Game: Create Your Own Tracklist

[Robert]

This has been done before just after an album was released, but I thought in preparation of Lifehouse's soon-to-be big year of 2015, we could take some time to reflect on past albums and the organization of songs within each.  The rules are simple: it has to flow from song to song (the ending of one must work well with the start of the next), it cannot include songs recorded after the fact, and it cannot use songs that have appeared on albums before the one you choose (unless you propose a version with an alternate mix or such).

I'll start off with the Robert edition of Stanley Climbfall.  First of all, the year would be 2003, as they released it prematurely and I think the album suffered as a whole because of it (both in sales and in the arrangements). They missed an opportunity with this record as well, as they missed the incredible ending that would have really helped the album leave on a great note. Also, Climb never made it, which I've always considered to be one of the best tracks from the SCf era; I feel like the song was designed to directly follow Spin in the tracklist. Here is what I would have done (I spent some time perfecting this order):

1. Spin (4:52) - first single
2. Climb (3:45) - second single
3. Wash (4:48)
4. Stanley Climbfall (3:48)
5. Am I Ever Gonna Find Out (2:38)
6. Anchor (5:03)
7. Sky Is Falling (3:28) - fourth single
8. Out of Breath (3:20)
9. Just Another Name (4:04) - third single
   
10. Wish (2:21) [string version with second chorus]
11. How Long (5:09)
12. Take Me Away (6:40) [in the style of the extended 01.09.29 bootleg version and the 2003 radio remix]
13. The Beginning (4:40)

---Deluxe Edition---

1. Empty Space (5:03)
2. My Precious (4:25)
3. The Edge (4:59)
4. Take Me Away (3:56) [Acoustic]

Before people critique each other's tracklists, I encourage them to listen to the respective album in that track order.  Have fun!

[ledvedderman]

Wish with strings??? I don't know if I have that one.

[Robert]

Jan 2, 2015 13:49:40 GMT -5 ledvedderman said:

Wish with strings??? I don't know if I have that one.

Not one that's ever been released, but I know Jason recently cut strings for Wish so I'm assuming that was his initial vision for the song.

[Robert]

Here's another Robert edition Lifehouse album in preparation of Out of the Wasteland, this time something that has never been released: B-Sides! With so many songs that never made the final cut, it seems fitting to bundle them together and create a tracklist and album art. No tracks officially released (or about-to-be) on standard or deluxe albums are allowed, however tracks on singles are allowed since they often never made it to stores. We also need to know what they sound like, so songs like Porcelain Mask or Shiny Silver Beast don't count. Consider each song rerecorded and properly produced (but still in the style of early Lifehouse), not live versions or anything. Without further ado, here's the hypothetical album Winds of Change:

1. Climb (3:45)
2. The Edge (4:39)
3. May (5:02)
4. Fool (4:25)
5. Midnight in Philidelphia (3:56)
6. Goodbye [in the style of the live version] (5:59)
7. Take the Weight (3:19)
8. You Can Shake the Mountains (5:06)
9. What Happens Next (4:01)
10. Better Part of Me (3:13)
11. Everybody is Someone (4:30)
12. Revolution Cry (7:00)

--- Deluxe Version ---

1. Stand (5:51)
2. Winds of Change (2:43)

And the album cover:

[Robert]

With two weeks to go until the release of Out of the Wasteland, I figure I'd try to breathe new life into my least-favourite Lifehouse album by posting another Robert edition, this time for Smoke & Mirrors. Now don't get me wrong, I love that record, but it always felt really really awkward to me and I think the tracklist was the reason why. Here's what I would have done:

1. All In (3:56) - third single
2. Halfway Gone (3:35) - second single
3. It Is What It Is (2:47)
4. Nerve Damage (4:27)
5. Smoke & Mirrors (4:40) - first single
6. Don't Wake Me When It's Over (3:26)
7. Here Tomorrow Gone Today (3:13)
8. Near-Life Experience (4:11)
9. Wrecking Ball (4:25)
10. Crash and Burn (4:41)
11. By Your Side (4:09)
12. All That I'm Asking For (4:20) - fourth single

--International Version--

1. Everything [Live in-studio] (6:26)
2. Halfway Gone [Acoustic] (3:25)

---

Smoke & Mirrors - Single (Sep 2009)

1. Smoke & Mirrors [Radio Edit] (3:55)
2. Nerve Damage (4:27)
3. Near-Life Experience (4:11)

Halfway Gone - Single (May 2010)

1. Halfway Gone [Radio Edit] (3:15)
2. Halfway Gone [Rock Remix] (5:30)
3. Halfway Gone [Acoustic] (3:25)

All In: B-Sides from Smoke & Mirrors - EP (Oct 2010)

1. All In (3:56)
2. Had Enough (3:43)
3. Falling In (3:41)
4. Best of Me (3:00)
5. Tired of Waiting (4:00)
6. In Your Skin (3:25)

