Was listening to Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie.... this evening and it got me thinking about double albums in general and how I've a bit of a soft spot for them even though they're generally kinda bloated but I just love being immersed in a big album like that. I have always been an albums chap in general so the idea really appeals to me.
My own favorite is Nine Inch Nails - The Fragile because I'm just mad into it but I'm just wondering how anyone else feels about the idea in general, and what favourites or recommendations or opinions good or bad are out there.
Things like the Loads and Use Your Illusions and Kid A/Amnesiac, that sort of thing I think counts as well.
Anyway I'd like to see if there's many out there that I've missed or I'm just not thinking of as well
The two you've mentioned aren't bloated at all, two of my favourite albums.
The Loads and Illusions on the other hand are - one good record between both at the same time I'm glad they recorded everything in both instances.
Can't think of too many others off the top of my head but do know Corrosion of Conformity's next one will be a double.
Opeth's Deliverance and Damnation are worth a mention but fall into the one good album across two discs category for me. There's a good EP to be had out of the Illusions, barely. It's mostly muck.
Mellon Collie is the only one with the creativity and diversity to be really an enjoyable listen all the way through. I used to collect the SP singles back in the day and, for the first two albums, the B-sides were as good as what made it onto the albums. Corgan always had great tunes to spare. The B-sides for the Mellon Collie singles were weak, though. He shot his creative load making the album, but just about gets away with it.
If you think about it, the move from records to CDs resulted in most bands making what would previously have been double albums. The average album length went from 35 minutes or so up to over an hour a lot of the time, just because they felt they had to fill 72+ minutes, usually with shite. Most bands don't have that much quality material in them at any one time. For perspective, Reign In Blood and South of Heaven combined still come in about 15 minutes shorter than either of the poxy Loads individually.
QuoteThere's a good EP to be had out of the Illusions, barely. It's mostly muck.
Ah here!
Ah come on, be honest, it's mostly shite. They've been dining off Appetite for a long, long time - the greatest fluke ever, I put it to you 😂
Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
Far from their best, but still some cracking tunes on it
Does '...And Justice For All' count?
Probably not.
Not enough songs on it.
It is 65 minutes long!
QuoteAh come on, be honest, it's mostly shite. They've been dining off Appetite for a long, long time - the greatest fluke ever, I put it to you 😂
There's a fair amount of fluff on it for sure and the first record I think is the weakest, but there's 5-6 absolute classics between the two albums, a bunch of tracks that aren't bad - then the shite you refer to.
Yeah - Appetite does seem to have been a fluke of sorts. Their workrate studio wise is unbelievable - dining out for sure.
There must be at least three threads at this stage where everyone has given their detailed opinions on Use Your Illusions I and II
Hushed And Grim.
Helloween - Keeper Of The Seven Keys 3
Therion- Gothic Kaballah
Most Ayreon albums
Iron Maiden - Book Of Souls and Senjutsu
Judas Priest - Nostradamus
QuoteTherion- Gothic Kaballah
Most Ayreon albums
Iron Maiden - Book Of Souls and Senjutsu
Judas Priest - Nostradamus
?????
All the Double Maiden albums have some good ideas and the odd great song but the majority of the songs aretoo long or just crap (that is me as positive as I can be about them).
Ya I wouldnt have much positive to say about them either haha
I used to hate Kepepr Of the Seven Keys 3 but I love it now.
Disembowelment - Transcendence into the Peripheral, the double vinyl, not for everyone but it's mighty in my opinion, raw as fuck.
The Wall and London Calling.
Won't find many better than them.
The Beatles White Album is an obvious one as well.
Quote from: Bürggermeister on November 17, 2025, 08:15:29 AMAh come on, be honest, it's mostly shite. They've been dining off Appetite for a long, long time - the greatest fluke ever, I put it to you 😂
Always baffles me how much of the illusions material they ignore playing live in favor of about 4 or 5 covers. Wichita Lineman is a dreadful cover, surely there's something from either album that merits being included ahead of piss like that.
If we're going non-Metal, Quadrophenia by The Who is up there with the very best... and only 3 minutes longer than Load :laugh:
Well since we're going non metal, it would be rude to omit 'Joe's Garage' by Frank Zappa. Full immersion potential with gripping narration throughout
Quote from: Bürggermeister on November 17, 2025, 06:44:27 AMIf you think about it, the move from records to CDs resulted in most bands making what would previously have been double albums. The average album length went from 35 minutes or so up to over an hour a lot of the time, just because they felt they had to fill 72+ minutes, usually with shite. Most bands don't have that much quality material in them at any one time. For perspective, Reign In Blood and South of Heaven combined still come in about 15 minutes shorter than either of the poxy Loads individually.
