Sorry Mikko85, i don't know your name (unless it's Mikko85) but you speak a lot of sense again. ;) (Apart from removing Broken Mirror which i really like). I would remove Get Up and replace with Ballad definitely. I also think putting Used To Belong in place of Long Way Down would have been good too.
I also agree that with previous albums, even though there has been some great, great b-sides, the track listings have been pretty good. I think they got it slightly wrong with TBWNN (apart from the first 8 tracks which are perfect) and i think they've got it slightly wrong here too. With Ode songs plus its b-sides they have possibly their best album but there are just a few on Ode which stop that. For me anyway. It's all opinion of course. I love Used To Belong, Sarah and The Ballad Of J Smith more than i like Get Up, Long Way Down and Friends.
Sorry Nikki. :) Not so wow on Get Up. Surprised it didn't lose more than 24-6 against Sarah in the Travis League.
Sorry Mikko85, i don't know your name (unless it's Mikko85) but you speak a lot of sense again. ;) (Apart from removing Broken Mirror which i really like). I would remove Get Up and replace with Ballad definitely. I also think putting Used To Belong in place of Long Way Down would have been good too.
I also agree that with previous albums, even though there has been some great, great b-sides, the track listings have been pretty good. I think they got it slightly wrong with TBWNN (apart from the first 8 tracks which are perfect) and i think they've got it slightly wrong here too. With Ode songs plus its b-sides they have possibly their best album but there are just a few on Ode which stop that. For me anyway. It's all opinion of course. I love Used To Belong, Sarah and The Ballad Of J Smith more than i like Get Up, Long Way Down and Friends.
Sorry Nikki. :) Not so wow on Get Up. Surprised it didn't lose more than 24-6 against Sarah in the Travis League.
I don't think that UTB should be on the album, it's too... lush and full for the stripped-to-the-bone Ode. Sarah and Ballad could work but I think they've made an album which runs well anyway and if the album songs and b-sides were swapped we wouldn't think that Ballad was a great track, b-sides come with lower expectations.
For me The Man Who songs just sparkle somehow, they're special. It's the sound of a band at their absolute peak and Ode is lacking that last bit of magic, though they've shown the song-writing is still top-notch.
No, i do think Ballad would be just as great if it was on the album. My expectations were high. Previous b-sides being Used To Belong and Sarah made me very excited about it. :) I think Used To Belong would work on the album, after Broken Mirror. They may have an album which runs well, but i think they could have made an album run just as smoothly with better songs. Those better songs exist in Ballad, Sarah, Used To Belong. :)
It's all interesting though. Different people have different opinions. Same with the band. Dougie loved 'You Bring Me Down' and wanted it on TBWNN. Fran didn't like 'Eyes Wide Open' until they started playing it live but the other 3 loved it. :)
No, i do think Ballad would be just as great if it was on the album. My expectations were high. Previous b-sides being Used To Belong and Sarah made me very excited about it. :) I think Used To Belong would work on the album, after Broken Mirror. They may have an album which runs well, but i think they could have made an album run just as smoothly with better songs. Those better songs exist in Ballad, Sarah, Used To Belong. :)
It's all interesting though. Different people have different opinions. Same with the band. Dougie loved 'You Bring Me Down' and wanted it on TBWNN. Fran didn't like 'Eyes Wide Open' until they started playing it live but the other 3 loved it. :)
Nooo! Not Used To Belong! Lol! Tail Of The Tiger is much, muuuuuuuuuuuch better. And I think the style of UTB doesn't suit Ode's atmosphere.
Tail, Ballad and Sarah are brilliant songs, imo. And I think the three of them could have done well on the album. I'd get rid of Get Up to include one of these songs, but definitely not Friends, Broken Mirror or Long Way Down.
Anyway, Ode sounds amazing the way it is, even though I think that the three aforementioned b-sides are way better than Get Up :oP
All I have to say is you guys are NUTTY for wanting to take "Long Way Down" off Ode and swap it with anything. It's an amazingly cool song, one of my personal favorites on the album and Ode would not be the same without it!!!
All I have to say is you guys are NUTTY for wanting to take "Long Way Down" off Ode and swap it with anything. It's an amazingly cool song, one of my personal favorites on the album and Ode would not be the same without it!!!
Word! LWD is one of my favourites since the first time I listened to Ode. You NUTTY people hear/read what Nikki just said ;oP.
Tail Of The Tiger is really good too. I don't think it's as good as the other b-sides but it is still a lot better than Get Up. :)
Nikki, i like Long Way Down. :) I was a big supporter of it before the album came out. I adored the live version and even went on about it being a future single. However, it isn't as good on the album i don't think. The production is far too rough for my liking. It feels like i'm being negative but i'm not. lol The Ballad Of J Smith is a brilliant song and is stuck in my head. It's a lot better than Long Way Down i think. :)
I happen to think people who enjoy Long Way Down over The Ballad Of J Smith are nutty. ;)
Hehe maybe we should stop arguing and just be pleased with getting served Travis music on a silver plate. We must not digest it too long cause then it will become SHIT!!!
