I am with Lindsey and Alannis on this one - I see the evolution (if it does transpire) as exciting. Think about it - remmber how they said they wanted to release *all* of the Rumours songs as singles? Those songs were such good single material that, had the 'no album' and 'iTunes' format been around in 1977, I'm fully confident that almost all of those songs would have been released. And so would have Silver Springs!!
What would have happened with Tusk? Without 'the album' concept or format, it's pretty clear that there wouldnt've been much of a Tusk to speak of. I'd suggest: 'Tusk', 'Over & Over', 'Sara', 'SOTM' etc. Now I guarantee that with only those and perhaps a few others released, the big drop in sales which the album format and concept of 'Tusk' caused would never have come into the equation, and these fantastic songs would have gone on to sell in the same league as the Rumours songs. The less palatable, 'Lindsey solo' songs on the album weighed down the sales of that album. Moreover, the whole scenario of being holed up in a studio for a year to make a record - that would be gone, instead you'd have a sort of continuous 'short burst sessions'.
And then apart from the singles you've got the 'album tracks' which we as diehard fans could never do without. Well these would also be released in some form or other, because the bands want to make them and the fans want to hear them.
I agree with Rob thingo from Matchbox who said in the article that the only real downside would be the lack of risk-taking in this 'world of singles'. Well apart from the 'alternative track culture' you'd see developing where the bands release esoteric tracks for the fans, songs hoping to make it on the competitive single market would require a certain amount of riskiness to stand out.
Surely the biggest drawback is the packaging, the artwork, etc. Well in the day of the website, I don't think that's such a problem. Perhaps purchasing one or two singles from a band could give you access to the artwork, information, etc etc available on the website.
And don't forget that beyond the declining sales of music CDs, it is music DVDs whose sales are on the rise. Who would shell out for the entire unedited SYW studio and tour tapes? And imagine who would have shelled out in 1977 if they'd taped the Rumours sessions and made a DVD.
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Joe
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