What makes a good compilation?
 

It's a question that's just come up in another thread; might as well branch it out rather than bog down the other thread with it.

I'll offer my opinions later (as I'm clearly a gobshite) so ... yeah - shoot.

the artists/performers

I always took compilations as a starting point to find something new and in the best case wanting to know more about it.

A good compilation for me isnt a place to find different artists who do the same music. its a place where i can find a wide range of music from likeminded artists.

The sequence and consistency.

^^like in a good DJ set?
good point, never thought about it that way.

whaaaaaaa???
that is what mastering achieves!!!!

sequence is secondary. what makes a good compilation is the breadth of what is compiled, so the comp always stays fresh in the ears, unlike a compilation of the best live Pearl Jam moments, or Santana's horrible "greatest hits"

sequencing is very important. Like al said I kind of like a comp to be a history lesson on a certain subject.

Sequence, no. Consistency meaning quality of work.Somewhat, yeah.

It depends.

Sometimes I like variety sometimes I don't. Generally tracks that are not longer than 7/8 minutes. I don't mind the style of music too much for as long as the compiler has an ear for outstanding songs and a way to make them work together regardless of their initial incompatibility. A decent compilation has tracks that sit well side by side, or are mixed in such a way that it gives an overall cohesive flow. The flow itself might not necessarily make you instantly love the songs on it, but might stimulate your proneness to picking it up at a later stage and give it another go.

I also like compilations that serve as primers for a whole style of music, record label or scene. I have tons of these and they have been my main source for getting to know new music over the years before the internet took over.

I don't think the songs should be longer than 5 minutes. The point is to highlight a bunch of artists right???

Otherwise it will be a compilation of 10 minute drone/noise farts (boring).

I already have my submission ready for whomever is receiving them.

This I can agree with. If someone can take pieces that initially are so different that from the surface it looks too scattered and mix them fluidly successfully into a beautifull collage they are genius.

It is like Interior design. Like having to fit the husbands deerhead into the wife's contemporary living room.

What will be the most interesting is the various musical styles that will break out of here. I have never seen so many ppl that love the same band have such a variance in musical tastes. It is diverse and wonderful.

ffs.
stay out of it.

kettle!
you still haven't shared your thoughts on mastering or what makes a good compilation. *winks*

100% previously unreleased or otherwise unavailable material.
Gives fans of particular acts good motivation to pick up the comp and get exposed to something new they might like at the same time.

^^100% agreement

me too^^^^^

my thoughts:
you shouldn't have a say on anything.

I agree too... which brings us to the next question. What format is it going to be released? CD?

If so that limits us to 70 minutes (I believe). Which brings me back to my other point; 5-6 minute cap on songs to allow for room?

song length to # of artists

8 minutes = 08 artists
7 minutes = 10 artists
6 minutes = 11 artists
5 minutes = 14 artists

is this fucking serious?
is this guy in charge of anything?

please let me know, thanks.

Hey, hevusa, are you talking about how the "SYG artists comp" should be organized or about how a "generic" compilation should?
I've a feeling you're mixing the two things a bit in here (see the bit about your submission ready to be sent and that "limits us to.." in the previous post).
Some of your posts here should go in that other thread, probably.


I find myself lovin' different comps for different reasons.
The overall quality is pretty obviously quite important, and when the tracks are good, sequencing can play a big part in the overall "feeling".
Something like the "cold waves..." comp I mentioned way too often is great, even though I think the sequencing isn't too spot on.
dunno I'm too tired, I want to read what Glice will post and nod my head for 15 secs.

the idea is mine, so at the moment I'm in charge. If it's two cds to make room for everyone, so that will be it. For as long as someone doesn't go too far with tracks that are 15 minutes in length, I don' see where the problems is. AWWRIGHT???

EVERYONE LISTEN TO PORKY!!!!!!! his idea he's in charge and probably the most capable

Wouldn't it be smarter to make it one CD? Are you going to sell them to people? How is this working really?

Easiest solution is just to throw it up on a free website I suppose. No cost involved. No profit to be made.

Yes, I'm in charge of how much uncompressed music you can fit on one CD. I declare it 74 minutes!!! :fuckyou:

Obviously that the person compiling has a real depth of knowledge of the music they are compiling and excellent taste.

Also with comps the effort made in compiling the music is very often reflected in the effort put into design of the whole object, i.e. sleeve design, quantity of liner notes, etc. E.g. look at the comps that come out on labels like Numero Group, Strut, Finders Keepers, etc.

Right.... but who is going to pay for all of that? And if profits are made how will that be handled?

DUUUUDE:

Standard CDs have a diameter of 120 mm and can hold up to 80 minutes of uncompressed audio (700 MB of data).

u b lagging.

i m kidding.



DUUUUUUUUUDE

this thread IS NOT about the compilation of music from people of the board.

:) haha
True... it seems Depeche Mode pushed the limits at 81:09 with their "Evolution" release. Though anything past 74 minutes is "not recommended".

Honestly, no idea.. I tend to keep my albums/comps under the 50mins mark.
check the added edit to my previous post btw, you're derailing things in here..

As a consumer it is not my concern

Right. It does bring up some good points about that comp though.

Right. So I'll say that I'm most interested in either diversity (if it's a primer on new or new to me bands) or consistency (as with Nuggets).

In terms of long tracks, I think it's fine to have the odd long piece; I think someone like Derek/ UUUUU wouldn't really work in a 2 minute slot. There was a great compilation from the Experimental Music from Japan stable that had a 30 minute (I think) piece at the end. The Wire tappers (which have gone downhill, but the first 3 or 4 were great) had the occasional longer piece. It's an aesthetic point, I suppose, but it's worth mentioning that if you're a songy band and can't make your point in less than 3 minutes you should probably give up (remember: you're not Sonic Youth).

i listen to compilations the majority of the time,like any other release i think they're good if they feature lots of strong material....

i like it if multiple tracks show up from certain artists,alot of comps focus on a time/place and sometimes a certain performer is truly a dominant force, or on the flipside it can be good to feature an overlooked performer multiple times and stay light on others who have more easily-available or well known material

being mostly/all composed of new or rare material is definitely a selling point

then you get comps like this. so amazing.

^^I really like the artwork of that!

yeah the artwork is sexy

I agree!

I prefer more original albums (I listen mostly the album entities, not only some songs from the albums) than the compilations, but if I listen compilations, I like that kind of compilations that includes rare material a lot. It is usually good solution to put songs in the compilation in releasing order, but I have some compilations where the songs aren´t in original releasing order and it has also worked when there has been taste with the order.

The most important reason why I don´t have Sonic Youth´s compilations Screaming fields and Hits are for the squires is that there is so little rare material.

In various artist´s compilations I also prefer that, how rare material is. Nuggets II (4cd box) is good example of that. Most of the material is very hard to find anywhere, because there are lots of bands that has made only few singles.

If it came down to it I could do a short track, but the shortest I usually work with is 6 or so minutes.

Also, who votes that hevusa has NO say in this project at all? He can maybe have a short track on it, if we're being nice.