Kaiser Chiefs - The Future Is Medieval (2011)

How many albums do you love all but one or two bum tracks? And how many times have you heard a B side and wondered how it didn't make the album? Well, rather than release an indulgent 20 track double album, the Kaiser Chiefs are giving fans the opportunity to select and order 10 tracks for their own personalized version. It's a cool idea, but these days fans already do that on their computers by rating songs and only listening to their favorites. Perhaps the band is acknowledging that they no longer control how the music is going to be consumed. At least this way, they get some great data on what their fans really like.

Unfortunately, even as a longtime Kaiser Chief fan, I'm having trouble finding 10 tracks I love. Mostly they are fine. Although I'd definitely put "Back In December," "Can't Mind My Own Business" and "Starts With Nothing" on an album, I don't hear any of the type of singles that made me fall in love with the band back when "I Predict A Riot" incited mass dancing/jumping as it pumped across the indie rock dance floors.

Too bad they didn't do this for a greatest hits album. This method would work great for career spanning compilations for any artist with a handful of releases. I am sure fans could pull out enough deep cuts around the obvious singles to make some pretty interesting and personal albums.