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Thread started 05/29/18 12:25pm

luvsexy4all

best double albums list

http://bestclassicbands.com/best-studio-double-albums-12-12-16/

strange that 1999 is on there but not Sign....

[Edited 5/29/18 12:25pm]

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Reply #1 posted 05/29/18 6:25pm

Comser

Donna Summer - Bad Girls shoulda been on the list...it’s never goten the recognition it deserves
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Reply #2 posted 05/31/18 3:10pm

DaveT

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If Sign O' The Times isn't on this list it can f*ck off and do one biggrin

www.filmsfilmsfilms.co.uk - The internet's best movie site!
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Reply #3 posted 06/02/18 6:47am

ThePanther

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Double-albums are tricky. They should be a little messy and with some unusual stuff, but not too messy or unusual or it feels like padding. Another thing is that some 60/70s'-era double-albums can fit (or nearly fit) on a single-CD nowadays, so are these still considered double-albums?

I love Blonde on Blonde, but two or three tracks ('Temporary Like Achilles' and 'Obviously 5 Believers', and maybe 'Absolutely Sweet Marie') strike me a filler to pad the recording up to double-disc length. The recording sessions suggest that Dylan wasn't even thinking of a double when he started recording it, but maybe after 'Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands' went on for 11 minutes, he started to think it could be.

The White Album (actual title: The Beatles) is still the best, maybe. 'Revolution 9' (which goes on for 8 minutes) isn't so much filler as it's just an arty recording that would never have passed the quality-control test of a single-disc, but was allowed to go out on a double. (John's 'What's the New Mary Jane', which is also pretty dire, was only pulled from the track-list at the last minute.)

George's All Things Must Pass was actually a triple-album on vinyl, but the last disc is just filler (not very interesting jams). The first two discs are great, though -- despite Phil Spector's over-production -- and certainly rank it high among double-sets.

Exile on Main Street is really good, though I think a few songs are below par (as with Blonde on Blonde).

A less famous one I really like is Joan Baez's Blessed Are... (1971). Recorded in Nashville and her last LP on Vanguard, it's a really interesting listen that has some good original songs written by Joan (which is generally rare on her LPs) and the usual tasteful batch of cover songs, including the big single "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". Very rich album.

Songs in the Key of Life is likely the most impressive of all in terms of one person doing nearly everything. Well, Stevie had some great brass musicians and Sembello on it, but still he did the lion's share, which is insane given how many amazing musical ideas come roaring out of it. It's just a staggering work of genius.

Sign O' The Times is one that probably doesn't really need to be a double album, given that there are 17 tracks (it actually just fits on one CD, doesn't it?). But anyway, it's incredible (well, here I am on a Prince site, so...!).


Those are the ones I thought of off the top of my head...

[Edited 6/2/18 6:48am]

[Edited 6/2/18 6:48am]

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Reply #4 posted 06/02/18 10:10am

RJOrion

Earth Wind & Fire - "Gratitude"

Earth Wind & Fire - "Faces"

Stevie Wonder - "Songs In The Key Of Life"

Jay-Z - "Blueprint 2"

Cam'ron & The Diplomats - "Diplomatic Immunity 1"

Wu Tang Clan - "Wu Tang Forever"

Elton John - "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"

Prince - "Sign O The Times"

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Reply #5 posted 06/02/18 10:49am

2freaky4church
1

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2Freaky, the Freaky Condition.

All you others say Hell Yea!! woot!
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Reply #6 posted 06/02/18 2:52pm

modified

Choose Your Weapon by Hiatus Kaiyote

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Reply #7 posted 06/03/18 2:16am

Toofunkyinhere

Nick cave and the bad seeds abotoir blues/lyre of Orpheus, and Elo's Out of the blue are good ones too
We're here, might as well get into it.
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Reply #8 posted 06/04/18 10:08am

namepeace

modified said:

Choose Your Weapon by Hiatus Kaiyote


Amen. A modern masterpiece.

Good night, sweet Prince | 7 June 1958 - 21 April 2016

Props will be withheld until the showing and proving has commenced. -- Aaron McGruder
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Reply #9 posted 06/04/18 11:22am

NorthC

ThePanther said:

Double-albums are tricky. They should be a little messy and with some unusual stuff, but not too messy or unusual or it feels like padding. Another thing is that some 60/70s'-era double-albums can fit (or nearly fit) on a single-CD nowadays, so are these still considered double-albums?

