What constitutes a double album?

wondergirl9847 · #1 03-23-2004, 02:07 PM

I was thinking about this last night. What actually IS a double album? Is it 2 disks of music or 20 songs? Is it 24 songs?

If it's 20 songs then, why is it such an issue for SYW...I mean 18.....20....big whoop.

If a double album is 2 disks, then how many songs go on each CD? Could we have had like 30 songs? 15 on each disk?

Also, WHY didn't they ditch the Limited Edition and put Not Make Believe and No Limit/Love Minus Zero on SYW...BAM...20 songs?

I'm confused....as usual.

Johnny Stew · #2 03-23-2004, 02:27 PM

"Double album" seems to be a term that's become somewhat overused, in my opinion.
Folks like Jessica Simpson, Shania Twain, and Jennifer Lopez all have "double albums" out on the market, but that second disc only really consists of radio remixes and/or video content.
So, while it is a "two-disc set," it's not a double-album, proper.

A true double-album is two separate discs of original music (not just remixes), each containing about the same amount of songs the average single disc album would contain.
So basically, two CDs with about 12 or 13 songs apiece.

Fleetwood Mac apparently had 23 songs that made the running order for 'Say You Will,' so theirs presumably would have had one disc with 12 songs and the other with 11 (the latter probably would have contained a few of the longest tracks).
Instead, we got one disc with 18 songs.

"Love Minus Zero/No Limit" and "Not Make Believe" wouldn't have fit on 'Say You Will' because of disc limitations (the album clocks in at 76:06, with its current 18 tracks, and CDs can only hold 80 minutes worth of music).

Hope that helps to answer your question, Christy!

chiliD · #3 03-23-2004, 02:30 PM

Yeah, 2 discs constitutes "double album" NOWADAYS.

Considering that 80 minutes can be put on 1 disc, TWO LP's (the now archaic definition of "double album") can be put on one disc. If Say You Will was done prior to CD technology, it would've HAD to have been a double album, even "as is".

And I see as I'm typing that Johnny Stew has already beat me to the punch this time around.

wondergirl9847 · #4 03-23-2004, 02:32 PM

Thanks much!

So, between 24-26 or so would have been the number. Six to eight more tracks eh?

Bummer.

I'm happy with what we got, but even if they had given us a trazillion album (

), I'd be going, "What other songs would I like to have had?"

Fleetwood Mac fans...never satisfied.

bucklind17 · #5 03-23-2004, 02:40 PM

Well, Tusk was originally a double album, in the sense that it was released on two LPs. I still consider it a double album now, despite the fact that technology has allowed it to be released on one disc (though some tweaking was needed for that to take place). Tusk is 20 songs, but records didn't have as much space as compact disks, so a double album was necessary to release all of the songs the band wanted to at that time.

So, I would think that a double album is an album that has two discs of music. Not like those artists who have remixes on one disc, but two discs of original songs and mixes. And they seem to be pretty rare these days, partially because more material can fit on one CD, and partially because they are probably harder to justify on the business end.

estranged4life · #6 03-23-2004, 03:30 PM

the amount of the songs won't reflect why an album is considered a "double album"...Instead the length of the tracks may cause the release to be considered a "double album".

Dream Theater's classic "Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence" album has only 6 songs spread over 2 discs and totals 96:23 in length. (Technically speaking since disc 2 is comprised of 1 song that is 42:03 in length, Even though it is divided up into 8 chapters/passages/etc.)

Brian j.