You Set The Order

Post by **silentseason** » Mon May 02, 2011 6:37 pm

Jac Holzman has always maintained that placing "Alone Again Or" as the first song was essential to introducing the rest of the selections for FC. It is a valid viewpoint but not the only one. For fun, here is how I would place the running order of FC. Feel free to offer your own vision.

Side One:

1. Live and Let Live- Lyrically a jarring start to the album. What better way to get your attention right off the bat.

2. Old Man- After the previous jolt here is a softer vision, but still keeping the bleakness up front.

3. Andmoreagain- The uneasiness continues, cloaked by the orchestration.

4. The Daily Planet- More disharmony with the tempo picking up.

5. Good Humor Man- Winding down side one with Arthur's fairy tale painting (or is it a horror story).

6. Wonder People- Side one ends with an up beat feel, maybe promising something positive on the next side (even though it wasn't originally issued you can't keep it off simply because it is too good a song to exclude).

Side Two:

1. Red Telephone- The most disturbing song and clearest vision of what Arthur's frame of mind was destroys any of the previous good vibes.

2. A House Is Not A Motel- The electric war anthem keeps the bad times going.

3. Bummer in The Summer- Not as disturbing as the first two but no real relief from the dark.

4. Clark/Hilldale- Finally some lyrical relief set to perhaps the most exciting piece of music on the album.

5. You Set The Scene- Is it sacreligous not to make this the album closer? Perhaps, but I found it perhaps too upbeat a way to conclude the album.

6. Alone Again Or- A total group effort and perhaps in a way the most bleak song. A proper way to conclude the collection.

Post by **jamestkirk** » Mon May 02, 2011 9:41 pm

SOme thought goes into this....but I would have actually added a few more of Bryan's to the mix....let's see where they would fit....

Fresh Hope
...this dark but hopeful song to slow things a bit...maybe after Red Telephone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngqMCk_mWXY

Tired Of Sitting
...jazzy feel that has some nice tempo changes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT9xL-IA ... re=related

She Looks Good
...just beautiful...would have fit nicely into the Love Catalog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHibnw_T ... re=related

Post by **silentseason** » Tue May 03, 2011 6:20 pm

jamestkirk wrote:SOme thought goes into this....but I would have actually added a few more of Bryan's to the mix....let's see where they would fit....

Fresh Hope
...this dark but hopeful song to slow things a bit...maybe after Red Telephone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngqMCk_mWXY

Tired Of Sitting
...jazzy feel that has some nice tempo changes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT9xL-IA ... re=related

She Looks Good
...just beautiful...would have fit nicely into the Love Catalog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHibnw_T ... re=related

Very interesting additions. I would have loved to have seen FC become a double album if they could have adapted some more of Bryan's offerings.

Post by **jamestkirk** » Tue May 03, 2011 7:49 pm

silentseason wrote:
jamestkirk wrote:SOme thought goes into this....but I would have actually added a few more of Bryan's to the mix....let's see where they would fit....

Fresh Hope
...this dark but hopeful song to slow things a bit...maybe after Red Telephone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngqMCk_mWXY

Tired Of Sitting
...jazzy feel that has some nice tempo changes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT9xL-IA ... re=related

She Looks Good
...just beautiful...would have fit nicely into the Love Catalog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHibnw_T ... re=related
Very interesting additions. I would have loved to have seen FC become a double album if they could have adapted some more of Bryan's offerings.

I know Arthur and Johnny thought much of Bryan's catalog too sugary but Alone Again Or was one of the darker songs and Bryan for all his exuberance had his darkness too!

Maybe the second record would have been more of a LoVE- Lost, Found & Forever Changed, love song kind of set?!

Strong Commitment!..about as dark as he gets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QukjmWnj ... re=related

Post by **BallroomDays67** » Tue May 03, 2011 9:03 pm

IMO, the assortment of songs contained on FC is nearly perfect. Sure, the track listing could have been rearranged a bit (I think that "Clark/Hilldale" would have made a great second track), but could they have added additional two sides worth and still maintained the same high standard? That would have been quite a task. Two Bryan songs on FC would have been fine had Love made an additional album. There really aren't any weak songs on FC, while two more of Bryan's best songs would have made the next album that much stronger. Unfortunately, we're left wondering what Love would have done with those unreleased songs in the studio.

"Your Mind and We" is one of the best things they ever did. You would have that song, "Gather 'Round", and at least two great Bryan songs. Plus, they could have perfected the songs that Johnny had mentioned, "Search for the Fatherland" and "Booker T." There's about half of the next album already, and they would have had more time to fill out the rest.