Boards
So who is already listening to an edited tracklist of Shake the Habitual'?
There seems to a lot dissatisfaction with the overall length and the sheer amount of running time devoted to ambient 'space'. A few have already commented that they'll probably not be able to sit through a whole album and will probably trim it down or select the bits they like.
I think the biggest question's going to be around 'Old Dreams Will Be Realised' - some hate it, others love it and more are bemused.
I'll say this about it - it's a really interesting experiment in slowly building tension and if you listen to it in isolation, I find I can admire it.
In an album that is already very long and has very large amounts of experimentation, I'm beginning to think it sticks out like a sore thumb. I did begin by thinking it was a great center piece to hand the album off but it hasn't got that 'grandeur' for it to serve that purpose.
Neither is it a good way of creating space and atmosphere between songs because - well, it's just too long for that. By the time you've got through it, it's killed the album dead for me and it's almost like a new album has to get itself going all over again. By the time I've sat through it my attention has been sapped so much that I think the following songs seem to drag more than if they do when I listen to them in isolation.
I've listened to this album a few times now since yesterday so this isn't me giving the track list a reasonable chance, but I'm going to experiment by removing 'Old Dreams Will Be Realised' and see if that makes a real difference - I wouldn't be surprised if it really did because it's such a monstrous thing.
Has anyone else been editing for their own pleasure?