All That I'm Asking For - Single (Apr 2011)

1. All That I'm Asking For [Radio Edit] (3:46)
2. From Where You Are (3:00)
3. Signs of Life (5:08)
4. Smoke & Mirrors [Acoustic] (3:45)

Nerve Damage should have been right next to Smoke & Mirrors in the tracklist, since both are cut from the same cloth and I think having Nerve Damage as track two completely confuses the album early on and leaves a bad taste (it would be like having The Joke as track two on WWA). I also feel like ATIAF is a fantastic album closer if it was mixed properly (in my mind it's the best song they cut during the S&M sessions).  DWMWIO is also such an incredible song that it deserved a place on the physical album, and it actually does a great job of slowing things down (much like Walking Away did from We'll Never Know). I feel like From Where You Are shouldn't have been a standard track; not that I don't like it (I completely adore that tune), it just gets lost in the real album. We know that Geffen never really did as much as they could have with Lifehouse, so just for fun let's make five singles instead, with my fictitious "All In EP" being subtitled "Outtakes from Smoke & Mirrors". Finally, a good chunk of it lacks depth due to some strangely flat-sounding mixing, so I'd have recorded and mixed the album just as they did on WWA.

I prefer listening to it this way, since as a whole it just seems to make more sense. My proposed order actually makes me consider this album to be really 'great', when before I just considered it 'good', and more than anything makes the thing more sensical as a follow-up to Who We Are.

Have a listen! Thoughts?

[ledvedderman]

I dig your enthusiasm, man. I really do. There are several of us here who have been around since No Name Face and we know one another quite well. Fresh blood is cool as hell. Bravo

[Shawn]

I have to agree with ledvedderman. I check this board at least twice a day for updates on the band during album release cycles and while I don't post as much as I used to, I really appreciate all the time and effort you (kingcarl) have put in to keeping this special place alive during these last few months (at least).

[Robert]

Thanks! I try

[apres13]

The tracklist that I would put on LH self-titled album:
Today (Promocional Single)
Blind (Second Single)
You And Me (Fourth Single) //the best in the end
Come Back Down (Third Single)
All In All
Into The Sun
Walking Away
Butterfly
Undone (Lead Single)
We'll Never Know
Days Go By
Better Luck Next Time
Bonus Tracks:
Along The Way
The End Has Only Begun
Chapter One
Midnight In Philadelphia
I don't know if I'm saying stupid things but this is the way I would make in this album... Enjoy it

[Robert]

Hooray, I'm not the only one doing this stuff! Interesting putting BLNT last, I wouldn't have thought of that. I like starting with Today, that's a good call. Actually the first four really flow nicely!

[apres13]

It is a good challange.. Wanna see a tracklist to Almeria of yours.. And than I will show mine... Do you agree?

[Robert]

Sure! How would you structure it?

[apres13]

I think that the key of this album would be make this in two parts: country and than "space"
Here it goes:
Right Back Home (Lead Single)
Gotta Be Tonight (Promotional Single)
Barricade
Between The Raindrops (Second Single)
Lady Day
Nobody Listen
Pins & Needles
Rolling Off The Stone
Aftermath
Only You're The One (Third Single)
Bonus tracks:
Moveonday
Slow Motion
Where I Come From
Always Somewhere Close

I don't know if it would be a good strategy but this way I think it would sounds better a little bit

[Robert]

Wow, your self-titled tracklist is quite nice! I enjoy the chance to listen to albums with fresh ears. I would have moved Walking Away to just after We'll Never Know, since the middle of your album gets kinda slow and drum-loopy. Otherwise, very good! Days Go By works really well near the end, and I really like the way you organized the first five tracks.

When Almería came out, there was a lot of backlash for being an album that didn't seem finished, and one that was chasing the radio too much. My proposal for that group of songs is a bit different: I present The Almería EP.

1. Right Back Home (feat. Charles Jones and Peter Frampton) (4:01)
2. Between the Raindrops (feat. Natasha Bedingfield) [with live ending style] (4:55) - single 1
3. Slow Motion (5:30)
   
4. Where I Come From (3:54) - single 2
5. Barricade (3:22)
6. Rolling Off The Stone (3:34)

These are six songs best showcasing the western theme, with the intent of reverting to the NNF/WWA style of Out of the Wasteland afterward.This would nix some of the worse moments (Gotta Be Tonight, Moveonday) and would save Aftermath, Lady Day and Always Somewhere Close for the new record's bonus track section, where they could be better recorded (all three seemed a bit poorly-produced). Plus, this way Out of the Wasteland would have 10 bonus tracks!

That does it for my Robert-edition tracklists for now; thanks for listening (and apres13 for partaking in this too!). We're almost there, just over a week go.

[apres13]

Thanks for listening my tracklist.. I'm excited to hear Out Of The Wasteland... Hope they promote this more than the others.