Following some comments in the Vista thread (http://www.japansylvian.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=5707), I thought I'd start a thread specific to the reordering of tracks on the album.
I have come to really enjoy the longer version of the album more than the original, including the different track order.
However I still feel that the narrative of the album jumps around quite a lot, so I reordered the album in a way that for me feels more cohesive thematically. For example I always felt I Surrender to be something of a song of epiphany, so it didn't really make sense to me as the album opener. I feel the songs of realization/devotion belong together rather than scattered throughout, and the "darker" songs belong earlier, to make the flow of the album more a journey of progression.
Yes I know, Sylvian sequenced it how he thought best and I'm not accusing him of making any mistakes. I just enjoy this different flow, after 21 years of the original.
It's difficult to really have a clear picture of the narrative, as many tracks have ambiguous lyrics. Whether David is speaking of his love of the divine, or of Ingrid or his guru isn't always clear, which means any "chronological" sequence of tracks is up for debate. I like this. It reminds me of the ambiguity of many of George Harrison's lyrics.
As Kitaj mentioned in the other thread, the Portobello mix of Scent of Magnolia feels like it belongs better in the flow of the album, so I use that version.
I leave out Aparna and Nimisha as it doesn't seem to really "belong" anywhere. Similarly, Alphabet Angel doesn't seem to fit into any overall narrative either, and the lyrics of Albuquerque might benefit from more explanation. But I've kept these two songs in.
For anyone interested, this is the order of my "Dead Bees - reordered" playlist:
01. Dobro #1
02. Midnight Sun
03. God Man
04. Alphabet Angel
05. The Shining of Things
06. The Scent of Magnolia (Portobello mix)
07. Albuquerque
08. Pollen Path
09. Cover Me With Flowers
10. All of My Mother's Names
11. I Surrender
12. Krishna Blue
13. Thalheim
14. Cafe Europa
15. Wanderlust
16. Praise
17. Darkest Dreaming
I'd be interested to know if anyone else plays the album in a different order, and where their interpretation of the album narrative might differ from mine.