Best four-song run on an album?

so many great possible choices, some of which are album sides:

(FTW?) Heart And Soul/Twenty Four Hours/The Eternal/Decades

Hey Pocky A-Way/It Ain't No Use/Loving You Is On My Mind/Africa

Mr Tambourine Man/Gates Of Eden/It's All Right, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)/It's All Over Now, Baby Blue

more personal faves:

Doctor Robert/I Want To Tell You/Got To Get You Into My Life/Tomorrow Never Knows*

When A Man Needs A Woman/Passing By/Anna Lee, The Healer/Little Bird (fave Beach Boys sequence)

Chanson d'O/Le Martien/Mer/Oui, Je Dis Adieu

*(also strong: Eleanor Rigby/Love You To/I'm Only Sleeping/Here, There And Everywhere)

Also, Belly's "Star" has Slow Dog > Low Red Moon > Feed The Tree > Full Moon, Empty Heart, which is just, like, put those four on repeat and never leave the house again.

whoa, I came here earlier just to post this, but I couldn't decide whether to go with the run you posted or Low Red Moon > Feed The Tree > Full Moon, Empty Heart > White Belly. I still can't decide actually.

angel > risingson > teardrop > inertia creeps

― mookieproof, Saturday, September 18, 2010 3:13 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

God that is SO otm.

Wait wait wait we're totally forgetting one of the best ever:

Money Changes Everything > Girls Just Wanna Have Fun > When You Were Mine > Time After Time

Let Yourself Go Another Time -> The Paisley Window Pane -> I Realized You -> By The Sea

(from Wendy & Bonnie: Genesis)

Roxy Music, "Country Life:"

"The Thrill of It All"
"Three and Nine"
"All I Want is You"
"Out of the Blue"

ABC, "Lexicon of Love:"

"Show Me"
"Poison Arrow"
"Many Happy Returns"
"Tears Are Not Enough"

Of course, the ABC album just keeps killing it, and I just realized there's no reason to go with the first four songs of a album. I guess it'd be a lot tougher to think of albums in random chunks. At least for me, it would be.

"Peter Piper"
"It's Tricky"
"My Adidas"
"Walk This Way"

― kenanpolaris (Whiney G. Weingarten), Saturday, September 18, 2010 7:24 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark

hard to beat

brown sugar > sway > wild horses > can't you hear me knocking

harborcoat > 7 chinese bros. > so. central rain > pretty persuasion

runnin' with the devil > eruption > you really got me > ain't talkin' 'bout love

dalliance > dare > suck > blonde

owner of a lonely heart > hold on > it can happen > changes

i stand by mezzanine tho

Money Changes Everything > Girls Just Wanna Have Fun > When You Were Mine > Time After Time

Damn, yeah, that's pretty amazing.

The first four on "OK Computer" is a pretty mighty run.

Also:
Care Of Cell 44
A Rose For Emily
Maybe After He's Gone
Beechwood Park

Jordan, Minnesota > Passing Complexion > Big Money > Kerosene
The Act We Act > A Good Idea > Changes > Helpless
Hunted by a Freak > Moses I Amn't > Kids Will Be Skeletons > Killing All the Flies

Shine On You Crazy Diamond Part I -> Part II -> Part III -> Part IV

Oh shit..
Things Done Changed, Gimme The Loot, Machine Gun Funk, Warning

Rumours
Dreams - Never Going Back Again - Don't Stop - Go Your Own Way

the last four tracks from What's Going On
Mercy Mercy Me - Right On - Wholy Holy - Inner City Blues

Music for the Jilted Generation
The Heat - Poison - No Good - 3 Kilos

Illmatic
NY State of Mind - Life's a Bitch - The World is Yours - Halftime

"One Day" -> "Murder" -> "Pinky Ring" -> "Diamonds & Wood"

"Like a Rolling Stone"; "Tombstone Blues"; "It's a Takes a Train to Laugh..."; "From a Buick 6"

"St. Elmo's Fire"; "In Dark Trees"; "The Big Ship"; "I'll Come Running"

"Love Goes On!"; "Quiet Heart"; "Love is a Sign"; "You Can't Say No Forever"

"Stars of Track & Field"; "Seeing Other People"; "Me & the Major"; "Like Dylan in the Movies"

I Want You (She's So Heavy)->Here Comes the Sun->Because->You Never Give Me Your Money

The QOTSA thread reminded me of Hangin' Tree -> Go With The Flow -> Gonna Leave You -> Do It Again

Mr. Robot's Holy Orders > West Germany > The Politics of Time > Themselves

Buzzards and Dreadful Crows > Tractor Rape Chain > The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory > Hot Freaks

Let Yourself Go Another Time -> The Paisley Window Pane -> I Realized You -> By The Sea

(from Wendy & Bonnie: Genesis)

ah yes, what a fantastic sequence to open a record with

Across the Sea > The Good Life > El Scorcho > Pink Triangle

People Get Ready > Niki Hoeky > You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman > Since You've Been Gone

I'm the Man Who Loves You > Pot Kettle Black > Poor Places > Reservations

the v.u.
candy says/what goes on/some kinda love/pale blue eyes
― ....some kind of psychedelic wallflower (outdoor_miner),

