There’s a lot of talk about reducing double albums to single albums, but no-one seems to venture which tracks should be the first to be chopped. If you really can’t do that then it seems like we have the perfect double album, no? Here are a few suggestions:
The White Album – Dear Prudence. One of the lowest points of the 60s, never mind on the album.
Wheels of Fire – Toad of course. But we’d make it up to Ginger by declaring Pressed Rat & Warthog to be the centrepiece of the album, which it deserves to be of course.
Metal Machine Music – ha ha ha!
Bitches Brew anyone? Hmm …
Dear Prudence best track on the album. White should be extended to be a triple, Hey Jude, Revolution (single version), Not Guilty etc
We’ve definitely done the White Album, but everybody chose different tracks to drop, so it ended up double-album length. Or maybe album-and-a-half, anyway.
Ah sorry I missed that.
You’d think it would be easy to reduce a post eighties Prince triple to a double, wouldn’t you. The thread on Emancipation proved otherwise. We all chose different tracks.
As for The White Album, Dear Prudence is essential. Plus, you should find room for Hey Bulldog. See, we are moving into triple territory with Lady Madonna and The Inner Light as well as dai’s suggestions.
Lady Madonna is preferable to some of Paul’s that are actually on the album.
First to go from Tommy?
“Underture” just feels like a jam session (with a purpose) and slapped on the record to fill the time (I may be being harsh here and it’s probably someone’s favourite, but I can happily live without it)
How to reduce Tommy?
Remove:
1921
Eyesight To The Blind (The Hawker)
Underture
Do You Think It’s Alright?
Fiddle About
There’s A Doctor
Tommy, Can You Hear Me?
Miracle Cure
Sally Simpson
Welcome
Tommy’s Holiday Camp
The Trimmed Version:
1. Overture
2. It’s a Boy
3. Amazing Journey
4. Sparks
5. Christmas
6. Cousin Kevin
7. The Acid Queen
8. Pinball Wizard
9. Go to the Mirror
10. Smash The Mirror
11. Sensation
12. I’m Free
13. We’re Not Gonna Take It
75 and a half minutes trimmed to just over 46 minutes (not quite right for one side of a C90 cassette, but if you further exclude “Smash The Mirror” (at 1 minute 20 seconds), the final version will sit snugly on one side of a TDK).
https://rigiddigithasissues.blogspot.com/2019/06/tommy-trimmed.html
No, keep either 1921 or Eyesight To The Blind and dump the execrable Cousin Kevin.
But … John Entwistle needs a moment. Remove Cousin Kevin, and Fiddle About needs to be in there
(lesser of two evils?)
Your blogspot is very entertaining, Rigid!
Just read your piece on Derek and Clive . Very informative and enjoyable.
Ta KFD.
Keeps me off the streets …
Here’s one for those who know the album: Lou’s Take no Prisoners. Walk on the Wild Side, of course. My guess is that anyone who buys that album only plays that side once (hopefully), or twice (as a joke). What a fraud LR could be sometimes.
Electric Ladyland is obviously the finest double album ever made. However…
1. Voodoo Chile 5:12
2. Crosstown Traffic 2:25
3. Burning Of The Midnight Lamp 3:39
4. House Burning Down 4:33
5. Come On 4:09
6. 1983…(A Mermaid I Should Turn To Be) 13:39
7. Gypsy Eyes 3:43
8. All Along The Watchtower 4:01
What, no Slight Return? The ultimate air-guitar song.
That’ll be number 1.
You could turn Blonde on Blonde into a good single album just by telling him to start thinking about wrapping things up after the second or third verse of each song.
If you mean either number one on the album or first to be chopped. I would go for the former, seeing as it is one of Jimi’s most powerful performances ever.
I mean 1. on Tigger’s tracklisting, he’s got it there, it’s just that title is incomplete. The other Voodoo Chile is something like 15 minutes and Tigger’s removed it.
Quite right. Since it starts the album, it cannot be subtitled (Slight Return).
But then you would omit the fabulous Voodoo Chile (the slow blues one). Unthinkable!
It’s a struggle with Electric Ladyland, innit.
The Cream’s “Wheels Of Fire” is a perfect 1-platter-studio album of course. I consider the second disc as (unnecessary) bonus tracks.
Except for Crossroads, which is necessary.
I tried reducing London Calling, but not much is lost.
(difficult to justify losing any of it to be honest)
So I tried with Physical Graffiti.
First off – dump side 4, and then lop off Custard Pie
Still nearly an hour long after the edits though
Oops, meant to reply to Diddley.
As far as Hawk’s point is concerned, would that make BoB a better album or not? If it were up to me, I would rather start by chopping the insufferable Everybody must get Stoned. With that, I’ll probably get the Dear Prudence boosters on my case again.
BTW is your handle related to Black Hawk Down by any chance?
Damn, same mistake again. Ok here’s my reply to Rig D now: Nearly 60 min is par for the CD course nowadays.
And BTW, is there anyone besides me who thinks that CDs are generally too long? Take A Bigger Bang for example; three tracks shorter and it would have been a pretty fine album. But no.
Agree about the length of some albums – just because you have 70+ minutes, doesn’t mean you need to use them.
Keep something back for B Sides, Bonus Tracks, and/or the (inevitable?) 10 / 20 / 30 years Super Deluxe Editions.
