Which of Devin's albums do you consider to fit best into the "One big song" scheme and which of his albums would you rather call "a collection of songs"?

I had the idea for this topic thinking of some of the songs on Synchestra. The second half of Judgement (or the last third of it, whatever) sounds like a long transition to A Simple Lullaby, which makes sense since Devin described this song as the climax of the album. Although the transition between A Simple Lullaby and Sunset doesn't have the same flow, I think it sounds perfect the way it is - just as the breathtaking finale of a movie and its credits can fit together perfectly, even if both parts feature different music or sounds. I don't know if I would see it that way without having had Dev's description with Sunset as the "credits" in advance, but I think he didn't promise too much when saying this and that's just the way I hear it.

Apart from that, I also see the album's opening tracks, Let It Roll/ Hypergeek/ Triumph, as one big musical journey. Maybe the "original" Infinity would give you the impression of one big song more than any other of Devin's albums so far, but with Bad Devil or Wild Colonial Boy it sounds very diverse. Not in a bad way, of course, it just doesn't seem to fit into the "one big unit" thing that much.

The thing which makes this question especially interesting is that Devin managed - as a songwriter and as a producer - to give his albums very different sounds. Especially the guitar sound on Ocean Machine fit perfectly to the title, while some parts on Terria sound like a journey through nature to me.

Hm... To cut a long story short, I can't answer my own question

[djskrimp]

I kinda see "Ocean Machine" as the album that could be one huge song. It just feels very singular and connected. Sure, I listen to a few songs from it separate from the rest in the car, but at home...it's the whole album on headphones. The open, the build, the climax and the denouement. The opening spoken words to the scream at the end is the best , ever...and it all flows so cohesively and in such a connected and united way.

Just me.

AE is definitely the most 'collection of songs'. As far as 'one big song', probably Infinity or Synchestra.

AE is definitely the most 'collection of songs'.

Yeah, plus the fact that the fade in and fade out is exactely the same.

To my ears, Ocean Machine, Terria and Synchestra are the ones which sound like one big song.

To my ears, Ocean Machine, Terria and Synchestra are the ones which sound like one big song.

Yeah. Olives--->The Fluke always feels like one long song to me

Infinity and AE are definitely "song" albums to me, Physicist is kind of in between.

Synchestra is definitely one big song as is. I think the rest of the records are less cohesive (if only by design); for instance, Dev could have made "Seventh Wave" flow into "Life" a lot more cohesively because there's a big long power chord at the end of the former, and "Life" could easily have started somewhat beneath the cacophony of noise. However, he decided to isolate the two songs nearly completely. So, while many parts of Ocean Machine fit together ("Hide Nowhere" and "Sister," "3 A.M." and "Voices in the Fan," and "Greetings" and "Regulator"), I don't know if the whole thing really sounds consistent enough in the way of transitions to be considered one big song, even if the concept is carried through all the pieces and almost all the pieces lead into the next. This happens across the board - Infinity has some space between "War" and "Soul Driven" (that is if you don't count the mistaken tracking error), Terria and Accelerated Evolution are mostly connected through crossfading, and Physicist isn't cohesive at all to me. Every song on Physicist seems to be a completely separate slab of pop metal, and the transitions sound very "rushed" - i.e., there's approximately zero space to let the songs breathe in relation to each other. Ocean Machine and Synchestra seem to be the only ones with a clear conceptual link between the various pieces (and again, OM is not so consistent); the rest sound like collections of songs linked together. I think that's probably how Dev wants them to sound (otherwise, he would've done the transitions on most of the records completely different from what they are).

Devlab is one big song more than any other.

Devlab is one big song more than any other.

Yup, which is why I have mine as one big track on iTunes.

Devlab is one big song more than any other.

Yup, which is why I have mine as one big track on iTunes.

I agree.

[djskrimp]

Synchestra is definitely one big song as is. I think the rest of the records are less cohesive (if only by design); for instance, Dev could have made "Seventh Wave" flow into "Life" a lot more cohesively because there's a big long power chord at the end of the former, and "Life" could easily have started somewhat beneath the cacophony of noise. However, he decided to isolate the two songs nearly completely. So, while many parts of Ocean Machine fit together ("Hide Nowhere" and "Sister," "3 A.M." and "Voices in the Fan," and "Greetings" and "Regulator"), I don't know if the whole thing really sounds consistent enough in the way of transitions to be considered one big song, even if the concept is carried through all the pieces and almost all the pieces lead into the next. This happens across the board - Infinity has some space between "War" and "Soul Driven" (that is if you don't count the mistaken tracking error), Terria and Accelerated Evolution are mostly connected through crossfading, and Physicist isn't cohesive at all to me. Every song on Physicist seems to be a completely separate slab of pop metal, and the transitions sound very "rushed" - i.e., there's approximately zero space to let the songs breathe in relation to each other. Ocean Machine and Synchestra seem to be the only ones with a clear conceptual link between the various pieces (and again, OM is not so consistent); the rest sound like collections of songs linked together. I think that's probably how Dev wants them to sound (otherwise, he would've done the transitions on most of the records completely different from what they are).

OCean Machine, for me, is one big song by sound and idea, not by technical means. I understand what you are saying, but I was referring to feeling, not whether or not the songs blended together by perfect mixing.

OCean Machine, for me, is one big song by sound and idea, not by technical means. I understand what you are saying, but I was referring to feeling, not whether or not the songs blended together by perfect mixing.

I find, through detailed examination, Dev seems to pair the "feeling" you're talking about with the transitioning I brought up. It's a significant part of how he gets across the continuity of his records, not just sonically but emotionally. A lot of Dev fans say they would rather listen to most of his material in the form of the full records, as opposed to random songs scattered. It's because of that feeling and atmosphere he creates but also because the songs just sound wrong when you cut them out of their flow. So yeah, I got what you meant, but there are also other, less subjective factors as well (as is obvious, I'd imagine...).

I thought of "Synchestra" as a big piece (like "Smile" by Brian Wilson) since the first listen. All the songs go into each other and just flow logically.

[JuZ]

The more I think about his, the less reasons I find to argue for a particular album. Dev, more than any other artist I've listened to, consistently produces albums that sound like one consistent work. The last few tracks of Ocean Machine flow together better than a river into the... ocean! Infinity is unlike anything I've ever heard... and so on...

I guess the easy answer is to say I can't decide.

I think the entire catalogue of Devy is just one awsome,stupendus everevolving song spanning fifteen incredible albums!!!!
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