OTM

Down On The Street > Loose > T.V. Eye > Dirt
Sweet Thing > Cyprus Avenue > The Way Young Lovers Do > Madame George
Once In A Lifetime > Houses In Motion > Seen And Not Seen > Listening Wind
Purple Haze > Manic Depression > Hey Joe > Love Or Confusion
See No Evil > Venus > Friction > Marquee Moon

tangled up in blue> simple twist of fate> you're a big girl now> idiot wind

across the great divide> rag mama rag> they night they drove old dixie down> when you awake

made of stone> shoot you down> this is the one> i am the resurrection

Family Snapshot -- And Through the Wire -- Games Without Frontiers -- Not One of Us

1999 -- Little Red Corvette -- Delirious -- Let's Pretend We're Married [-- D.M.S.R.]

so I don't know about you guys, but my general philosophy in posting these is that if I look one or two songs beyond the boundaries of the four-song sequence and find myself saying "ah fuck, I wish I could put that one in too!" I generally don't post it. I only bring this up b/c I'm seeing stuff like:

Sweet Thing > Cyprus Avenue > The Way Young Lovers Do > Madame George
Once In A Lifetime > Houses In Motion > Seen And Not Seen > Listening Wind
Buzzards and Dreadful Crows > Tractor Rape Chain > The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory > Hot Freaks

and feelin' pretty smh

I Wanna Get High
I Ain't Goin' Out Like That
Insane in the Brain
When the Shit Goes Down

Don't Let It Bring You Down
Birds
When You Dance I Can Really Love
I Believe In You

you could start anywhere on the first side of Sloan's Twice Removed but this is my favourite...

I Hate My Generation
People of the Sky
Coax Me
Bells On

6."Three Days" – 10:48
7."Then She Did..." – 8:18
8."Of Course" – 7:02
9."Classic Girl" – 5:07

the run from the third vu album that I would go with would prolley be:

Jesus
Beginning to See the Light
I'm Set Free
That's The Story of My Life

didnt cha know
my life
... & on
cleva

Smashing Pumpkins' Pisces Iscariot*

Hello Kitty Kat
Obscured
Landslide
Starla

*I know I get a lot of strange looks for repping for this album so much, but c'mon! ^THIS is fucking awesome!

Optimistic
In Limbo
Idioteque
Morning Bell

I'm not really a huge fan of Remake/Remodel, so I think I can post this

Ladytron
If There Is Something
Virginia Plain
2HB

Electricity
Yellow Brick Road
Abba Zaba
Plastic Factory

again: "cyber Insekt" is v. good and could be included, but at the same time, these four (from The Unutterable) flow great into one another:

Two Librans
W.B.
Sons of Temperance
Dr. Bucks Letter

Soldier
The Cell
Twinkle
Master Teachers

Arthur Russell - Another Thought

Another Thought > A Little Lost > Home Away From Home > Lucky Cloud

Kills me.

I Want You (She's So Heavy)
Here Comes the Sun
Because
You Never Give Me Your Money

The US version of the Stone Roses S/T has two great 4 song runs:

I Wanna Be Adored
She Bangs the Drums
Elephant Stone
Waterfall

Made of Stone
Shoot You Down
This is the One
I Am the Resurrection

Since I was just listening to Lifes Rich Pageant:

"Begin the Begin" > "These Days" > "Fall on Me" > "Cuyahoga"

I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight:
"When I Get To The Border" > "The Calvary Cross" > "Withered and Died" > "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight"

harborcoat > 7 chinese bros. > so. central rain > pretty persuasion

― mookieproof, Saturday, September 18, 2010 6:43 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark

otm

This is a thread which is perfect for the first 4 tracks of Selected Ambient Works 85-92: xtal -> tha -> pulsewidth -> ageispolis

(said pretty much this on the recent SAWI thread, hence it springing to mind, but it's true)

Music for the Jilted Generation
The Heat - Poison - No Good - 3 Kilos

I'd go Break & Enter - Their Law - Full Throtle - Voodoo People

Just realised I posted my Beatles one twice, memory ain't what it used to be.

Clap Hands
Cemetery Polka
Jockey Full of Bourbon
Tango Till They're Sore

War Pigs-Paranoid-Planet Caravan-Iron Man

Maybe it would be more of a challenge to pick an album with 4 great songs in a row and nothing else that’s very good.

I've been trying to think of examples of this. Somebody already listed the only four songs from Rain Dogs that I like, except for "9th and Hennepin".

A couple of times Tori Amos really rallied at the end of very lengthy and not-entirely-satisfactory albums and came up with amazing four-song conclusions:

Another Girl's Paradise / Scarlet's Walk / Virginia / Gold Dust
Beauty of Speed / Almost Rosey / Velvet Revolution / Dark Side of the Sun

I like other songs from these records, but with each subsequent song in these closing quartets, it feels like she is raising her bets and pulling off a victory.

Cocoon > It's Not Up To You > Undo > Pagan Poetry

Too High > Visions > Living for the City > Golden Lady
Did I Hear You Say You Love Me > All I Do > Rocket Love > I Ain't Gonna Stand For It

More Lana — a six-song run, as good as any I know:

Black Bathing Suit > If You Lie Down With Me > Beautiful > Violets for Roses > Dealer > Thunder

The 2 of Us / Black or Blue / The Asphalt World / Still Life

Here's five:

Sailin' On/Don't Need It/Attitude/The Regulator/Banned In D.C.

Then you get a dub instrumental, so you can catch your breath.