Lyricist Spread and Album Appreciation

[fischermasamune]

I noticed the new album, Distance Over Time, has been generally well received by the fanbase.

A personal theory is that when all the members really pour their effort in an album, it has a greater chance of being a great album, with overall positive evaluation by the community. Diverse members writing lyrics to the songs often implies a stronger commitment of them towards the success of the album, what, I imagine, will typically improve its quality and its public reception. In particular, I would tentatively credit part of the positive reception of DOT by the higher involvement of more discrete members such as Mangini and Myung.

I decided to put this theory to test, and measure the spread of the lyricists for each album. To measure the spread in each album, we consider the contribution by each member towards the lyrics as a fraction of the number of tracks with lyrics, and add their squares. The result is a number between 0.2 (all 5 members contributing equally to the lyrics) and 1 (a single member writing all the lyrics). The lowest the number, highest is the spread of lyricists.

WDADU: (3.5/7)^2 + (2/7)^2 + (1.5/7)^2 = 0.3776
JP x3.5, KM x2, CD x1.5, total 7

IAW: (3.25/8)^2 + (3.25/8)^2 + (1.25/8)^2 + (0.25/8)^2 = 0.3555
JP x3.25, KM x3.25, JM x1.25, MP x0.25, total 8

Awake: (4.5/10)^2 + (3/10)^2 + (1/10)^2 + (1/10)^2 + (0.5/10)^2 = 0.3150
JP x4.5, KM x3, JM x1, MP x1, JLB x0.5, total 10

FII: (4.5/9.5)^2 + (3/9.5)^2 + (1/9.5)^2 + (1/9.5)^2 = 0.3463
JP x4.5, MP x3, JM x1, JLB x1, total 9.5*
* Desmond Child not a band member, and thus ignored
(Were You Not Me counted as a full song for JP, score would 0.3600)

SFAM: (5/10)^2 + (3/10)^2 + (1/10)^2 + (1/10)^2 = 0.3600
JP x5, MP x3, JM x1, JLB x1, total 10

SDOIT: (6/12)^2 + (4/12)^2 + (2/12)^2 = 3.889
JP x6, MP x4, JLB x2, total 12

TOT: (3/6)^2 + (2/6)^2 + (1/6)^2 = 3.889
JP x3, MP x2, JLB x1, total 6

8VM: (4.3333/8)^2 + (2.3333/8)^2 + (1.3333/8)^2 = 0.4062
JP: 4.3333, MP 2.3333, JLB 1.3333, total 8

SC: (5/8)^2 + (2/8)^2 + (1/8)^2 = 0.4688
JP x5, MP x2, JLB x1, total 8

BCASL: (4/6)^2 + (2/6)^2 = 0.5556
JP x4, MP x2, total 6

ADTOE: (7.5/9)^2 + (1/9)^2 + (0.5/9)^2 = 0.7099
JP 7.5, JLB x1, JM 0.5

DT12: (6/7)^2 + (1/7)^2 = 0.7551
JP x6, JM x1, total 7

TA: (27/27)^2 = 1.0000
JP x27, total 27

DOT: (5/10)^2 + (3/10)^2 + (1/10)^2 + (1/10)^2 = 0.3600
JP x5, JLB x3, JM x1, MM x1, total 10

All of them in order (from higher to lower spread):

Awake: 0.3150
FII: 0.3463 (alternatively 0.3600)
IAW: 0.3555
SFAM and DOT: 0.3600
WDADU: 0.3776
SDOIT and TOT: 3.889
8VM: 0.4062
SC: 0.4688
BCASL: 0.5556
ADTOE: 0.7099
DT12: 0.7551
TA: 1.0000

What do you think of the theory?

Do the numbers appear to support a correlation between lyricist diversity and album quality (or its perceived appreciation)?

Edit: Corrected DOT lyrics authorship following Dedalus' comment

[ZirconBlue]

I think it's one factor.  Personally, I tend to like having more lyricists on their albums, but there are other additional factors at play.

[Ben_Jamin]

8VM: (4.3333/8)^2 + (2.3333/8)^2 + (1.3333/8)^2 = 0.4062
JP: 4.3333, MP 2.3333, JLB 1.3333, total 8

And the Nuggetz still continue.

[themkr]

Man, just get some rest.

[Dedalus]

DOT: (4/10)^2 + (3/10)^2 + (2/10)^2 + (1/10)^2 = 0.3000
JP x4, JLB x3, JM x2, MM x1, total 10

JP and JM co-wrote FITL and S2N.

Congrats on the effort.

[fischermasamune]

DOT: (4/10)^2 + (3/10)^2 + (2/10)^2 + (1/10)^2 = 0.3000
JP x4, JLB x3, JM x2, MM x1, total 10

JP and JM co-wrote FITL and S2N.

Congrats on the effort.

Thanks, updated the data to: JP x5, JLB x3, JM x1, MM x1. Index/coefficient became 3.6000 instead of the previous 3.0000.

Splitting authorship like this suggests Myung was less involved. (From what I know, he normally comes up with the lyrics, which are then improved by JP to fit a song better. Meaning two half songs would represent more of Myung's involvement than a full, single song by him.) Either way, the formula is the formula, so even though DOT isn't the one with highest spread, it is on the same level as their early albums.

[Another_Won]

Classic "only something a DT fan would do" and I love it!  I agree that the whole band participating yields a better result.  Now let me get back to my DT spreadsheet, I've got work to do. 

[pg1067]

All of them in order (from higher to lower spread):

Awake: 0.3150
FII: 0.3463 (alternatively 0.3600)
IAW: 0.3555
SFAM and DOT: 0.3600
WDADU: 0.3776
SDOIT and TOT: 3.889
8VM: 0.4062
SC: 0.4688
BCASL: 0.5556
ADTOE: 0.7099
DT12: 0.7551
TA: 1.0000

What do you think of the theory?

Do the numbers appear to support a correlation between lyricist diversity and album quality (or its perceived appreciation)?

Interesting theory.  There appears to be some correlation, but there are significant outliers.  My top three albums are SFAM, I&W and SDOIT, which are 2, 3 and 5 on your list.  However, FII is at the bottom of my list, and it's #1 on yours.  Also, ADTOE and WDADU are probably flip-flopped.  Bottom line for me is that the lyrics are a very small factor in my enjoyment of a DT album