I love Blonde on Blonde, but two or three tracks ('Temporary Like Achilles' and 'Obviously 5 Believers', and maybe 'Absolutely Sweet Marie') strike me a filler to pad the recording up to double-disc length. The recording sessions suggest that Dylan wasn't even thinking of a double when he started recording it, but maybe after 'Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands' went on for 11 minutes, he started to think it could be.

The White Album (actual title: The Beatles) is still the best, maybe. 'Revolution 9' (which goes on for 8 minutes) isn't so much filler as it's just an arty recording that would never have passed the quality-control test of a single-disc, but was allowed to go out on a double. (John's 'What's the New Mary Jane', which is also pretty dire, was only pulled from the track-list at the last minute.)


George's All Things Must Pass was actually a triple-album on vinyl, but the last disc is just filler (not very interesting jams). The first two discs are great, though -- despite Phil Spector's over-production -- and certainly rank it high among double-sets.

Exile on Main Street is really good, though I think a few songs are below par (as with Blonde on Blonde).



A less famous one I really like is Joan Baez's Blessed Are... (1971). Recorded in Nashville and her last LP on Vanguard, it's a really interesting listen that has some good original songs written by Joan (which is generally rare on her LPs) and the usual tasteful batch of cover songs, including the big single "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". Very rich album.

Songs in the Key of Life is likely the most impressive of all in terms of one person doing nearly everything. Well, Stevie had some great brass musicians and Sembello on it, but still he did the lion's share, which is insane given how many amazing musical ideas come roaring out of it. It's just a staggering work of genius.

Sign O' The Times is one that probably doesn't really need to be a double album, given that there are 17 tracks (it actually just fits on one CD, doesn't it?). But anyway, it's incredible (well, here I am on a Prince site, so...!).



Those are the ones I thought of off the top of my head...


[Edited 6/2/18 6:48am]

[Edited 6/2/18 6:48am]


It was either Dylan's Blonde on Blonde or The Mother's of Invention's We're Only In It For the Money that was the first double LP, so I can understand Dylan not thinking about a double LP- they didn't exist yet! And the three tracks you mention, they may not be the greatest Dylan songs ever, but they're good bluesrock and help to keep the album interesting.
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Reply #10 posted 06/04/18 11:48am

Cinny

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I am now proposing the notion that most albums from the CD era that ran closer to 70 minutes each were actually double albums.

They always end up being double albums once they are on vinyl, and futhermore, the "double albums" of the CD era become three or four disks.

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Reply #11 posted 06/04/18 1:20pm

namepeace

Cinny said:

I am now proposing the notion that most albums from the CD era that ran closer to 70 minutes each were actually double albums.

They always end up being double albums once they are on vinyl, and futhermore, the "double albums" of the CD era become three or four disks.


That's what makes it so difficult to judge. Releasing a "double album" in the vinyl era was an artistic statement.

Good night, sweet Prince | 7 June 1958 - 21 April 2016

Props will be withheld until the showing and proving has commenced. -- Aaron McGruder
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Reply #12 posted 06/04/18 6:37pm

whitechocolate
brotha

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Natalie Cole's "Natalie...LIVE!" from '78 is a total audio experience that is just MINDblowin'! <3

Hungry? Just look in the mirror and get fed up.
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Reply #13 posted 06/05/18 7:54am

namepeace

whitechocolatebrotha said:

Natalie Cole's "Natalie...LIVE!" from '78 is a total audio experience that is just MINDblowin'! <3

That's one of the best live albums I've ever heard. Natalie Cole doesn't get enough credit as one of the great musical acts of her time.

Good night, sweet Prince | 7 June 1958 - 21 April 2016

Props will be withheld until the showing and proving has commenced. -- Aaron McGruder
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Reply #14 posted 06/05/18 10:24am

NorthC

If we talk about double live albums, then I think we should also mention Curtis Live.
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Reply #15 posted 06/05/18 12:56pm

Cinny

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NorthC said:

If we talk about double live albums, then I think we should also mention Curtis Live.


Fits on one CD. whistling

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Reply #16 posted 06/05/18 1:02pm

peedub

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marvin gaye - here, my dear

and a well conceived concept album, to boot.

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Reply #17 posted 06/05/18 1:09pm

Cinny

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peedub said:

marvin gaye - here, my dear

and a well conceived concept album, to boot.


Fits on one CD. whistling

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Reply #18 posted 06/05/18 1:10pm

luvsexy4all

some people dont consider the symbol album a double album....

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Reply #19 posted 06/05/18 1:19pm

MickyDolenz

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Cinny said:
Fits on one CD. whistling

A lot of double albums fit on 1 reel-to-reel tape or 1 8-track/cassette. So I don't get your point. In some cases, 8-tracks or cassette had extra songs or different mixes than the record version.