Only joking, I'm the guy who's in charge of the Travis League, you know ;)
Well I don't want to change any songs on Ode, but I could definitely do with Sarah and Ballad on the tracklisting cause they would be two highlights of the album =)
But don't want to take away Broken Mirror, it's become one of my favourites and Long Way Down is a grown up sister to Good Feeling =)
Agree it's all opinion - but I've been listening to 'Ballad' almost non-stop for the last 48 hours. I stuck it on my mp3 player, then on my way to/from work today I'm simply CONSTANTLY listening to it. I select it on random shuffle, let it run for another 2/3 random tracks then think 'I'd like to listen to it again' and scroll back.
I don't just love it anymore, I adore it. I think it's probably the best b-side ever. It's so strong, distinctive, catchy, has a chorus to die for and just 'works' from start to finish. It's so Travis. It's like stepping back in time to the days when Sing was all over Radio 1, they were the most popular, most played band in the country and were producing instantly infectious, distinctive songs which had some pretty sad, deep, thoughtful lyrics somehow to a really happy, uplifting tune. A contradiction that made them so interesting and so radio-friendly.
I'm rambling now. Anyway, my point is that I reckon had The Ballad of J.Smith been on 'Ode', I'm sure a lot of reviewers would have hightlighted it as a real, er, highlight. I think it's a brilliant song, totally radio friendly and if I was just listening to all the Ode recordings without knowing which had single/album/b-side status, I'd have this down as single #1. Personally.
Think on that same note, it's quite comparable to Something Anything, particularly the way it starts and ends. Similar tempo, similar beat, similar tone, similar sound. Only, for me FAR more distinctive, far catchier, with infinitely better lyrics and a far stronger chorus. That's my justification for thinking they've slightly misjudged the Ode traclisting and subsequently decision on what to have as lead single. When THE officil lead single happens to have a fairly similar, but also (IMHO) better counterpart that's 'only' a b-side.
Agree it's all opinion - but I've been listening to 'Ballad' almost non-stop for the last 48 hours. I stuck it on my mp3 player, then on my way to/from work today I'm simply CONSTANTLY listening to it. I select it on random shuffle, let it run for another 2/3 random tracks then think 'I'd like to listen to it again' and scroll back.
I don't just love it anymore, I adore it. I think it's probably the best b-side ever. It's so strong, distinctive, catchy, has a chorus to die for and just 'works' from start to finish. It's so Travis. It's like stepping back in time to the days when Sing was all over Radio 1, they were the most popular, most played band in the country and were producing instantly infectious, distinctive songs which had some pretty sad, deep, thoughtful lyrics somehow to a really happy, uplifting tune. A contradiction that made them so interesting and so radio-friendly.
I'm rambling now. Anyway, my point is that I reckon had The Ballad of J.Smith been on 'Ode', I'm sure a lot of reviewers would have hightlighted it as a real, er, highlight. I think it's a brilliant song, totally radio friendly and if I was just listening to all the Ode recordings without knowing which had single/album/b-side status, I'd have this down as single #1. Personally.
Think on that same note, it's quite comparable to Something Anything, particularly the way it starts and ends. Similar tempo, similar beat, similar tone, similar sound. Only, for me FAR more distinctive, far catchier, with infinitely better lyrics and a far stronger chorus. That's my justification for thinking they've slightly misjudged the Ode traclisting and subsequently decision on what to have as lead single. When THE officil lead single happens to have a fairly similar, but also (IMHO) better counterpart that's 'only' a b-side.
Oh, and my name's Mike :)
Safe to say you like it then lol. I agree that it is very 'Travis' too. I almost caught myself saying 'why don't Travis make 'em like this anymore?'. But hey, musical evolution 'n all that. I want them to make more J. Smith's too so I guess I'm after the best of both worlds. :P
That may be a ramble, but it is one hell of a good one. :) lol Totally agree with you, 100%. When I first heard it, and I think I said in this thread, I thought it was probably a top 10 b-side. Well, it's certainly that. I think it might be my favourite Travis b-side now. It was Sarah, then Used To Belong came along, now... The Ballad Of J Smith. :) Like you say, it's the perfect Travis single and like I said before, not only should it have been on Ode itself but it should have been a single. Release it with a performance on Wossie, a top video and a bit of promotion, it would chart well. :)
Maybe when they come to release the b-side album (which is becoming a GREAT album in itself) this could be a song to promote it. :)
That may be a ramble, but it is one hell of a good one. :) lol Totally agree with you, 100%. When I first heard it, and I think I said in this thread, I thought it was probably a top 10 b-side. Well, it's certainly that. I think it might be my favourite Travis b-side now. It was Sarah, then Used To Belong came along, now... The Ballad Of J Smith. :) Like you say, it's the perfect Travis single and like I said before, not only should it have been on Ode itself but it should have been a single. Release it with a performance on Wossie, a top video and a bit of promotion, it would chart well. :)
Maybe when they come to release the b-side album (which is becoming a GREAT album in itself) this could be a song to promote it. :)
Maybe when the b-side album comes out this could be the first b-side ever to be released as a single! :D
