want to break these songs up. So why can’t an entire album have the same consideration? There are plenty of songs in The Decemberists library and in the world that can stand alone.

There is nothing wrong with listening to songs whimsically and making track lists and such. You bought the music (or maybe not) and it’s your right to do what you like with it. I’m just glad that someone is trying to keep the album alive.