White Album - Single Album
Ovi:
I think had they released only 12 songs from The White Album as a follow-up to Sgt. Pepper, the album would've endlessly been criticized, from every angle, regardless of the chosen songs. The White Album offered a solution for that, in that the purpose of the album is different, the format different. It defies comparisons with Sgt. Pepper because it is a completely different story.
But George Starostin put it better than me and I fully agree with this:
"What can you do if you have hit your ceiling and «up» is no longer an alternative? Simple as heck: instead of going high, you can allow yourself to go wide. You do not have to prove that you are the best in the world: instead, it is much more fun to show that you are the world. Everyone who ever complained that the 2 LPs of The White Album were overkill, and that the whole thing might have benefited from throwing out some filler, completely missed the point. If there are songs on here that you don't like, feel free to edit them out of your playlist — just like it is hardly a sin to skip over a few hundred uninspiring pages of War And Peace when you set out to re-read it — but do not deny them their rightful place as an integral part of the whole composition."
So I do think that sometimes double albums can be the right artistic decision and that this is such a case.
the captain:
Quote from: KDS on August 07, 2015, 08:30:55 AM
Of course concept albums (ie. Tommy, Quadrophenia, The Wall) are a bit of a different story.
I think that, if anything, they have a higher standard (which they usually fail to live up to). If you're telling me I need to dedicate 90 minutes to your concept, it better be a fucking good concept. I'm actually more forgiving of a double album of unrelated songs ("unrelated" other than that they're presumably by the same band, and likely recorded in a similar time frame) than of a concept album. If you can tell your story in 40 minutes and 12 songs instead of 90 and 25, you're better for it.
Ovi:
Quote from: the captain on August 07, 2015, 08:50:55 AM
Quote from: KDS on August 07, 2015, 08:30:55 AM
Of course concept albums (ie. Tommy, Quadrophenia, The Wall) are a bit of a different story.
I think that, if anything, they have a higher standard (which they usually fail to live up to). If you're telling me I need to dedicate 90 minutes to your concept, it better be a fucking good concept. I'm actually more forgiving of a double album of unrelated songs ("unrelated" other than that they're presumably by the same band, and likely recorded in a similar time frame) than of a concept album. If you can tell your story in 40 minutes and 12 songs instead of 90 and 25, you're better for it.
No way Quadrophenia or The Wall would've worked as single albums, story-wise. Can you imagine The Trial and Love Reign O'er Me coming on after just 11 songs or so?
KDS:
Quote from: the captain on August 07, 2015, 08:50:55 AM
Quote from: KDS on August 07, 2015, 08:30:55 AM
Of course concept albums (ie. Tommy, Quadrophenia, The Wall) are a bit of a different story.
I think that, if anything, they have a higher standard (which they usually fail to live up to). If you're telling me I need to dedicate 90 minutes to your concept, it better be a fucking good concept. I'm actually more forgiving of a double album of unrelated songs ("unrelated" other than that they're presumably by the same band, and likely recorded in a similar time frame) than of a concept album. If you can tell your story in 40 minutes and 12 songs instead of 90 and 25, you're better for it.
I think Quadrophenia and The Wall are two examples of great concept albums. I couldn't imagine cutting any of the tracks from either (in fact, The Wall was slightly edited for record to avoid a third disc).
Now, as for Judas Priest's Nostradamus album....the less said about that, the better.
the captain:
I'm actually not a big fan of either album, but it's less about length than just not being a fan of those bands in general. So I won't get into those.
Besides, it occurs to me that my one dramatic board flame-out was a kerfuffle at the record room some years back over this very idea--my strong preference for single albums--and then I eventually returned with my tail between my legs realizing it's boring not to discuss music, fights or not. So poor, re-registered me... I won't push the issue again! (Or quit a board in a huff! Lesson #1: nobody gives a f***.)
My biggest general problem with concept albums regardless of length is that I don't think most songwriters seem to have the chops to pull off narrative. So loose concepts tend to work better than true narrative concepts, in my opinion. AND IF YOU DON'T AGREE, I'M QUITTING THIS BOARD! ;)
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