You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
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Reply #20 posted 06/05/18 1:34pm

Cinny

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MickyDolenz said:

Cinny said:
Fits on one CD. whistling

A lot of double albums fit on 1 reel-to-reel tape or 1 8-track/cassette. So I don't get your point. In some cases, 8-tracks or cassette had extra songs or different mixes than the record version.


My point is CD era albums are often "double albums" once you put them on wax, and these acclaimed double albums of the vinyl era really aren't that long after all. biggrin

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Reply #21 posted 06/05/18 2:10pm

MickyDolenz

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Cinny said:

My point is CD era albums are often "double albums" once you put them on wax, and these acclaimed double albums of the vinyl era really aren't that long after all. biggrin

A few years ago, country singer Vince Gill released a 4 CD album called These Days. I wonder how many records is that. I have Michael Jackson's HIStory and it's 3 records like George Harrison's album and those Anthology albums Motown used to put out in the 1970s. Technically, Songs In The Key Of Life is not a double album. The original release had a 45 with 4 songs on it, so 3 records or 2 & half. razz Oddly, I've seen a Blu-ray audio version of Songs that leave off the songs on the 45. Blu-Ray can hold the entire album on 1 disc, so I don't understand omitting part of it. I know Blu-Ray or DVD audio generally has a 5.1 mix in addition to the stereo mix.

You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
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Reply #22 posted 06/05/18 2:14pm

peedub

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whatever...i aint never heard of an album taking up 2 hard drives, either. intent oughtta be the deciding factor, not format.
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Reply #23 posted 06/05/18 2:40pm

NorthC

Cinny said:



peedub said:


marvin gaye - here, my dear

and a well conceived concept album, to boot.




Fits on one CD. whistling


1999 fits on 1 CD, so I guess that one doesn't count either. bored2
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Reply #24 posted 06/07/18 12:49pm

Cinny

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NorthC said:

Cinny said:


Fits on one CD. whistling

1999 fits on 1 CD, so I guess that one doesn't count either. bored2


Not on the first pressing! They had to leave off "D.M.S.R." razz

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Reply #25 posted 06/07/18 3:22pm

modified

Cinny said:

I am now proposing the notion that most albums from the CD era that ran closer to 70 minutes each were actually double albums ...



A proper double album should fit on one CD disk; a double CD is not a double album, just a random dump of songs. Triple albums of the vinyl era never really worked either - see The Clash' Sandinista.

Prince's proposed triple albums would have been a directionless mess as well - see Emancipation.

There should be an elegant logic to a double album; four sides with each three or four well-balanced songs that flow naturally. You can pick where to start in the album depending on your mood.

Nick Cave's Your Funeral My Trial was originally released as double 45 rpm - better sound! - 12-inches; that is a proper double album, even though it easily fits on one CD.

Most 70 minute CDs of the 1990s and early 2000s had lots of filler, skits, unnecessarily long versions of tracks, hidden track after 10 minute silence, etc. They would not work as vinyl double albums.

[Edited 6/7/18 15:25pm]

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Reply #26 posted 06/07/18 4:13pm

2045RadicalMat
tZ

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A few additions: (refined to include MULTI ALBUMS... because yeah.. 2LPS can fit one cD....but they WERE DOUBLE ALBUMS ON RELEASE

1999
QUADROPHENIA
TOMMY
JOE's GARAGE ACTS I, II, & III

♫"Trollin, Trolling! We could have fun just trollin'!"♫
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Reply #27 posted 06/07/18 8:34pm

LittleBLUECorv
ette

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Wait so a double album is not me buying an album more than once ...
PRINCE: Always and Forever
MICHAEL JACKSON: Always and Forever
-----
Live Your Life How U Wanna Live It
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Reply #28 posted 06/08/18 10:58am

MickyDolenz

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So Cinny, do you consider these a single album or a double? razz

What about acts who released 2 separate albums at the same time (Bruce Springsteen, Nelly, Guns N Roses), a deluxe version, or different versions of an album (like a Target/Barnes & Noble exclusive or one for Japan)?

https://78.media.tumblr.com/5c58a4c7f71c25606b69d6f47a351809/tumblr_pa0ml0BnjH1rw606ko3_r1_1280.jpg

You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton
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Reply #29 posted 06/09/18 12:05pm

NorthC

Actually, Use Your Illusion by Guns'N Roses was 2 CDs and 2 double LPs. So what is that? A quadruple album?
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