Maybe it’s the dinosaur in me, but I think album length is always best around the 40 minute mark (ie on side of a C90)
Don’t apologise Chin, that’s the most replies one of my comments has ever had!
(The name comes from a novel by Orcadian writer George Mackay Brown.)
Side 4 I will let you remove, but custard pie deffo stays.
Sorry, still getting the hang of this. Too much chin strokin’ I guess.
I’ll do Generation Terrorists if you like:
Bin
Natwest-Barclays-Midland-Lloyds
Born To End
Repeat (Stars and Stripes)
Another Invented Disease
So Dead
Damn Dog
Crucifix Kiss
Leaving you with:
Slash n Burn
Motorcycle Emptiness
You Love Us
Love’s Sweet Exile
Little Baby Nothing
Tennessee
Stay Beautiful
Repeat
Methadone Pretty
Condemned to Rock n Roll
Can’t argue with that. Removes the bloat.
Great album That
Exile On Main Street
Rocks Off 4:31
Tumbling Dice 3:45
Torn & Frayed 4:17
Sweet Black Angel 2:45
Loving Cup 4:25
Ventilator Blues 3:24
Let It Loose 5:16
All Down The Line 3:49
Shine A Light 4:14
Soul Survivor 3:49
I think you’ll find you’ve forgotten to include Sweet Virginia …
And the other ones. You can’t trust a goat lover.
I thought of Exile and concluded that it must not be reduced, The perfect double?
Nonesense! Sweet Virginia must go for a start.
But why? he asked.
Yep
The Name of this Band is Talking Heads
This is an easy one – Dump Disc 1 and keep all of the tracks on Disc 2*
*must be the vinyl version as the supposedly expanded CD version edited out the greatest intro in the history of recorded music Crosseyed and Painless and also included one of the poorest recorded versions of Once in a Lifetime.
In a similar vein, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below demonstrated beyond doubt that Outkast had become two different acts. I know which one I prefer.
Would rather have both.
I’ve just remembered one I often do –
Miley Cyrus & (Most Of) Her Dead Petz:
A.
1. Dooo It!
2. Space Boots
3. BB Talk
4. Fweaky
5. Bang Me Box
6. Milky Milky Milk
B.
1. Slab Of Butter
2. I Forgive Yiew
3. Lighter
4. Tangerine
5. 1 Sun
I know most people would amputate BB Talk first, but I love a bit of it..
What? No “Karen Don’t Be Sad”? My favourite thing she’s ever done…
Well, next time I will keep it in as a tribute to you KHD and see how the slipper fits.
I think the reason I leave that particular one out is, of all the songs, it sounds most like a Flaming Lips tune with Ms Cyrus subbing on the vocal.
Also: my edit is pushing 48 minutes, which is hitting the ceiling..
Reading this thread reminds me of how few double albums I’ve got or know. In fact, apart from live and compilations, I reckon the Clash double and triple are the only ones I have.
I actually think you can make a case for double albums being some of the greatest albums ever made by those respective artists. So no need to reduce them to singles, feel the width ….
The Beatles
Exile
Blonde on Blonde
Quadrophenia
London Calling
Aerial etc
All magnificent, leave them as they are.
Oh yes, Quadrophenia is untouchable.
As is The Wall
Yep – you can include Stephen Stills’s 100%-brilliant “Manassas” double, as well.
All Things Must Pass (not including”Apple Jam” which is listed separately)
Rarely I beg to differ: my cut of Manassas is barely a side full. I can’t stand stills in rawk or soul mode.
This is exactly right. Often the double is the best one, or one of the best. Even Physical Graffitti. The truth is many a classic album is patchy, and skippable, even the single albums. For better or worse they were released as they were made, with hindsight we see them as classic and raise our expectations unreasonably high. Why did they put those 2 songs on there? The act never thought they would be held to account for the rest of their lives.
Seems the general consensus is that doubles are improved by reduction and I have plenty of doubles.
One I could cut nothing from is the sublime Road Tested live album by Bonnie Raiit – it just flows perfectly start to finish.
Ohhh, this comes up every now and then and depresses the hell out of me. What a dull world you want for us.
I bloody love double albums. The ludicrous excess and arrogance they represent is at the heart of all great rock and roll – and indeed art, full bastard stop. These days you can edit them down yerself, so what are you moaning about?
Artist: “Here’s a load of songs, punters”
Punter: “Eurrrrggghh, we want less music!”
Now, now. Why so serious?
BTW what’s your general opinion of bonus tracks? According to you, more music is always better, is it? Well, load up those boxes.
As for “rock And roll”, au contraire, it has always been about short and punchy tunes that make you want to play them over and over again.
So There. But I didn’t aim to depress anyone and never dreamed this topic would!
Bonus tracks, as everybody really knows, are nearly always crap.
When it comes to what should be on a record I’ll trust the artist over the punter or, in the case of Brer Bonus, the record company.
PS. Don’t take it personally, my scowl is directed at everybody else as well 😉
Bonus tracks are often the original A-sides.
I think with Fizz Graph, just keep the tracks cut in 1974 and delete the odious Sick Again.
Custard Pie
In My Time of Dying
Trampled underfoot
Kashmir
In The Light
Ten Years Gone
The Wanton Song