Mainly thinking of the classic album format of like pop songs on side A and weird or spacier shit on side B - Hounds of Love, Abbey Road, Meddle, etc. Been super into Angel Olsen’s album My Woman lately which does this really well.
I realise this is quickly going to descend into ‘albums people like’ but hoping for at least one or two gems in this regard. Whatcha got?
The one that comes to mind (maybe not classic album territory) is Robert Wyatt – Ruth is Stranger than Richard. It has a Ruth Side and a Richard side – Ronseal!
Low by David Bowie
ha nice, i love that
btw by this i just meant the typical album format, not necessairly just well known or pop stuff
Jamie Lenman’s debut album Muscle Memory was one side of heavy fury and then the second side was stripped back and big bandy type stuff.
The one that springs to mind is Recurring by Spacemen 3 because the two sides are pretty much separate albums. The two main songwriters weren’t speaking to each other and wrote and recorded their side separately
My War - A side is hardcore, B side is proto-sludge metal
Abbey Road
Scum by Napalm Death is like this. Only Mick Harris is on both sides, the first side is with Justin Broadrick and Nik Napalm and the second is Lee Dorrian and a couple of others
Tago Mago by CAN.
The classic example (along with Low) would probably be Bringing it All Back Home, which has an electric side and and then an acoustic side.
It’s particularly clever, because the songs on the acoustic side are still radically different in tone to the folk based acoustic music Dylan had made before. It’s almost a double trick - after the shock of the amped up stuff on the first side his traditional audience must have heard an acoustic guitar on the second side and relaxed before going ‘hang on a minute, what’s this?’
My War immediately came to my mind too. Love that second side!
Minutemen’s Double Nickels on the Dime is another one that is split but into four. From the album’s wikipedia entry
For sequencing, the band decided that each band member would be allocated a side of the record, an arrangement inspired by Pink Floyd’s 1969 double album Ummagumma .[15] The band drew straws to select songs; Hurley won the draw and decided to pick his solo track “You Need the Glory”, followed by Boon and Watt.[18] The fourth side of the record was named “Side Chaff”, an admission that the songs present were the leftover songs.[
Millie Jackson - Caught up
Side one is all songs from the POV of a woman having an affair with a married man, side 2 is songs from the POV of the wife being cheated on
Features this classic
Donna Summer -I feel love
Side 1 - just a really long version of I Feel Love
Side 2 - other songs
Neu 75.
Ambienty first side, punky second side.
Great example and great album. Interesting because as you say it is the lyrical standpoint that changes, not the sound.
also i love this. feel like i’ve probably listened to it and just not paid that much attention. will give it another go with this in mind.
Faithful by Todd Rundgren
Side 1 is all “faithful “ cover versions - I think performed entirely by Todd whilst side 2 is original songs
Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends
Side 1 - a mini concept album with some of their best work on. Opens and closes with Bookends themes
Side 2 - a random collection of odds and ends
oh mate
