But it doesn’t have to be that way. With a little creativity and planning, your next album can be more than a yearbook; it can say something more, with each song informing the rest. Yes, even on an album with nothing more than cover tunes:
* Consider a unifying theme. A theme doesn’t have to tell a specific story, and you don’t need some major conceit that turns each song into a chapter or plot device. If you’re a college a cappella group, you could choose songs that reflect different aspects of college life. If you’re a chorus and most members have kids, maybe a children’s album or songs about parenthood would be of interest. Songs about the sun would make a great summer record, and songs about driving would be perfect for a road trip. And of course, there’s always great value in making a holiday album, which in the case of most groups ends up their best selling and most frequently played album.
* Consider a single musical style. If you’re like most a cappella groups, you probably perform a variety of styles, which your fans enjoy in concert, but if your fans are like most people, they tend to listen to a specific style of music fitting their mood or circumstance. Perhaps an album of jazz standards, or 70’s arena rock, or patriotic music. There are many ways to tie together a selection of cover tunes by style, and if you do, you’ll probably find your album getting more frequent spins: dinner jazz in the evening, uptempo dance tunes becoming a regular aerobic workout.
* Consider recording a concept album in its entirety. Freddie Feldman assembled a cast and painstakingly recorded “Dark Side of the Moon” from start to finish with a precision that allows it to be played along with the “Wizard of Oz” just like the original. The result has been international interest and praise. “The Who Sell Out” was similarly recorded recently and received a great deal of ink as well. And if rerecording an existing concept album sounds too restrictive, consider arranging each song to be different from the original: Queen’s “A Night at the Opera” could have each song completely refashioned without destroying the overall unity or effect. In fact, considering the variety within the original I’ll bet Freddie Mercury would wholeheartedly approve.
* Weave in other sonic elements. An album from a certain era could feature sound clips and news bulletins from that era; imagine a 40’s swing album peppered with WWII updates and fireside chats. If you’re working with a space theme, rocket launches, Sputnik beeps and “Houston Control” communiqués might be fun.
* Reinforce the theme in your album art. Your theme might be so loose that it needs some graphics to help explain and reinforce your unifying concept. “Fitchy & Grikko,” the most recent House Jacks studio album, was built around a circus sideshow theme, which allowed us to incorporate a wide variety of musical styles, and reflected the general tenor of our experience around that time (much as Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” was an album about their internal emotional upheaval: conflict, breakup, divorce).
The album art reinforced our larger message, by explaining our title (Fitchy & Grikko are two clowns) and setting a mood for the album (circus meets Sgt. Peppers). The variety of images, and the lack of a clear explanation actually confused people as much as enlightened them, which is what we wanted (a circus sideshow is shrouded in mystery), so the way you reflect the theme can be as important as what you say.
* Make the promotion and publicity around the album reflect the theme. If your album’s all about the late 60’s, turn your album release party into a happening, and have all your album posters ala Janis Joplin or the Grateful Dead at the Fillmore West. If it’s a beach theme, throw a beach party, and wear aloha shirts the week before around campus.
Obviously, not every group’s in a position to consider having a unifying theme, as sometimes you just need to make an album to reflect the current group, and you don’t want your repertoire to be restricted to a certain topic or genre. However, if you’re willing to put some thought into finding a theme that works for your group, you’ll most likely end up with an album that’s talked about, and listened to, for years to come.
Click on the wrench in the upper left-hand corner to see what else you can do.