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Just thinking about 'Double albums'. Most double albums I have would have made a much better single disk album. Can anyone come up with a genuinely classic double album that wouldn't benefit from a bit of editing or quality control. A great example would be the two Gun n Roses 'Use your Illusions' albums back in the day. If those two disks were condensed into one album it would be amazing. Its also a draw-back of the cd age. When artists were limited to 45 minutes of vinyl they had to be really selective. With the advent of the cd most albums became 70 minutes efforts and the quality suffered.

 

I suppose the best double album that springs to mind is 'Blonde on Blonde'. Any other great examples? I suppose 'Being There' is technically a double aswell.

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Just thinking about 'Double albums'. Most double albums I have would have made a much better single disk album. Can anyone come up with a genuinely classic double album that wouldn't benefit from a bit of editing or quality control. A great example would be the two Gun n Roses 'Use your Illusions' albums back in the day. If those two disks were condensed into one album it would be amazing. Its also a draw-back of the cd age. When artists were limited to 45 minutes of vinyl they had to be really selective. With the advent of the cd most albums became 70 minutes efforts and the quality suffered.

 

I suppose the best double album that springs to mind is 'Blonde on Blonde'. Any other great examples? I suppose 'Being There' is technically a double aswell.

 

Can't believe no one has mentioned The Beatles (aka The White Album). Perfect example of a double album that should have been paired down to a truly kickass single album.

 

I completely agree about you thought on the quality control now lacking with the advent of CD's. I will take it one step further. The boom of digital music and digital recordings have given an artist more of license to produce some really bad music, just to create music (case and point Ryan Adams). No longer do they have to worry about the cost of tape, it is just hard drive space.

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I like that last one on the page.

 

 

i hate back in the ussr.

 

i remember paul saying on that anthology tv special in the 90s in reference to this...'it's the beatles bloody white album. shut up!' (in a nice liverpudlian accent)

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i remember paul saying on that anthology tv special in the 90s in reference to this...'it's the beatles bloody white album. shut up!' (in a nice liverpudlian accent)

Exactly. For me, it's The Beatles; if they put out a octuple album, I'm sure I'd be hard-pressed to find anything I'd remove.

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Just thinking about 'Double albums'. Most double albums I have would have made a much better single disk album. Can anyone come up with a genuinely classic double album that wouldn't benefit from a bit of editing or quality control. A great example would be the two Gun n Roses 'Use your Illusions' albums back in the day. If those two disks were condensed into one album it would be amazing. Its also a draw-back of the cd age. When artists were limited to 45 minutes of vinyl they had to be really selective. With the advent of the cd most albums became 70 minutes efforts and the quality suffered.

 

I suppose the best double album that springs to mind is 'Blonde on Blonde'. Any other great examples? I suppose 'Being There' is technically a double aswell.

What constitutes a double album? You mention "disk." Yet, Blonde on Blonde fits on one 'disk.' Exile on Main St is commonly-referred to as a double album. It is in vinyl format, but fits onto a single compact disc. Greendale was released as a single CD, yet is packaged as a three-record album on vinyl. A Ghost is Born = 1 CD, 2 vinyl records.

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Double Nickels on the Dime would have to be there. I would argue that Sandinista wouldve been a better as a twofer. The River might have a few clunkers but also holds up well as a double album. I like Layla and The Dirty South as well. Physical Graffitti and Daydream Nation. OK OK I'll stop.

 

I kinda miss the era of the double album. I know too many bands and too many doubles should've probably been edited it down to one record, but there was something cool about trying to explore and digest 4 sides of vinyl and attempting to make some kind of sense of it all.

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Gotta disagree on London Calling. I like that through and through. Nothing I'd jettison, really. Sandinisita, on the other hand....I love a lot of that album but some of it is bunk. And, it's actually a triple album so doesn't really fit this forum topic I suppose.

 

The antithesis of this topic: One of the best double albums, imo: Little feat: Waiting For Columbus.

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The antithesis of this topic: One of the best double albums, imo: Little feat: Waiting For Columbus.

Should live albums count in this discussion? If so, I'll say Live Dead.

 

As for studio LPs I'll throw The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway out there. Not even Genesis' best record but still a masterpiece.

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You can't trim anything out of:

 

The Wall

White Album

London Calling

Physical Graffiti

Live Bootleg - Aerosmith

Allman Brothers - Fillmore East

Derek and the Dominoes

All things must pass (more of a triple album I guess but I never counted the jam disk)

Goodbye Yellow brick road

Electric Ladyland

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This has some really good suggestions

 

There's enough great material to carry two vinyl on the White Album, but it probably would have been a better 70-75 minute double LP with some of the fat excised (I don't know everything I'd cut but suffice to say neither Honey Pie would have ever seen the light of day) and maybe the acoustic While My Guitar Gently Weeps from Anthology 3, and the Anthology 2 version of Across the Universe (which they had in the can at this point) considered as well.

 

--Mike

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As for studio LPs I'll throw The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway out there. Not even Genesis' best record but still a masterpiece.

 

funny, i was just talking to a friend about this ... i think Lamb is a bit overrated and has a lot of filler, especially on side two ...

 

i do think Lolita Nation by Game Theory is a double album that works perfectly as a double

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funny, i was just talking to a friend about this ... i think Lamb is a bit overrated and has a lot of filler, especially on side two ...

 

i do think Lolita Nation by Game Theory is a double album that works perfectly as a double

I love 'the lamb' but I do agree we could trim it down a bit. I could live without 'The Grand Parade Of Lifeless Packaging' and some segments on side two. It wouldn't really interfere with the 'concept' as I never really understood what it was about in the first place!!. Great album though, as was Foxtrot and Selling England.

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