I was listening to TIB ( again!) and wondered why it was so much more popular than the subsequent albums. Athough there can be many and strange explanations for this and all are probably relevant in some way , I wondered how much the music-flow and so hence the 'feel' of the album had to do with it.
I think TBWNN and ODE songs are just as good as TIB but what I think is different is the feel of the album.Playing TIB gives me a feel of 'I dont know whats coming next/ and I can't remember where Cage, Dear Diary and Pipedreams are actually situated when I am listening and each one is as good as the other ' TIB doesn't alter my mood too dramatically in play but at the same time , there is a change of speed and beat that somehow goes unnoticed. It stays relaxed.
I always hate the way Selfish Jean busted in on the second track on TBWNN and I didn't like 'Colder' on the album
( btw Its not that I dont like Colder and my personal feeling entirely ) but I think TBWNN is just as good as TIB as is Ode to J Smith .( I'll give it its proper title!)
I have track issues with some of The Beatles LP's ,except Sgt Peppers, so maybe its just a matter of personal taste , at the end of the day.
Actually I've grown away from Ode a bit, I'm not that fond of the "rockier tunes" on the album. They feel a bit forced in my opinion, like "oh we've got to be a bit more rocky again". Do you know what I mean?
I think the first half of TBWNN is pretty much equal with TIB. like Selfish Jean, Closer, Eyes Wide Open and My Eyes. That first half has the perfect mix of Travis: haunting melodies, relaxed rock, mixed with some sweet tunes.
I think some TBWNN tracks are the next Travis classics and none of the songs on Ode quite lives up to that standard, in my opinion. However the tracklisting on Ode is much better and there are some highlights, for example J. Smith, Last Words and Before You Were Young, which I really like.
I checked out the popularity of Travis albums, for the last week, on Last.fm :
The Invisible Band 7,008
The Boy With No Name 6,314
The Man Who 5,937
12 Memories 4,394
Singles 2,600
Invisible Band 1,258 (Incorrect tag, so another 1258 plays for TIB)
Good Feeling 1,232
Ode To J. Smith 810
Pretty interesting to find TMW on 3rd place there...
The Man Who and especially The Invisible Band both flow extremely well. My only problem with TIB is that Dear Diary stutters the album after the bright start and it takes the most upbeat song on the album (Side) to lift it again. But apart from that it's perfect. :)
With TBWNN, I think the first 8 tracks are perfect and I wouldn't change it at all. However, I would radically change it after that. I'd have The Great Unknown as track 9, Sailing Away as track 10 and Say Hello as track 11 and that would be my album. ;) Ode has some very special moments (Chinese Blues, Quite Free, Last Words, Before You Were Young, Broken Mirror) but has a few songs I've never fallen in love with. :)
I checked out the popularity of Travis albums, for the last week, on Last.fm :
The Invisible Band 7,008
The Boy With No Name 6,314
The Man Who 5,937
12 Memories 4,394
Singles 2,600
Invisible Band 1,258 (Incorrect tag, so another 1258 plays for TIB)
Good Feeling 1,232
Ode To J. Smith 810
Pretty interesting to find TMW on 3rd place there...
Thats astonishing!
And yes , I know what you mean about the force of being rocky on Ode for first 4 tracks. I thought that was a good idea when I first heard it but now I have started to think differently. I liked 'Something Anything' but as track 3 it sounds forced somehow and loses its appeal .( imo!)
I think you can really like a track but then not like it on an album , if that makes sense.
I dont think those marks reflect the quality or strength of the album though, Ode could have been perfected a bit more but I guess that wouldn't have made much difference as there was no 'real' promotion for that album, or Travis for that matter as they were 'on leave' from the UK *coughs* :)
I think there is a perfect album to come.TBWNN came close.
The Man Who and especially The Invisible Band both flow extremely well. My only problem with TIB is that Dear Diary stutters the album after the bright start and it takes the most upbeat song on the album (Side) to lift it again.
Now I dont think that , I love the way Sing leads to Dear Diary lol....to me the first few notes of DD and the laid back yet excellent quality of the song make my mind interested in what is to come ; with Side coming next , it just gets better - its just perfect.
