...and by that I mean the album as a whole, from start to finish. There must be a reason artists choose to place the songs they write on an album in a particular order, so that they are to listened to in that order. Certinaly it has been vital for many albums to maintain the narrative (Pink Floyd's The Wall, for example).

But has instant access to music in modern times ruined this concept? Instant track skipping via MP3 players, downloading of singular tracks and songs, vast collections of CDs and (if you're an "oldy") records and tapes being a thing of the past over a hard-drive crammed with all sorts of songs placed into "folders" of our choosing.

I can remember having to listen to an album all the way through on my cassette walkman ("fast-forwarding" to the next track was a pain in the ass). That doesn't seem to be the case anymore...do people still set aside an hour or two to take in an album as one whole piece of art? Is the album dead??

Dead? Not for me. I'm very selective when buying music so 99% of the time I listen to the album from start to finish and I love reading the liner notes too. I seldom download anything. Rarely, in fact.

Call me old-fashoined, but going to a record store and buying cd is still exciting for me and when I listen to my cd's I listen all the way through!

Empress said:

I totally agree...I'm 27 so part of the CD generation I guess, but I still love the whole album concept, the cover art, the sleeve notes and presentation, going into the record store to see what new albums are out...it can't be topped. But I've found lately that not alot of people I chat to agree with me.

DaveT said:

Keep enjoying the whole album concept thing. It can't be beat IMO. I love going to the record store and looking at everything. I love my used cd store even more!! It's a small, smelly old place and the guys that run it look like hippies from the 70's, but they know so much about the great music of the past and I love going there.

Not for me either. It's fully alive and kicking. I suspose with the "instant gratification" crowd it is but that's not my concearn.
I like making my listening expierence an expierence.
Mood just right. Drinks on hand. Stereo mix and volume just right. Liner notes in hand. You can't beat it.I'm sure with most "real" artists that's there intention. For me it is. As an artist, I know it takes a lot of work to produce an album. To have it viewed so disposable (by some) is really disheartening. But there are others that make it worthwhile. The point is finding them. True music and true music fans will prevail.

the question is l is listening to an album start to finish dead. and i say yes for todays generation it is. if they buy a cd they only listen to the singles and they dont give the other tracks half a chance.. albums have become to long imo , i wish they would still last 10 songs

Erykas last album was concept like

But really hasnt been since The Rainbow Children 4 me

There's always been album artists and singles artists--well, since the 60's at least.

As a musician, I can assure you most of us still take the time to make sure the track order flows nicely. Or mostly nicely. I also hear it on recent albums I buy. Most albums have good openers and decent closing songs.

DaveT said:

I enjoy looking for Vinyl versions of newer music. If I find something on Vinyl that I really liked on CD, I'll normally pick it up.

For me, an album is intended to be listened...from begining to end. I really dispise the shuffle concept.

Unfortunately, kids only like songs...not albums!

For example I'm listening to an Erasure live album now...and loving it
[Edited 3/12/08 12:38pm]


[Edited 3/12/08 12:40pm]

motownlover said:

Length of albums is an issue for me as well. There was this push not too long ago to fill a cd with as much as you could. Normally there would be filler. I think to some degree certain types of music can go long, like electronic music. However I still think an hour is the perfect length.

I am starting to see a trend towards 10-11 songs, but the album as a whole is like 33 min. FOr me that's too short.

superspaceboy said:

Perfect album = 10 to 12 songs...max 45 minutes...

It's definitely not dead, but artsits can, if they want to, ignore it. With the download age, the focus can really be on singles. That said, there are still lots of artists who want to and do put out cohesive albums.

The Beatles really cememted the album era, which wasn't always the norm My mom, who grew up in the 50 and 60s, always bought 45 singles when she was in junior high and most high school. Se didn't buy full albums until later.

The one thing I can't stand about many modern full albums is that they are SO long, filled with 16 songs, an intro, and "outro", 2 skits, and 6 interludes.

Make it short (relatively), make it sweet, and then in a year give me another album. Not 20 songs and no album for five years.

wtf

Dead no.....the talent 2 do one? Maybe yes.....

i think the bulk of Me'shell's work are concept albums.

Its still alive the thing is, its not in the mainstream. Back in the 70's you had "goodbye yellow brick road" "songs in the key of life" "dark side of the moon" etc etc..but these were mainstream, if they came out today, you wouldnt know they were out. So the concept album isnt dead, just listen to any John Mellencamp or REM album that has been released over the last 20 years. The only thing that IS dead is the concept album being "supported".

lastdecember said:

U don't have 2 go back that far. The Rainbow Children was a concept project.

Graycap23 said:

No i was going back to show how "concept albums" were main stream, Prince "rainbow children" was not pushed like these records i mentioned.

Graycap23 said:

MikeMatronik said:

Actually, it's nine songs. Thriller & Purple Rain have exactly 9 songs.

TonyVanDam said:

LIKE A PRAYER has 11!

I would probably guess and say yes to a degree there are still concept albums being made.. maybe on a small level.. Concept or not, a busted album is a busted album, if the songs are weak.

Not all album releases (back in the day) were concept albums, some just had great tunes on them.... regardless of their position on the album.

But in a nut shell the best concept albums are from the past...


It's funny the other day I grabbed a ride from a young cat, who was playing some Rap. And I asked who was it he was listening to, he hands me the CD case; I don't remember the rapper(s) name (and that's a good thing). It had about 20+ tracks listed, but there were so many skits and interludes on it, to were I said to him are there any good songs on here, he gave me this wtf look and said: "yeah oldschool, all of'em crunk" .

As for instant access and track skipping ruining the art of a concept album, I would say, no. Again the bad written songs on it ruins it. As for modern technology, I'd say it may have ruined some of the sound but not the way I listen to it. I don't have many single music files, for the fact I want to listen to the entire album, I spent hours and hours uploading and transferring analog music to digital mp3 format, that I wouldn't have it any other way than to listen to the entire album of an artist... and that's without having to get up and turn the album over, which is a small plus, but no big deal. It doesn't bother me to get up, and turnover a great album.

I would pick up the needle on some of the promo material that I received, just to get a feel of the album and to see if I could fit it in right away...like that night. Also on some of the well known artist,... they @ times had some fluff too.
All in all there's nothing more satisfying than to listen to an album through and through.

So I guess the concept now are skit's and interludes.


I sill go to the record stores, record shops, garage or yard sales, used records & cd shops, and Mom & Pop flavor stores. I like to listen before I buy new music or new artist releases.
[Edited 3/12/08 16:38pm]

MikeMatronik said:

Cinnie said:

Mine has 10...

(Remember that Into the groove is included on the European version!)

MikeMatronik said:

Bad has 9 songs on vinyl. The CD format has 10 songs because of the then-CD bonus track, Leave Me Alone.

TonyVanDam said:

Emancipation has 32 tracks on cd...

Emancipation has 32 track on cassette...

I win!

The concept album is not dead, it's just not something that many artists know how to tackle anymore, and for sure very few artists that have originated in this decade. With the whole "slammin' single" TRAVESTY that's bogged down radio, well...