Yeah I mean, at the time, And Justice For All for example would could have qualified as a double album, especially with it being a double LP and all. But that would make the Load era quadruple albums and the world has enough problems without four Load albums.
I have a weird thing with Judas Priest's Metal Works whereby even though its a "best of", it was my introduction to the band and I listened to it so much that the track sequencing became ingrained to the point where I think of it as a double album in its own right.
I have mixed feelings about the Fragile. It undoubtedly has some great moments but its also when Reznor started going down an overblown, self-indulgent route that he's been stuck in ever since. The Downward Spiral for me is the epitome of a desert island disc, I could just never get sick of it.
Quote from: John Kimble on November 17, 2025, 07:34:59 PMI have mixed feelings about the Fragile. It undoubtedly has some great moments but its also when Reznor started going down an overblown, self-indulgent route that he's been stuck in ever since. The Downward Spiral for me is the epitome of a desert island disc, I could just never get sick of it.
Downward Spiral my favourite too but I still love the Fragile, pretty much only have no time for Starfuckers off it but love all the rest.
On topic: yeah the Fragile probably my favourite double album.
Others that come to mind are Swans' "The Seer" and "To Be Kind", love them both.
Kayo Dot's "Hubardo" also ridiculously good and consistent start to finish, but always struck me as just a long album rather than a double.
Old Man Gloom - "The Ape of God" I and II both designed to go back to back. Deadly too. I have the review leak version downloaded there somewhere from years back too and it's missing a fair whack compared to the final two combined.
Fairly sure I am forgetting something particularly lethal but I'll think of it later.
Live After Death?
Of course.
The Fragile is a good shout, but if we're doing double Swans albums I'd have to go for Soundtracks For The Blind.
So the original double albums, like The Wall or The White Album, were they called double albums simply because they were 2LPs? And then that eventually became 2CDs? Leading to the possibility of 4LP double albums.
Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Always had a soft spot for this, picked it up along with Images & Words for a tenner and played the two of them relentlessly for months
Quote from: Black Shepherd Carnage on November 17, 2025, 10:29:26 PMSo the original double albums, like The Wall or The White Album, were they called double albums simply because they were 2LPs?
That's my understanding of it anyway.
Jeff Wayne's "War Of The Worlds"
Quote from: Black Shepherd Carnage on November 17, 2025, 10:29:26 PMSo the original double albums, like The Wall or The White Album, were they called double albums simply because they were 2LPs? And then that eventually became 2CDs? Leading to the possibility of 4LP double albums.
That's the point I was making earlier, the double album was not always a conceptual thing, like The Wall or Quadrophenia, often just where bands had a bulk of material they wanted to release which went further over the basic 44 minute capacity of a 12" record so that it would cause playback issues due to the groove compression required. The arrival of CDs as the main selling medium gave a 74 minute capacity for a single disc which, of course, bands started to fill as longer albums were seen as better value. Load is significant as it was, from memory, one of the first albums released to push CD capacity to 80 minutes which, of course, is as long as, or longer than, a lot of double albums from the era of records - Fleetwood Mac's Tusk for example. Load and Reload would each be double albums had they been released 10 years previously.
My two favourite double albums both came out on the same day:
Husker Du - Zen Arcade
Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime
Not a bad track between either of them. If I had to round out a top 3 then I'd also have Electric Ladyland by Hendrix. The Du/Minutemen albums make a great drinking double header. As do Electric Ladyland and Bitches Brew for another good double album double header.
Wasnt Keepers of the 7 Keys 1 & 2 supposed to be a double album as well but the label wouldnt have it
Forgot about both The Seer and The Ape Of God. Must get them onto the playlist.
Interesting about the original vinyl thing. I guess this means that in the digital age there really are no double albums at all
Indeed. I was listening to Swans' Live Rope the other day, the opening track alone is 86 mins. long (this was the 'credit card' version), which wouldn't fit on one side of any physical format and kinda brought home how obsolete physical media actually is these days. And yet still we all buy it nonetheless.